Updated Nov. 23 — Ontario’s government is considering new legislation to more clearly spell out who can provide what kinds of animal care in the province’s veterinary sector. The provincial ag ministry on Monday launched a round of public consultation on the Veterinarians Act, which governs licensing of veterinarians and accreditation of veterinary facilities in […] Read more
Ontario seeking new rules on scope of vet services
Changes also considered to veterinary sector oversight
U.S. Senate Democrats roll out draft bill to legalize weed
Reuters — Three top U.S. Democratic senators on Wednesday unveiled a discussion draft of a bill that aims to legalize cannabis, a move that would allow adult Americans to buy and possess up to 10 ounces of marijuana without facing criminal penalties. The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act floated by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, […] Read more
Back-to-work rule for Montreal dockworkers clears Parliament
Bill granted royal assent Friday night
A week-long strike by dockworkers at the Port of Montreal is expected to conclude after federal back-to-work legislation passed Parliament Friday evening. Bill C-29, introduced Tuesday in the House of Commons, cleared third reading in the Commons Wednesday and received three readings in the Senate and royal assent Friday. The port’s longshore workers, represented by […] Read more
Ottawa urged to end Montreal longshoremen’s strike
Back-to-work legislation on table; NDP, Bloc oppose it
Montreal | Reuters — Dockworkers at Canada’s second-largest port on Monday began their second strike in less than a year, as business leaders urged Ottawa to quickly end a walkout they said could cost the economy $25 million a day. The federal Liberal government said Sunday it would introduce special legislation to end the strike […] Read more
CN conductors approve post-strike deal
Canadian National Railway’s conductors and yard workers have voted for at least another two and a half years of labour peace with the company. The affected employees, members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, voted 91.3 per cent to ratify a three-year contract with CN, retroactive to last July 23, the union said in a […] Read more
Puerto Rico cries foul over U.S. Congress’s cockfighting ban
San Juan | Reuters — An attempt by the U.S. Congress to ban cockfighting in Puerto Rico has set off a debate about animal cruelty, put thousands of jobs at risk and sparked a possible power struggle between the U.S. territory’s government and Washington. The 500-year-old tradition of cockfighting in Puerto Rico was due to […] Read more
Ontario draws new legal lines against on-farm trespass
Ontario has introduced a legislative package setting up new legal boundaries around livestock in that province, whether on farms or in transit. The Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, introduced Monday by Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman, is expected to “address the unique risks and challenges associated with trespass onto a farm or into […] Read more
CN strike drags on, hitting grain exports, fertilizer output
Ottawa/Montreal | Reuters — A prolonged strike at Canadian National Railway, the country’s largest railroad, sent further shocks through the economy on Monday with grain shipments scuttled and layoffs planned at fertilizer producers and an auto shipment terminal. As Canada’s biggest rail strike in a decade entered its seventh day, industry kept pressuring the government […] Read more
Union says propane shortfalls may be CN’s own making
Propane shortages for grain dryers and heating fuel in the wake of a strike by Canadian National Railway (CN) conductors and yard workers appear to be “largely manufactured” by the railway, according to the union for the striking workers. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC-CTY), which represents over 3,000 CN staff in Canada who walked […] Read more
Propane shortage looms as CN strike hits third day
Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — Shippers scrambled to shift freight onto trucks on Thursday as a strike at Canada’s biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway, hit its third day, leaving the critical fuel propane and other goods stranded. Some 3,200 unionized employees, including conductors and yard workers, hit picket lines on Tuesday in the biggest such action […] Read more
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