Blacklock's Reporter

Parliament last night on a 165 to 131 vote approved in principle a cabinet bill waiving Air Canada’s liability for illegally transferring maintenance work out of the country. The Commons Liberal majority forced the Second Reading vote after cutting short debate. Cabinet denied rushing the bill to clear the way for new subsidies for Air Canada supplier Bombardier Inc.: ‘What other sweetheart deals are in store?’

The heritage department is reviewing its Own The Podium subsidy program in anticipation of the August 5 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The scrutiny follows disappointing results at the 2012 London Games that saw Canada finish behind Hungary and Ukraine: “This is a very important issue to me”.

Cabinet will not commit to reviving a popular home energy refit program cancelled in 2012 due to the costly number of applications. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said cabinet is “always looking for solutions” to climate change, but made no mention of reinstating the subsidy plan: ‘It’s not a trick question’.

A $400 million plan to privatize scores of Canada Border Services Agency land crossings is being endorsed by Conservatives. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has declined comment on the program quietly drafted by Agency management: “Just because it’s run by the government doesn’t mean it can’t be done better”.

Parliament must legislate pay equity as a statutory right, union executives have told a Commons special committee. MPs are to report by June 10 on a House motion to develop a proactive federal pay equity regime: “Equity is a right, not an interest”.

The RCMP is not a paramilitary group and should not be restricted from full collective bargaining, the Commons public safety committee has been told. Police delegates protested restrictions in a cabinet bill sanctioning a first-ever Mounties’ union: “This skews the whole process”.

MPs are speeding passage of an Air Canada concession bill. The Commons transport committee agreed to interrupt ongoing hearings on rail safety to report the bill by May 16. Members would not say if quick scrutiny was tied to cabinet consideration of $1.3 billion in subsidies sought by Air Canada contractor Bombardier Inc.: “Move this thing along”.

Public service executives suffer more stress than most Canadians with 1 in 4 reporting burnout, says a Treasury Board memo. The document obtained through Access To Information lamented that civil servants live in an age of disruption: “Government is struggling to keep up”.

A Crown corporation is being cited for illegally collecting six figures in fees from maritime shippers. The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority described the incident as a technical lapse and said it’s willing to repay the money: “It was what it was”.

The nation’s patchwork of drug insurance plans sees Canadians pay needlessly high costs for prescriptions, the Commons health committee has been told. MPs are studying the feasibility of a universal pharmacare plan though Health Canada has already vetoed the scheme this term: “At the end of the day it’s not free”.

An advocacy group funded in part by cigarette manufacturers is urging that cabinet take more steps to curb tobacco smuggling by First Nations. The National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco would not disclose what financing it accepts from corporate sponsors: “You’ll have to contact my members”.

The anti-trust Competition Bureau will not disclose how much it spent on a four-year investigation of Google Canada Corp. The Bureau yesterday dropped the case after conducting 130 interviews and reviewing thousands of pages of documents: “Are they big?”

Major League Baseball has not signed off on a private Commons bill to legalize Vegas-style sports betting in Canada. Protests from Toronto Blue Jays management effectively killed the bill in Senate hearings three years ago: “We have a choice”.

High prescription drug costs will rise under pending free trade agreements, says Health Canada. A senior official confirmed that Pacific and European trade pacts will see Canadians pay more for medicines: “That’s correct”.

A parliamentary committee is questioning regulators over ad hoc enforcement of the Fisheries Act. The panel heard virtually every municipal wastewater plant may be in technical breach of the law: ‘They take the view all human activity contravenes the Act and then it falls to them to decide which are worth prosecuting’.