Cabinet should be stripped of its automatic veto over new licensing of interprovincial pipeline projects, says the Senate transport committee. Senators yesterday said pipeline approvals were too politicized: “We want to build pipelines.”
Senators are protesting a cabinet bill to exempt banks from provincial consumer protection laws. Legislators warned bank-friendly amendments will weaken customers’ rights. MPs last night passed the bill by a vote of 168 to 129: “Certainly the banks will love this.”
Foreign investors have attempted illegal purchases of Prairie farmland using local agents as fronts, says Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister. The testimony last night at the Senate agriculture committee came as lawmakers consider U.S.-style regulations to monitor foreign investment in farmland: “We’ve pretty well stopped any underground foreign transactions.”
Employees at three federal agencies quietly billed taxpayers more than $13,000 for GoodLife gym memberships in the past four months, records show. A budget line item described the spending as “corporate wellness”.
Senators have agreed to hold committee hearings on a bill to ban food ads targeting children under 13. One legislator cautioned the bill could have a far-reaching impact: “Do you know how much revenue YTV is going to lose as a result of this?”
Food prices increases will more than double the national inflation rate next year, predicts a Dalhousie University study. Price hikes could average up to 5 percent due to uncertainty over energy costs, said the research: “We are looking at higher energy prices and our currency as being problematic.”
The Senate last night gave Second Reading to a bill raising Canada Pension Plan premiums and benefits. “Workers and business owners are worried about this bill,” said one Conservative legislator.
Federal consumer protection for bank customers is weak and almost incestuous, the Senate banking committee has been told. Witnesses targeted the Financial Consumer Agency, a panel that draws 90 percent of its funding from financial institutions and hasn’t issued a decision in 17 months: “The consumer is a stranger to you until he files a complaint.”
Federal departments and agencies in the past year spent $4 million on media and management coaching, hairdressers and cosmetics, according to accounts. MPs questioned the budget priority: “We’ve seen exorbitant expenses.”
A bill to proclaim November 11 a national legal holiday is back in Commons committee for the second time in two years. MPs yesterday gave Second Reading to the legislation, opposed by school boards and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business: “My bill is a modest measure.”
Federal policy on paid sick leave for 493,000 employees is under court scrutiny. One worker’s lawsuit follows Access To Information data showing a wide range on sick leave take-up by federal employees, from an average 6 to 15 days a year depending on the job.
More than 1.5 million birds and livestock die in transport each year, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Inspectors described the rate as intolerable, and proposed regulations for better care of farm animals shipped to processing plants: “Do I personally think regulations in Canada are adequate? No.”
Rewriting the national anthem with gender-neutral lyrics invites other edits of references to God and our native land, says a Conservative senator. A bill to revise the anthem faces ongoing opposition in the Senate from Conservative, Liberal and Independent legislators: ‘It is the first step to blanching it with political correctness.’
Poor service at Canada Revenue Agency is so commonplace that fielding complaints from constituents is nearly a full-time job, says an MP. Members of the Commons public accounts committee criticized the tax department following a damning audit: “We must point the finger.”
Only a national pharmacare program will save Canadians from ruinous costs of prescription drugs, the Commons health committee has been told. Health Minister Dr. Jane Philpott has pledged to “bend the curve” on prices, but detailed no program to date.
