MPs concluded a rancorous debate over history and national symbolism as the National Capital Commission moved to erect a new monument on Parliament Hill. “There is nothing more controversial than history,” said one MP as the Commons prepared to pass a new museums bill.
Revenue Minister Gail Shea is declining questions on confidential documents indicating Canadian unions face millions of dollars a year in tax penalties under a Conservative bill. The documents contradict public assertions the Canada Revenue Agency keeps no data on non-compliance with tax regulations.
The nation’s railways are objecting to a $25 million proposal that they voluntarily install locomotive recorders for use by federal investigators. The recommendation followed the probe of the 2012 derailment of a speeding freight that killed three crew in Burlington, Ont.: “We’re looking for better ways to deal with the human element in an accident.”
At least three armed U.S. police agencies have permission to operate in Canada. But the Department of Public Works insists American officers have no power to question or arrest any Canadian. Cabinet earlier passed an order permitting U.S. officers to carry weapons at eight locations: “This is valuable information.”
Heightened security at Great Lakes ports means crews on Canadian ships feel “like they’re being treated as prisoners in their own country,” says a shipping official. Regulators were urged to take a lakes cruise under security requirements to “better understand” a sailor’s life.
Canada Revenue expects to penalize unions millions of dollars under legislation due to pass the Senate this week. The figures were concealed from parliamentarians but detailed in confidential briefing papers obtained by Blacklock’s. Revenue Minister Gail Shea’s department denied the data existed: “This is outrageous.”
Attorney General Rob Nicholson has been sued in Federal Court for the third time in a week for alleged violation of privacy and access to information laws. An Ottawa project manager filed the latest application to force Nicholson’s department to disclose notes kept by a staffer at a confidential pre-trial hearing: “This is harassment of a citizen by the Government of Canada.”
Lawmakers are pondering whether to update the ancient custom that permits citizens to petition their Parliament. MP Kennedy Stewart proposed a motion to recognize online petitions, and require that parliamentarians debate any topic that garners enough signatures – “for example 50,000 or 100,000,” he said. The Commons receives more than 2,000 petitions a year, from language rights to shark finning.
A little-noticed gas pipeline explosion in the British Columbia forest has highlighted a federal probe on sector safety. Investigators determined a gas pipeline that blew up had not been pressure tested since 1961. The report came as senators heard testimony on pipeline safety: “There is no requirement that a pipeline older than a certain number of years needs to be replaced.”
Cattle ranching has been replaced by aquaculture as the world’s largest farm production for the first time in history, according to the Earth Policy Institute. The figures coincide with a Senate proposal to study aquaculture policy: “When you do not have legislation that even defines you, it is not clear what the roles and responsibilities are.”
The Department of Fisheries is condemning Greenland for increasing its wild Atlantic salmon catch. Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield said he was “disappointed” — though analysts noted Canada has not recently taken any precautionary measures to limit its own harvest.
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition: “Delicate daffodils emerge in a world of innocence, purity. Golden hearts and fragile build; captured on canvas, immortalized in poetry. Along hidden trails or Parliament Hill, they are here to beautify our public life…”
A union has won a Supreme Court battle over random workplace tests to see if employees have been drinking. In a 6-3 decision, justices ruled that Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd. went too far in trying to force a Saint John mill worker to take a breathalyzer test. The employee was a teetotaller who had not tasted liquor in years, the Court heard.
Frozen Florida orange juice, Vermont maple syrup and Washington State apples will be hit with a 100% surtax in a simmering trade dispute with the U.S. The Department of Finance detailed specific American goods that face retaliatory tariffs in a cross-border war over meat labeling: “They were content to do nothing while we suffered.”
Military commanders are marking the last troop deployments to Afghanistan with assurances the country’s economy is “flourishing”. Yet members of the Commons defence committee said unanswered questions remain, including why the army concealed years of research that showed Afghans rated the mission a failure: “Where are we going?”
