Sexual assault law in Canada: What women need to know

Canadian women making decisions on whether to report sexual assault should know that while Canada's law defining sexual assault is itself positive, the processes that govern reporting, prosecuting, defending and adjudicating this crime pose serious hazards for women.

What follows is an overview of significant changes to Canada's sexual assault law and the way it is implemented, from 1982 to the present:

1982: Parliament broadens definition of rape and criminalizes wife rape

In 1982, the federal government reformed the crime of rape, which previously applied only where a man had non-consensual intercourse with a woman not his wife. The 1982 reforms broadened the crime by including all forms of unwanted sexual contact, not just intercourse, and criminalized wife rape for the first time.

Conservatives to vote behind closed doors at caucus on Chong’s bill to empower MPs

PARLIAMENT HILL—The first Conservative vote on a radical bill from government backbench MP Michael Chong, proposing Elections Act amendments that would allow only a handful of federal MPs to spark a review and a possible overthrow of a party leader, will take place in secret during a closed-door meeting of the Conservative caucus, one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s designated caucus spokesmen said Tuesday.

The private members’ bill, which generated a storm of interest from MPs in all parties after Mr. Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, Ont.) held a nationally-televised press conference on Tuesday morning and introduced it in the Commons, will also first be reviewed by a Conservative caucus legislative committee chaired by Mr. Harper’s Parliamentary Secretary in the House, Conservative MP Paul Calandra (Oak Ridges-Markham, Ont.), The Hill Times has learned.

Feds dragging feet on election fraud legislation, still no sign of bill

Canada’s federal election system is unhealthy and Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand appears determined to fix it, but more than a-year-and-a-half after voting unanimously to create a law to address the robocalls scandal and prevent election fraud, the federal government has yet to table a bill and opposition MPs say they have “absolutely no confidence” one will be implemented in time for the next election campaign.

“We know that that the government is now well over a year overdue for getting legislation before the House. What can possibly excuse them for not having a bill now on the Order Paper and be ready to table it now, given that supposedly it was ready last May before some kind of caucus pushback caused the former minister to pull it back? Why can’t another five months be enough for them to be ready as soon as parliament returns which is now to table its bill? I have absolutely no confidence in this government and there’s nothing the minister has done to suggest he’s worthy of confidence either,” said NDP MP Craig Scott (Toronto-Danforth, Ont.), his party’s democratic reform critic.

Debbie Stabenow Pledges To Oppose Monsanto Protection Act Extension Without Full Debate

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, pledged to oppose the extension of the so-called the Monsanto Protection Act, a victory for advocates who have been pressing for its repeal.

Stabenow made her pledge in a conversation with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who has been pushing the Senate to vote on an amendment to the farm bill that would repeal the provision. That vote was blocked by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and on Thursday morning the Senate voted to end debate and move to final passage.

Supervised drug injection sites to get new rules tomorrow

The federal government will table legislation Thursday that will clarify the rules around new supervised drug injection sites in Canada.

The rules come three years after a Supreme Court ruling that allowed a Vancouver supervised injection site to remain open.

While You Were Sleeping: Parliament's Late Night Legislative Flurry

You might not know it from a glance at the nightly news, but scandals, audits and intrigue aren't all that is taking place these days on Parliament Hill.

As boiling controversies continue over a Senate expense scandal, the involvement of the Prime Minister's Office, and a continuing investigation into fraudulent automated phone calls from the 2011 election, MPs away from the cameras and headlines are in the midst of a marathon push of extended parliamentary hours.

SLAPP Suits: Ontario Introduces Bill To Crack Down On Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation

TORONTO - Ontario plans to crack down on frivolous strategic lawsuits aimed at intimidating and muzzling critics on matters of public debate.

New anti-SLAPP — or Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation — legislation was introduced Tuesday by the governing Liberals, who say it's time Canada's most populous province join Quebec in rooting out such nuisance lawsuits.

Tories’ new law for mentally-ill offenders will increase risk to public: Psychiatric group

OTTAWA—The Canadian Psychiatric Association says the Conservative government’s tough new rules for offenders found not criminally responsible will actually increase public risk while being a “substantial drain” on public resources.

The association, which consulted with the Canadian Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, spent more than two months examining the government legislation before weighing in with an assessment.

Microsoft "Bait and Switch" Could Mean a Huge Increase in Foreign Tech Workers

A member of a powerful DC-based coalition of education and labor groups says Microsoft tricked him and others into opening the door to the Immigration Innovation Act, a federal bill that would promote the offshore outsourcing of American jobs.

"It was a classic bait and switch," says the source, a member of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Education Coalition, an umbrella organization of some 500 corporate, labor, and education groups that was cofounded by Microsoft. The source, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of jeopardizing his relationships with allies on Capitol Hill, described Microsoft's approach to the bill as "lobbying malpractice."

Colorado Lawmakers Get Threatened Over Gun Control Legislation

When debating gun control and the rights granted by the Second Amendment, heated arguments are expected -- but a few people have gone too far by threatening some state lawmakers over the gun control bills currently being considered by the state legislature.

Fox31 was the first to report that Franklin Sain, a 42-year-old Colorado Springs man, was arrested for making threats against Rep. Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora), the sponsor of two of the four controversial gun measures that passed the state House last week.

Justice bills to focus on child predators, victim support

Reducing violent crimes against children and strengthening the rights of victims in the justice system will be the priorities for the Harper government's criminal justice agenda in the coming months, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said today.

