The cost of federal disaster aid for provinces has grown nearly 40 times since 1970, says a new Department of Public Safety report. Catastrophic flooding now accounts for most claims: “The big storms have not hit Canada yet.”

Legislators are unlikely to amend a Canada-E.U. trade pact despite labour fears of job losses, says a senator. The Seafarers’ International Union said trade terms threaten Canadian maritime shipping: “We are where we are.”

Federal managers who claim to monitor the well-being of whales should visit a Niagara Falls amusement park, says a senator. The Senate fisheries committee is examining a bill to ban the purchase or transfer of whales in captivity: ‘Visit in July when there are thousands of kids banging the water.’

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz is refusing comment on staff’s mishandling of millions held for safekeeping. The Bank paid out at least $7 million in suspicious claims from dormant accounts: “I’m sorry, are you hard of hearing?”

Cabinet must have some final say on research by Statistics Canada, says Industry Minister Navdeep Bains. Three former chief statisticians have appealed for amendments to a bill they say allows political meddling in the agency’s work: “Mandatory surveys can be intrusive.”

A Senate panel has approved new restrictions on tobacco packaging and first-ever federal regulation of vaping products. The vote by the Senate social affairs committee came as cabinet introduced legislation in the Commons to legalize the sale of cannabis to 18-year olds: “Should we conclude the government prefers to see young Canadians buying marijuana?”

The Commons finance committee is urging that cabinet resist any further immediate credit curbs on homebuyers. Realtors and mortgage brokers blamed 2016 restrictions for millions in lost business: “The results have been clear.”

Cabinet remains silent after a signature labour bill was amended by senators. The Senate yesterday passed rewritten legislation to eliminate a card check certification system dating from 1944: “Did they do the work and count the votes?”

Captive whales are no better than a circus show, the Senate fisheries committee has been told. Senators are considering a bill to ban the capture and breeding of whales under threat of $10,000 fines: ‘Come on in and see them go round and round for the next 20 years.’

A federal agency is hunting for an employee alleged to have leaked confidential information to media. The investigation is the first of its kind at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, said the agency’s director: “If we find who it is — “

Health Canada admits it mistakenly claimed to have completed risk assessments on a pesticide licensed for sale. The admission comes a year after officials promised to “improve the openness of transparency” in regulating pesticides: “It stinks.”

The Senate by a vote of 43 to 34 yesterday abolished card check union certification for nearly a million Canadians in federally-regulated workplaces. Senators passed a Conservative amendment to a cabinet bill to require that new unions be certified by mandatory secret ballot: ‘To suggest we should just be rubber-stamping legislation does not fly.’

A Crown lender that’s approved billions in taxpayer-funded farm loans must beware of the “tipping point” on debt, the Commons agriculture committee has been told. Farm Credit Canada said one-fifth of its loans involve interest-only payments for up to three years: “You still have to pay the bill.”

Employers are faulting the labour department for failing to spell out new restrictions on the hiring of migrant workers. Cabinet said companies must first make special efforts to hire targeted groups of Canadians, but did not detail any policy or text of regulations: “Why add a new requirement without making it obvious?”