Parliament faces a stream of petitions opposing Canada Post cuts and rate hikes, though one Conservative MP told Blacklock’s it is not clear whether the protests will become an election issue: “I don’t know if that will be reflected in how they vote in 18 months”.
The Senate is quietly burying a contentious labour bill that galvanized opposition from unions, pension fund managers and five provinces. The Conservative leader in the Senate said C-377 was no longer a “priority”. The bill would have forced labour groups to divulge confidential data: “It’s difficult for me”.
Health Canada should follow a European Commission moratorium on bee-killing pesticides, a Senate committee has been urged. The Ontario Beekeepers Association said “indiscriminate” use of neonicotinoid chemicals poses an ecological threat: “It does seem to be getting worse”.
Industry Canada has blocked the transfer of wireless spectrum for a second time ahead of new rules set to come into effect in March. The transfer would have given more than 77% of certain spectra to Rogers Inc. and Bell: “Hopefully the government will move quickly”.
The latest New Democrat attempt to disqualify unilingual lawyers from the Supreme Court faces renewed Senate opposition. MP Yvon Godin appealed for public support for his bill, introduced three times since 2008, that requires judges be fluent in French and English: “The vast majority of lawyers in Canada are not educated bilingually”.
Cabinet will amend the Fisheries Act to permit pesticide use by aquaculture operators, authorities say. Dumping chemicals into fish habitat is currently forbidden under federal law: “There is a great deal of concern on the part of a number of Canadians about the impact of aquaculture”.
Canada Post will have to ‘figure out’ its scheme to abolish home mail delivery, says Transport Minister Lisa Raitt. Her remarks followed new protests from city mayors that the scheduled cut to 5 million homeowners is secretive and impractical. “This is their plan, right?”
Canadian railways will enforce new safety procedures on tank cars hauling crude oil in step with U.S. shippers, authorities say. The rules follow the fiery derailment of petroleum cars in Lac-Mégantic last July 6 that killed forty-seven townspeople.
Canada Border Services Agency has won a court appeal upholding the ability of guards to intercept travellers’ luggage. Judges threw out a lower ruling that agents had no right to question a visitor over the contents of his bag without first cautioning him of his right to silence: ‘Can you spell m-e-a-t?’
Cabinet proposes to require electronic tracking of the nation’s 30 million pigs. However the policy will not immediately combat a pig-killing virus that threatens the multi-billion dollar industry, critics say: “It’s here. They did nothing”.
Employment and Social Development Canada has been cited for flagrant waste in advertising a phantom jobs program. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation awarded its top Government Waste Award for the department’s $2.5 million TV ads touting the Canada Jobs Grant: ‘It still does not exist’.
Health Canada will require that tanning salons display gruesome new cancer warnings effective June 1. The initiative came amid protests from the tanning industry: “Our opponents will be marketing this left, right and centre”.
Parliament broke its own rules in voting for a special day to commemorate the late Pope John Paul II, confidential records show. Heritage Canada in a secret memo warned the observance violated terms of its National Commemoration Policy, but never told MPs: “This is the first time I’ve heard of this”.
Ottawa appears internet-challenged after decades of review, says Auditor General Michael Ferguson. Public Works Canada has found some 100 different email systems across the bureaucracy, many of them incompatible with each other: “I still don’t know what’s being done”.
Married Canadians tend to be wealthier than singles, concludes research by the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. The study appeared to confirm suspicions divorce is expensive: ‘That’s not terribly controversial’.
