The Commons yesterday gave Second Reading to a private Conservative bill threatening jail for animal rights protesters who trespass on farm property. A similar bill lapsed in the last Parliament: “There has to be a line in the sand.”
TV stations must clearly tell viewers the difference between news and advertising content, a national ombudsman ruled yesterday. The decision came in the case of a Montréal morning show that praised a sponsor’s product without clearly explaining the pitch was advertising: “It will be fine for you!”
A company implicated in an alleged national bread price-fixing scheme yesterday was fined $50 million after pleading guilty to breach of the Competition Act. The alleged conspiracy involving Canada Bread Co. and others was worth up to $5 billion, according to Court records: “We are doing everything in our power to pursue those who engage in price-fixing.”
The Commons Access To Information committee yesterday demanded sweeping reforms of federal censorship of public records. The system is broken, said Conservative MP John Brassard (Barrie-Innisfil, Ont.), chair of the committee: “The recommendations that are in this report are meant and designed to fix what is a broken system.”
Liberals on the House affairs committee yesterday grilled a reporter they blamed for the caucus resignation of MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.). MPs demanded unwritten details of a Global News story on Dong’s confidential contacts with Chinese envoys: “I stand by the story.”
Parliament must mandate disclosure of universities’ dealings with Huawei Technologies and other Chinese partners, the Commons science committee was told yesterday. “We need to stop these terrible deals,” testified one witness. “End them now.”
A first-ever bill to mandate bilingualism in the federally regulated private sector yesterday was signed into law. Bill C-13 An Act To Amend The Official Languages Act will “reverse the decline of French,” said Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor: “It’s a good day for official languages.”
Statistics Canada yesterday added the price of charcoal barbecues but removed DVD players from its benchmark inflation calculator. Revisions to the Consumer Price Index reflect changing times, said analysts: “Spending patterns change.”
Maxime Bernier, ex-foreign minister, last night lost a third bid for a seat in Parliament as leader of the People’s Party. Bernier lost by almost 15,000 votes in Portage-Lisgar, Man., one of four stand-pat byelections won by incumbent parties: “I’ll be back.”
Governor General Mary Simon burned through almost 25,000 litres of jet fuel to deliver a climate change speech in Finland, records show. Simon said the world must “act now” to save the planet: “What we do as stewards of the Arctic both Indigenous and non-Indigenous has a direct impact globally.”
There is no evidence retailers and wholesalers are profiteering from inflation, the Bank of Canada said yesterday. Research showed companies appeared to be passing on higher costs without suspicious markups: “The cumulative growth of markups of consumer-oriented firms was close to zero.”
Covid closures of churches, temples and mosques were a justifiable infringement on religious freedoms, the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. The province at the height of the pandemic limited attendance at weddings and funerals to five people: “Freedom of religion can be limited when the exercise of it can interfere with the rights of others.”
Cabinet yesterday denied the RCMP is investigating the Prime Minister’s Office over attempts to quash a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin Group Incorporated. Police in a letter to the advocacy group Democracy Watch said an investigation was ongoing: ‘They were hounding me and my staff.’
Millions of unsafe vehicles are on Canadian roads due to an odd gap in federal regulations, says the Department of Transport. It counted up to 6.6 million “unsafe vehicles” driven by unwitting owners: “Yes, there is always room for improvement.”
Immigration of African francophones is “crucial” to saving French in Canada, says Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge. “We need to recruit where there are pools of French speakers” like Mali and the Ivory Coast, he testified at the Commons languages committee: “It is clear the future of French is found in Africa.”
