Dunderdale fears EI changes could harm rural workers - Politics. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale is anxious about pending changes to employment insurance, particularly for workers who rely on seasonal industries like the fishery for work. "It's an area of very grave concern for us," Dunderdale told reporters in St.
John's Wednesday, as she awaited details expected to be revealed Thursday on how the federal government will roll out its planned changes to EI. Dunderdale said she has not been pleased with what she has heard, particularly suggestions that workers would lose access to benefits if they cannot travel for employment. "It's certainly going to have a significant impact on seasonal workers and the greatest number of seasonal workers are involved in the fishery," said Dunderdale, who opposes a standard plan for EI across the country, and favours a system that takes into account job-market realities in different parts of the country. "If they're coming out of fish plants, it may not be skilled labour," Dunderdale said.
Ottawa freezes EI data - Politics. The Conservative government has cut off the flow of some key employment data to the public just as it is about to present new, stricter rules on Employment Insurance. Human Resources Minister Diane Finley is set to announce details Thursday morning that will alter the landscape for those collecting EI, with particular emphasis on repeat claimants. At the same time, Finley's department has stopped sending Statistics Canada key and current information about how much federal money is flowing to each of the provinces for EI claimants, The Canadian Press has learned.
Three tables normally produced with Statistics Canada's monthly EI summary are now "frozen," according to the agency website. Diane Finley's department has stopped sending Statistics Canada key and current information about how much federal money is flowing to each of the provinces for EI claimants. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) Reports about the number EI recipients are still available. Does your MP know C-38 allows FBI agents to operate in Canada? Integrated Cross-border Law Enforcement Operations Act Amendments to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act Consequential Amendments Criminal Code Integrated Cross-border Law Enforcement Operations ActLoi sur les opérations transfrontalières intégrées de contrôle d’application de la loiEnactment of ActÉdiction de la loiEnactment368.
RCMP ‘to ease Canadians into the idea’ of U.S. agents in Canada Yahoo News | May 22 1012 Uncle Sam could soon be coming after you on Canadian soil. According to an article in Embassy Magazine, the Harper government is moving forward on several initiatives that could give U.S. But, according to a RCMP officer, they’re doing it in “baby steps.” “We recognized early that this approach would raise concerns about sovereignty, of privacy, and civil liberties of Canadians,” RCMP Chief Superintendent Joe Oliver, the Mounties’ director general for border integrity, told the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence on May 14. Embassy Magazine | May 16 2012 Mr. Budget legislation riddled with unwelcome surprises.
Fifteen years as a parliamentarian haven’t worn away Pat Martin’s rough edges. The Winnipeg New Democrat, a former union organizer, has a well-documented tendency to use intemperate — occasionally profane — language when the government angers him. It happens often. But since Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled his 452-page budget implementation bill two weeks ago, Martin has kept his temper in check, using sarcasm — nothing stronger — to express his outage. It took all his self-disciple to stifle his fury when he discovered that the legislation contained a provision abolishing the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act. The 27-year-old law requires federal contractors to pay workers the prevailing wage in the region. “Why, deep down within the bowels of Bill C-38, do we find this little jewel?” He asked. Conservative backbencher Stephen Woodward, a Kitchener lawyer, popped to his feet to answer.
Martin let the slight go, bided his time and tried again. But Martin is playing a longer game. Tories shut down ‘groundbreaking’ freshwater research station. The federal government is closing a research station scientists have used for decades to study how pollutants like acid rain and phosphates affect lakes.
