isabelshaw

[isabelshaw]

Health Canada is making changes to Bill S-228 regarding the marketing of food products to children. This was brought around by the food industry’s fear that it would label a wide range of products as “unhealthy” and impact their sales. 

The definition of “unhealthy” is being debated, toying with applying the word to bread and dairy products. Health Canada has proposed nutritional guidelines, but only “an $8 loaf of bread” managed to pass. 

“Industry stakeholders say the change reverses Health Canada’s initial decision to consider nutritional criteria first, and whether the product is marketed to children, second.” Health Canada has not yet made a decision on removing or replacing the term “unhealthy.”

[isabelshaw]

“The Liberals are changing the controversial Canada Summer Jobs attestation that required program applicants to attest respect for a range of established rights, including access to abortion.” 

Additional information about the changes are expected to be sent to the MPs today. Changes will include the possibility for all people ages 15-30 to apply for jobs through the program without being students.

An earlier attestation to the program made in December elicited backlash from Conservative critics and religious groups due to the inclusion of “the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression” in the list of requirements for employers. A yet-ongoing lawsuit was filed by anti-abortion groups in Federal Court. 

[isabelshaw]

“Montreal's official opposition has filed a complaint with Élections Quebec against Mayor Valérie Plante — claiming she used a road paving announcement to boost her candidate's chances in this month's by-election.” 

“The complaint dates back to Saturday when Plante announced plans to repave 11 kilometres of Gouin Boulevard East in the borough of Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles.” This road has been declared the worst in the province by CAA-Quebec. Opposition leader Lionel Perez believes that Plante’s decision to announce the road paving at the borough itself rather than at city hall to be “an old-fashioned way of playing politics, taking advantage of power to try to gain an electoral advantage.”

The complaint was filed on the basis that it “is a misuse of public funds to promote a political candidacy.” Plante intends to let the complaint run its course.

[isabelshaw]

A part of Camillien-Houde Way at Mont Royal was closed to private vehicles in June after the death of a cyclist. The path is frequently used by cyclists as a training ground and by pedestrians while still being used by cars.

The path reopened in early November, but the opposition party has plans in place to ensure the safety of cyclists and pedestrians by creating a separate bike path and instituting stricter traffic control. This plan has been met with resistance from Vélo Québec.

The temporary closure resulted in increased pedestrian use and no collisions in the area. “Montreal is now holding a public consultation to decide whether the closure will become permanent. It wraps up next week.“

[isabelshaw]

The Group of 20 summit began on Friday, a meeting between leaders of developed countries “to discuss issues like development, infrastructure and investment.” Trade disputes between the United States and China, as well as the expected signing of the new Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement to replace the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have overshadowed most other topics. 

This lack of focus has led to many experts wondering if the G-20 summits will cease in the near future due to lack of inter-governmental cooperation. Most of the participating countries face tension from both other countries and their own. 

[isabelshaw]

The current law regulating surrogacy condemns payment in exchange for childbearing, with the exception of expenses reimbursement. However, the law does not clearly state what is considered an expense.

“The federal government proposed new assisted human reproduction regulations in late October that outline what expenses are permitted to be paid.” Now, Health Canada is requesting public feedback on the list of eligible expenses. The survey is linked in the article.

The article then continues with a series of interviews that contextualize the pushes for both tighter and looser regulation on surrogacy.

[isabelshaw]

British Columbia’s premier promises to introduce legislation in 2019 that will phase out non-electric cars over the next 20 years.

They target new cars, staggering their goals in percentages in order to slowly ease buyers and vendors away from non-sustainably fueled cars. “British Columbia offers credits of up to C$5000 for the purchase or lease of new battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, and C$6000 for new hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. It plans to expand the incentive program over time.”

This follows Quebec’s goal in 2016 of having 15.5% of all cars be zero-emission vehicles by 2020. 

[isabelshaw]

“Quebec's Civil Code provision [says] that the obligation to provide spousal support and divide family property applies only to couples who were married.” 

Separated partners cannot seek support payments from their ex-partners. This becomes a problem when the financial imbalance between parents leaves the children vulnerable to poverty. There is no guarantee that children born out of wedlock will have access to any family assets after their parents’ separation. 

There have been multiple attempts to reform family law in Quebec, but none have gotten traction thus far. According to Justice Minister Sonia LeBel of Coalition Avenir Quebec, she is ready and prepared to set forth the reforms necessary to protect the children born of common-law marriages.

[isabelshaw]

Scientists have long since demanded more impartial parties to examine projects and their risk to the environment. On November 19th, 180 British-Columbian scientists and academics signed an open letter to Premier John Horgan advocating for “greater scientific independence, mandatory peer review of evidence, and more transparency in review processes and decisions” in Bill 51. Bill 51 was intended to amend the way that the provincial government “reviews and approves industrial projects such as mines, dams and pipelines.” Scientists and academics deem it insufficient. “[P]roject reviews would continue to prioritize evidence generated by the proponent, without demanding independent peer review. The new legislation also contains no requirement that all the proponent’s data – and all records regarding assessment of the evidence – be made available to the public.” The letter is linked at the end of the article.