Cabinet is expected to appoint a combat veteran as the Commons' $150,000-a year Sergeant-at-Arms for the first time since 1960. It follows MPs’ passage of a government bill granting veterans preference in public service hiring: 'Hiring a veteran is the smart thing to do'.
Cabinet must rewrite labour amendments after the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of an omnibus budget bill C-4 that passed two years ago. The legislation granted cabinet virtually unchecked powers to limit employees’ right to strike, similar to a 2008 Saskatchewan Act now ruled unlawful: "I don’t think you could have a stronger decision than this one".
Municipalities should privatize some policing services to control rising costs, says a Québec think tank. The analysis follows a Commons committee report that cautioned police costs forecast to reach $17 billion this year cannot be maintained: "You're opening a pretty serious can of worms".
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is abruptly postponing long-awaited revisions to safety regulations. The agency said it required more “feedback” from industry. The amendments follow the passage three years ago of a Safe Food For Canadians Act that promised streamlined rules and more scrutiny of processors: "We are taking a pause".
Parliament must restrict food advertising that targets young Canadians, advocates have told a Senate committee investigating obesity. Childhood obesity rates have tripled since 1985: "When was the last time you saw an advertisement for broccoli?”
Cabinet has suffered another blow at the Supreme Court as justices struck down legislation that limits the right to strike. The Court ruled 5-2 the right to withdraw services is constitutional and should be enshrined in the Charter: “It is indispensable”.
New air regulations should proceed despite industry complaints they’ll “cripple” regional and specialty carriers with higher costs, says Transport Minister Lisa Raitt. Changes to flight crew rules, the first since 1996, may be enacted within months, the Minister said: "There is an election coming".
Attorneys’ duty of client confidentiality and competition for fees pose a “real risk for money laundering”, says a confidential government report. The analysis cited small law firms in particular as “vulnerable” to handling proceeds of crime: "We are aware of instances".
The RCMP have purchased bitcoin in a bid to track the workings of the pseudo-currency, though police say they have not attempted any sting operations on black-market traders. Mounties testifying at the Senate banking committee said bitcoin should be monitored: 'Have you tried to buy illicit goods?'
A federal ruling that outlaws preferential telecom pricing by companies promoting their own wireless content strikes a blow at “monopolies”, says the Consumers' Association of Canada. Broadcast regulators ordered a halt to the practice that saw Bell Mobility Inc., Quebecor Media Inc. and Videotron discount their own app services at the expense of competitors: "They thought they could get away with it".
The Government of Alberta has lost a bid for a Supreme Court challenge of its own employees’ freedom of expression. Justices declined to hear the case in which the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees was told to post a court order on its website: "It makes sense".
Canadian real estate agents are prime targets for money laundering and “international organized crime groups”, says a confidential federal study. Research for the Financial Transactions & Reports Analysis Centre described realty as an unscrutinised cash channel for criminals with “no questions asked”: "Oversight is minimal".
A rewrite of federal job statistics reveals the Canadian economy created 35% fewer jobs last year than originally reported. Statistics Canada rewrote its data citing “re-evaluation of geographical boundaries” as the reason for the revision: "We try to provide our users with the best quality that we can".
MPs have unanimously approved Second Reading on a bill granting federal inspectors new powers to order repairs or force closures of unsafe rail crossings. The bill followed a 2007 near-fatality in Winnipeg: "Everything should be fine; we know it is not fine".
The CBC is straying from its mandate by “chasing advertisers” with pop programming, says one of the nation’s largest film producers. Executives with Entertainment One described the CBC as almost unique among public broadcasters in failing to make domestic films a staple of TV fare: 'They showed Toy Story 3; really?'
