The plan for Canada's tariffs counter-punch
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government is looking at offering support to steel and aluminum workers impacted by U.S. tariffs.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum that would apply to Canada, Mexico and the EU.
To minimize the harm done to those sectors, Freeland said she wanted to assure workers the government will come to their aid though she didn't say how or when.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that he's already reached out to Canadian steel and aluminum producers to talk about upcoming short-term challenges.
When asked if the help would resemble the $867 million in loans offered during the U.S.-Canada standoff over softwood lumber, Freeland called the two situations "very different, but the principle is the same."
Since the tariffs are different, she said the impacts and subsequent government response will be unique to steel and aluminum workers.
In August, the government threatened legal action against the U.S. if negotiations on softwood lumber remained stalled. The Conference Board of Canada estimatedthe duties on softwood lumber duties would cost Canadian producers $1.7 billion a year and cost2,200 jobs.
But now the focus has shifted to metal.
"The end game is for the United States to remove its illegal and completely unjustified tariffs," Freeland told CBCRadio's The House.
Canada is countering the U.S.move by imposing dollar-for-dollar tariffsof its own,worth $16.6 billion, on everything from steel and aluminum products to maple syrup, beer kegs, hair lacquers, whisky and toilet paper. The government has given two weeks for Canadians to weigh in on the list before tariffs take effect on July 1.
But Freeland made it clear the goal is to get the tariffs repealed. "I believe common sense will prevail," she said. "People don't do things that hurt themselves for that long."
Alberta prepared to write cheque for Trans Mountain, but not yet
Alberta is keeping their game plan for the Trans Mountain pipeline closed to the public for now.
Premier Rachel Notleytold The Househer province has agreed to indemnify the federal government up to $2 billion for increases in construction costs on the expansion.
Details on the specific situations that would prompt Alberta to get involved remain foggy, but Notley said the province wouldn't necessarily be on the hook for the full amount.
"It's not a guarantee that we would be putting in the full $2 billion by any means," she said.
She said Canadians will know more details in the coming weeks and months, but it's "a long ways down the road" before Alberta gets financially involved.
"Our amount of money does not become payable until the project iscomplete," she said.
The Liberal government announced this week that it will buy Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline and related infrastructure for $4.5 billion, and could spend billions more to build the controversial expansion.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the project is in the national interest, and proceeding with it will preserve jobs, reassure investors and get resources to world markets. He said he couldn't state exactly what additional costs will be incurred by the Canadian public to build the expansion, but suggested a toll paid by oil companies could offset some costs and that there would be a financial return on the investment.
Kinder Morgan had estimated the cost of building the expansion would be $7.4 billion, but Morneau insisted that the project will not have a fiscal impact, or "hit."
Government culture a roadblock for auditor general recommendations
Canada's auditor general says his work has made one thing clear: the government has a culture problem that makes meaningful change difficult.
Michael Ferguson released his spring audits on Tuesday, which included scathing criticisms of the government's performance on the Phoenix pay system, Indigenous services and the military justice system.
It's not the first time many of these problems have been highlighted in Ferguson's reports and that, he said, isthe problem.
"I think it is time for me to say... OK, we need to have better responses to our recommendations," he told CBC Radio's The House.
He pointed to the Phoenix failure and the decades-long struggle to improve education for First Nations children as two issues that perfectly illustrate what he calls challenges with the inner workings of government.
"[It's] not just because of a policy breakdown, there's something in the culture of government that's causing that."
His audit found that there was no real or independent oversight of the massive pay system project, that Phoenix executives did not understand the importance of the warnings they received that it wasn't ready, and that the executives' decision to implement the system was "unreasonable."
Ferguson also found that Indigenous Services isn't adequately measuring or reporting on progress in reducing socio-economic gaps on First Nations reserves, and isn't using the little data it has to improve education on reserves.
"There was no indication that the gap had gotten any better over almost the last 20 years. That's a whole generation of people."
Despite the countless reports and recommendations, change is slow, he says.
"We always get the department agreeing to our recommendation, but then somehow we come back fiveyears later, 10 years later and we find the same problems," he lamented. "It almost is like the departments are trying to make our recommendations and our reports go away by saying they agree with our recommendations."
Part of the issuestems from parliamentary crossover into the civil service, according to Ferguson.
Because politicians think from election to election, it can affect public servants' ability to bring in a longer-term plan.
"It seems like the political side of things ends up having more weight in the conversation," he added.
It doesn't matter if the government adopts all the suggestions, or does something completely different, Ferguson said. All he cares about is making positive change and having results to show for it.
Mandatory drug testing possible in certain jobs
The Liberals are looking into mandatory drug testing in connection with cannabis legalization and say it's possible for certain job sectors.
MP Bill Blair, the government's point person on the file, told CBC Radio's The House on Thursday that safety-sensitive positions like pilots could potentially be subjected to mandatory testing in the future.
"We examined very closely what we could do as far as testing when there was a bona fide safety requirement," he told host Chris Hall.
"In those very limited circumstances, it's possible."
Officials, labour groups and employers have been split on whether to implement mandatory testing.
There are currently no federal labour rules about drug and alcohol testing outside the military and successive governments from the late 1980s have stayed away from the issue.
However, the decision to introduce legislation to legalize cannabis, which the government hopes to have in place this summer, has placed pressure on the government to establish national rules for workplace drug testing.
But there are privacy and constitutional complications, many of which arose during examinations of Bill C-46's proposals for tackling drug impaired driving.
"Blanket random testing is not allowed," Blair said.
Despite the potential legal challenges, it's that mandatory, random testing some groups are calling for.
"It's been proven to work," Derrick Hynes, president of Federally Regulated Employers Transportation and Communications, argued.
"It results in a change in behaviour, which is precisely what you're looking for. You're not looking for a punitive measure."
Hynes said he thinks there can be a balance between privacy rights and safety, adding he hopes the two cannabis bills can be amended to include a section on mandatory drug testing.
Regardless of whether it's included in this round of legislation, he said he'll continue to push for it.
While it appears there's no plan to include amendments dealing with mandatory testing in Bill C-45 the main piece of cannabis legislation Blair said it will be an ongoing conversation after the legislation is in place.
"It is part of an important and complex discussion."
Counting down the days to the Ontario election
It's been a whirlwind campaign in Ontario as Andrea Horwath, Doug Ford and Kathleen Wynne duelled in the polls and on the debate stage.
The NDP have surged in popular support, but the Progressive Conservatives are still close on their heels. Which party is better poised to win on election night?
With only days before Ontarians hit the polls, we've asked insiders from all three parties to break down the final moments before the premier is chosen.
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