The Department of Agriculture forecasts “tension” with the drought-stricken U.S. over access to cross-boundary water supplies. In a report released through Access To Information, the department said water shortages may see American ecosystems stressed beyond repair: ‘The U.S. may seek to divert water from the Great Lakes and other systems…’
Canadians are seeing greater exposure to an anti-bacterial soap additive banned in Europe, according to new Health Canada data. Environmental groups have appealed for restrictions on triclosan amid worries over its long-term impact: “What we really need is swift action”.
Only four months after promising preferential hiring for veterans, cabinet has issued a new job posting for Sergeant At Arms without any mention of military service as a requirement. The House of Commons post for years was filled by veterans, including two Victoria Cross winners: “We want to show we’re hiring the best candidate”.
Municipal councillors can be sued for defamation if they misspeak in their official duties, courts have confirmed. The Supreme Court declined to hear further appeals in the case of one county councillor publicly insulted by colleagues who then claimed immunity from libel: ‘It’s two centuries of precedent’.
Royal commissions were once fodder for stand-up comics though the memory is bitter-sweet. The notion seems quaint now. Governments confronted difficult issues by convening public hearings and reaching for consensus. Now they announce policy change on the drive in from the airport at Davos, Switzerland and shoehorn it into a 452-page omnibus budget bill. At least, that’s what the Prime Minister did when he raised eligibility under Old Age Security to 67 years in 2012.
So it’s with genuine nostalgia that readers will enjoy Commissions of Inquiry and Policy Change, an affectionate tribute to the consensus politics of yesteryear. It mattered. Editors note that when the Literary Review of Canada compiled a list of the country’s 100 Most Important Books, six were reports of commissions.
It was an 1889 commission that urged the introduction of Labour Day as the first secular holiday “in view of the good already accomplished” by trade unions. It was a 1929 Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting that led to creation of the CBC, and a 1938 commission that cleared the prisons of patronage and “inhumane discipline”.
The bungled Air India investigation; secret payments by a German arms dealer; a fraud ring in the Department of Public Works – all were uncovered by commissions of inquiry. The phenomenon is celebrated by editors Gregory Inwood and Carolyn Johns, both of Ryerson University’s Department of Politics and Public Administration.
Commissions of Inquiry analyzes ten modern inquiries held from 1957 to 2008. They dealt in matters of life and death, money and equality, scandal and discrimination. A favourite remains the 1982 Macdonald Commission that gave us free trade though most Canadians never asked for it. “Ironically, it de-legitimized commissions of inquiry to some extent as sites of public consultation and democratic tools by ignoring much of what civil society told the commission,” authors note.
Donald Macdonald was a former Liberal finance minister. The commission was “widely seen as a consolation prize for his frustrated leadership ambitions”. They paid him $800 a day, an extraordinary fee in the midst of a grinding recession. “His ungracious response was to point out that he could earn twice that in his Bay Street law practice,” Commissions recalls.
Macdonald ran up a $22 million budget conducting hearings in 32 towns and cities nationwide. It was the most expensive, most grandiose inquiry in Canadian history that concluded the country should take “a leap of faith” into free trade with the U.S. Virtually every non-business witness opposed free trade at Macdonald’s hearings, but the game was set: “The Canadian government embarked upon a policy choice that lacked widespread popular support.”
In the free trade election of 1988 more than 7.6 million voters – 57 percent of the electors – opposed a treaty with the U.S. that was ratified anyway. Yet the work of the Macdonald Commission was far-reaching: even those who opposed free trade had to acknowledge their voice had been raised and the question had been fairly settled.
At least it was better than hearing about it on the way from the airport in Davos.
By Holly Doan
Commissions of Inquiry and Policy Change: A Comparative Analysis, edited by Gregory Inwood and Carolyn Johns; University of Toronto Press; 352 pages; ISBN 9781-4426-15724; $24.47
The Canadian Tourism Commission is resuming promotions in the U.S. three years after budget cuts eliminated all general advertising to American travelers. The commission’s president earlier described the cuts as short-sighted: “Canada is the only G8 country that has reduced investment”.
Shippers and airlines are seeking details of a proposed 15¢ per kilogram federal fee to screen air freight. Transport Canada has proposed shippers conduct their own security screening or face cargo charges: “You can’t create a security program and not charge for it”.
An FM radio station has again been cited for vulgarity by a national standards panel, this time over an expletive-laced rant against urban bicyclists. It’s the third citation in five years against the Québec City station. Broadcasters cussed bicyclists in colourful shorts who slow morning traffic: “You big idiot – stay at home. You deserve to be run over by a car”.
Bell Mobility Inc. has lost a bid for a Supreme Court hearing over 75¢ fees it charged for non-existent 911 emergency service. Justices declined to hear the company’s appeal of a Yellowknife court ruling that the class action lawsuit proceed: “The costs in this case must be worth millions already”.
Aquaculture firms have won long-sought amendments to federal law permitting chemical use in fish habitat, including coastal waters. Fisheries Minister Gail Shea yesterday enacted new regulations allowing use of licensed pesticides previously banned under the Fisheries Act: “There are serious concerns”.
First regulations under Bill C-51 the Anti-Terrorism Act take effect August 1 with enforcement of a federal blacklist of passengers forbidden from air travel. Airlines must report any so-called “listed person” who attempts to board any domestic or international flight: “They did not do anything to actually fix the problems”.
A finicky federal appointee at the Asia Pacific Foundation billed for a $522-a night room at a luxury Vancouver hotel though “nice” accommodation was available just across the street at a 39% discount, records show. “I treasure a good hotel,” said the foundation’s chairman.
The Department of Agriculture is losing ground in scientific research that made Canada a world wheat exporter, delegates have told an Ottawa conference. The criticism followed one industry report that concluded the nation “is slipping behind other countries” in agricultural science: “Where are the long-term ideas going to come from?”
In a confidential memo one advocate called “unbelievable”, the Department of Fisheries says it has no scientific data to support Canada’s claims that seals are to blame for dwindling groundfish stock. The cabinet memo stamped SECRET said claims were “anecdotal commentary” and had no basis in research: “It is a classic case of putting pure politics ahead of science”.
A pending Supreme Court hearing on legal firing under the Canada Labour Code will clarify rules for an estimated one million employees in federally-regulated industries, say legal analysts. Judges agreed to hear the case of an Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. staffer fired without cause: “This has been a debate in legal circles for years”.
