Current Issues from the Horse's mouth

A quick tour of the party websites will lead you to the following current issues. The issues are broken up in terms of party association:

The Green Party of Canada believes that:

Canada's current Live-in Caregiver Program is a shameful violation of human rights and the party wants to change the current law so as not to force workers to live in-home and to allow the women to enter the country as permanent residents to hopefully end exploitation.

Gang violence and other violent crime is a reflection of deteriorating social conditions and governments must confront the root-causes of these problems with preventative solutions. It is to this topic that they seek to address low-cost housing concerns and drug laws.

Heart-disease, diabetes, and obesity are spiraling out of control. The health-care system is more of a sick-care system and so there needs to be more doctors per 1000 patients. Right now there are 1.8/1000, and the party believes there should be at least 2.5/1000.

There are not enough young people voting, and still not enough people voting overall.

The David Emerson scandal points to the need for election reform and more accountability in government.

The Conservative Party of Canada believes that:

Ending the influence of big money in politics by banning corporate and union political donations is a major issue in government that needs to be addressed in order to ensure a more equal representation within politics. Part of the solution to this problem would include new lobbying rules that protect whistleblowers and the like.

Border, port and airport security are major issues that must be addressed.

Parents should have a choice in the child-care that they receive. This goes along with their plan to give parents $100 per child per month (under the age of 6).

Wait times and the large amount of taxes deducted from seniors’ pensions are major concerns.

Opening markets in the Americas and Asia-Pacific is vital to the growth of the Canadian economy, as is a stronger military presence around the world.


The New Democratic Party (NDP) believes that:

Re-investing in a stable, long-term federal grant system to make education and training affordable in every year of study is important.

Reforming the national Employment Insurance plan is vital; it should cover training costs for new jobs.

We must establish national standards that apply to air and water pollution. This would include a national retro-fit housing program that made energy saving materials necessary for house inspection.

The current NAFTA is not working and must be significantly overhauled, against the wishes of the Americans.

We should restart a 10-year national housing program to build 200,000 affordable and co-op housing units.

We should improve the immigration and refugee system to make it speedier and more fair.

We should allow people without status who already call Canada home the opportunity to apply for legal status.

Crystal Meth usage in Canada is a significant problem and that restrictions on over the counter products used in meth lab production should be implemented.

Our troops should be committed overseas only if they are there under the guise of international peace and security organizations.

The Liberal Party believes that:

There should be support for the Canadian Wheat Board and supply management as farmers do not know to which side the government is leaning.

The crisis in East Africa should be what our aid money goes towards most significantly.

*please note that while some parties show more current issues than others that it is simply the case that I did not wish to repeat myself. Rather, many of the parties share the same concerns, such as Immigration Reform, Low-cost Housing, and Improving the Health-Care system.

Standing Committee Reports?

There are all sorts of Standing Committees operating within the House of Commons. All of them report on issues brought to them by Members of Parliament and government authorities at all levels. These reports constitute what the government thinks is important to Canadians.

Important questions to ask ourselves when reading these reports then are:

1. Is this important to me?
2. Is this important to anyone that I know?
3. Are these legitimate concerns?
4. Did the government ever do anything about these issues?

Democracy is supposed to be an inclusive process and if you don't like what is being discussed you should write your MP and tell him/her. Importantly, though, not all reports are acted on, not all recommendations are taken seriously enough. Use the resources at your disposal to find these things out, and decide for yourself if the governing party is representative of you, Canadian citizens in general, and the world at large.

Please check out the parliamentary website at www.parl.gc.ca or follow any of the links provided in previous postings to see what's going on. Have a voice and take a stand!

Standing Committee Reports

The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food:

These guys have been looking into the competitiveness of the cattle and beef industry as it pertains to domestic and international trade. Complaints have been mounting since 2004 over unfair pricing of beef at the after slaughter wholesale level. A major goal of this committee is to work with agencies involved in the industry to find new and potentially more profitable business opportunities. This comes in the wake of committee reports that show profits margins in the industry waning, a report which also catalogues the struggles of Albertan cattle ranchers, in particular, since the ‘mad-cow’ scare and the subsequent closing of the Canadian border to American beef.

The committee has recommended that the governments of Canada and the USA repeal import embargoes and implement the World Health Organizations Animal Health Code. They further recommend that the governments pursue any other modalities that are geared at improving the ‘free flow’ of livestock and meat throughout the world. The report that the committee has published is quite extensive and very heavy in detail. If you are interested or concerned about this subject area we recommend that you consult the report and peruse it yourself at the Parliamentary website: http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=8785&Lang=1&SourceId=76335

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage:

The committee recommends that the government of Canada ratify the WIPO copyright treaty without changing any current musical/personal recording laws in the country, as the current legal situation does not legally infringe on the treaty. The WIPO treaty would provide monies collecting from the copying levy to all eligible recording artists. Currently, monies collected are distributed to Canadian recording artists only, even though a large portion of the copying and recording done is not Canadian artist-based.

