Â鶹´«Ã½

Politics

    • Liberals accuse Conservatives of using AI for amendments to jobs bill as votes loom

    Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson arrives at a news conference on the forecast for the 2024 wildfire season, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson arrives at a news conference on the forecast for the 2024 wildfire season, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
    Share
    OTTAWA -

    Members of Parliament are expected to vote for up to 15 hours in a row Thursday and Friday on more than 200 Conservative amendments to the government's sustainable jobs bill.

    The amendments are what's left of nearly 20,000 changes the Conservatives proposed to Bill C-50 last fall at a House of Commons committee. 

    Liberals now contend the Conservatives came up with the myriad amendments using artificial intelligence, in order to gum up the government's agenda.

    The Tories deny that accusation. 

    The Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, as it's known, outlines how the government must help prepare energy workers for new skills and job requirements that are coming with the global economic transition to clean technology. 

    Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the bill ensures government accountability and engagement with the people who will be most affected as the world shifts away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources. 

    It requires five-year action plans, regular reporting and the inclusion of labour and Indigenous leaders in discussions.

    The Liberals contend their bill isn't meant to kill energy jobs but rather lay out the way to create more of them in the renewable energy sphere.

    Conservative critic Shannon Stubbs, however, calls it a blueprint for what she deems the Liberals' "wide-scale radical economic restructuring." 

    She argues it will put thousands of energy workers out of their jobs by favouring renewable energy at the expense of oil and gas.

    The bill passed second reading in October with the Conservatives voting against it. 

    When it moved to the natural resources committee in November for study, the debate descended into a chaotic mess and lengthy filibuster that at one point had MPs screaming at each other to shut up.

    The noise was so loud during the final meeting in early December that two MPs voted the wrong way on a motion because they couldn't hear what was being proposed.

    During that committee, the Conservatives proposed 19,600 amendments to the 18-page bill. That number decreased to 200 once the bill left committee and headed back to the House of Commons.

    Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said Thursday those amendments were "robo-amendments created by AI." 

    The Liberals haven't moved to debate the bill again since December, when they pulled it off the order paper to prevent another voting marathon just days after the Conservatives had forced 30 hours of straight voting on government spending plans. 

    MacKinnon said the Conservatives were getting a "time out," but the time has come for the bill to move forward.

    "Mr. Poilievre now will have to have his members come here and vote for as long as it takes on a couple of hundred amendments that survived that robo-amendment process that they admitted was undertaken by artificial intelligence, by robot caucus members and robot parliamentarians," he said. 

    "This is not the way to make progress for Canadians, it’s not the way to make progress for climate change and it is not the way to offer economic opportunity for Canadian workers."

    MacKinnon said the amendments didn't make "one single constructive suggestion" for the bill.

    In late March at a committee discussion about an unrelated topic, Stubbs denied the Bill C-50 amendments were computer generated.

    "Let me just say for the record ... that those were not generated by AI," Stubbs said.

    She said Thursday that the Liberals moved to add the bill to the agenda at the last minute to try to ram it through.

    “Because the fact is that the 'just transition' is a global, top-down, socialist agenda to central plan a forced economic — not only energy — transition away from the sectors and businesses that underpin all of Canada's economy: energy, agriculture, construction, transportation and manufacturing," she said.

    Wilkinson called Stubbs's accusations "so ridiculous that it almost belies belief."

    The votes will not take as long as they would have before, after Speaker Greg Fergus moved Thursday to put the amendments into groups that will all be voted on at the same time. 

    He cited rulings by predecessors to back his decision, including decisions Conservative MP Andrew Scheer made when he was the Speaker in 2012. Scheer is currently the Conservative House leader.

    Instead of 207 individual votes, it's expected there will be no more than 64. Still, at about 15 minutes each, it could take more than 15 hours to get through them all.

    The first of the votes was called just before 6 p.m. on Thursday.

    During the 30-hour marathon in December, votes happened continuously, including overnight with no breaks. But a motion the Liberals passed in February means that can't happen this time. 

    At midnight, a minister can seek to suspend the votes until 9 a.m. the following day, to protect the health and safety of not only MPs but Hill and House of Commons staff.

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2024.

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    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

    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

    A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.