The Experimental Lakes Area is in Northwestern Ontario, about 250 kilometres east of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since 1968, government and university scientists have used its 58 small lakes to test hypotheses about freshwater ecosystems. One experiment has been running for 40 years. Employees were told Thursday, said Roberto Quinlan, a biologist at York University, but he noted they were also informed the government would not make an official announcement.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a statement later Thursday it would no longer conduct research that requires “whole lakes or whole lake ecosystem manipulation,” but that “every attempt will be made to transfer the ownership of the facility to universities or provinces.” “A region of remote lakes has been dedicated, since the late 1960s, to whole-lake ecosystem research. Tories considering splitting omnibus budget bill into five pieces after opposition outrage: NDP. OTTAWA — The Harper government seems to be having second thoughts about the wisdom of lumping major changes to dozens of statutes into one massive budget bill. NDP House leader Nathan Cullen says his Conservative counterpart, Peter Van Loan, is considering a New Democrat proposal to split the 400-plus-page budget implementation bill into five separate pieces of legislation. Cullen expects to hear back from Van Loan late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
On Monday, Van Loan categorically ruled out splitting up the bill, calling the NDP proposal “just another attempt to delay this important job-creating bill.” But by Tuesday, a spokesman for the minister was no longer so unequivocal when asked about Cullen’s assertion that his proposal is under discussion. Fraser Malcolm would say only that the government House leader is “constantly having discussions with opposition House leaders on all matters; we never discuss those in public.” “No, there’s one budget bill in the spring and one in the fall.
As Tories rewrite rules, watchdog details cost of lax environmental regulation. The federal government is on the hook for billions of dollars to fix problems caused by lax environmental regulation in the past, according to a new audit. Ottawa is looking at $7.7-billion in cleanup costs for contaminated sites, but has only set aside a fraction of the necessary funding, Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan found. As the government reforms the environmental assessment process, it's worth remembering the high price of slipshod oversight from previous decades, Mr. Vaughan said at a news conference Tuesday. Most of the contaminated sites date back to between 1940 and 1970, well before environmental regulations cracked down on resource extraction and development, the watchdog said. Now, the federal government wants to streamline the environmental assessment process so that it does not delay legitimate economic activity for years.
That's something Mr. Vaughan proposed in past reports. The impact of lax oversight can be “forever,” Mr. $7.7B in contaminated sites a legacy of weak oversight - Politics. Federally owned contaminated sites will cost the government billions of dollars to clean up, according to the 2012 report of Canada's environment commissioner. Scott Vaughan says the government has made significant progress, closing the file on 9,000 out of 22,000 sites across the country, but the remaining sites present some major headaches. "The government has reported its combined environmental liabilities at $7.7 billion," writes Vaughan.
"Many of these sites are buried and out of the public eye, but they will impose human health risks and environmental and financial burdens for generations to come. " Many of Canada's toxic sites were created before environmental assessments were enshrined in law. "We cannot go back and repeat the errors of the past. "When you look at the legacy of contaminated sites right across this country, this is a legacy that Canadians will be paying for – not for decades. Targets beyond reach So far, only three sets of regulations have been written. NDP, government debate splitting omnibus budget bill - Politics. New Democrats are calling for MPs to vote to split the budget implementation bill, a 400-page document detailing major changes to subjects as varied as environmental regulations and immigration law. The party is tabling a motion in the House Monday to split the bill so that MPs can debate it by section and so it doesn't go as a whole to finance committee rather than the subject-specific committees who deal regularly with some of the issues covered in the budget.
"This bill contains many distinct proposals and principles. The Conservatives' 400-page omnibus bill does little to help our economy or get people back to work. But it does gut environmental protection and rewrite Canada's fisheries laws," NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen said, referring to two of the measures included in the budget bill. New Democrats want the bill broken into at least five sections, Cullen said, including the environment, fisheries and other subjects. "A bad budget lasts a year. 'Scandalous,' 'illegitimate' bill. Tory minister defends environmental changes in budget bill - Canada. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver defended the government's use of an omnibus budget bill to pass changes to environmental regulations, arguing he has spoken to Canadians about it and the opposition can put knowledgeable MPs on the committee studying it. The 400-page bill contains major changes to environment policy, as well as budgetary measures and other changes.
The finance committee studies budgetary measures. Oliver says a subcommittee will look at the environmental changes in C-38, the budget implementation bill. "The study will be a public exchange with witnesses from every side of the debate," he said. "The membership of the committee will be set by each party’s whip to ensure that relevant critics can study these important changes. " The government has faced criticism over putting so many different changes into a budget bill, particularly from environment groups.
