Cabinet is rolling back Conservative changes to census-taking but will maintain a little-used provision of the Statistics Act that threatens scofflaws with prosecution. Statistics Canada has described the jail sanction as pointless: “The law is the law”.
A new Parliament is expected to quickly repeal a law that would freeze cabinet pay and departmental operating budgets in case of a deficit. Cabinet has said it will run in the red in 2016 following previous Conservative claims of a paper-thin $1.4 billion surplus this year: ‘If Keynesian economics worked we wouldn’t have any debt right now’.
The fisheries department is seeking whether to harmonize aquaculture rules with the U.S., where regulators complain “negative public perceptions” have harmed industry growth. The department yesterday said it wants a “very thorough and comprehensive” review of American regulations.
Air Canada has lost another court judgment over the closure of aircraft maintenance shops in two provinces. The Québec Court of Appeal said the closures breached federal law: “There were 2,600 jobs affected”.
Canada Revenue Agency has lost a key court battle over tax audits of multinationals. A federal judge ruled auditors could not compel a company to produce custom documents on far-flung subsidiaries from Cyprus to the Guernsey Islands: “That which does not exist cannot be produced”.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today named a 30-member cabinet that maintains a department of amateur sport, but stops short of reviving a stand-alone ministry of consumer affairs disbanded as an austerity measure in 1995.
A majority of cabinet members, 17, are from Ontario and Québec. Atlantic Canada, which gave Liberal candidates swept all 32 ridings in the October 19 election, four MPs were named to cabinet. Other representation saw two Albertans appointed as the first Liberal MPs elected in the province since 1968. New ministers are:
BAINS, Navdeep Singh – Minister of Innovation, Science & Economic Development: the former financial analyst for Ford Motor Co. is newly-elected in Mississauga-Malton, Ont.;
BENNETT, Dr. Carolyn – Minister of Indigenous & Northern Affairs: the MP for Toronto-St. Paul’s had been Liberal Aboriginal affairs critic since 2011
BIBEAU, Marie-Claude – Minister of International Development: a longtime staffer with the Canadian International Development Agency, Bibeau was newly elected in Compton-Stanstead, Que.;
BRISON, Scott – President of the Treasury Board: the seven-term MP for Kings-Hants, N.S. had been Liberal finance and revenue critic;
CARR, James – Minister of Natural Resources: a former journalist and deputy Liberal leader in the Manitoba legislature, Carr is newly elected in Winnipeg South Centre;
CHAGGER, Bardish – Minister of Small Business & Tourism: the former Liberal aide is newly elected in Waterloo, Ont.
DION, Stéphane – Minister of Foreign Affairs: as Liberal leader in 2008, the MP for Saint-Laurent, Que. led the party to win just 77 seats;
DUCLOS, Jean-Yves – Minister of Families, Children & Social Development: the former Laval economist was newly elected MP for Québec on October 19;
DUNCAN, Kirsty – Minister of Science: the three-term MP for Etobicoke, Ont. had been Liberal critic for sports;
FOOTE, Judy – Minister of Public Services & Procurement: the former broadcaster and MP for Bonavista is the sole Newfoundlander in cabinet;
FREELAND, Chrystia – Minister of International Trade: the MP for University-Rosedale, Ont. had been Liberal trade critic;
GARNEAU, Marc – Minister of Transport: the MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Que. and former Liberal leadership candidate remains the only former astronaut in Parliament;
GOODALE, Ralph – Minister of Public Safety: the nine-term MP from Regina-Wascana as finance minister in 2006 the last Liberal to balance a budget;
HAJDU, Patricia – Minister of Status for Women: newly-elected in Thunder Bay-Superior North, Hajdu is a former director of Thunder Bay’s largest homeless shelter;
HEHR, Kent – Minister of Veterans’ Affairs: a former Liberal member of the Alberta legislature, Hehr defeated incumbent Conservative MP Joan Crockatt, former managing editor of the Calgary Herald, in Calgary Centre on October 19; Hehr was among the first Liberals to win a federal seat in Calgary in 47 years;
LeBLANC, Dominic Leblanc – Government Leader in the House: the seven-term MP for Beauséjour, N.B. is the province’s sole cabinet member;
JOLY, Mélanie – Minister of Canadian Heritage: the former litigator and managing partner with Cohn & Wolfe of Montréal is newly elected in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Que.;
LEBOUTHILLIER, Diane – Minister of National Revenue: the former Gaspé social worker is newly elected in Gaspésie–Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Que.;
MacAULAY, Lawrence – Minister of Agriculture: a nine-term MP from Cardigan, P.E.I., MacAulay is the sole Islander in cabinet;
