Some Senators criticize rushed process as Canada-U.K. transitional trade deal passes Red Chamber without committee review
For the second time in a row, the Senate fast-tracked a trade implementation bill without a formal committee review, drawing the ire of some members of the Red Chamber and raising questions about the Senate’s role in the trade process. Last week, Bill C-18—the Canada-U.K. Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) implementation bill—passed through the Senate in […]
Rogers-Shaw merger potentially a bad sign for 5G rollout in Canada, experts and advocates say
The recently announced $26-billion merger between two telecom giants is likely a bad sign for 5G rollout in Canada, experts say, because of already relatively low spending from Rogers on the needed infrastructure for the new technology and the uncertain position it puts Shaw in with the upcoming spectrum auction essential to offering the speeds […]
Government efforts to fight COVID-19 misinformation get mixed reviews as ‘infodemic’ persists
The government has done a lot to fight the problem of COVID-19 misinformation, and while experts and MPs are positive on what’s been put in place, they say there’s still more to do, particularly in the area of vaccine hesitancy. Since the start of the public health crisis, false claims have circulated widely in what […]
‘Parallel pandemic of racism’: Asian-Canadian advocates call for House study on resurgence of anti-Asian hate
Asian-Canadian advocates are calling on Parliament to convene a committee study to examine the “disturbing rise” of racially motivated physical, verbal, and online attacks against Asians since the pandemic started. In a report released March 23, the Chinese Canadian National Council’s (CCNC) Toronto chapter found that a majority of those targeted reported it was because […]
Military looks to add more ‘rigour’ in its assessment, selection of senior leaders, says acting defence chief
The Canadian Armed Forces is at an “inflection point” and is “rapidly” working on plan to address sexual misconduct, including changes to add “rigour” into the selection of senior leaders, says the acting chief of the defence staff, as the military continues to reel from successive allegations against two of his predecessors. “Going forward, we […]
Senate staff reps say they want new harassment policy to go ahead as dissenters stand firm
The new Senate anti-harassment policy is at “serious risk,” says a Red Chamber staffer, who wants to see the policy come into effect quickly, despite criticism that it would silence harassment complainants. “The policy has now been bumped so low down on the Order Paper, there’s no guarantee that it will come up for further […]
Progress on effort to review fossil fuel subsidies ‘slightly slower’ due to pandemic, says official
A federal official says the pandemic has delayed progress on a joint initiative with Argentina to review what some estimate is billions of dollars in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, a commitment that the Trudeau government first announced in 2018. Speaking to the House Natural Resources Committee, Shawn Tupper, the department’s associate deputy minister, […]
Former PM Harper asked Vance about sexual-misconduct allegations, testifies ex-top aide
The Conservative government looked into the two allegations of inappropriate relationships against now-retired chief of defence staff Jonathan Vance before appointing him, but he may not have been as forthcoming about his conduct, former senior Tory aide told a parliamentary committee. In March 2015, then-prime minister Stephen Harper directly raised an allegation with Gen. Vance […]
House Health Committee MPs vow to continue to press for vaccine contracts
Opposition MPs on the House Health Committee say the committee has been essential to ensuring government accountability during the pandemic, and are pushing the government to release the vaccine delivery contracts, saying they won’t let be letting it off the hook. “We want to see the contracts,” said Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont (West Nova, N.S.). “We […]
Liberal MP Will Amos backs his small town in clash with NCC
Liberal MP Will Amos is calling on the National Capital Commission to pay up, and end its dispute with three small municipalities in and near his riding over payments for land in Gatineau Park. The town of Chelsea, Que., with a population of roughly 7,000, has been chasing the NCC for money for several years. […]
