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A group of 50 female parliamentarians have formed the Canadian Association of Feminist Parliamentarians (CAFP). Founders of the group say they know that getting parliamentary approval and funding will not be easy. Only 13 groups receive an annual budget from Parliament. The idea for the CAFP came about after a Women Political Leaders Global Forum in Iceland where the founders realized there was no current option “to work together with up-front feminist values” in Parliament. They wanted to form a group that had a clear mandate to support women’s initiatives. Parliamentary Associations promote the country’s interests abroad, operate on multilateral and bilateral levels, and are composed of members of the Senate and the House of Commons. The CAFPs members include 25 Liberals, 16 Independent Senators, 7 NDP MPs, two non-affiliated Senators and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. The group still needs to review the draft of the constitution and then file the necessary documents with the Joint Interparliamentary Council which oversees the level of funding for such groups.

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The federal government is considering further restrictions on handguns and assault weapons due to escalating gun violence across the country. After public consultations, the Liberals are readying a proposal to take to cabinet in the new year. Some of the options they are considering are tougher legal obligations on gun owners and wider powers for police to suspend a gun owner’s license when there is a risk someone may be harmed. There is much public support for a gun ban in most parts of Canada, with the highest support in Quebec. On Thursday in Montreal, where the 29th anniversary of the Ecole Polytechnique massacre was marked, the Prime Minister mentioned Bill C-71 which has already been introduced in the House of Commons. This legislation would tighten some aspects of current gun laws. The mayors of Toronto and Montreal have urged Ottawa to adopt an absolute ban on handgun sales. The RCMP-led Canadian Firearms Program says there are 861,850 legally-owned handguns and another 100,000 rifles and shotguns registered to individuals in Canada as of September 30, 2018.

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The federal government is expected to announce soon how it will protect the integrity of the upcoming 2019 federal election from foreign influence. Both security agencies (Canadian Security Intelligence Agency and the Communications Security Establishment) and non-security agencies (Global Affairs and the Privy Council Office) will be working together to prevent election meddling and disinformation campaigns. A spokesperson for Elections Canada, Melanie Wise, said they have been meeting regularly with various agencies to discuss the roles and responsibilities under various scenarios. Michael Pal, a professor with the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law, would like to see more public disclosure of what the protocols will be in the case of foreign interference. He feels government transparency will help give the public confidence in their ability to deal with this urgent issue.

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Environment Minister Catherine McKenna rejected Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s “backwards” climate plan on Thursday, November 29, saying she will go ahead with government plans to enforce a carbon tax in Ontario, Canada’s second-most polluting province, and the rest of Canada. There is a deepening rift between the federal government and a few other provinces who have rejected the Liberal’s plan to introduce a nation-wide carbon tax. Jason Kenney, leader of the opposition United Conservative Party in Alberta, also wants to remove various climate change policies if he wins the upcoming provincial election. In 2019, the carbon tax will start at a price of $20 per tonne and rise $10 per year until 2022. Many economists believe carbon taxes are the cheapest way to reduce emissions.

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Canada’s health minister, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, has said she is deeply concerned by problems with medical devices that have caused injuries and deaths. She has now directed Health Canada to create an action plan to look into these issues. This plan will focus on three areas: 1) reviewing the policies and scientific requirements for pre-market approvals of medical devices, 2) improving post-market surveillance of medical devices, and 3) making the system for medical device approvals and surveillance more transparent. Currently, manufacturers of medical devices are supposed to report problems and patient complaints to Health Canada and not doctor’s or hospitals.

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Bill Blair, the new minister for border security, made a claim during question period in the House of Commons, Thursday, November 29, that the refugee system in Canada is working well. He was answering questions about a new report by the Parliamentary Budget Office that stated the cost to the federal government is $14,321 per migrant. However, that cost is thought to be more like $19,000 by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Unfortunately, the system doesn’t seem to be working properly at all. Illegal migrants are trying all sorts of ways to get into the country and abuse the system. Once a claim has been made, migrants can access the welfare system, too. Blair claims the system is working but, in actual fact, it is not.

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The federal government has gone ahead and tabled legislation in the House of Commons today, Thursday, November 22, 2018 that, once passed, will force Canada Post employees back to work. Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, introduced Bill C-89, the “Postal Services Resumption and Continuation Act,” alongside another motion to speed up its passage. She also said that the two sides can still continue to negotiate even if the bill passes but introduced a special mediator to help out. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is angry with the government saying that back-to-work legislation undermines the negotiations. However, the Prime Minister said something needed to be done because the strikes were hurting businesses and the public, especially during the holiday season.

MPs have already started debating the motion and are expected to vote on it tomorrow, Friday, November 23, 2018. Normally this process can take weeks or months longer but, by limiting the time MPs have to debate the proposed bill at second and third reading, and studying it in an hour-long “committee of the whole” meeting instead of in smaller committees first, the bill could be passed in the House on Friday. However, it would still need to be passed in the Senate so they have passed a motion to sit on Saturday, a rare occurrence, in case they are needed. The bill also states that the legislation will come into force at noon on the day after it receives royal assent.

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In this article, Labour Minister Patty Hajdu says the Federal Government has given formal notice for legislation to end the rotating strikes at Canada Post. She states that although 48 hours notice is required to introduce the legislation in the House, the government may decide not to go ahead with the legislation. As the strikes at Canada Post enter their fifth week, the potential of forcing postal employees back to work grows. The next three weeks are the busiest time of the year for Canada Post, and there is already a huge backlog. However, the President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Mike Palecek, says that the backlog is being overblown so that the government intervenes and forces employees back to work. This past Monday, the CUPW turned down an offer by Canada Post saying that it would not help with the working conditions that they are trying to have changed.

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This article discusses the upcoming release of Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s fall economic update on November 21, 2018 in the House. Of particular interest is the much-anticipated plan that will help Canadian businesses affected by U.S. tax cuts remain competitive. Other areas of interest in this economic update are changes to the deficit forecasts, estimates on pot revenues, and new figures on the impact of a 2016 tax hike on the country’s top earners.

The Business Council of Canada wants the Liberal government to give Canadian companies tax cuts to offset the U.S. tax cuts. The C.D. Howe Institute, the Senate Banking Committee, and others hope the government will modernize the corporate tax structure in this fall update. However, not everyone believes Canadian companies are at a competitive disadvantage now. A Parliamentary Budget Office report found that the latest foreign direct investment numbers do not back up this claim.

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This article is about generating economic growth in Canada from ideas instead of goods. It mentions Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland, and her commitment to modernizing NAFTA and ensuring Canada has a competitive technology sector. The article shares hiring data from Statistics Canada that shows that much of the action in today’s economy is centred around professional, scientific, and technical services. This is the “intangible economy” that is made up of ideas like intellectual property and work processes instead of tangible goods like canola and brake pads. Carmichael wants Freeland to invest in an economy that derives its wealth not only from tangible resources like oil and gas but, even more importantly, from intangible ones like high-performing information technology and data management companies. The article also mentions StatCan’s monthly survey of company payrolls that shows certain sectors like the oil-and-gas industry generating less wealth than other less tangible sectors now. Carmichael also emphasizes that creating economic growth from ideas instead of goods will require different policies and much greater government funding of post-secondary education. Being aggressive about maintaining leadership and creating industry standards in Canadian companies, is also highlighted.