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."
Cabinet changes to the Statistics Act will ensure researchers’ independence, says Canada’s Chief Statistician. Two chiefs have resigned in the past seven years in protest over government policy: 'The bill now removes any kind of doubt."
Twenty dollars for lunch is plenty in claiming business tax deductions, a Tax Court judge has ruled. The decision came in the case of a St. John’s businessman who claimed the equivalent of $33 for business lunches: "Anything beyond $20 per day for lunch would be unreasonable."
Alberta for generations was famous for mountains, rodeos, Mormonism, football, Ukrainian culture, meatpacking and Social Credit. Say “Alberta” today and any focus group replies, “oil”. That’s no accident, writes Prof. Geo Takach of Royal Roads University. From the 1947 oil strike at Leduc Number One, “resource extraction became heroic”. Alberta’s very identity was intertwined with oil sands production, for better and worse.
Tar Wars documents this modern cultural phenomenon. Takach calls it framing: “The concept of framing has roots in the disciplines of psychology and psychiatry. When we frame something, we make meaning of it as we locate, perceive, identify and label it.”
A whistleblower fired after alleging misconduct at Employment Canada says she was left penniless and unemployable. Members of the Commons government operations committee yesterday cited other “horrific cases” of Canadians ruined for exposing federal wrongdoing: “Whistleblowers are ethical and yet they get penalized.”
Cabinet should modify but not repeal 2012 Conservative amendments to the Navigation Protection Act, says a panel of MPs. The Commons transport committee objected to wholesale rejection of revisions that narrowed environmental assessments: "It will be a much better process."
Farm groups and transport companies are protesting tougher animal welfare regulations, the first revisions in 40 years. Nearly 1.6 million poultry and livestock die in transit each year in Canada, by official estimate: 'It's very akin to human beings traveling.'
