Proposing amendments isn’t Senate activism. It’s the Senate’s job. + MORE Jun 20th

(Sean Kilpatrick/CP)
In case you haven’t heard, we are in the midst of an alleged constitutional crisis. The Senate, we are told, is running amok, its power-hungry appointed occupants having the gall to review government legislation and even occasionally—be prepared to gasp here—propose amendments. Read any headlines or op-eds about the Senate lately and you’d think that dark clouds swirl overhead—not with rain, but with blood—and the Earth itself has cracked open to swallow us whole.
Unfortunately, this dominant media narrative about the Senate bears little semblance to reality. (Full disclosure: I advised the government on the design of its merit-based, non-partisan appointments process to the Senate.)
It is true that in the current Parliament, the Senate has proposed amendments to several pieces of legislation, including Bill C-14, which sought to regulate assisted-dying policy following the Supreme Court’s invalidation of the criminal law prohibition; Bill C-29, a federal budget implementation bill that asserted federal authority over the banking sector; Bill C-4, which repeals legislation passed under the Harper government requiring disclosure of financial statements for unions and secret balloting to certify a bargaining unit; and Bill C-6, which repeals Harper government legislation permitting the revocation of citizenship in cases of terrorism and treason…

PointNorth, a Toronto-based investment firm, waged a public campaign starting on May 15 that proposed to shake up Liquor Stores by taking control of its board

Canada’s main stock index is continuing to recover some of the ground it gave up last week when it dropped to a low point for the year.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 98.50 points to 15,291.04, after 90 minutes of trading.
The increase adds to two days of gains at the end of last week after plunging more than 200 points on Wednesday.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals was among the big advancers as well as several mining companies including Eldorado Gold. Among the big decliners were Loblaw and its parent George Weston Ltd.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 106.89 points to 21,491.17. The S&P 500 index climbed 15.86 points to 2,449.01, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 72.22 points to 6,223.98.
The Canadian dollar was trading at 75.74 cents US, up from Friday’s average price of 75.57 cents US.
The August crude contract was up 15 cents at US$45.12 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down 14 cents at US$2.90 per mmBTU.
The August gold contract was down US$6…

Early hypothetical returns from the S&P/TSX composite alternative are encouraging

The British Columbia Real Estate Association says housing sales in the province are expected to drop 10 per cent in 2017 compared with last year, but it is still predicting a strong year ahead for the industry.
The association says residential sales should reach 101,000 units this year, down from the 112,200 sold in 2016 but far ahead of the 10-year provincial average of 84,700 units.
The association expects sales to remain healthy this year, saying demand has mostly shed the effects of policies aimed at cooling the market, such as the foreign buyers tax, while the economy is robust and workers from other provinces continue to flock to B.C.
The association’s chief economist, Cameron Muir, says the number of homes for sale has not matched demand, resulting in higher prices for condos and detached houses.
He says the average residential home price across B.C. is forecast to decline 1.1 per cent to $683,500 this year, and increase 5.2 per cent to $719,100 in 2018, partly because of a greater focus on condo sales and sales outside Metro Vancouver…