Cabinet yesterday resigned itself to a Court challenge of its bill on environmental impact assessments of energy projects. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna dismissed an Alberta claim the bill is unconstitutional: “It’s not just industry groups we listened to.”
The Liberal caucus yesterday tabled a motion to put the Commons on a four-day work week. A similar 2017 proposal to end Friday sittings prompted protests it would make cabinet 20 percent less accountable: “That is one less day on which the government has to stand and answer questions.”
Federal heritage programs to preserve the nation’s historic buildings are unsustainable, the Commons public accounts committee was told yesterday. Parks Canada failed three audits in 16 years for inadequate care of heritage properties: “We’re kidding ourselves here.”
The Senate social affairs committee yesterday voted to impose a deadline to remove accessibility barriers nationwide – by 2040. The twenty-one year deadline was better than none, said senators: “I really hope the government will accept this.”
The workings of illegal immigrant smuggling rings have been detailed in Federal Court. Evidence showed in one case, migrants paid from $1,000 to $15,000 for help in sneaking across the Canada-U.S. border: “It is implausible.”
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday told a Commons subcommittee on sports-related concussions that fighting in the league is at a 54-year low and remains a “tiny, tiny part of the game”. Bettman dismissed an outright fight ban as unpopular: “It’s what the players tell us.”
A federal agency spent nearly $5 million on an asbestos museum after urging jobless Québec miners to consider tourism as a money-maker. The museum at Thetford Mines, Que. draws mixed reaction in TripAdvisor reviews: “Boring.”
The Commons last night voted 160 to 134 to kill a bill curbing predatory practices by credit card companies. The bill’s Conservative sponsor said few Canadians are aware of methods used by card issuers to hike interest collections: “I do not think that is fair.”
Cabinet yesterday proposed regulations mandating environmental assessments of new wind farms and commercial airport runways, but not fracking or oil sands subject to emissions caps. Environmental groups called the proposal ludicrous: “The world is watching.”
Health Canada yesterday acknowledged new packaging rules will do little to lower tobacco use. Regulations mandating the sale of cigarettes in plain brown boxes stripped of manufacturers’ logos take effect February 7, 2020: “It is difficult.”
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna’s senior policy analyst on climate change yesterday acknowledged a ‘friendship’ with the executive director of a group seeking federal climate change funding. Clare Demerse did not comment: ‘They are friends socially.’
Airlines yesterday told the Commons transport committee a proposed privatization of airport screening is rushed, and may result in higher costs for travelers. Executives protested the measure was inserted into a 392-page budget bill without notice: “We all know what that means.”
The Prime Minister’s chief of staff Katie Telford faces questioning in a civil lawsuit alleging bad faith in the treatment of a cabinet appointee. Ontario Superior Court dismissed an attempt by federal lawyers to shield Telford from the $250,000 claim.
A fifth province yesterday appealed to the Senate energy committee to rewrite or kill a cabinet oil and gas bill. “It’s very hard not to conclude this bill is a no-pipeline bill,” said New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs.
The Senate ethics committee yesterday recommended a six-month suspension for a legislator accused of posting racist mail on her website. Senator Lynn Beyak (Non-Affiliated, Ont.), a former Rainy River realtor, did not comment: “The committee sincerely hopes Senator Beyak will swiftly comply.”