Conservatives critical of environmental advocacy groups. Critics see Tory omnibus bill as abusive, unethical. Changes to fisheries act rolled into budget bill | Yukon News. When Yukon MP Ryan Leef was asked about the issue in March, he said he didn’t understand the connection that was being made between changes to the federal Fisheries Act and the budget. “I don’t know how the linkage would go from policy changes to the budget bill,” Leef told the News March 26 in response to questions about leaked Department of Fisheries and Oceans documents. The documents said Ottawa planned to take “fish habitat” out of the act and push the change through in an omnibus budget bill. And that’s exactly what it did on April 26 when it tabled Bill C-38. Leef has yet to respond to the apparent contradiction. His office said he’ll talk “when he’s ready.”
The Fisheries Act is just one of about 60 federal acts that’s proposed to change with the federal budget bill. It is one of the biggest omnibus bills the country has ever seen, including everything from income tax to nuclear safety, environment, oil and gas, and assisted human reproduction. “I don’t think it was intentional. Conservatives pass motion to limit debate on massive budget implementation bill. Critics warn Bill C-38 could force unemployed into jobs they don’t want | Canada Politics.
While critics of the Harper government's omnibus budget implementation bill rail against the legislation's alleged attacks on environmental reviews, they might also want to pay attention to the parts of the bill that deal with employment insurance. According to an article in the Globe and Mail, Bill C-38 would remove provisions of the Employment Insurance Act that allow EI recipients to turn down an available job if it is not in the claimant's usual occupation, is at a lower rate of pay or involves "conditions less favourable than those … recognized by good employers. " In other words, once the bill passes, cabinet (in theory) will have the power to deny EI to an unemployed scientist for refusing to dig ditches or pick fruit. Neil Cohen, executive director of Winnipeg's Community Unemployed Help Centre, said he's deeply concerned by the the new rules. "It's always been up to the courts to determine what constitutes suitable employment," he told the Globe and Mail.
Debate verbatim: Bill C-38 on Friday, May 4. Bill C-38. Second reading The House resumed from May 4, 2012, consideration of the motion that Bill C-38, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures, be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment. Mr. Bob Dechert (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of our government’s bold and responsible economic action plan 2012 and, in particular, Bill C-38, also known as the jobs, growth and long-term prosperity act.
Budget 2012 sets out a prudent and long-term plan to ensure the future prosperity, health, and retirement security of all Canadians. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of the many provision of budget 2012 which are particularly important to the people I represent in the city of Mississauga. Our government is committed to keeping taxes low. M. Mr. Ms. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Feds to repeal Kyoto Act in budget bill, critics slam move. Nelson Mandela in Ottawa, May 15, 1992 Dec. 5, 2013 The Hill Times archives Former South African president Nelson Mandela visited Ottawa in May 1992. The honorary Canadian who helped end apartheid in his country died on Dec. 5 at 95 years old. Governor General David Johnston said, "When history speaks of the very best examples of humanity, we will speak of Nelson Mandela.
" He's pictured here with former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney. Nelson Mandela and Brian Mulroney Nelson Mandela and his then-wife Winnie Madikileza Nelson Mandela arrives on Parliament Hill. Bill C-38 /2012 Budget Bill : Legal Perspective on Env. Changes to Federal Regulatory System. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 4/27/2012 (authors: Shawn Denstedt, QC & Sander Duncanson. On April 26, 2012, the Federal Government introduced Bill C-38, the 2012 Budget Bill. Part 3 of Bill C-38 contains the Federal Government’s proposed legislative changes to the federal regulatory system.
The most significant change is the complete repeal and replacement of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA), the central piece of federal environmental legislation. Its replacement, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, includes fundamental changes to the current Act that are intended to address the uncertainties and inefficiencies associated with the current legislation. Key Reforms in Bill C-38 The following are, in our view, the most significant aspects of Bill C-38 for project proponents in Canada: Canadian Environmental Assessment Act National Energy Board Act Fisheries Act Implications of Bill C-38 Bill C-38 may still undergo significant changes before it becomes law.
NEWS: Bill C-38, the destructive ‘budget implementation’ act.