A Conservative MP yesterday said he was hospitalized for handshaking after suffering a virulent infection. MP Len Webber (Calgary Confederation) told his story at a Commons health committee hearing on antimicrobial resistance: “I went to hell and back.”
Canadian insurers seek a ban on new home construction and redevelopment on flood plains. Executives yesterday told the Senate energy committee that reckless building practices have left taxpayers to compensate flood victims: “Right now it’s a mess.”
A Commons committee yesterday proposed a federal law to sanction fines for refusal to provide services in French. The chair of the official languages committee dismissed any comparison to Québec’s language police: “Who pays for all this stuff?”
Senators yesterday struggled with a Conservative bill to prohibit foreign lobbyists from financing campaign-related activities. One legislator warned time is short if Parliament is to pass the bill before a 2019 election: “We need to do something.”
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly yesterday said cabinet is committed to strengthening local news as “critical to our democracy”. Joly made no comment on a publishers’ request that federal agencies redirect advertising from Google and Facebook to Canadian newspapers and periodicals: “Many publications are going to die.”
Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault yesterday said federal departments are already using a cabinet bill to deny legitimate public requests for records. Parliament has not passed the legislation: “This is the tip of the iceberg.”
The Department of Public Works will not detail a promised deadline to revive a Depression-era Fair Wages Policy repealed by Parliament five years ago. The law, introduced by then-Conservative Prime Minister Richard Bennett in 1935, was repealed following lobbying by non-union contractors: “I don’t have details.”
Federal lawyers have lost another Court challenge of Canada Student Loan repayments under bankruptcy law. A St. John’s Court waived a $54,930 debt for a student who’d made payments of $279: “There is no point.”
Transport Canada is only now electronically compiling tens of thousands of environmental reports filed by marine shippers. The department nine years ago was faulted for failing to enforce regulations on ballast water from ocean vessels: “This backlog is a concern because it provides information for scientists.”
The Department of Agriculture in a draft report says researchers should examine insects as part of the nation’s diet. One Canadian cricket rancher said powdered insects are gaining popularity as industrial feed and supermarket additives: ‘It tastes like food.’
Employment Canada yesterday reported a 50 percent non-compliance rate in worksite inspections of employers who hire migrant workers. Staff told the Commons public accounts committee that breaches of regulations were commonplace, though all inspections were pre-arranged: “This does not look good on you or the department.”
A federal labour board has cited the Canada Border Services Agency for age discrimination. The Agency was ordered to pay $25,000 for its “humiliating” treatment of a longtime employee: “It was based on a stereotyped view unsupported by the facts.”
The Commons health committee will conduct hearings on national drinking water guidelines. Environmental groups have repeatedly faulted regulators for failing to monitor tap water for dozens of pollutants: “You might start to focus on some pesticides and pharmaceuticals that we see in source water.”
Shippers say a cabinet bill to limit Pacific coast oil tanker traffic may breach a United Nations treaty. The cabinet bill restricts tankers carrying more than 12,500 tonnes of crude oil from anchoring or unloading on the northern British Columbia coast: “This legislation sets a precedent.”
Two Senate bills have survived a cabinet challenge. Commons Speaker Geoff Regan yesterday ruled the bills – including one opposed by the Department of Public Safety – should proceed to debate and votes: “These bills may continue.”
