“I impute no bad motives to any of the senators,” former Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie declared in his report on senators’ expenses, released in its entirety. The Senate requested former Justice Binnie act as a special arbitrator for senators who disputed the findings of the Auditor General of Canada’s 2015 report on Senate expenses. … Read more
Newly-appointed Senator Murray Sinclair issued a statement: “It is with heartfelt gratitude that I receive this nomination to the Senate of Canada,” said Sinclair. “I believe that the higher calling of public service is a sacred honour and it is with great humility that I accept this recommendation to be appointed,” he said. “I approach … Read more
The Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade heard testimony from three high-profile advocates for democracy in Russia. William Browder, author and head of the International Justice Campaign for Sergei Magnitsky; Zhanna Nemtsova, daughter of the late Boris Nemtsov, a leading figure in Russia’s opposition, who was killed in February 2015, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, … Read more
Conservative Senator Claude Carignan issued a statement following an appearance at Senate Question Period by Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr (Winnipeg South Centre, Man.). Carignan asked Carr whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) is fighting for a better agreement on softwood lumber during his visit to Washington. Conservative Senator Doug Black asked Carr if he would commit to a pipeline being built … Read more
Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette introduced her bill to combat international fraud. “It has always been difficult for the Crown to prosecute foreign offenders or Canadian offenders living abroad,” said Hervieux-Payette. “A legislation amendment is therefore needed. This is why we must provide an extraterritorial application to certain fraud offenses”, she said. Section 7 of the … Read more
Québec senator Diane Bellemare has announced that she is leaving the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent. “I respect the leadership of the Conservative Party and the work of my colleagues in the Senate Conservative caucus. However, I believe that I will be better able to accomplish my role of providing sober second thought and representing … Read more
The Canada-Korea Interparliamentary Group issued a statement: “The Canada-Korea Interparliamentary Friendship Group supports the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution No. 2270 that was unanimously passed on March 2, 2016, approving the toughest sanctions on North Korea in over two decades,” reads the statement. “The Resolution will target channels that are being used to fund North Korea’s … Read more
The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology is calling for a National Campaign to Combat Obesity, a complete revision of Canada’s food guide to better reflect scientific evidence, a ban on advertising food and drink to children, a possible tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, a review of nutrition food labelling to make it … Read more
Liberal Senator Art Eggleton is calling on the federal government to launch a basic income pilot project. Eggleton tabled the following motion in the Senate: “That the Senate encourage the federal government, after appropriate consultations, to sponsor along with one or more of the provinces/territories a pilot project, and any complementary studies, to evaluate the … Read more
Speaking at second reading of Bill S-217 on Feb. 24, Conservative Senator Bob Runciman said this bill would go a long way to ensuring the mistake that led to the murder of RCMP Constable David Wynn is not repeated. “Although I cannot say with certainty, I believe that, had the justice of the peace been aware of … Read more
