Senator David Tkachuk, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, welcomed news that the federal government and provinces have adopted a number of Senate recommendations to eliminate internal trade barriers in a new free trade agreement. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.) announced that a new agreement has been reached and included some of … Read more
Senators are investigating how Canada’s efforts to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments could change the country’s agriculture, agri-food and forestry sectors. They will hear from a variety of witnesses during their study. Witnesses include representatives from all levels of government, agricultural associations and groups, forestry organizations, transport providers and academics. The committee also plans … Read more
The Conservative Senate Caucus elected Senator Larry Smith as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Leader of the Conservative Senate Caucus. Smith will take up his duties on April 1, 2017. This election comes after Senator Claude Carignan announced on February 28th that he was stepping down as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate … Read more
The Senate Ethics Officer, Lyse Ricard, provided the Standing Senate Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators with her Inquiry Report respecting the conduct of Senator Don Meredith. The Inquiry Report found that Meredith had engaged in an improper relationship with a teenager, and that: “Senator Meredith failed to uphold the highest standards … Read more
The four members of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade met with members of the Senate of the United Mexican States. The Canadian delegation was composed of Senator Raynell Andreychuk, Chair of the committee, Senator Percy E. Downe, Deputy Chair of the committee, Senator … Read more
“The federal transport minister should oppose the privatization of Canada’s major airports,” Liberal Senator Dennis Dawson told the Association québécoise du transport aérien in a speech Thursday. Dawson, who is chair of the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, emphasized that there was no evidence that travellers and taxpayers would benefits if the non-profit corporations that oversee Canada’s … Read more
In light of the very serious findings of the Senate Ethics Officer in her report issued on March 9, 2017, the Coordinating Team of the Independent Senators Group has asked Don Meredith to step aside from the ISG. They are also calling upon the Senate Ethics Committee to meet as expeditiously as possible to study the … Read more
The Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources released at a press conference in Ottawa its report Positioning Canada’s Electricity Sector in a Carbon Constrained Future. It is the first in a series of interim reports the committee will release this year as part of its study on Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy. … Read more
The Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples’ released a report calling for stable federal funding strategy for housing in the Inuit homeland. In its report, We Can Do Better: Housing in Inuit Nunangat, the committee emphasized the need to develop a long term and predictable strategy related to funding for northern housing. The strategy would make it possible to … Read more
The Senate Committee on National Finance has been studying the design and delivery of the government’s plans to allocate $186 billion for infrastructure investments over the next 10 years and have released a report arguing for a more coordinated and transparent approach. The report makes six recommendations including: that the government develop a long-term national infrastructure strategy with … Read more
