Blacklock's Reporter

A contentious Conservative labour bill C-377 last evening survived its first test in the Senate on word the government aims to pass it within sixty days. Senators voted 42 to 28 to reject a motion to defeat the bill. Two Conservatives supported the motion declaring it “erroneous” and unconstitutional: “I don’t know the appetite yet for a flat-out mutiny”.

An Ottawa think tank accepted funding from the tobacco industry to finance, in part, a seminar on Aboriginal tobacco smuggling. The Macdonald–Laurier Institute acknowledged a portion of its budget is financed by cigarette manufacturers, but declined to name the amount: "I didn't organize the panel".

Canada Revenue was bilked of some $4.7 million in fraudulent claims under a crude tax dodge detailed in court documents. A Vancouver accounting firm is accused of forging millions of dollars in fake charity receipts and selling them to clients at 8¢ on the dollar: "I find it implausible".

A federal program that assigns Mounties to one-person foreign posts from Miami to Panama City should be reviewed for the first time in 11 years, say auditors. The RCMP Liaison Officer Program is intended to work with foreign police and Interpol in combatting crime: "The RCMP does not know".

A bid to “demote” Canada’s chief public health officer is drawing protest. Cabinet proposes to appoint a non-medical CEO of the Public Health Agency of Canada, with medical professionals reduced to an advisory role: "There may be all sorts of pressures to limit what you decide to say publicly".

Nearly 100,000 cartons containing millions of federal records have been warehoused by the Government of Canada without even being opened, auditors say. Investigators discovered the mystery boxes, some dating from 1890, in a routine audit of the federal agency mandated to keep records: "It's as puzzling to us as it is to you".

Unions are protesting a plan by railway management to install video cameras and voice recorders in locomotives nationwide. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said the proposal goes beyond legitimate safety concerns and aims for surveillance of employees at work: "Our members work in this 8 by 12-foot box".

Conservative MPs opposing a bill to make Remembrance Day a legal holiday caution there is little chance the measure will become law by a 2015 election. Caucus members said the bill that overwhelmingly passed Second Reading in the House will now face slow, deliberative hearings and debate: "The bill will die".

English-speaking men account for more than two-thirds of federal appointees in the past eight years, according to records tabled in the Senate. Data also show three provinces – Québec, Ontario and Manitoba – have been proportionately under-represented in federal appointments: 'We will work for diversity'.

Cabinet is quiet on proposed cuts to Crown employees’ pensions on fears it would manipulate a ratification scheme to strip benefits. The dispute comes amid word another federal pension plan, this one for the armed forces, is short of required funding: "We have no idea".

A Commons committee is urging that Statistics Canada stay “up to date” in gathering vital data following past controversy over changes to the census. MPs on the public accounts committee rated the agency’s work as crucial for lawmakers and the public: 'We need data to see who's missing out'.

A Canadian company faces $7 million in penalties from the anti-trust Competition Bureau over illegal door-to-door marketing. The agency says its investigation is still ongoing into the sale of water heaters to homeowners: "The bureau is getting somewhat activist".

Business is appealing to MPs to “slow down” a bid to make Remembrance Day a legal holiday. And one cabinet minister’s online poll found a majority of respondents opposed to it. The Commons earlier endorsed the measure in a vote held just days after a lone gunman killed a reservist at the National War Memorial and stormed Parliament Hill: "We shouldn't let emotions carry the day".

Fees charged to hire foreign workers are now so high many Canadian employers are “not bothering” to get migrants, says a government official. Cabinet nearly quadrupled the fees last summer, from $275 to $1,000 for every foreigner hired: "$1,000 is a lot of money".

Attorneys warn an internet search law already passed by the Commons is unconstitutional, and sanctions “wide-sale government intrusion” on Canadians’ privacy. Bill C-13 would see warrantless searches on telecom providers though the Supreme Court banned the practice five months ago: "Computers are fastidious record-keepers".