CPAC: HOUSE OF COMMONS PROCEEDINGS Tributes to the Late Kirsty Duncan

In the House of Commons, members of Parliament pay tribute to the late Kirsty Duncan. The former Liberal MP and cabinet minister died January 26, 2026, at the age of 59. Delivering remarks are MPs Michelle Rempel Garner (Conservative), Alexandra Mendès (Liberal), Claude DeBbellefeuille (Bloc Québécois), Jenny Kwan (NDP), and Elizabeth May (the leader of the Green Party).

Click image or link to watch the CPAC video, Jenny's speech starts at 21:44 - https://www.cpac.ca/house-of-commons-proceedings/episode/tributes-to-the-late-kirsty-duncan--february-6-2026?id=d0dbaf6f-e643-4e63-9f88-6ddc540ff2bb

 

National Post: Minister says new housing agency has no targets on number of homes it will build

OTTAWA — Housing Minister Gregor Robertson tabled legislation on Thursday to establish the federal government’s new affordable housing agency, but acknowledged Build Canada Homes has no set targets on how many homes it will build.

In December, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report that estimated the agency’s efforts would result in 26,000 directly funded units over the next five years. The federal government has said the report does not take into account the units that will result from Build Canada Homes’ partnerships with private developers and its $51-billion infrastructure fund.

Still, the PBO estimates federal spending on housing programs is set to decline by 56 per cent, from $9.8 billion in 2025-26 to $4.3 billion in 2028-29, due to expiration of funding for existing programs and cuts set out in Budget 2025.

“Canada’s non-profit housing stock has dwindled to only about four and a half percent of its total housing stock, well below the G7 average,” said NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan, in an interview with the National Post. “Countries that are doing well in addressing the housing situation is sitting at about 20 per cent.”

Click image or link to read the news story - https://nationalpost.com/news/minister-says-new-housing-agency-has-no-targets-on-number-of-homes-it-will-build

 

CBC: Government tables bill giving Build Canada Homes land acquisition power

The federal government introduced legislation that would enshrine its housing agency as a Crown corporation on Thursday, giving it land acquisition authority as well as the ability to partner with private developers — as questions remain over the number of units it intends to build.

The Conservative Party, which has previously been critical of Build Canada Homes for adding a layer of bureaucracy to homebuilding, did not indicate whether it plans to support the bill.

"The legislation was just tabled. I look forward to studying it in detail and I look forward to discussing with colleagues and I look forward to participating in the debate," said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, who represents the Edmonton-area riding of Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan.

NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan criticized the bill for not defining the term "affordable housing," also noting in a statement it "grants extraordinarily broad powers to Build Canada Homes, allowing it to finance and partner with virtually any person or entity, acquire and develop land, own and operate housing and invest in third-party ventures, all with minimal constraints and limited parliamentary oversight."

She also said turning the agency into a Crown corporation "removes accountability from the minister of housing."

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-homes-crown-corp-9.7076495

CBC: Crown corp. reviewed U.S.-bound arms exports over potential transfer to Israel

As Ottawa publicly defended its largely permit-free procedure to send Canadian arms and munitions to the United States, the Crown corporation overseeing international transfers conducted a review of the final destination of those shipments, CBC News has learned.

Obtained through an access to information request, the assessment's main text is mostly redacted — including its conclusions.

But 288 of its 300 footnotes are not.

Of those, 210 directly reference Israel and Palestine, dozens of them focusing on reports about Gaza, news stories about U.S. arms shipments to Israel and documents from the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

The online publication The Maple first reported on the documents last year.

In the review's opening pages, one of the few unredacted paragraphs refers to Parliament's non-binding motion passed in March 2024 about ceasing further arms transfers to Israel, and also to a statement by then foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly saying no Canadian arms should be sent, directly or indirectly, "for use in Gaza."

One report by the United Nations Human Rights Office cited from February 2024 says the U.S. is "among the largest arms exporters" to Israel, and urges all states to stop those exports. A Human Rights Watch report from March 2024, also cited by the document's authors, says Israel's assurances it is using U.S. arms legally "are not credible."

Called "Human Rights Assessment–Indirect Transfers," the assessment was written by the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC)'s internal human rights body on Dec. 6, 2024, and updated on March 24, 2025.

An annex lists at least 30 U.S. military contracts, primarily linked to General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Canada, with a few to a smaller company based in Brantford, Ont.: Patriot Forge.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/probe-canadian-arms-us-israel-9.7074373

Globe & Mail: Ottawa set to reduce warrantless powers for law enforcement in refined border-security bill

Ottawa is preparing to make changes to its shelved border-security bill to try to get it back on track, including removing provisions that would have given the police and the country’s spy agency warrantless powers to demand to know whether Canadians have consulted a doctor or therapist.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s Bill C-2 faced a backlash from civil-liberties groups, lawyers and tech experts, who accused the federal government of overreach and potentially breaching the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Opposition MPs said they would not support the bill, which included a lawful-access regime granting new powers to allow the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and police services to obtain electronic subscribers’ data.

In response to the backlash, Mr. Anandasangaree shelved the bill. He instead introduced a slimmed-down version that excluded some controversial passages from the original, including one that would have enabled Canada Post employees to open people’s mail. The revised version, known as Bill C-12, has been progressing through Parliament.

The minority Liberal government is now consulting on potential changes to the original border bill to try to get opposition support.

NDP public safety critic Jenny Kwan last year said the bill was so broadly worded, it could allow the police to demand that a psychiatrist disclose the identity of a patient without a warrant.

The federal government, which has been meeting with opposition MPs and experts about the bill, is preparing to refine the wording to clarify that the new powers would not apply to obtaining Canadians’ medical information.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-set-to-reduce-warrantless-powers-for-law-enforcement-in-refined/

Globe & Mail - Rock & Axworthy: Why are Canadian arms fuelling foreign conflicts?

Now, a private member’s bill tabled in the House of Commons aims to address this issue. Bill C-233 (the End the Loopholes Act) was introduced by NDP MP Jenny Kwan. The bill would amend the Export and Import Permits Act to ensure that weapons, components and explosives exported to the United States receive the same level of oversight as those sent anywhere else. Its premise is simple: Canadian standards should be consistent and universal.

Opponents argue that Bill C-233 would cripple Canada’s defence industry. It would not. The bill does not restrict manufacturing, sales or innovation. It merely standardizes reviews so that exports to the United States undergo the same process as all others. Factories will continue to operate, jobs will remain secure, and responsible oversight will strengthen – rather than weaken – confidence in the sector.

Others claim the bill would weaken Canada’s role in NATO. This, too, is mistaken. Nearly every NATO country is a party to the ATT, and many apply oversight to all exports, including those to the United States. Canada’s blanket exemption is the outlier, not the norm. Aligning Canadian practice with that of our allies would reinforce our credibility and commitment to shared principles.

Some suggest the bill would hinder military aid to Ukraine. It would not. Assistance to Ukraine is delivered through a separate, expedited process in the Department of National Defence. Bill C-233 affects only commercial exports to the United States, not transfers to Europe or Ukraine. Conflating those systems is misleading.

Nor would the bill, which would govern exports and not imports, affect how the Canadian Armed Forces procure equipment.