MPs unanimously agree to approve a new and first-ever parental leave program for MPs.

THIS SETS THE AGENDA FOR BOTH THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR

SOMETHING UNIONS NEED TO INCLUDE IN THEIR BARGAINING

House approves year-long, fully paid parental leave from the Commons for MPs
The House of Commons has just unanimously agreed to pass a first-ever parental leave program for members of Parliament that allows them to be absent from the chamber for up to a year after giving birth or welcoming home a new child without penalty.

Vote on parental leave program for MPs

MPs unanimously agree to approve a new and first-ever parental leave program for MPs.
Rachel Aiello, Ottawa News Bureau Online Producer@rachaiello
Published Wednesday, June 12, 2019 3:20PM EDT

OTTAWA – The House of Commons has just unanimously agreed to pass a first-ever parental leave program for members of Parliament that allows them to be absent from the chamber for up to a year after giving birth or welcoming home a new child without penalty.

The program allows for pregnant MPs to take leave starting four weeks before their due date, and then for up to 12 months after the day their child was born to be away from their House duties, with the understanding that an MP’s work in their riding continues. It also applies to MPs who are caring for a newborn or newly-adopted child, meaning male MPs can claim this time as well.


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PHOTOS


Liberal MP David Graham speaks with Parliamentary Guards in the House of Commons before the start of the first session in West Block Monday January 28, 2019 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

This move comes on the recommendation of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC).

Government House Leader Bardish Chagger asked the House to approve the committee’s recommendation after question period on Wednesday. It passed unanimously and given that it was a recommendation from this somewhat unique House committee, it does not need to go through any further legislative steps to be implemented.

With a slowly growing contingent of female MPs of childbearing age and MPs with young families, there has been an increasing push to think seriously about revamping the rules to reflect the changing demographics.

Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould, who made history as the first federal cabinet minister to give birth while in office, has been pushing for this policy for years, after she personally experienced administrative issues as the result of not having the Liberal-promised policy in place.

“I think it’s really important that we have a parental leave policy for members of Parliament. I think that in the absence of having a parental leave policy, it doesn’t give people permission to think that they can take leave,” Gould told reporters on Tuesday. She said that while she’s not sure how many elected officials would want to be absent from the House for the full year, having the option provides some flexibility.

“As many new parents can attest, you don’t always know what going to happen,” Gould said.

As the parental leave rules currently stand, MPs are not provided parental leave, because they don’t pay into Employment Insurance. They are allowed 21 days of medical leave before being docked $120 pay per day they are absent. Under the current rules MPs have no formal way to report with the House of Commons that their absence is because of a maternity or paternity leave, leaving it up to the MP to work out case-by-case leave scenarios with their parties.

The new policy will be effective as soon as it passes, meaning that any MP or candidate running to win a seat will know that should they get elected, they will have new support should they want to start or grow their family during the next Parliament.

This program remains different than the EI parental benefit program available to Canadians, in that MPs who take this parental leave time still maintain their full pay and benefits, because they are technically not leaving their jobs during this time.

The creation of an MP parental leave policy has been in the works for years.

PROC first studied the matter in 2017 and recommended that Canada take steps to catch up to other Parliaments. Then, in the 2018 federal budget, the Liberals promised to pursue a parental leave program for parliamentarians as part of a bigger promise to take steps to make Parliament more family friendly.

Following the budget, the government amended the Parliament of Canada Act to allow the House and Senate to create new regulations for maternity and parental leave, though the legislation didn't actually create any new rules and several months passed with no action.

Then this spring Chagger—the minister responsible for the change—took the issue to the Board of Internal Economy Committee and asked for a policy to be drafted and proposed.

The Board is a historically secretive panel of MPs that oversees the workings of the House of Commons. On May 30, House of Commons Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel Philippe Dufresne presented the proposed plan and the Board recommended PROC look it over. It did on June 6 and then reported back to the House earlier this week.

