Blacklock's Reporter

Changes to the Canada Elections Act without a referendum or other public ratification will invite a Supreme Court challenge, says a former provincial Liberal leader. MPs yesterday heard committee testimony that most Canadians surveyed want a referendum on election reforms: ‘Unilateral change might not be lawful’.

Health Canada regulations have stymied the country’s only clinical study of whether vaping is effective in curbing tobacco use, says a researcher. Electronic cigarettes are largely unregulated: “This area is really crying out for research”.

Cabinet is being petitioned to introduce a pay equity bill in 2017 as recommended by a Commons committee. Two hundred prominent women yesterday asked the Prime Minister to comply with the committee deadline: “What happens if that report becomes inconvenient?”

The heritage department spent nearly $55,000 interviewing Canadians on whether they enjoy Christmas lights and tobogganing. Both are popular, said newly-released federal surveys: ‘It’s like asking if you favour cotton candy and unicorns’.

A forestry company has lost a bid to turn a defamation lawsuit against Greenpeace into an “inquiry” of the group’s fundraising and protest methods. Resolute Forest Products Inc. sued for $7 million alleging environmentalists maliciously interfered in its sale of paper products: “If calling myself a radical helps the cause, go for it”.

MPs underestimate the benefits of Canada’s current election system and should be wary of sweeping reforms, a Commons committee has been told. Cabinet vows to adopt unspecified amendments to the Elections Act by the next campaign in 2019: “Canadian democracy already functions”.

Cabinet would be compelled to promote co-operatives and allow existing boards to qualify for federal grants under a private Liberal bill in the Commons. The legislation follows data that 25 percent of legacy co-operatives see no annual growth: ‘Very few business schools educate Canadians about co-ops’.

A federal judge is being asked to settle a human rights dispute over municipalities’ right to hire and fire. Lawyers sued to block a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal investigation of a claim of workplace discrimination: “We can’t create a position”.

A national monument to Cold War victims is again being scaled back with completion delayed till 2019. The Department of Canadian Heritage yesterday launched a design competition for a more modest memorial with reduced budget. Original plans called for 9/11-style beacon lighting and an 800-seat amphitheatre: ‘It is dignified’.

A national referendum on electoral reform could divide the country, says former New Democrat leader Ed Broadbent. The 80-year old Broadbent yesterday told a Commons committee Canada’s current Elections Act “totally distorts the democratic will”.

MPs should enact a migrant workers’ bill of rights and permit farm workers to unionize, says Unifor. A Commons committee report on temporary foreign workers is due once MPs return from summer recess September 19: “We could not sit by”.

Media coverage of unproven criminal charges is not grounds for a human rights claim, a tribunal has ruled. The judgment came over news clipping naming a police officer charged but never convicted of 26 offences: “Media leaked information”.

Retroactive cuts to federal union wage settlements are lawful. The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge of a 2009 austerity law that capped increases for government employees: “It is acceptable legislation”.

Canada Post reports a pre-tax profit of $45 million for the first half of the year. Management said a threatened lockout of workers appeared to have “minimal impact” on revenues.