►Debate continues on the budget implementation bill (C-60) at second reading.
The legislation contains new powers for the Treasury Board to oversee collective barganing negotiations involving Crown corporations such as the CBC and Canada Post.
Specifically, the government would:
- approve the corporation's bargaining mandate;
- place a Treasury Board official inside the negotiating room;
- approve conditions of employment for certain non-unionized employees.
The government plans to introduce a time allocation motion today for four additional days of second reading debate -- including today.
Also included in the 115-page legislation are several measures announced last month by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty:
- amending the Investment Canada Act’s rules for foreign state-owned enterprises looking to take over Canadian businesses, based on the December 2012 approval of the CNOOC-Nexen merger;
- new tax credit for first-time donors to charity;
- increase of excise taxes on manufactured tobacco (fine-cut and chewable versions, for example) to equal those paid on finished cigarettes;
- The Canadian International Development Agency will be merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Development – though a separate minister will be maintained;
- enhancing the Adoption Expense Tax Credit for those adopting children, to include some expenses before the adoption process is complete;
- reduced tariffs on baby clothing and sports equipment (including hockey gear, skis, and golf clubs) to reduce the Canada-U.S. price gap;
- two-year extension of the temporary accelerated capital cost allowance for machinery and equipment;
- extension of a 15-per-cent tax credit for junior mineral exploration;
- GST/HST exemption for personal care services with a publicly-funded homemaker.
These don't represent all measures announced in the March budget; the 2012 budget required two omnibus implementation bills.
MORE: CPAC's 2013 Budget highlights
►Conservative MP Phil McColeman presents this motion on jobs for persons with disabilities:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should endorse the report of the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities entitled “Rethinking disAbility in the Private Sector”, and its findings, and commit to furthering public-private cooperation by:
(a) building on existing government initiatives, such as the Opportunities Fund, the Registered Disability Savings Plan, the ratification of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities;
(b) issuing a call to action for Canadian employers to examine the expert panel's findings and encouraging employers to take advantage of private sector-led initiatives to increase employment levels for persons with disabilities in Canada;
(c) pursuing greater accountability and coordination of its labour market funding for persons with disabilities and ensuring that funding is demand driven and focussed on suitable performance indicators with strong demonstrable results;
(d) establishing an increased focus on young people with disabilities to include support mechanisms specifically targeted at increasing employment levels among youth with disabilities, through programs such as the Youth Employment Strategy; and
(e) strengthening efforts to identify existing innovative approaches to increasing the employment of persons with disabilities occurring in communities across Canada and ensuring that programs have the flexibility to help replicate such approaches.
Latest Comments