“There's no mythical MP who doesn't do work in the constituency, because somebody who doesn't do work in their constituency doesn't get re-elected. Members of Parliament are still working during this period. These parental obligations have to be balanced with that constituency work. All that's being suggested by this policy is that we stop penalizing them in the second workplace. The first workplace continues,” said NDP House Leader Peter Julian at the May meeting.

Expert panel recommends single-payer pharmacare plan for Canada

Kristy Kirkup, The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, June 12, 2019

OTTAWA -- Canada's governments have to work together to transform, rather than tinker with, a patchwork of prescription-drug plans to create a public plan for every Canadian, says the chair of the expert panel the federal Liberals named to advise them how to create a national pharmacare system.

The patchwork should be replaced by a pharmacare system much like the public health-care system, with standards set by the federal government and supported by federal funding, but administered by provincial and territorial governments, the panel said in its final reportWednesday. Individuals should still be able to get supplemental drug insurance, either on their own or through workplace benefits programs.

Dr. Eric Hoskins, an Ontario health minister under the previous provincial Liberal government, released his council's findings in Ottawa. The group reported that such a plan will result in savings of an estimated $5 billion annually, an average of $350 a year for each family.

Canadians spent $34 billion on prescription medicines in 2018, the report says, adding drugs are the second-biggest expenditure in health care after hospitals. The cost is growing, as well, as people live longer with chronic conditions that require medication.

It is a good time to show courage and do some "nation-building," Hoskins said at a press conference as he put forward his plan, adding the price of doing nothing is too high.

Canada has a variety of drug plans administered by provinces, mainly for children, seniors and people on social assistance. Other plans managed by the federal government cover other groups, such as Indigenous people and members of the military, while private insurance fills the gaps for some.

Hoskins' panel recommended Wednesday that a new drug agency be responsible for developing a national list of prescription drugs, known as a formulary, beginning with common or so-called essential medicines by Jan. 1, 2022. It also suggests the initial formulary expand to a "fully comprehensive formulary" no later than Jan. 1, 2027. Each government with its own smaller drug-coverage programs now does this for itself.

Speaking outside the House of Commons on Wednesday, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said she would review the recommendations and pledged to work with provinces, territories, stakeholders and partners as Ottawa considers next steps.

One of the key questions is money.

The report calls for the federal government to work with the provincial and territorial governments to begin to implement national pharmacare as soon as possible, with a new financing agreement to be developed jointly and with Ottawa paying the additional costs governments would take on.

Hoskins' report estimated that annual incremental costs will reach $15.3 billion in 2027. The advisory council recognizes the "very significant fiscal implications" but stressed "the issue is too important to ignore."

The federal government also recognizes funding is going to have to be part of the equation, Petitpas Taylor said Wednesday, and it doesn't expect provinces to foot the bill.

"If we want to put in place a national pharmacare program, the federal government has to play a leadership role but also we have to make sure that we have all provinces and territories at the table," she said. "Does that mean it will happen all at once, that all provinces and territories will be at the table at once? Not necessarily."

In response to the report, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer took aim at Hoskins as a former minister in Kathleen Wynne's government in Ontario.

"Justin Trudeau hired someone from a disastrous provincial Liberal government that spent Ontario into the ground with unsustainable rates of spending growth," he said. "You will excuse me if I have zero confidence in their ability to manage this."

For its part, the federal NDP urged the Liberals to act on implementation.

"Dr. Hoskins and the advisory council have come to the same conclusion as every other expert panel and study done on the subject: prescription-drug coverage should be integrated into our public health-care system to cover everyone," NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement.

Organizations including the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Labour Congress also issued statements to applaud the recommendations.

Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, a pro-choice charitable organization, said it is pleased to see the call for a universal, single-payer system but said it is concerned a phased approach of prioritizing commonly used drugs might not include sexual- and reproductive-health medications.