The committee also seeks to amend the Copyright Act in regards to photographs in order to give photographers ‘authorship’ rights over their work. As of now it is the owner of the photograph that decides its usage, not the photographer. Corporations, however, can still contractually utilize photographs that freelancers take, and, copyright can still be given to them via a contractual agreement.

The committee has concluded that Internet Service Providers should be liable for material that they give access to which infringes on copyright unless they are acting as a ‘true intermediary’ (in which case they have no knowledge of the material within that site). The committee recommends that ISP’s implement a ‘notice and takedown’ policy.

The committee has also looked very seriously into the issue of using Internet materials in the education system and the proper payment for use of said work. The committee questions whether materials on the Internet should be assumed ‘free’ and thus users are able to access it as such, without paying into digital copyright collectives. The committee has recommended that the collectives to whom digital materials belong begin assign monetary values to said materials. Some of the materials, according to the committee, should cost money to access but the onus should be placed on the collectives’ shoulders to let users know what is public and what is private. The committee sees the culture of assumption on the Internet as too engrained and has recommended accordingly. Take a look at the report: http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=8792&Lang=1&SourceId=80836

The Standing Committee on Finance:

The committee has issued a report concerning the Canadian apparel industry, is current competitive environment, and the resultant effect that duty-remissions have had on the industry. The committee is concerned that competition against Least Developed Countries (LDC) is getting tougher and tougher as material costs rise. Citing that the industry is the 10th largest in Canada, employing approximately 93,000 workers and exporting approximately $3.5 billion to the USA alone annually, it recommends extending duty-remissions for another 7-year period. According to a study undertaken by the committee the duty-remissions save the industry over $20 million annually, a sum that cannot be given up if the industry is to remain profitable and/or not outsource much of its labour force.

Furthermore, the committee has also proposed economic/trade-related measures to help out the industry. As a first step they propose that non-domestic producers be required to sell to Canadian manufacturers, instead of attempting to circumvent the tariff system. Check out the report if you’re interested: http://www.parl.gc.ca/infocomdoc/Documents/37/3/parlbus/commbus/house/reports/FINA_Rpt04/FINA_Rpt04_Page01-e.htm

The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans:

The committee has recommended a number of measures to the Canadian government that aim to increase safety in and around Canadian waters. Firstly, they seek to increase funding for the Coast Guard so that it can better police marina pollution. The committee also hopes that anti-pollution laws, with stricter enforcement, will become more amenable to harsher penalties, through different cost-to-life acknowledgement methods. Secondly, the committee recommends that the Coast Guard be established as an independent civilian federal agency. Thirdly, the committee recommends increasing the powers of the Coast Guard substantially, allowing them to act if/when laws are broken at any level. As a result of this, Coast Guardsmen would be required to carry light arms and mount their ships with deck-mounted armament. Check out the report: http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=8789&Lang=1&SourceId=76275

The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade:

The report published by this committee sets out to investigate Islamic religion; it includes an overview of the Islamic and Muslim world, discusses the effect that the ‘war on terrorism’ has had on the relationship between Canadian Muslims and other Canadian citizens, as well as discusses human rights challenges stemming from the belief system both at home and abroad (women’s rights as an example). The committee seeks to understand Islam in the context of a political ideology.

The committee’s report seeks also to table the relations that Canada has with countries of the Muslim world in a trade and business context. Social and political issues are raised but discussed only insofar as they are important to a meaningful discussion about trade. Rather than going into the details of the report we encourage anyone interested in the subject to check out the report using the link provided. What might be of particular political importance is the mere fact that such issues are being raised in the House of Commons. It is certainly not enough, however, to stop there. http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=8730&Lang=1&SourceId=76222

The Standing Committee on Health:

The committee, in this instance, is particularly concerned with prescription drug trials in Canada, their adoption and implementation in the market place, as well as any potential health implications that may arise from them. The committee has noticed a lack of Ethics Board standardization in prescription drug trials across the country and recommended that this situation be amended. The committee also recommends increased inspections on the legalities and appropriateness of clinical trials, and also recommends that a database of passed and failed trials be created for public access. The committee also recommends that confidentiality agreements be discouraged at all costs.

Furthermore, the committee recommends that new drug licensing be probationary for a period long enough to permit sufficient post-market surveillance. This will entail increasing funding to post-market surveillance resources/groups, and creating a more seamless process online, through which health providers can submit adverse reports of usage. This website would also permit consumer reporting.

Finally, the committee recommends that industry sponsored ads to the public be prohibited and that information reaching the public, concerning prescription drugs, be publicly funded. These measures will require increased supervision of direct-to-consumer advertising and the implementation of new regulatory procedures incorporating proper corrective action. Check out the report: http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=8791&Lang=1&SourceId=76297