End of blood ban for gay men could be on horizon in wake of new mandate letters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked his new health minister to help end discriminatory blood donation policies, hinting that a long-standing ban on gay men giving blood could come to an end in the near future. In her revised mandate letter released Wednesday, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, N.B.) was explicitly tasked with developing […]
Politics This Morning: Bennett to announce settlement with Sixties Scoop victims
Good Friday morning, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett is making an announcement in the Commons foyer on financial compensation for victims of the Sixties Scoop, according to multiple media reports. The Sixties Scoop refers to the practice of government child welfare officials taking Indigenous children to be adopted by non-Indigenous families. Some Indigenous people captured […]
Feds underestimated complexity, ignored concerns about Phoenix pay system, review finds
An independent report on the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system rollout released Thursday says the government underestimated its complexity. Public Services and Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough (Delta, B.C.) apologized to affected public servants in an Oct. 5 press conference, and said the review confirmed many of the thoughts she already had. She noted fixing the pay […]
Hill security screeners begin protests over stalled contract talks
Parliament Hill’s security screeners are ramping up protests against their bosses as their frustration grows over the glacial pace of negotiations toward reaching a new contract, with the most recent one expiring nearly four years ago. Unionized security screeners, who belong to the Public Service Alliance of Canada, rallied outside the Confederation Building on Oct. 4, wearing buttons […]
Politics This Morning: CAF, Veterans Affairs to release suicide prevention strategy; Trudeau in Rolling Rampage event; Hussen and Goodale at House Immigration Committee
Good Thursday morning, The Canadian Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Canada are unveiling their new joint suicide prevention strategy with an announcement at National Defence headquarters in downtown Ottawa today. The strategy will be introduced by the political and military brass, with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan, and Chief of the […]
Thousands of refugee claims from asylum seekers remain unprocessed: federal immigration officials
Only 300 refugee claims filed by the thousands of asylum seekers flowing across the Canadian border in Quebec in recent months have been processed by the federal tribunal that decides who gets refugee status, officials told the House Immigration and Citizenship Committee on Tuesday. Only half of those 300 asylum seekers have been granted refugee […]
Political financing bill a ‘Seinfeld episode,’ critics tell Minister Gould it’s ‘not very substantive’
Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould’s political financing bill doesn’t do any real harm, but doesn’t do any good either, opposition MPs suggested at the Procedure and House Affairs Committee as members began their study on Bill C-50 last week. The government could have gone further and taken a page from their Ontario Liberal cousins to […]
NDP united behind Jagmeet Singh, despite Quebec concerns, say MPs
New Democrats have elected Jagmeet Singh on a mandate for change and after dominating the leadership vote, achieving caucus unity shouldn’t be a problem, say NDP MPs. Caucus members and NDP insiders painted a positive picture after the marathon leadership race ended Sunday, with more than 53 per cent of the vote-casting membership selecting the […]
Bill to ban unhealthy food ads for kids clears Senate, House sponsor sought
With her bill having passed the Senate last week, Conservative Senator Nancy Greene Raine is now casting about for an MP in the House to champion her legislation banning the advertising of unhealthy food and drinks to children under the age of 17. Bill S-228, the Child Health Protection Act, seeks to change the Food […]
Status of government bills
House of Commons S-2, Strengthening Motor Vehicle Safety for Canadians Act (committee) S-5, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act (second reading) C-5, An Act to Repeal Division 20 of Part 3 of the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 (second reading) C-12, An Act to Amend the […]