Wednesday's report also suggests "co-payments" expected from individuals be limited to $2 per prescription for essential medicines and $5 per prescription for all other drugs on the national formulary, with an annual limit of $100 per household.

It says those living with disabilities, people on social assistance and low-income seniors should be exempt from these fees.

In its last budget, the Liberal government pledged to create a new agency to buy drugs in bulk and cut Canadian medication costs as the first step toward a national drug plan.

It said it intends to work with provinces, territories and other partners to develop the mandate for the agency, with Health Canada to receive $35 million over four years starting in 2019-2020 to create an office to support the plan. It also promised to spend $500 million a year beginning in 2022 on subsidizing drugs that treat rare diseases.

RELATED LINKS
A Prescription for Canada: Achieving Pharmacare for All

PHOTOS


Dr. Eric Hoskins, Chair of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, is accompanied by Vincent Dumez, Member of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 12, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

CTV National News: $15B pharmacare proposal


An expert advisory panel has proposed a $15B national pharmacare system. Joyce Napier reports.

Power Play: Pharmacare recommendations


Former Ont. health minister Eric Hoskins breaks down the panel's recommendations on a national pharmacare strategy.

Feds recommend funded pharmacare program by 2027

Giant sturgeon in the Fraser river, Canada

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Husky fined $3.8M for charges arising from Saskatchewan oil spill

By Colette Derworiz The Canadian Press

Husky Oil Operations Ltd., a subsidiary of Husky Energy, was fined $3.8 million Wednesday for a pipeline oil leak that fouled a major river, harmed fish and wildlife and tainted the drinking water supply for thousands of people in Saskatchewan.



“We’ve been working hard since that day to try to set things right.”“We recognize that the spill had a significant impact on communities along the North Saskatchewan River and we’re deeply sorry for that,” Duane Rae, the company’s vice-president of pipelines, said outside court in Lloydminster, Sask.

READ MORE: Husky Energy wants to build Saskatchewan oil pipeline, replace one that leaked in 2016

The spill into the North Saskatchewan River in July 2016 forced the cities of North Battleford, Prince Albert and Melfort to shut off their water intakes for almost two months.

Calgary-based Husky pleaded guilty to three environmental charges: two under federal migratory birds and fisheries legislation and one under a provincial law for releasing a harmful substance.

She noted that two alarms had gone off but were not recorded or reported to senior staff.

“Once the leak was discovered, Husky acted quickly and properly,” said the judge. “I believe Husky has learned from this mistake.”

“There’s no doubt it has had a detrimental affect on Husky’s reputation and on the industry as a whole,”’ Rae said. “We have expended a lot of money on the cleanup – over $140 million.”

A victim impact statement filed by three Indigenous communities in the area said the cleanup wasn’t good enough. Chief Wayne Semaganis spoke on behalf of his Little Pine First Nation and also for the Sweetgrass and Red Pheasant bands.

He said birds, wildlife and fish still suffer the effects of the contamination and the First Nations have lost traditional use of their land.

“We no longer fish in the river. We no longer trap on or near reserve lands. We no longer farm on or near reserve lands,” he said. “We no longer drink water drawn from reserve lands.”

READ MORE: Husky given OK to restart Saskatchewan pipeline after major spill

Semaganis said the Indigenous communities remain anxious, fearful and psychologically stressed.

The cities of North Battleford and Prince Albert also filed victim impact statements that were read out by the Crown.

“The impact was dire, ongoing and will cause long-lasting changes to procedures and processes,” said the statement from North Battleford’s city manager James Puffalt.

Prince Albert’s statement said the spill caused significant disruption and stress for residents and had considerable costs.

Spray parks were closed at the peak of the summer holidays. Laundromats were shut down. Car washes couldn’t operate and businesses had to close.

“The city was forced to implement its emergency operations centre,” said the statement.

The city also had to lay temporary lines to two nearby rivers for drinking water.

Saskatchewan prosecutor Matthew Miazga told court there has never been an environmental event as significant in the province.

