OTTAWA - Here`s a quick rundown on the more significant provisions included in Bill C-38, the omnibus budget implementation bill:
* Environment and Natural Resources _ The most significant change is a complete overhaul of Canada`s environmental review process for industrial projects. Under the revisions in C-38, the federal environment minister would decide which projects will be subject to environment assessments. The bill would also set time limits on reviews, restrict the ability of some Canadians to participate in the environmental hearings process, and allow Cabinet ministers to grant certificates for ``major pipelines.''
Another section scraps the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, which called for annual reports on the effectiveness of federal climate change policies and an independent review of results.
* Fisheries and Species At Risk _ The fisheries section would eliminate protections for all fish habitats when it comes to industrial projects and instead narrow those protections to commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fisheries in major water bodies. The legislation would put much of the decision-making in the fisheries minister`s hands.
Similarly, the Species At Risk Act, which restricts industrial activity in critical natural habitat, would be changed so the minister of environment can approve more exemptions.
* Employment Insurance _ The new employment-insurance reforms target repeat EI users, but would require all recipients to commute up to an hour or more for a job and accept work if it pays somewhere between 70 and 90 per cent of their previous income. The Conservatives will wait until their omnibus budget-implementation bill is passed before fully defining ``suitable employment'' that EI recipients would have to accept to continue receiving benefits, and what would be considered a ``reasonable job search.'' The government has said suitable employment would be based on six criteria: personal circumstances, working conditions, hours of work, commuting time, type of work and hourly wage.
* Old Age Security and Pensions _ Starting in 2023, the age of eligibility for OAS benefits would gradually increase. Anyone who was 54 years old or older as of March 31, 2012, would not be affected, while those born between April 1, 1958, and Jan. 31, 1962, would become eligible on a sliding scale between age 65 and 67. Those born on or after Feb. 1, 1962, would not be eligible for OAS until age 67. Eligibility for the allowance given to low-income spouses or survivors also would gradually increase.
* Food Safety _ Canada`s food regulations would be changed so that new health claims, food additives and chemical contamination caps could be approved more quickly. Currently, it can take years for Health Canada to update regulations to allow the use of a new food additive, to set a limit for a chemical residue or to approve a new health claim on a food. The budget bill would give the health minister more power to make these changes after the department concludes risk assessments and completes consultations.
The work of inspecting seed crops also would be transferred from Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors to the private sector. The bill also would change the way CFIA manages quarantines on farms with infected animals.
* Oversight and Other Agencies _ The Security Intelligence Review Committee, one of two oversight bodies monitoring Canada`s spy agency, would be eliminated. The auditor general also would no longer be required to conduct annual audits on a number of agencies, while the National Council of Welfare and National Aboriginal Health Organization would be among a number of organizations scrapped.
* Miscellaneous _ Among the other changes proposed in C-38 is the elimination of a backlog of nearly 280,000 applications filed by foreigners before 2008 wanting to become federal skilled workers. American law enforcement officers also would be allowed to make arrests in Canada when working on cross-border maritime teams, while national parks and historic sites would be open less. Meanwhile, charities would face restrictions on what political activities they can undertake.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Lee Berthiaume
* Environment and Natural Resources _ The most significant change is a complete overhaul of Canada`s environmental review process for industrial projects. Under the revisions in C-38, the federal environment minister would decide which projects will be subject to environment assessments. The bill would also set time limits on reviews, restrict the ability of some Canadians to participate in the environmental hearings process, and allow Cabinet ministers to grant certificates for ``major pipelines.''
Another section scraps the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, which called for annual reports on the effectiveness of federal climate change policies and an independent review of results.
* Fisheries and Species At Risk _ The fisheries section would eliminate protections for all fish habitats when it comes to industrial projects and instead narrow those protections to commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fisheries in major water bodies. The legislation would put much of the decision-making in the fisheries minister`s hands.
Similarly, the Species At Risk Act, which restricts industrial activity in critical natural habitat, would be changed so the minister of environment can approve more exemptions.
* Employment Insurance _ The new employment-insurance reforms target repeat EI users, but would require all recipients to commute up to an hour or more for a job and accept work if it pays somewhere between 70 and 90 per cent of their previous income. The Conservatives will wait until their omnibus budget-implementation bill is passed before fully defining ``suitable employment'' that EI recipients would have to accept to continue receiving benefits, and what would be considered a ``reasonable job search.'' The government has said suitable employment would be based on six criteria: personal circumstances, working conditions, hours of work, commuting time, type of work and hourly wage.
* Old Age Security and Pensions _ Starting in 2023, the age of eligibility for OAS benefits would gradually increase. Anyone who was 54 years old or older as of March 31, 2012, would not be affected, while those born between April 1, 1958, and Jan. 31, 1962, would become eligible on a sliding scale between age 65 and 67. Those born on or after Feb. 1, 1962, would not be eligible for OAS until age 67. Eligibility for the allowance given to low-income spouses or survivors also would gradually increase.
* Food Safety _ Canada`s food regulations would be changed so that new health claims, food additives and chemical contamination caps could be approved more quickly. Currently, it can take years for Health Canada to update regulations to allow the use of a new food additive, to set a limit for a chemical residue or to approve a new health claim on a food. The budget bill would give the health minister more power to make these changes after the department concludes risk assessments and completes consultations.
The work of inspecting seed crops also would be transferred from Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors to the private sector. The bill also would change the way CFIA manages quarantines on farms with infected animals.
* Oversight and Other Agencies _ The Security Intelligence Review Committee, one of two oversight bodies monitoring Canada`s spy agency, would be eliminated. The auditor general also would no longer be required to conduct annual audits on a number of agencies, while the National Council of Welfare and National Aboriginal Health Organization would be among a number of organizations scrapped.
* Miscellaneous _ Among the other changes proposed in C-38 is the elimination of a backlog of nearly 280,000 applications filed by foreigners before 2008 wanting to become federal skilled workers. American law enforcement officers also would be allowed to make arrests in Canada when working on cross-border maritime teams, while national parks and historic sites would be open less. Meanwhile, charities would face restrictions on what political activities they can undertake.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Lee Berthiaume
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