Victims' rights advocate Sheldon Kennedy and Ontario Provincial Police deputy commissioner Vince Hawkes joined Nicholson for a roundtable in Toronto to promote the government's next steps, which appear focused on several familiar themes.

Dianne Feinstein Introduces Assault Weapons Ban, Urges Public To Help It Pass

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation Thursday that would ban more than 150 types of assault weapons along with certain high-capacity gun magazines, saying she knows she faces an uphill battle to get her measure through Congress but, with the help of the American public, it can be done.

Feinstein's bill is far more detailed than the 1994 assault weapons ban that lapsed in 2004. Her bill would stop the sale, manufacture and importation of 158 specifically named military-style firearms and ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. It would also ban an additional group of assault weapons that accept detachable ammunition magazines and have at least one military characteristic -- a new provision she said addresses a loophole in the 1994 law.

Law tilts toward liberty for mentally ill offenders

The mother of a boy allegedly lured out of an Oshawa elementary school last week by a woman with a history of child abduction says it is “unacceptable” that the accused woman was allowed back into society unsupervised.

Joanne Merlene Jones, 41, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, is charged with kidnapping an 11-year-old boy from Village Union Public School on Thursday morning and walking him away from the school, before he broke free and ran back.

Senate Bill Aims To Give SEC More Power To Punish Wall Street Crimes

WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Senators are planning to introduce a bipartisan bill on Monday to give the country's securities regulator the authority to seek tougher fines for alleged Wall Street criminals.

The bill, sponsored by Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed and Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley, would boost the penalties that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission can seek from firms and individuals accused of wrongdoing and triple the cap on funds the agency can seek from repeat offenders.

Vancouver council votes to require pipeline and oil companies to be fully liable for oil spill

A battle between Big Green and Big Oil kicked up a notch Wednesday as Mayor Gregor Robertson’s council passed a motion slamming a “radical proposal” to increase supertanker traffic through the Burrard Inlet.

The high stakes at play in Robertson’s green vision for Vancouver finally became fully clear in recent weeks, as he put forward a motion requiring pipeline operators and oil tankers operating in Vancouver to carry enough liability insurance to cover the cost of any spill.

The motion appears to be the first step in a Vancouver green blockade against Alberta oil seeking to flow through B.C. en route to lucrative Asian markets.

The motion came after Kinder Morgan put forward a plan to increase the daily capacity of its oil pipeline from Alberta to the Lower Mainland from 300,000 barrels to 850,000.

Kinder Morgan wants to twin its 65-year-old pipeline, which delivers crude oil from Alberta to the Westridge facility in Burnaby, en route to Asia and the U.S.

As a result, the number of tankers in Vancouver harbour could go up five-fold, increasing the risk to the harbours and beaches that are a critical part of the city’s appeal.

Mexico passes climate-change law

The Mexican legislature passed one of the strongest national climate-change laws so far on 19 April. Mexico, which ranks 11th in the world for both the size of its economy and its level of carbon emissions, joins the United Kingdom in having legally binding emissions goals aimed at stemming the effects of climate change.

After three years of debate and revisions, the bill passed in Mexico’s lower house with a vote of 128 for and 10 against, and was later passed unanimously by the Senate. The new law contains many sweeping provisions to mitigate climate change, including a mandate to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 30% below business-as-usual levels by 2020, and by 50% below 2000 levels by 2050.

Furthermore, it stipulates that 35% of the country's energy should come from renewable sources by 2024, and requires mandatory emissions reporting by the country's largest polluters. The act also establishes a commission to oversee implementation, and encourages development of a carbon-trading scheme. Although there was initial resistance from Mexico's steel and cement industries, the bill passed with bipartisan support.
Global trend

Experts say that Mexico's climate bill reflects a global trend in which individual states and countries, frustrated with stalled United Nations climate agreements, have begun implementing their own emissions regulations.

Elder Abuse: Canada's Federal Government To Introduce Stiffer Sentences

OTTAWA - The federal government is set to introduce tougher sentences for those convicted of elder abuse.

The Canadian Press has learned that Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and seniors minister Alice Wong are to announce amendments to the Criminal Code on Thursday in Toronto.

The stiffer sentencing provisions were among the Conservatives' promises during the last election campaign, and were also mentioned in last year's speech from the throne.

"Our government will continue to protect the most vulnerable in society and work to prevent crime. It will propose tougher sentences for those who abuse seniors and will help at risk youth avoid gangs and criminal activity," the throne speech stated.

Research by academics, Statistics Canada and seniors' advocates suggests that almost one of every 10 older Canadians experiences some form of abuse.

Harper almost dead last in terms of passing legislation

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper has the second-to-worst record of any prime minister since 1936 when it comes to passing legislation, a West Block analysis shows.

Harper's record through his first two minority governments (49 per cent) is underperformed only by Progressive Conservative prime minister Joe Clark.

Clark's poor record (21 per cent) was in part due to his brief and tumultuous run in office; he only had time to introduce 28 bills before he was ousted on a confidence vote.

Former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, who also grappled with a minority government, has the third worst record. He was able to pass 46 of the 82 government bills his cabinet introduced, for a success rate of 56 per cent.

Success rates have been on a relatively steady decline for decades, falling significantly since Mackenzie King's reign between 1936 and 1948, when the Liberal prime minister's success rate was nearly 96 per cent, according to data available on the parliamentary website.