McCALLUM, John – Minister of Immigration: this is the fifth portfolio for the Liberal MP for Markham-Thornhill, Ont., who served as Minister of defence, veterans’ affairs, national revenue and natural resources in 2002 to 2006;
McKENNA, Catherine – Minister of Environment: a former trade lawyer, McKenna is newly elected in Ottawa Centre after defeating New Democrat foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar;
MIHYCHUK, Mary Ann – Minister of Employment & Labour: newly-elected in Kildonan-St. Paul, Man., Mihychuk is a former NDP Minister of Industry in the provincial legislature;
MONSEF, Maryam – Minister of Democratic Institutions: newly-elected in Peterborough, Ont., the Afghanistan-born MP is co-founder of the Red Pashmina Campaign to raise funds for Afghani girls;
MORNEAU, Bill – Minister of Finance: the former pension advisor to the Government of Ontario is newly-elected in Toronto Centre;
PHILPOTT, Jane – Minister of Health; the family physician defeated incumbent Paul Calandra, former parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, as newly-elected MP for Markham-Stouffville, Ont.;
QUALTROUGH, Carla – Minister of Sport: a former vice-chair of the British Columbia Worker’s Compensation Appeal Tribunal, Qualtrough defeated incumbent Revenue Minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay in Delta, B.C.;
SAIJAN, Harjit Singh – Minister of National Defence: a former winner of the Order of Military Merit, the newly-elected MP for Vancouver South served overseas as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan. Saijan is only the second defence minister in 30 years to have served with the military;
SOHI, Amarjeet Sohi – Minister of Infrastructure: a former Edmonton city councillor, Sohi is newly-elected MP for Edmonton Mill Woods;
TOOTOO, Hunter Tootoo – Minister of Fisheries & Oceans: the former Speaker of the territorial assembly defeated incumbent Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq in Nunavut;
WILSON-RAYBOULD, Jody – Minister of Justice and Attorney General; the former Crown prosecutor and Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations was newly elected in Vancouver Granville October 19.
By Staff 
The Department of Immigration is refusing comment on a program that’s seen banks collect millions in government-mandated deposits from foreign students. The Student Partners Program requires that students from India and China buy $10,000 guaranteed investment certificates from select banks before applying to study in Canada: ‘I do wonder how fair it is’.
New details of a remote Alberta pipeline accident underscore failings of a federal liability cap on operators, say environmental advocates. Substandard equipment led to a burst in a TransCanada Ltd. natural gas pipeline that blew a five-metre crater in the ground: “They got lucky”.
Parents of twins have struck out a second time in claiming discrimination under the Employment Insurance Act. A Vancouver mother lost her Federal Court bid to press a human rights claim for double benefits: ‘It’s one set of benefits per pregnancy’.
Cabinet’s new fisheries minister faces a federal lawsuit over old regulations on aquaculture. A British Columbia biologist is asking that a judge review cabinet powers on fish farming: “The Minister acted without authority”.
Federal investigators are again urging that Transport Canada mandate audio and video recorders in all locomotive cabs following another VIA Rail incident. Railway unions have cautioned the devices should not be open to misuse as surveillance devices by management: “This has gone on for years”.
Regulators must toughen restrictions on radioactive radon gas to protect public safety, says a coalition of health and environmental groups. It follows a 2014 proposal that cabinet offer a $3,000 tax credit to refit homes threatened with radon poisoning: “It is easy to forget about it because it has no smell, no taste”.
A small business tax cut was the most popular pre-election finance measure proposed by cabinet, newly-released government data show. It drew a warmer response in federal polling than claims of the first balanced budget in eight years: ‘Skepticism was related to the timing in an election year’.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo have created what they call a breakthrough in Canadian battery technology for use in devices from cellphones to electric cars. Rechargeable Waterloo batteries have double the lifespan of existing devices, authorities said: “If we can commercialize this it will really benefit Canada”.
The federal mortgage insurer citing “concerns” over a housing bubble is commissioning $125,000 in research on the 2008 collapse of the U.S. real estate market. CMHC said it needs greater understanding in “spotting problematic conditions”. It earlier rated three cities as having unsustainable prices: ‘Concerns are raised over the risk of overvaluation in the Canadian housing market’.