    W5 Investigates

    W5 Investigates Travelling along the world's most dangerous land route for migrants

    In a five-part series this week on CTVNews.ca and CTV National News at 11, W5's Avery Haines follows the harrowing journeys of migrants who risk their lives crossing the Darien Gap and ride atop Mexico's notorious 'Train of Death'. In this third installment, Haines travels across the Mexico-U.S. border.

    Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says her recent comment about chemtrails doesn't mean she believes the United States government is spraying them in the province.

    An Indigenous family has filed a human rights complaint against retail giant Canadian Tire over a pair of incidents that happened on the same day at the company’s Coquitlam, B.C., location.

    Trudeau government survives another Conservative-led non-confidence vote

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government survived another Conservative-led non-confidence vote on Tuesday, the second in less than a week. This, the same day the Bloc Quebecois had an opportunity to table a non-confidence motion of its own, opting instead to push the Liberals to support one of its key demands.

    Canada

    • An Indigenous family has filed a human rights complaint against retail giant Canadian Tire over a pair of incidents that happened on the same day at the company’s Coquitlam, B.C., location.

    • The leader of the B.C. Conservative party is once again under fire for comments related to climate change – this time for suggesting there is an "anti-human agenda" behind the push to confront warming global temperatures.

    • A British Columbia lawyer has resigned from the provincial law society after he sexually harassed staff at his law firm, including attempts to surreptitiously photograph one employee without her knowledge, according to the regulator.

    • A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.

    • Calgary five most expensive homes for sale as of Oct. 1, 2024.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    • It was an exciting weekend for hockey fans in Sudbury, as the city hosted an NHL preseason game.

    • Ryan Hunter's athleticism has been on full display since his arrival in the CFL, but the Canadian's versatility is now shining through.

    • Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri tried to lay to rest rumours that he has friction with Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, Inc.

    Autos

    • A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

    • A U.S. driver somehow squeezed her vehicle through a parkade hallway at a Metro Vancouver casino Thursday, before getting stuck at an elevator bank.

    Local Spotlight

    The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

    On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

    A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

    When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

    A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

    Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

    Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

    A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

    An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

    • The Vancouver Police Department is expecting to be over budget by the end of the year, according to a report.

    • An Indigenous family has filed a human rights complaint against retail giant Canadian Tire over a pair of incidents that happened on the same day at the company’s Coquitlam, B.C., location.

    • The goat found wandering around East Vancouver Friday night is headed home, police say.

    • A Pickering, Ont., student going to college to be a mechanic is shocked the engine in his two-year-old car will not be repaired under warranty after the dealership claimed he had been 'over-revving' the engine.

    • Ontario is staring down a teacher shortage as retirements and student enrolment are both on the rise, and the Ministry of Education expects the situation will start to get even worse in 2027.

    • A 33-year-old man has been arrested after two females were found dead inside a home in Courtice, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.

    • Calgary police say they're investigating the attack of a prominent local radio host over the weekend.

    • The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) says safeguards have been put in place at a gas well fire north of Cochrane.

    • A man has been charged with sexual assault following an incident involving a seven-year-old girl in Calgary's Fish Creek Park in August.

    • NEW THIS MORNING

      NEW THIS MORNING

      A planned expansion of OC Transpo's zero-emission bus fleet is expected to be delayed and the city won’t be getting any 60-foot electric buses, according to a new report.

    • Last summer, Garfield Park celebrated its opening as a fully fenced-in off-leash dog park, but a year later it turns out it was all a big mistake.

    • Three design concepts have been unveiled to replace the aging Alexandra Bridge connecting Ottawa and Gatineau over the Ottawa River.

    • Montreal police (SPVM) say they have arrested a man in connection with an alleged bank robbery in the borough of Saint-Leonard that occurred on Sept. 28.

    • Quebec's language will have unexpected consequences on music retailers as they brace for major changes in the new year.

    • Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says her recent comment about chemtrails doesn't mean she believes the United States government is spraying them in the province.

    • "The Fair Compensation Project will include advocacy on several ways that the City of Edmonton is not being fairly compensated for the services we provide," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

    • Alberta's premier shared new details Tuesday about her government's proposed gender legislation.

    • The Nova Scotia RCMP is continuing its search for a missing woman after finding her vehicle in Pictou County last week.

