​This is the final week the House of Commons will sit for 2018 before resuming in late January of 2019. 

This week will also be the last time the current 42nd Parliament will sit in original House of Commons for at least 10 years. 

How will this impact our Canadian Parliament? 

First, a little background.

Although the House of Commons and the Peace Tower have become an internationally  recognized landmark, there are actually three buildings on Parliament Hill. 

What many Canadians refer to as the “House of Commons” is known as Centre Block.

It is called Centre Block because it is the centre building of the three large Victorian high gothic style buildings that form the core of the legislative precinct. 

The East Block building is located to the immediate east of Centre Block and connected by underground tunnel was built in 1866 and contained the original office of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The West Block building, you guessed it, is located to the west of Centre Block. It was closed in 2011 to undergo a large scale refit and renovation. 

Part of that renovation project included substantial modifications so that the House of Commons chamber could be relocated into West Block while the Centre Block building is renovated.

So when we return to Ottawa in January, we will call West Block home.

On a different subject, on December 18th, Canada’s new impaired driving laws will come into effect, creating significant changes from current regulations.  

For example, police will be able to compel a driver provide an oral fluid sample on demand. 

This test can be used to determine THC level per millilitre (ml) of blood, not unlike current assessment related to blood alcohol content. 

There is also a new provision that will allow for mandatory roadside screening, even if an officer does not have a reasonable suspicion of drug or alcohol use. 

Fines are also being increased to a $1000 minimum up to $2000 for first time offenders.

Repeat offenders can face jail time and possible prohibitions from driving. There are also legislative changes that can restrict some types of legal defence arguments for those facing impaired driver charges. 

For the most part I have heard strong support for these changes. 

However, some have stated opposition to mandatory roadside screening. 

Our current laws indicate that an officer must first have reasonable suspicion before requesting any roadside screening.

That will be my question for this week.

Do you support the requirement of “reasonable suspicion” being removed, as roadside screening will now become a mandatory requirement?

I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711. 

There are unusual things happening in Canada right now.

This week we learned that a song written in 1944, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, will no longer be played during the holiday season by broadcasters such as CBC, Rogers and Bell media. 

Earlier this year, the City of Victoria removed the statue of John A. Macdonald in front of Victoria City Hall.

And soon I predict entering into Canada illegally from the United States to claim asylum will no longer be termed as "illegal".

It will instead become an “irregular entry”.

Why?

In early October, CBC reported that our Liberal Government quietly changed the Canadian immigration department website.

Where it once read “illegal crossings into Canada” it now reads “irregular crossing into Canada”.
The Liberal Government is also set to sign the UN Compact on Migration.

Part of the compact text, clause 33(c), reads: “educating media professionals on migration-related issues and terminology”.

In other words, this could be interpreted to mean reporting on irregular crossings into Canada is acceptable but reporting on “illegally crossing into Canada” may become unacceptable. 

How would this be enforced?

The UN Migration Compact is a non-binding agreement, however in Mr. Trudeau’s recent budget update,  a $595 million media subsidy fund was announced.

This media subsidy will inevitably have some terms and conditions that will be required to be met.

Possibly compliance with UN agreements could be one of them.

Canadians have always strongly supported legal immigration into Canada.

Many Canadians have endured a lengthy process, often considered to be “waiting in line” fairly, and following all of the rules and regulations.

​This is why crossing a border between official border crossings is illegal and not irregular.

While there are some provisions to ensure those in a life or death situation can cross a border, these cases are quite rare. 

Currently Canada has over 38,0000 people who have entered Canada illegally since January 2017 and this in turn has placed a huge backlog on the refugee process and taxes Provincial social services systems, such as is the case with Ontario and Quebec.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that illegal immigration, on average, costs taxpayers over $14,000 for each individual case. It is estimated over $340 million was spent in fiscal 2017-18 and the costs are expected to increase by another 400 million in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The costs paid by Provinces is not included in these figures.

Quebec has recently announced that it will accept nearly 8,000 fewer immigrants and refugees in 2019 compared to 2018.

These types of announcements impact all citizens trying to legally come to Canada who might desire to live in Quebec. 
From my perspective, supporting legal immigration is how one joins our Canadian family.

Suggesting that coming to Canada “irregularly” implies a very different meaning from entering illegally. 

I strongly support legal immigration as I believe all Canadians do. 
My question this week:

Do you believe that crossing a border between official border crossings is illegal or should it be termed as irregular?

​I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.