From royal titles to animal testing: The law changes coming in the budget bill
The 2023 federal budget released this week includes a series of affordability measures, tax changes, and major spends on health care and the clean economy. But, tucked into the 255-page document are a series of smaller items you may have missed.
Specifically, a scan of the "proposed legislative action" annex—largely non-fiscal measures the Liberals plan to stuff into the coming budget implementation bill, or BIA—indicates a host of grab-bag law changes.
From moving ahead with an electronic citizenship program and changes for natural health products, to amending an act regarding royal titles and imposing new privacy requirements on political parties, here are some of the odds and ends in the budget.
NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCT OVERSIGHT
According to the budget, the government plans to amend the Food and Drugs Act to extend powers brought in under the 'Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act (Vanessa’s Law)' to regulate natural health products.
This change would allow regulators to take stronger action when health and safety issues are flagged with natural health products on the market.
IMPROVING GIG WORKER PROTECTIONS
Changes are coming to the Canada Labour Code to improve job protections for federally-regulated gig workers.
"For those in the gig economy, such as those who rely on an app or digital platform for their source of work, this can have a real impact on the stability and security of their livelihoods," reads the budget.
This change would seek to strengthen prohibitions against employee misclassification so that federally-regulated gig workers don't miss out on the same labour rights, employer contributions, and entitlements as "traditional" employees.
It builds on a 2021 change that applied to misclassification of employees in the private sector.
ENABLING ELECTRONIC CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM
The Liberals are eyeing amendments to the Citizenship Act to allow for "the electronic administration of the citizenship program; automated and machine-assisted processing; and the collection and use of biometric information."
The budget states this would allow for "faster and more efficient" citizenship application processing, a push likely motivated by the still-substantial backlog.
Currently, citizenship applications rely on name-based searches to screen applicants to verify their identities, but now the federal government wants to be able to use tools like fingerprints, similar to what is done for visa and permanent resident programs because they say they provide more accurate information.
Ten million dollars is being allocated for the next five years to help implement the new biometric approach.
This change is separate from the proposal to allow new Canadians to skip the in-person citizenship ceremony and take their oath through "a secure online solution."
LEAVE FOR A CHILD'S DEATH OR DISAPPEARANCE
Another Canada Labour Code change will see expansions to the eligibility for leave related to the death or disappearance of a child.
“The death or disappearance of a child is a tragic and devastating moment and can leave parents unable to work. Ensuring parents have the support they need to navigate a devastating period in their lives is critical to their emotional, mental, and physical well-being," reads the budget.
This change would apply to workers in federally-regulated sectors.
AMENDING ROYAL STYLE AND TITLES
In perhaps the most mysterious line in the 2023 federal budget, the Liberals say they plan to amend the "Royal Style and Titles Act" through the coming budget bill.
Mentioned only in the legislative annex, the government is giving no other indications of what these changes would entail.
The act itself, ratified in 1953, is just five pages long. At the time, it conferred upon Elizabeth II the title of Queen of Canada.
It still references "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith" so perhaps that's being updated to reflect that King Charles III is now on the job.
BANNING COSMETIC TESTING ON ANIMALS
The federal government is proposing amendments to the Food and Drugs Act to ban cosmetic testing on animals.
"The proposed amendments would prohibit: testing cosmetics on animals in Canada; selling cosmetics that rely on animal testing data to establish the product’s safety, with some exceptions; and false or misleading labelling pertaining to the testing of cosmetics on animals," reads the budget.
This is a change the government had already signalled was afoot, but is now being stitched into the BIA.
POLITICAL PARTY PRIVACY STANDARDS
For some time privacy experts have balked at how political parties are not subject to federal privacy laws and have limited obligations when it comes to transparency around the information they harvest from the electorate.
Now, perhaps responding to the B.C. privacy commissioner ruling that federal parties are subject to that provinces' Personal Information Protection Act, it appears some tightening is ahead.
The Liberals are looking to build on a move they took in 2019 to require parties to post their privacy policies online, by establishing "a uniform federal approach in respect of federal political parties’ collection, use, and disclosure of personal information in a manner that overrides overlapping provincial legislation.”
This would be done by amending the Canada Elections Act.
Correction
This story has been updated to clarify which year the Royal Style and Titles Act was first ratified.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.
Local Spotlight
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.