    • A Progressive Conservative candidate in New Brunswick’s upcoming election is under fire Tuesday morning for a Facebook post she made on Truth and Reconciliation Day.

    • A familiar face for Maritimers and those who watch the Canadian series "Trailer Park Boys" is combining his love of art and cats.

    • The Winnipeg Police Service is looking for a new helicopter to replace the current aircraft, which has been in service for 15 years.

    • A 44-year-old woman has died after a two-vehicle crash on a Manitoba highway Tuesday morning.

    • Manitoba Hydro reported a $157 million consolidated net loss according to the company's 2023-24 fiscal update.

    • Over the weekend, the Saskatchewan Roughriders wore their Indigenous-themed logo for the first time at Mosaic Stadium.

    • Saskatchewan residents will vote for their next provincial government on Oct. 28.

    • Sentencing in relation to a fatal incident in 2020 that left two experienced SaskPower workers dead has been adjourned until Oct. 18, according to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

    • A Guelph man charged with the hit-and-run death of a well-known community advocate and has now been charged in a separate collision.

    • Â鶹´«Ã½ Kitchener took home two Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Canada awards on Tuesday night.

    • The second Ontario Civilian Police Commission hearing for Guelph Police Services Constable Corey McArthur continued in Guelph on Tuesday.

    • An Ahtahkakoop man who came to prominence in Saskatchewan’s Indigenous business community and helped thousands of First Nations people complete their education died on Friday.

    • Saskatchewan residents will vote for their next provincial government on Oct. 28.

    • Exclusive polling data collected by Â鶹´«Ã½ in partnership with Insightrix outlines what preferences voters have, if they’re familiar with the party leaders and what issues matter most as Saskatchewan enters into the 2024 provincial election campaign.

    • Two 17-year-olds have been charged in Elliot Lake with breaking into Centennial Arena and causing $50,000 in damage.

    • A West Nipissing family whose son died minutes after he was born is raising money to buy comfort care equipment for families grieving the loss of a newborn child.

    • As the investigation continues into the fatal northern Ontario house fire that killed four people on the evening of Sept. 19, police have released some details about the victims.

    • Huron County OPP is advising of a phone scam that cost a Goderich couple $33,000.

    • A note for commuters Wednesday, Highbury road will be closed for much of the day.

    • Erin Fredin needs a liver transplant and is now appealing to the public. By sharing her story, she hopes to find a living donor.

    • Tributes have started pouring in for a Midland, Ont. man who died after reportedly being struck by an unmarked provincial police vehicle over the weekend.

    • Provincial police handed a 22-year-old driver accused of being impaired a lengthy licence suspension after conducting a traffic stop along Highway 400 over the weekend.

    • Moffatt's Mazda in Barrie has been implementing a new video service that allows customers to see what their mechanics see, to be as transparent as possible.

    • A 21-year-old Windsor man is on trial in Superior Court for trying to join a terrorist organization.

    • video

      video

      New cases of human smuggling along the shores of Canada's southernmost region occur almost daily, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

    • A young man has been charged with first-degree murder after police were called to investigate a suspicious death on Vancouver Island over the weekend.

    • A British Columbia lawyer has resigned from the provincial law society after he sexually harassed staff at his law firm, including attempts to surreptitiously photograph one employee without her knowledge, according to the regulator.

    • David Eby promised to expand financial supports and job protections for sick British Columbians if he wins this month's provincial election, throwing barbs at his main opponent in the process.

    • A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.

    • The officer who shot and killed a forcible confinement suspect in Kamloops two years ago was justified in doing so, according to the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.

    • Fire crews in Vernon, B.C., responded to a large house fire early Saturday morning.

    • From offering two meals a week to three a day, the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen has grown immensely over the past 40 years.

    • The sentencing for three men convicted of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 has been delayed.

    • A 10-year-old boy from Lethbridge is being praised as a hero after a routine summer outing at the pool nearly turned tragic for his friend.

    • A 40-year-old in Sault Ste. Marie who was on probation has been charged with assault with a weapon following an incident in August.

    • Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard took the stand in his sexual assault trial on Tuesday, denying that he raped his accuser and painting a dramatically different picture of their encounter eight years ago.

    • Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹´«Ã½