Senators Jim Munson, Leo Housakos and Wanda Thomas Bernard met with Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Moncton–Riverview–Dieppe, N.B.) on December 14 to make their case for a national autism strategy. The meeting took place after senators wrote an open letter to the minister asking to discuss how to move towards creating a national autism strategy. … Read more
The majority of senators from Quebec, including Independent Senator Éric Forest, Conservative Senator Claude Carignan and Liberal Senator Dennis Dawson, have come together with the business, trade union and political groups to call on the federal government not only to approve the contract for the Davie shipyard in Lévis, Que. but also to review its maritime strategy. Call 613-996-2171.
The federal government should scrap or at least delay plans to amend the Income Tax Act as the proposals risk harming the Canadians these changes are meant to help, the Senate Committee on National Finance said in a recent report. The committee’s report is the product of extensive study and cross-Canada consultations with the people who have … Read more
Senator Paul J. Massicotte presented at the Senate a new model for the external audit of the Senate policies and senators’ expenses. On November 28, 2017, following the Auditor General’s 2015 report about senators’ expenses, the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration recommended to the Senate the creation of a new Standing Committee on … Read more
The federal government has said it broadly agrees the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce’s June 2017 report, National Corridor: Enhancing and facilitating commerce and internal trade, which noted that inadequate east-west transportation infrastructure limits the extent to which Canadian exporters can access tidewater. In a November response to the report, Transport Minister Marc … Read more
Charlottetown Senator Percy Downe has written to the head of the group advising the Prime Minister on Senate appointments, Dr. Huguette Labelle, Chair of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments. In his letter, Downe called her attention to “the shortage of certain occupations in the Senate”, specifically the absence of farmers, fishers and veterans. … Read more
Senator René Cormier was elected Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages. ʺI find myself particularly fortunate to be assuming the chair position of the Committee on Official Languages at the very moment when we will be going in depth on our current study on modernizing the Official Languages Act, an act that will … Read more
Senator Rosa Galvez was elected as Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday. The committee’s mandate includes diverse environmental issues such as mines and natural resources, pipelines, transmission lines, environmental affairs and other energy-related matters. Most recently the committee is studying Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy. … Read more
The Senate Committee on National Finance has completed the third and final stage of its study of the federal government’s proposed changes to the Income Tax Act. The committee has held 29 public hearings from coast to coast and heard from over 130 witnesses. Many people expressed concern that existing difficulties attracting professionals, like physicians, to Eastern … Read more
Liberal Senator Percy Downe will introduced the Fairness for All Canadian Taxpayers Act in the Senate requiring the Government of Canada to measure the tax gap, which the Conference Board of Canada estimated in a report published on February 17th of this year to be up to $47.8 billion. Downe’s Bill would amend the Canada Revenue Agency Act to require the Canada … Read more
