The Senate last night by a vote of 52 to 29 passed into law a bill to make Canada only the second country after Uruguay to legalize recreational marijuana. Opponents predicted quick court challenges: "We certainly don’t want to bring confusion to this at all."
Auditor General Michael Ferguson yesterday described the $1 billion Phoenix Pay System failure as a stain on the federal government. The bungled program illustrates a mania for civil service box-checking instead of problem-solving, Ferguson told the Commons public accounts committee: "What were the root causes?"
A Health Canada spot check of cross-border pharmaceutical shipments identified 25 percent were fake, and another 60 percent were unfit for sale. The findings were based on thousands of shipments intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency in a single week-long period last September: "This is alarming."
The Commons health committee yesterday recommended new regulations on the sale of caffeinated alcohol drinks. The proposed reforms follow the death of a Québec schoolgirl: "Ask the producers: What exactly are you trying to do?"
A 19th century law against blasphemous libel is outdated and should be repealed, scholars have told the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee. The Criminal Code provision was last used to prosecute a film distributor over the 1979 Monty Python production Life Of Brian: "This offence is obsolete."
The Senate has passed a workplace anti-harassment bill for 895,000 employees in federally-regulated jobsites including Parliament Hill. Third Reading followed secret testimony by Hill employees at a closed-door hearing of the Senate human rights committee: 'It's a very important moment in history.'
Public officials have pulled strings to get Peace Tower flags for a governor of New Jersey, the widow of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, and employees of the Department of Public Works, according to Access To Information records. The official public waiting list for the coveted flags is 74 years’ long: “I will need that flag.”
Transport Canada currently has only 25 inspectors trained to audit railway safety management plans, according to an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons. The department had pledged stricter audits following the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster: "We have a lot of worries over this."
The Commons languages committee yesterday demanded millions in immediate federal advertising for beleaguered community papers. The appeal follows a 71 percent decline in government ads placed in minority language weeklies: "The federal government has neglected its responsibilities."
A Tax Court judge has dismissed a five-figure claim by a wine connoisseur for the value of vintage labels donated to a food bank fundraiser. The true value of wine is no more complex than putting a price on a snowsuit, the Court ruled: "It appears very clear."
Transport regulators have denied compensation to a Muslim Canadian who cancelled Air Canada flights for fear of being stranded in the U.S. by an Executive Order. Parliament on March 29 passed a bill mandating Canada’s first statutory compensation for air passengers: "We will move quickly."
The Department of Health has gone on a hiring blitz in anticipation of legal cannabis, according to Access To Information records. The department spent millions on new staff to license and monitor marijuana sales: "This is the tip of the iceberg."
MPs are expressing frustration after Deputy Public Works Minister Marie Lemay pled ignorance of key details in the Phoenix Pay System failure, expected to cost taxpayers $1 billion. Lemay in testimony at the Commons public accounts committee said “I wasn’t there” seven times: "I remain underwhelmed, Madam."
Government agencies went on an Amazon shopping spree in the dying hours of the last fiscal year, according to newly-disclosed accounts. So-called “March Madness” sees federal departments rush to spend unused funds before the expiry of the fiscal year at midnight each March 31: "Many expenses do occur at the end of the fiscal year."
A majority of Canadians complain that “too many minority groups are seeking special treatment these days”, according to in-house research by the Privy Council Office. The findings followed earlier federal surveys that concluded nearly 6 in 10 would exempt citizenship to children born here based on the immigration status of their parents: "I feel like I no longer know what it means to be Canadian."
