The Prime Minister and cabinet vow action after Air Canada was cited for breaching bilingualism law. A federal investigator in a rare special report depicted the airline as a scofflaw under the Official Languages Act: “It’s unacceptable”.
Health Canada says it can’t account for fluctuating rates of bee mortality blamed by apiarists on use of farm pesticides. A department review of growers’ chemicals restricted in the European Union is ongoing till 2018: “We don’t know”.
Cabinet will review an RCMP union bill in the face of Senate protest, says Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. Members of the Senate national security committee yesterday flayed the bill as a weak half-measure, and described RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson as gutless for failing to attend hearings in person: “The Commissioner is wrong”.
Newly-released research shows Conservatives were cautioned economic worries were “top of mind” for voters immediately prior to the 2015 general election. One prominent ex-Tory blamed the party’s loss on distractions over citizenship and security: “We’d gone down the wrong campaign road”.
Environment Canada uses discretion in enforcing a federal ban on pollution in fish habitat, says a senior manager. A parliamentary committee questioned regulators over compliance with the Fisheries Act by nearly a thousand municipal sewage systems nationwide: ‘They have to deposit somewhere’.
Liberal MPs are joining New Democrats in demanding the Canadian Coast Guard federalize the multi-million dollar cleanup of derelict boats. Coast Guard management has warned of significant environmental costs: “There are over 600”.
Regulators count scores of train derailments in national parks, including 19 in the past three years. Cabinet said it had taken steps to mitigate risks to wildlife and endangered fish under the Species At Risk Act: “Parks Canada has engaged with CP Rail to research and understand rail transportation impacts”.
The Supreme Court for the second time in two years has ruled Parliament breached Canadians’ right to solicitor-client privilege. Justices ruled even tax auditors cannot compel lawyers to disclose confidential information: “Government has been trying to chip away at it”.
A national plan on social housing should include a program to see renters buy their own homes, says a Conservative senator. Cabinet has promised to consult Canadians on development of a housing strategy: ‘It’s a constant treadmill we’re subsidizing’.
MPs should introduce an incremental pharmacare program with subsidies for Canadians who earn the least and spend the most on prescriptions, says the Canadian Medical Association. Cabinet has already vetoed any national program as too costly: “We must do better”.
A Conservative bill to grant school boards 100 percent GST rebates is accurately costed at under $200 million a year, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. The Commons finance committee requested the research: “I know firsthand what this money would mean to our schools”.
Health department monitoring of chemicals in cosmetics is “pretty much reactive” and should be tightened, says Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand. The Commissioner urged regulators to caution consumers that manufacturers’ ingredients are not federally tested prior to sale: “Health Canada did not regularly test”.
Ottawa City Council
legalizes Uber and other ride-sharing
companies.
To ease the burden on conventional taxis,
the City eliminates the standard for cab size
and
increases maximum vehicle age to 10 years.
It’s logical.
Customers have abandoned taxis
seeking a friendlier, more reliable, and higher quality
service;
surely they will flock back
if only the cars were smaller,
older.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
Cabinet faces its first Senate challenge to a major bill after lawmakers vowed to amend legislation allowing RCMP to unionize. Even the Senate sponsor of Bill C-7 described the measure as flawed: ‘It continues the paramilitary mindset of the RCMP’.
Regulators should “protect passengers” from random airport improvement fees, says the author of a statutory review of the Canada Transportation Act. Airport authorities collect millions in fees without scrutiny, said former industry minister David Emerson: “Fees have been growing with mad abandon”.
