IAM Political Action

The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously rejected the Conservative government’s attempt to transform the Senate into an elected body, and to set term limits of nine years, saying that such basic changes require the consent of at least seven provinces and half of Canadians.

The court also nixed the possible abolition of the Senate without the consent of all provinces, the House of Commons and the Senate — probably impossible for the foreseeable future. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government had asked the court if abolition could occur with the consent of seven provinces and half of the country’s population.

Full story from Globe and Mail..here

For decades, Canada has relied on migrant workers to help develop the economy. Many come through the government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). This program was intended to fill very specific jobs on a short term basis—jobs that required workers and skills that did not exist in the country.  But since 2006, the Harper government has made it much easier for employers of all kinds to use migrant workers. It’s like they’ve built a pipeline that can be easily tapped into.  Employers are now able to hire temporary migrant workers to harvest crops, fly planes, drive trucks, care for children and elders, respond to trouble tickets on IT help desks, and—incredibly—serve coffee at Tim Hortons and flip burgers at Wendy’s!

Check this out.