“Literally tens of thousands of people downstream were impacted.”

Environment Canada investigator Jeff Puetz said staff put their full effort into getting information.

“We did search warrants and gathered tens of thousands of copies of documents from Husky in order to get enough evidence,” he said.

The company said the pipeline buckled and leaked because of ground movement.

The line was allowed to reopen in October 2016 after being repaired and inspected.

Husky CEO Rob Peabody noted in a release that the oil and gas producer has been doing business in the Lloydminster region for more than 70 years.

“We understand that some people think we could have done better. After having such a long and successful history in this region, the event three years ago was a disappointment for all of us.”

He added that the company has made improvements that include an updated leak response protocol, regular geotechnical reviews of pipelines and fibre optic sensing technology.

Stephen Jordan, with Public Prosecution Service of Canada, commented on the fine and charges outside of court on Wednesday.

“What you saw today was Husky came to court and took responsibility for two of the nine charges on the information. Those were the most serious charges and that’s reflected in the sentencing range which was the most significant for those offences. It encapsulated the circumstances in totality we felt,” Jordan said.

“The fine will be paid into what we refer to as the EDF, the environmental damages fund,” he added.

“Various groups (including) non-government organizations, universities, Indigenous organizations, municipal and provincial governments can apply with projects to put that to use for the purposes that we set out in the sentencing order and that was relating to the remediation of habitat and research relating to fish and migratory birds.”

Saskatchewan Energy and Resource Minister Bronwyn Eyre said the province will be releasing its report on the spill in the next few days.

-With files from Global’s David Baxter and Brittney Matejka

View this document on Scribd

© 2019 The Canadian Press

Social housing landlords use domestic violence as reason to evict victims – study

A new study analysing lease terminations data of public housing has found that housing authorities are evicting domestic violence victims for the abuse they suffer, labelling it “nuisance” and a breach under tenancy laws.
The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute study found women, often the sole leaseholder in these situations were carrying the burden of controlling “the misconduct of male partners and children”. Other findings revealed that a zero-tolerance approach was disrupting drug and alcohol treatment and that children were only a “marginal consideration” in cases, often being evicted into homelessness with the parents.

Yes, Canada Is Guilty of Genocide. Now It’s Time to Act | The Tyee
Inquiry into missing and murdered women should shock us out of complacency.

Sheryl Lightfoot and David MacDonald: 

Yes, Canada Is Guilty of Genocide. Now It’s Time to Act. Inquiry into missing and murdered women should shock us out of complacency. Are people spending too much time talking about the meaning of genocide? No. Canadian society needed to be shocked out of complacency about ongoing structural violence against Indigenous peoples, as well as the belief that we get a free pass on human rights issues.

The shock and shame of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation report and its finding of cultural genocide has produced some results. But only 10 of the 94 Calls to Action have been fully implemented based on CBC’s tracking, and we don’t have a coherent official monitoring mechanism in place.

Genocide is the centrepiece of the report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which argues that colonial violence remains ongoing, not just a “sad chapter” or some legacy of the past. Its 231 Calls to Justice reflect the need to stop genocide in the present and prevent it in the future through a range of policy and process changes. Genocide is woven through the report and is central to its methodology and conclusions.

Genocide has both legalist and pluralist forms. The legalist approach is based on the way genocide is defined in international and domestic law, with the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948 at the centre. Pluralist refers to the ways that activists, academics and others define genocide beyond the fairly narrow confines of the convention.

The UN convention was the result of compromise between states, many of which were committing forms of genocide against Indigenous peoples at the time. Canada was one of these countries.

The argument that genocide must be only about mass killings goes back to the 1940s, but it is unconvincing. If that was the only appropriate definition, then the convention would have simply stated this. Raphael Lemkin, who created the term in 1944, never saw genocide as meaning only mass killing. He said — and the inquiry reflected — that genocide is a coordinated plan of actions, not simply one kind of action.

