MPs yesterday amended a genetics privacy bill, slowing passage of what would be the first federal legislation against DNA discrimination. The Commons justice committee unanimously approved a technical amendment to the bill: “It is going back to the Senate either way.”
A federal proposal to legalize marijuana is worrisome, says an official with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. Cabinet is due to release a report on new regulations by month’s end: “There are still consequences.”
Workers may be denied employment insurance benefits if fired for marijuana use, a federal judge has ruled. Cabinet is expected to set legal limits on cannabis in 2017 legislation to decriminalize the drug: “The Act does not define ‘misconduct’.”
Federal Court is being asked to rule on whether accommodating shift workers with young children is a human right. A single mother working as a cargo agent at Air Canada alleges she was fired for declining shift work to care for her 5-year old son: ‘They messed with the wrong person.’
Police need more tools to counter drug-impaired driving, the Senate legal affairs committee has been told. Senators yesterday reviewed a bill sanctioning roadside tests as cabinet took receipt of a Task Force report on legalization of marijuana: “This is going to be a mess.”
MPs by a vote of 209 to 87 last night passed a bill to raise Canada Pension Plan premiums and benefits. The finance department has acknowledged Canadians will see less take-home pay effective in 2019: ‘I know some are concerned about what it would mean to their paycheque.’
Statistics Canada will survey 50,000 families in the most intimate study yet on children’s health and lifestyles from eating habits to sex, home schooling and TV time. A pilot survey of children 12 years and younger is underway now, the agency said: “We need to understand this.”
Provinces should brace for more Mexican asylum seekers under new immigration rules that take effect today, says the Department of Immigration. Mexican nationals no longer require a visa to travel to Canada. The department estimated the change will cost all governments $61.7 million a year: ‘Claimants from Mexico may seek to exploit their new visa-free status.’
Parliament should promote a healthy national diet to curb obesity rates, a Liberal Senate Caucus forum has been told. Senators earlier approved a report proposing a tax on soda pop and other sugary drinks: “I think a tax needs a further push.”
Transport Canada for the fifth time in two years has been cited by a federal judge for improperly revoking airport security clearances. An Air Canada flight attendant with a “spotless record” was denied a security pass after RCMP questioned her husband’s business as a service manager for Harley-Davidson Canada: ‘It was a ‘maybe this or maybe that’ finding.’
The Commons public accounts committee has flayed a Crown corporation cited for poor management controls and ongoing deficits. MPs yesterday called the Atlantic Pilotage Authority an “old boys club” with directors’ conflicts of interest that are “almost incestuous”.
Cabinet will consider a CBC request to increase subsidies 35 percent on a promise to drop television advertising, says Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly. The CBC appeal follows a 69 percent decline in its TV ad revenues with the loss of lucrative NHL licensing rights. MPs protested any raise in CBC grants: ‘They blindsided everyone.’
Transport Canada is too close to auto lobbyists, says the Auditor General. Regulators privately consulted automakers on the cost and convenience of safety regulations without giving police, insurers or consumer groups the same privileged access, said an auditors’ report Oversight Of Passenger Vehicle Safety: “Manufacturers may have exercised disproportionate influence.”
A $9 billion cabinet tax bill has survived a Conservative challenge. Senate Speaker George Furey yesterday ruled senators could not now amend the bill originally passed by the Commons September 20: “Our power is limited.”
A National Research Council website to aid small business is strange, confusing and needlessly complex, says in-house research. The criticism is only the latest in a series of complaints over the Concierge program: “It’s all over the place.”
