Cabinet lobbied behind closed doors to shelve a Senate bill seeking independent scrutiny of the Canada Border Services Agency, according to Access To Information records. Staff feared the private Liberal bill would expose confidential memos: “There are a number of issues with the bill.”
Regulators will need months to draft air passenger regulations once a federal bill becomes law, the Senate transport committee was told yesterday. Cabinet has set a December 31 deadline to have compensation rules in place: “One of the key issues is simply travelers knowing what their rights are.”
The Transportation Safety Board yesterday said federally-mandated workplace cameras for rail crews should not impact employee privacy, but added safeguards will have to wait for regulations. Members of the Senate transport committee questioned a need for video surveillance: “I have to be convinced on this.”
Cabinet will delay a bill guaranteeing prompt payment to federal contractors in favour of more consultation, officials say. The bill’s sponsor yesterday said any plea for time is inexcusable: “Every witness we heard said further consultation is useless.”
The Senate yesterday voted to launch a first-ever parliamentary review of regulations governing charities, including tax credits. The credits are worth $2.3 billion annually, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office: “Questions need to be answered.”
The Commons last night gave Second Reading to a bill mandating anti-harassment policies at federally-regulated jobsites. “It’s been a crisis for a long time,” said Labour Minister Patricia Hajdu: “Time’s up. It’s time to take action.”
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin in a 2016 letter to cabinet cited self-represented litigants as a security threat. McLachlin asked cabinet for more RCMP protection at a cost of $1 million a year. The correspondence was obtained through Access To Information: ‘One-third of the applications are filed by self-represented litigants.’
A federal agency has suffered a key setback in a first-ever investigation of contracting at Canadian airports. The Federal Court of Appeal cited the Competition Bureau for concealing thousands of documents, its “entire case”, from the Vancouver Airport Authority: “What happened? Who did what? How was it done? Why?”
Cabinet will not meet its own target to improve vaccination rates, according to Public Health Agency data. Actual numbers of Canadians who get a seasonal shot remain far below an 80 percent target set in 2001: “The effectiveness of the vaccine can wear off.”
The Department of Employment complains millions of children are not enrolled in a federal program offering free grants to help pay college or university costs. Parliament has paid out grants since 1998: ‘Promotion is essential.’
Ex-Minister of Sport Kent Hehr in correspondence to the Commons heritage committee said federal initiatives must assist female athletes with “low confidence”, “poor body image” and “fear of judgment”. The letter is to be tabled today in the Commons. Hehr signed it a week before leaving cabinet over allegations he commented on a woman’s breasts, and told another: “You’re yummy.”
“From a psychosocial perspective, sport provides a valuable tool for addressing gender inequity,” read Hehr’s 13-page response to a committee report Women And Girls In Sport. “Women and girls who participate in sport experience increased feelings of self-esteem, self-worth, efficacy, empowerment and personal freedom.”
“Women and girls often lack the necessary social support, encouragement, role models, self-confidence and money to participate fully,” the response continued. “Top issues include the availability of quality programming; access to facilities and equipment; and low confidence or poor body image (fear of judgment).”
Hehr left cabinet January 25 pending an investigation into claims he’d made inappropriate remarks to women at work. The allegations date back several years. “Canadians have a right to live and work in environments free from harassment,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The Commons heritage committee in its report proposed programs to encourage more participation by women and girls in amateur athletics. MPs recommended federally-subsidized clubs and associations hire more women directors and coaches; that the government “eradicate harassment abuse from Canadian sport”; and that telecom regulators “impose broadcast hours with respect to women’s sports as part of the license renewal of public and private television services.”
In his written response on behalf of cabinet, Hehr blamed media for stereotyping female athletes. “Media messages about women, femininity and sport present a major challenge to retaining women and girls in sport,” said the document. “Overall, male athletes receive greater media attention focused on skills and performance than female athletes.”
“For instance, while there has been relatively strong focus on female sport at Olympic and Paralympic Games” – women won 16 of 22 medals for Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics – “there has been little coverage of women and girls in sport otherwise.”
“Furthermore, sports media often report on female athletes in ways that reinforce stereotypes and outdated gender roles instead of prioritizing athletic achievements,” read Hehr’s response.
Sport Canada, a federal granting agency, paid $27.7 million in subsidies to top-level Canadian athletes in 2016, according to financial accounts. Of the total, $13.4 million went to women under the Athlete Assistance Program.
By Staff 
The Senate should not be pressured into meeting cabinet’s July 1 deadline to repeal a ban on recreational cannabis, says a Conservative legislator. The Senate’s legal and constitutional affairs committee opens hearings Wednesday on the first of two marijuana bills: “We will probably have amendments.”
The Department of National Defence has issued 19 pages of specifications on how to run a chow hall, including a definition of “buffet” and the diameter of cookies. The military has been cited for needlessly complex specs in the past: ‘Buffet is a meal service that consists of the customers picking up their meals from a serving line where the food is served to them.’
CMHC will spend up to $6 million on data for cabinet’s National Housing Strategy, including a country-wide count of homeless. Legislation mandating aid for social housing and rental subsidies is expected this year: ‘Make sure public resources are used to create things that work.’
Obesity in Canada
tripled in 30 years.
Eight million affected.
The federal government
develops an online tool
to promote healthy eating and
encourage physical activity.
The Ontario government
introduces the Healthy Menu Choices Act
so we can know the calories
when ordering food.
And in the City of Ottawa
– in Bells Corners –
the Mayor and the Councillor
help secure a 10-year grant
to allow the return of
KFC.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