The inquiry report reflects a pluralist position. It does not rigidly align the crimes of the state with the genocide convention. It also describes the convention as too narrow to encompass the composite nature of the many acts that comprise a larger, slower moving, colonial genocide. The inquiry may have understood that the convention was designed in part for prevention of rapidly moving genocides. But colonialism isn’t quick. It is a much slower form of genocide, but no less dangerous.

As the inquiry’s genocide supplement states: “Colonialism is a unique form of violence that does not fit easily in the international legal definition of the crime of genocide. The way in which the legal requirements have been developed and applied to establish individual responsibility, rather than state responsibility, partly explains why the traditional, legal understanding of genocide has often been considered incompatible with colonial genocide.”

The report notes that the Holocaust model of genocide is only one “prototype of genocide” and does not capture the “diverse, lived experiences” of Indigenous peoples.

The inquiry’s finding of genocide was unprecedented in Canada but is not unique. Australia’s Bringing Them Home Report in 1997 argued that genocide had been committed against Indigenous peoples. The Australian commission looked into the forced transfer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from their families and communities. It took the legal definition of genocide and modified it in important ways. It looked at how the intent to commit genocide could be inferred both from direct government actions, but also from its inaction when faced with the foreseeable implications of its policies. The report also recognized that even general laws to which everyone was subject could be discriminatorily applied. It recognized that laws allowing for the removal of children from their families were far more targeted towards Aboriginal families.

Inquiries like this can make legal and policy recommendations, including developing the basis for a definition of colonial genocide, which can form part of Canada’s domestic criminal law.

Last week’s inquiry report was only the second time genocide has been concluded in an official report in a settler state, and this is the first time a sitting prime minister has acknowledged genocide within their own country.

The debate that followed was predictable. There is little original from those rebutting the genocide charges. The arguments are that genocide should equal mass murder only, that genocide must be intended by state actors, and that using the term too often cheapens and dilutes its significance. This debate serves only to deflect the issues at the core. There is no doubt that Indigenous peoples have been and continue to be subjected to systems and structures that marginalize them and subject them to extreme violence.

As recognition of mass structural violence against Indigenous peoples broadens, the concept can help leverage action on the Calls to Justice. The cultural genocide argument of the Truth and Reconciliation report shocked the world in 2015, with serious harm to Canada’s reputation. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls commission builds on the TRC’s work and brings increased global attention to the Indigenous human rights situation in Canada.

THETYEE.CA

‘The Time for Talk Is Over’: Survivors React to the Missing Women’s Inquiry…

CLASS WAR IN ALBERTA - UPDATED

Leaked letter reveals Alberta is eyeing legislation, if necessary, to override public sector wage talks | The Star

Alberta’s finance minister says the government will pass legislation if necessary to override collective bargaining agreements with unions and delay contractually mandated wage talks.

Kenney government to introduce bill allowing Alberta to override public-sector union deals

AUPE - Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
“The UCP government is directly interfering with the course of negotiations for approximately 70,000 AUPE members.

“Bill 9 is an abuse of the legislative power of government and breaks legally binding contracts. If passed, it will deny workers their negotiated rights. That’s shameful.

“We will explore all legal options available should this bill pass." - AUPE president Guy Smith.

AUPE.ORG

Media release: Government’s move to delay wage-reopener arbitration an attack on workers | AU

Syringes, IV tubing, saline bags, packaging: Canada’s hospitals couldn’t function without single-use plastics

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  Charlotte Sheasby-Coleman I've read time and again that the biggest source of plastic in the ocean is tossed fishing nets and other fishing gear -- 47% of the plastic waste!!! We need to get our government and others around the world to focus on eradicating this nightmare not just straws and q-tips. You can contact PM Trudeau and ask him to add this our government's admirable ban on single use plastics - justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca https://news.nationalgeographic.com/.../great-pacific.../

  

  NEWS.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM

  The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Isn’t What You Think it Is