A Senate panel last evening approved a private Conservative bill mandating prompt payment to subcontractors and tradespeople on public works. The legislation would counter abusive practices by large general contractors, senators said: “We had men in tears here talking about this problem.”
A Senate bill banning the capture and display of whales would criminalize research, claim Canada’s aquariums. Witnesses testifying at the Senate fisheries committee could not cite any peer-reviewed studies inspired by whales in captivity: “I don’t think I feel like a criminal.”
Police departments nationwide last year hired just enough new officers to fill ranks lost through attrition, says Statistics Canada research. Police salaries averaged $96,231: “Think about how much time it takes to do an investigation.”
Environment Canada in a secret memo admits it will not meet pollution targets with its $50 carbon tax. Rates must rise up to $300 per tonne – the equivalent of 70¢ a litre on gasoline – to lower greenhouse gas emissions, said the Access To Information document: “Impacts obviously depend on tax rates.”
Canada should mandate computer skills training for kindergartners, says an Access To Information report by the industry department. Schools must be “brought up to date” to prepare children for an automated workplace, the report said. The Canadian Teachers’ Federation did not comment: “Educators are not aligned on what skills are important.”
The Commons agriculture committee is faulting federal regulators for proposing to ban a common pesticide. MPs claimed a Health Canada review was incomplete and should be reconsidered: “They’ve set a terrible precedent here.”
The fate of a Liberal bill to rewrite O Canada is uncertain after a senior Liberal senator opposed gender-neutral lyrics as unnecessary. “I am an ardent feminist but I do not support this bill,” said Senator Joan Fraser (Liberal-Que.).
A federal report rates U.S. President Donald Trump a greater threat to Canadian exports than war or terrorism. Export Development Canada in its latest Country Risk Quarterly warns of “high impact” from any serious renegotiation of continental trade pacts: “We should not assume the worst.”
Taxpayers are paying nearly $1 million a year to maintain an aging warship acquired by Parks Canada, records show. Ongoing funding for the vessel, one of the agency’s least popular attractions, totaled $15.6 million even as Parks Canada cut essential maintenance for historic sites: “She offers Canadians a unique opportunity.”
The Department of Agriculture is urging that Canada sell more fresh water to China – by the bottle. The market pitch follows Parliament’s 2013 passage of a bill outlawing bulk sales of fresh water under threat of imprisonment and $6 million fines: ‘This is a resource grab.’
A federal judge has upheld a complaint of racial profiling against the Canada Border Services Agency. Government attorneys tried four times to overturn the finding of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal: ‘The officer was held to a very high standard.’
One in four Canadians pay no attention to energy ratings when buying appliances though a federal program promoting conservation has been in place for decades, says in-house research by Natural Resources Canada. The findings are unsurprising, said the Consumers Council of Canada: “Some good old-fashioned promotion wouldn’t hurt.”
The only Canadian employer suspended from hiring migrant workers has won a Federal Court ruling to have regulators reconsider the case. Advocates said the decision pointed to weaknesses in federal enforcement of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, slated for revisions this year: “The government isn’t doing its job.”
Parliament should mandate sex education in schools nationwide, the Commons health committee has been told. MPs are conducting hearings on the health impact of pornography, the first federal review of its kind since 1985: “I don’t start from the place that pornography is a toxic medium.”
Steel executives are appealing to MPs to adopt a Buy Canadian policy. Mill operators complained of running at half capacity while foreign steel is used in subsidized public works like the $4 billion Champlain Bridge at Montréal: “The bridge is 25 minutes from our facility.”
