Budget 2024 is pitching a long list of new laws

The 2024 federal budget, tabled Tuesday, includes dozens of new laws and amendments that cover everything from updates to the Criminal Code to how public servants unwind.

Here's a closer look at some of the proposed legis‐ lation.

Establishing a 'right to disconnect'

Do you get calls and emails from your boss after hours? Do you hate it?

The federal government is attempting to draw a clearer line between work and per‐ sonal time by proposing what it calls a "right to disconnect." The budget pledges a few million dollars to update the Canada Labour Code "to re‐ quire employers in federallyregulated sectors to establish a right to disconnect policy limiting work-related com‐ munication outside of sched‐ uled working hours."

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said she had work‐ ing Gen Z-ers in mind.

"One of the realities of life for all Canadians, but particu‐ larly for young Canadians, is this experience of being al‐ ways on, of being always available. That's not healthy. It's not a good way to live," she said Tuesday.

Federally-regulated indus‐ tries include the federal pub‐ lic sector, railways, airlines and airports, banks, postal services, most federal Crown corporations, radio and tele‐ vision broadcasting and the telecommunication sector.

As with many proposed laws and legislative tweaks in the budget, it's not clear when this amendment would be introduced.

No more switching fees?

"Canadians still pay too much and see too little competi‐ tion" with their cellular ser‐ vices, Industry Minister François-Philippe Cham‐ pagne said earlier this year.

The government says it will introduce amendments to the Telecommunications Act to ban carriers from charging fees for renewing or switching home internet, home phone and cell phone plans.

WATCH | At Issue reacts to 2024 federal budget

The not-yet-released bill also would require cell carri‐ ers to help consumers identi‐ fy alternate plans - including lower-cost plans - before their contracts end, and to provide some kind of selfservice option, such as an on‐ line portal, so that customers

can switch plans more easily.

The government still has not offered details of the bill and it remains to be seen whether it can actually bring down the cost of cell service.

Cracking down on loan sharks

Rebuked as "criminal" and "predatory" by some antipoverty advocates, the pay‐ day loan industry was one of the targets of Budget 2024.

These high-interest instal‐ ment loans can keep low-in‐ come Canadians, newcomers and those with limited credit histories trapped in a cycle of debt.

Last year, Ottawa pro‐ posed regulatory changes that would lower the criminal rate of interest from the equivalent of a 47 per cent annual percentage rate (APR) to 35 per cent APR.

Its latest budget promises to move forward on that re‐ form while also amending the Criminal Code to ban of‐ fering or advertising credit at a criminal rate of interest.

The proposed changes al‐ so would allow for prosecu‐ tions of illegal and predatory lenders without the approval of the federal attorney gener‐ al, a measure Ottawa says will empower law enforce‐ ment.

Open banking on the horizon

The federal government has long mused about embracing open banking - a system that allows consumers to easily access their financial data across multiple institutions, apps and services.

Tuesday's budget inches the government closer to that goal. It promises to in‐ troduce legislation to estab‐ lish a framework for con‐ sumer-driven banking and taps the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to oversee and enforce the system.

Auto theft charges

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a national sum‐ mit earlier this year, the fed‐ eral government plans to move ahead with harsher penalties for car thieves.

The budget includes a promise to amend the Crimi‐ nal Code to introduce new of‐ fences related to: auto theft involving the use of violence or links to organized crime; possession or distribution of an electronic or digital device for the purposes of commit‐ ting auto theft; and launder‐ ing proceeds of crime for the benefit of a criminal organi‐ zation.

According to the budget, those amendments also would create a new aggravat‐ ing factor applicable at sen‐ tencing in cases where the offender used or involved a young person in the commis‐ sion of any offence under the Criminal Code.

Budget 2024 also says the government intends to amend the Radiocommunica‐ tion Act to regulate the sale, possession, distribution and importation of devices used to steal cars. This would en‐ able law enforcement agen‐ cies to remove devices be‐ lieved to be used to steal cars from the Canadian market‐ place.

Judicial vacancies

In what appears to be a dig at the Alberta provincial gov‐ ernment, the budget is proposing to reallocate fund‐ ing for unused judicial posi‐ tions.

"Canada's court system plays a critical role in the safety, well-being and deliv‐ ery of justice for Canadians. However, Alberta has been allocated judicial seats which they have chosen not to cre‐ ate, resulting in 17 unused ju‐ dicial seats intended for uni‐ fied family courts," says the budget document.

"By redistributing posi‐ tions to courts in jurisdictions where they will be put to use, the federal government will ensure funding for Canada's justice system does not go to waste, as some provinces have chosen to do."

Asked to comment Tues‐ day, Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner said his govern‐ ment was still reading through the specifics.

The federal government also has been taken to task over its role in appointing judges. Earlier this year, a Federal Court decision said the Liberal government "failed" Canadians seeking timely justice by letting the number of judicial vacancies reach a state of crisis. Ottawa is appealing.

Last year, Chief Justice Richard Wagner sent Trudeau a letter warning of an "unten‐ able" situation in Canadian courtrooms.

Building homes on pub‐ lic lands

One of the main pillars of the government's budget was the more than $8 billion aimed at easing Canada's housing crisis. The govern‐ ment laid out what it's calling Canada's Housing Plan - a pledge to "unlock" nearly 3.9 million homes by 2031.

The Liberals say they be‐ lieve thousands of those homes could come from un‐ loading unused or under‐ used federal properties, in‐ cluding 50 per cent of the federal office portfolio. The government is proposing to build homes on Canada Post properties and redevelop Na‐ tional Defence properties.

To do that, the govern‐ ment says will have to intro‐ duce legislation to facilitate the acquisition and use of public land for homes, and will need other levels of gov‐ ernments to agree.

Ottawa exploring Halal mortgages

The federal government says it plans to explore new mea‐ sures to expand access to "al‐ ternative financing products, like halal mortgages."

For many Muslims, reli‐ gious beliefs include restric‐ tions on paying and receiving interest. Halal mortgages can be structured differently.

There's no commitment yet of new money, legislative changes or regulatory up‐ dates, but the government said it started consulting last month with financial services providers and communities "to understand how federal policies can better support the needs of all Canadians seeking to become home‐ owners."

"This could include changes in the tax treatment of these products or a new regulatory sandbox for finan‐ cial service providers, while ensuring adequate consumer protections are in place," says the budget document.

The federal government is promising more details in its fall economic statement.

Not much help for Swifties

It's perhaps no surprise that a bill aimed at younger gen‐ erations name-dropped Tay‐ lor Swift.

The budget dedicated two and a half pages to decry soaring ticket prices for con‐ certs and sporting events. The stress of buying tickets can be made worse by resellers who use bots to snatch tickets before fans, in‐ cluding diehard Swifties.

The budget says the fed‐ eral government will work with provinces and territories to adopt ticket sales bestpractices that reduce unex‐ pected charges during the buying process and crack down on fraudulent sellers.

But the budget document doesn't offer any plan to in‐ troduce enforceable mea‐ sures.