Most Quebecers have never heard of a provincial aid agency though it opened 12 years ago, says new research. The office of Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions has 139 staff and a $37 million annual budget: “The agency’s mission is very poorly known.”
Government attorneys have filed another federal lawsuit to recover public funds required to clean up a derelict vessel. One MP said Parliament must pass a law to manage environmental hazards in harbours nationwide: “All of this is at taxpayers’ expense.”
Health Canada is urging families to “talk to your teens about cannabis”, and hiring bloggers to participate in a winter social media campaign on marijuana education. Parliament has yet to pass a cabinet bill repealing a ban on recreational cannabis use: “We still have to vote on it.”
Poor people are so intimidated by the Canada Revenue Agency they’d sooner forego benefits than file a yearly tax return, says federal research. The study followed an appeal from Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier to simplify forms: ‘It elicits feelings of fear, skepticism and concern.’
The Senate yesterday opened debate on a bill promising to bar political meddling at Statistics Canada. Three former chief statisticians have criticized the bill as inadequate: “Canadian legislation has been among the worst in the developed world.”
Cabinet says a breach of the Privacy Act on a government website was an honest mistake. The Privacy Commissioner yesterday disclosed the site that invited visitors to complete an anonymous questionnaire in fact tracked users’ IP addresses through Facebook: “We’ll make sure that privacy is at the very top of our list.”
Natural Resources Canada says owners of older homes should be subject to first-ever retroactive “energy-ready codes” by 2022. Members of the Senate energy committee warned homeowners would be forced to pay staggering renovation costs: “For some people it will be crippling.”
Air fares will rise with a national carbon tax, says the Air Transport Association of Canada. The Association yesterday told the Commons finance committee the levy, to be introduced in 2018, will also drive business to tax-free jurisdictions in the United States: “It’s another blow.”
Senators have endorsed a committee report to ban junk food advertising to Canadians under 17. The author of a bill promoting the ad ban called it a “long and arduous task” amid protests from marketers, restaurateurs and food manufacturers.
Canada averages more than 12,000 house fires every year resulting in 170 deaths and 1,300 injuries. Statistics Canada yesterday detailed findings of a pilot project to develop a national fire information database: ‘There is a pressing need for this.’
Senators are being urged to quickly pass a private Liberal bill designating Remembrance Day a legal federal holiday. Storekeepers and the Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion have opposed the bill: “This wording is an important symbol.”
An appeal court has upheld a ruling that municipalities may charge commercial ratepayers for services they don’t actually use. The decision came in the case of a small Ontario factory overcharged on wastewater fees: “It would have opened up a huge can of worms.”
Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould says a July 1, 2018 deadline to legalize marijuana is firm and must be met. Police, municipalities, property owners and employers have appealed to the Commons health committee for time to repeal a 1923 ban on recreational marijuana: “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
MPs are faulting an auto defect bill that fails to require Transport Canada to consult police, insurers or the public on safety issues. The Auditor General in a 2016 report criticized regulators for being too close to auto lobbyists: ‘It would have no bearing on many of the structural problems uncovered by the Auditor.’
The Department of Employment yesterday said it wants companies to hire more “under-represented” Canadians, but stopped short of detailing long-promised changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. An official told the Commons finance committee that hiring Indigenous people “remains of paramount importance”.
