Blacklock's Reporter

Any federal bill to legalize cannabis would breach three international treaties, admits Health Minister Dr. Jane Philpott. The Minister’s remarks yesterday in Senate Question Period confirmed a 2016 parliamentary report that legalizing marijuana violates global treaties dating from 1961: “We would not want to put Canadians’ travel in jeopardy.”

A third of Canadians say the country is letting in too many immigrants, according to in-house polling by Citizenship Canada. The research was done as cabinet proposed to raise immigration quotas to 300,000 this year: “Do you feel there are too many?”

A federal labour board has upheld the firing of a government employee who lied about her father’s death to spend paid bereavement leave on a Mexican beach. The complainant was sunk by Facebook postings of her sun holiday: “Gonna be a tequila sunrise.”

Canada is weak in enforcing intellectual property rights, a Senate Liberal forum was told yesterday. The remarks echoed 2016 criticism by Apple Inc. that Canada trails the U.S. and European Union in protecting trademarks, patents and copyrights: “We are doing a poorer job than a banana republic.”

Senators are seeking internal audits of Canada Student Loan losses following another large write-off of uncollectable debts. Write-offs cost taxpayers $178.4 million this year, following $176 million in losses the previous year: “We’re looking at performance and results.”

Legislation to end an old rivalry over which city can claim rights as the cradle of Confederation is bound for Senate committee hearings. The bill would write Charlottetown’s claim into federal law: “We can have a lot of pride in this.”

Atlantic Canada faces a disastrous demographic bubble that may leave the region in debt and perpetual stagnation, say economists. Witnesses yesterday told the Senate national finance committee the region’s challenges are dire: “I don’t think anybody knows what to do.”

The fate of a private bill to fix DNA privacy rights in federal law is uncertain, says a Commons sponsor. Cabinet has urged that MPs strip away most provisions of the bill in a free vote: “The amendments are dangerous.”

Parliament should stem a decline in private sector unionization rates, says a Liberal senator. Legislators yesterday urged repeal of two Conservative union bills described by cabinet as anti-labour: “Unions are losing that delicate balance.”

Mounties have large heads, according to a new order for the RCMP’s famous Stetsons. Hat sizes are also typically larger in Western Canada, said one manufacturer: “What I have noticed is the younger generation has bigger heads.”

Parliament has spent billions on public works subsidies without any clear accounting of results, says the Senate national finance committee. Senators yesterday cited a “bewildering” array of infrastructure programs run through 31 separate federal agencies and departments: “Let’s keep it simple.”

The loss of NHL rights cost the CBC 62 percent of its entire English network ad revenues, say newly-released accounts. The figures confirm a 2016 Access To Information memo that detailed staggering losses after the CBC lost its monopoly on hockey broadcasts: “Additional money is unconscionable.”

Cabinet should devise a national program to replace lead utility lines including possible subsidies for refits, says a Liberal MP. The Commons infrastructure committee is to report by December 1 on proposals to counter the “number one environmental health issue for children under age 6.”

An appeal court has upheld a $314,000 judgment against a storekeeper who sold fake Chanel products. The award, one of the largest of its kind by a federal judge, comes as regulators are to review the effectiveness of a 2014 anti-piracy law: “Infringement was continuous and deliberate.”