Roundup: Don’t sideline Canada Gazette

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It’s not a sexy topic, but the fact that Parliament is giving itself the power to start making regulatory changes without publishing them in Canada Gazette is actually pretty worrying. It’s just regulations, right? Well, the issue is that by spreading out proposals, it makes it more difficult for proposed regulations to get proper consultation before they’re implemented. That’s a pretty big deal because so much of what constitutes our governance regime comes in the form of regulations that are empowered by legislation. That way, Parliament isn’t bogged down with niggling technical details that MPs have no expertise in determining, and allows them to focus on the “bigger picture,” while civil servants deal with the minutiae. The Governor in Council then gets to implement those regulations that the civil service comes up with, and Parliament can hold government to account for those regulations they implement. By not requiring everything to go through the Gazette, it makes the exercise of accountability that much harder, which is not how we should be operating in a system of Responsible Government.

Good reads:

  • The NDP MP who was kicked out of caucus while facing criminal mischief charges is also now being investigated by the RCMP for allegedly falsifying travel claims. She insists that it’s just mistakes with dates on the claims.
  • The Commons has decided on a policy for dealing with future harassment claims, as it relates to MPs, House officers and staff. The NDP are excluded because of their union. MPs are also described as employers, which is correct because they are and not employees.
  • We’re sticking with the Joint Strike Fighter programme while we decide whether or not to buy the F-35s. Also, new figures released show that it could cost an extra $1 billion to replace aircraft lost along their service lifetime.
  • Perry Bellegarde is the new national chief of the AFN. Bellegarde’s term will likely see a restructuring of the organisation as it deals with questions of its relevance.
  • Rocco Galati was awarded a mere $5000 in costs for his court challenge in the Nadon appointment. He had sought $68,000, based on billing $800/hour, which the court found excessive. (What access to justice issues in Canada?)
  • It looks like the Government Operations Centre was sending out misleading emails during the Ottawa shooting. They say these were the unclassified ones, and that they were in touch with security officials, but it raises questions.
  • The government’s new voting bill will see to it that ex-pats who want to vote need to prove their citizenship and last address in Canada to prevent “riding shopping.”

Odds and ends:

Liberal membership numbers have skyrocketed from 60,000 to 300,000 since Justin Trudeau became leader.

The man who used to take care of the cats on Parliament Hill has died.

Rodger Cuzner made his annual Christmas rhyme in the Commons.