Cabinet promises quick approval of a European trade pact with unspecified aid for Dairy Farmers of Canada, says Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. The treaty would see farmers face a sharp increase in dairy imports: “We are focused on swift ratification”.
A National Historic Site is a fake, according to documents released through Access To Information. An Ontario monument purporting to commemorate the 17th century campsite of French explorers is historically inaccurate – and a federal agency has known of the deception for fifty years, records show: “This site is, in all likelihood, not what it was said to be”.
A parliamentary committee warns the government may face lawsuits over a 2015 bill allowing cabinet to rewrite regulations without open scrutiny. The bill, dubbed a “sleeper” by one MP, ended a practice dating from 1841 that required all new federal regulations to be plainly disclosed: “I don’t think it’s for Joe Citizen to have to hire a lawyer”.
Mexico now has twice Canada’s share of the auto parts export market into the United States, say finance department memos. The files released through Access To Information follow a forecast that Mexican auto production will double the Canadian share of the North American market by 2020: ‘We’re relatively stagnant’.
A federal investigation confirms an employee of an unnamed bank snooped through a depositor’s personal financial records in breach of an Act of Parliament, but was never fired. Victims of privacy breaches are left to sue for damages, a legal analyst said: “For most people it’s not worth it”.
Three men; three friends.
Ottawa to host the Three Amigos summit
this June.
Perhaps the last of its kind for a little
while.
Next year,
a new president steps into the
Oval Office.
Whether Clinton or Trump,
there goes the
amigos.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
A hastily-passed federal law that forced an end to a 2011 Canada Post lockout was unconstitutional, an Ontario judge has ruled. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers described the judgment as far-reaching. Parliament has enacted back-to-work legislation seven times since 1994: “This should send a message”.
Cabinet will ratify a child labour code that would force amendments to workplace standards in at least one province. Ministers passed an executive order to have Canada ratify a code 43 years after it was adopted by the International Labour Organization: “Tragic deaths have occurred”.
Environmentalists have lost a bid to see risk assessments on an expanded nuclear plant. The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge of what advocates called a dangerous precedent for future environmental reviews: “It really makes you wonder”.
The 3,300-page Income Tax Act is now so complex it would take 59 hours to read cover to cover, says the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Advocates appealed for a tax simplification program: “I don’t even do my own taxes anymore”.
Natural Resources Canada has funding but no final program to see drivers buy electric cars and other alternative vehicles. Staff said plans are “being designed”, but would not commit to electrifying cabinet’s own fleet of 90 chauffeured cars for ministers and deputies: “There is no program, no plan; it is all optics – very expensive optics”.
Four Canadian cities are on a federal housing watch amid “strong evidence of problematic conditions”, says CMHC. Cities included Toronto, Calgary – and Saskatoon, a finding dispute by the city’s mayor: “I wouldn’t say that at all”.
The Supreme Court is taking a pass on an impaired driving appeal six months after judges upheld automatic roadside suspension laws. The court declined to hear from a British Columbia driver who challenged his suspension after disputing evidence in the case: “The state can punish you in ways other than sending you to prison”.
Federal managers should ensure a “civil workplace” following research that 2 in 10 government employees experienced rude or offensive incidents, says an executives’ association. Most blamed bosses for bad behaviour: “Watch your manners”.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled it will not hear general complaints from consumers’ advocates on behalf of air passengers. The decision narrowing the scope of investigations pre-empts a cabinet decision on a statutory review of the Canada Transportation Act: “This is terrible”.
