Five new policies from Ottawa

Photo: Sean Kilpatrick The Canadian Press Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons on June 18, the day before the end of the parliamentary session in Ottawa

Boris Proulx and Sandrine Vieira in Ottawa

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• Canada

Through sometimes heated debates, scandals and alliances, federal parliamentarians have advanced their agenda by adopting this session policies that are capable of changing the daily lives of Canadians. Overview.

1. There will be a register of foreign agents

Just three days after the Hogue Commission concluded that foreign interference activities had indeed occurred during the last two federal elections, the government tabled its highly anticipated Bill C-70, the Countering Foreign Interference Act.

The legislation notably provides for the creation of a register aimed at strengthening the transparency of the activities of foreign actors, a register which already exists in countries such as the United States and Australia. Any person who, on behalf of a foreign state, attempts to promote external political interests or influence federal decision-makers must enter their name in the register within 14 days.

The government will also give the Canadian Security Intelligence Service more latitude in disclosing sensitive information. As the Conservatives wanted the bill to be adopted quickly, the text moved quickly through the Commons.

2. Free medicine, but after a standoff

The new negotiations between Quebec and Ottawa on drug insurance promise to be difficult, but they will not be held before the Senate finishes its examination of the new flagship social program for 2024.

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The minority government of Justin Trudeau had promised its partner, the New Democratic Party, to start thinking about universal drug insurance in Canada in exchange for its support. Promise kept, since he wants to pay for contraceptives and diabetes medications from coast to coast. Only problem: Quebec has a hybrid plan (public-private) that already covers some of these medications. According to the law, an agreement with the federal government is required for the provinces to improve their own regime.

Ottawa celebrated in June the “success” represented by its other recent social program, that on dental care. Two million seniors have already registered, including 700,000 in Quebec, a province where 60% of dentists accept checks from Ottawa.

3. Making the richest 40,000 pay

After more than eight years in power, the Trudeau government presented a budget in 2024 designed to appeal to young voters, millennials and members of Generation Z. For reduce a deficit aggravated by new social programs, we want to make the rich pay.

The Trudeau government is thus increasing the inclusion rate of the income tax capital from June 25. Only a handful of taxpayers are affected — 40,000, according to the Ministry of Finance — those who make more than $250,000 in gains from assets that have appreciated in value, such as stocks or second properties.< /p>

4. Citizenship for “Lost Canadians”

If passed, the Citizenship Amendment Bill, introduced in Parliament in May, would allow children born abroad to a Canadian parent also born abroad to automatically obtain Canadian citizenship.

This has been a long-standing demand from many advocacy groups, which began when Stephen Harper’s Conservative government amended the law in 2009 to prevent Canadian parents born abroad from passing on their citizenship unless their child was born in Canada.

The bill has made little progress since it was introduced in the House.

This is not the only policy put forward by the Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, in the winter. Ottawa also announced a new off-campus work limit of 24 hours per week for international students applicable starting in September and imposed a two-year cap on the number of international students accepted into Canada.

5. The last scab

Starting next year, federally regulated companies will no longer be able to call on scabs in the event of a labor dispute — a ban already in force in Quebec for over 45 years.

The New Democratic Party boasts of having “forced” the Liberals to pass a bill against “replacement workers” in exchange of his support in Parliament. In a twist, the Conservative Party also voted for the text, while Pierre Poilievre openly courted the vote of unionized workers.

Mr. Poilievre, for example, spoke at a construction union conference in Gatineau in the spring. However, he did not go so far as to curse the “scabs“, as his opponent Jagmeet Singh did, which earned him applause in the process. more nourished.

The new law will apply in particular to the transport, financial institutions and telecommunications sectors, but will not come into force before 2025.< /p>