Canada should not shrink from controversy in commemorating historical figures, says the chair of the Historic Sites & Monuments Board. The agency approved a plaque for former governor general John Buchan, a Nazi appeaser described by one Canadian critic as virulently anti-Semitic: “I think it is important to step back.”
Conservative and New Democrat MPs will attempt to amend a cabinet bill that tightens disclosure of public records. Cabinet had promised in a 2015 Ministerial Mandate letter that federal records should be open by default: “I have bad news.”
Most Quebecers have never heard of a provincial aid agency though it opened 12 years ago, says new research. The office of Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions has 139 staff and a $37 million annual budget: “The agency’s mission is very poorly known.”
Government attorneys have filed another federal lawsuit to recover public funds required to clean up a derelict vessel. One MP said Parliament must pass a law to manage environmental hazards in harbours nationwide: “All of this is at taxpayers’ expense.”
Health Canada is urging families to “talk to your teens about cannabis”, and hiring bloggers to participate in a winter social media campaign on marijuana education. Parliament has yet to pass a cabinet bill repealing a ban on recreational cannabis use: “We still have to vote on it.”
Poor people are so intimidated by the Canada Revenue Agency they’d sooner forego benefits than file a yearly tax return, says federal research. The study followed an appeal from Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier to simplify forms: ‘It elicits feelings of fear, skepticism and concern.’
The Senate yesterday opened debate on a bill promising to bar political meddling at Statistics Canada. Three former chief statisticians have criticized the bill as inadequate: “Canadian legislation has been among the worst in the developed world.”
Cabinet says a breach of the Privacy Act on a government website was an honest mistake. The Privacy Commissioner yesterday disclosed the site that invited visitors to complete an anonymous questionnaire in fact tracked users’ IP addresses through Facebook: “We’ll make sure that privacy is at the very top of our list.”
Natural Resources Canada says owners of older homes should be subject to first-ever retroactive “energy-ready codes” by 2022. Members of the Senate energy committee warned homeowners would be forced to pay staggering renovation costs: “For some people it will be crippling.”
Air fares will rise with a national carbon tax, says the Air Transport Association of Canada. The Association yesterday told the Commons finance committee the levy, to be introduced in 2018, will also drive business to tax-free jurisdictions in the United States: “It’s another blow.”
Senators have endorsed a committee report to ban junk food advertising to Canadians under 17. The author of a bill promoting the ad ban called it a “long and arduous task” amid protests from marketers, restaurateurs and food manufacturers.
Canada averages more than 12,000 house fires every year resulting in 170 deaths and 1,300 injuries. Statistics Canada yesterday detailed findings of a pilot project to develop a national fire information database: ‘There is a pressing need for this.’
Senators are being urged to quickly pass a private Liberal bill designating Remembrance Day a legal federal holiday. Storekeepers and the Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion have opposed the bill: “This wording is an important symbol.”
An appeal court has upheld a ruling that municipalities may charge commercial ratepayers for services they don’t actually use. The decision came in the case of a small Ontario factory overcharged on wastewater fees: “It would have opened up a huge can of worms.”
Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould says a July 1, 2018 deadline to legalize marijuana is firm and must be met. Police, municipalities, property owners and employers have appealed to the Commons health committee for time to repeal a 1923 ban on recreational marijuana: “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
