June

"The next four years will bring 230,000 new jobs to the Greater Toronto Area, according to a new report released by BMO Economics. Employment expanded by 4% in 2013, the strongest single-year performance in 13 years, though the unemployment rate remains elevated at 8%. ""Looking ahead, employment growth is expected to pick up again,"" said Robert Kavcic, senior economist, BMO Capital Markets. ""The city will likely see roughly 230,000 jobs created by the end of 2017, pulling the unemployment rate down to 7 percent, or just slightly above pre-recession levels."" Toronto's economy stands to benefit from a weaker Canadian dollar, according to Kavcic. ""Manufacturing, which directly accounts for about 10% of employment, will get a boost, along with the tourism sector with Toronto � along with Canada as a whole � suddenly looking like an improved value for both U.S. and local tourists,"" Kavcic said. Bill Wu, BMO's regional vice president of commercial banking in GTA North, noted momentum in the GTA across its broad base of sectors, and particularly among specialized manufacturers with niche markets such as health-sciences, service-based industries and IT companies."

"A bill introduced February 18, 2014 in the U.S. House of Representatives would require registered manufacturers and distributors of controlled substances identified under the Controlled Substances Act to perform criminal background checks and drug testing for employees with access to controlled substances. The measure, ""Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2013"" (H.R. 4069), would require registrants, as a condition of registration, ""(A) to obtain a criminal background check on each of the registrant 's employees who has or will have access to facility areas where controlled substances under the registrant 's possession or control are stored, such as a cage, vault, or safe, and (B) to perform drug testing on each such employee in accordance with the Federal and State law."" The background checks would have to be conducted at least every two years, and upon hire, once the bill was enacted. Civil penalty provisions for failing to comply with the new mandates are included in the law. The Attorney General would have authority to issue regulations and guidelines to carry out the amendments. The bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary Committees."

"The Senate has voted 96-2 to reauthorize a $5 billion annual grant program that provides childcare for 1.6 million children. It includes a new requirement that all providers who care for children with federal funding complete criminal background checks and learn first aid. The bill includes amendments added by Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La. and David Vitter, R-La. Landrieu's amendment requires states to develop disaster plans for childcare centers. Vitter's amendment requires enforcement of a long-established requirement of the childcare grants that priority be given to parents of children with special needs. Vitter's amendment would require the Department of Health and Human Services' Inspector General to submit an annual report to the secretary about compliance. Vitter's provision would also cut grants by five percent for states that don't have a system in place to comply with the mandate. Currently, 23 states don't comply with the requirement. Louisiana is one of five states that is in full compliance. Sharon Hennessey, executive director of People First of Louisiana, said it's time for Congress to put some teeth into the law's special needs mandate. ""There needs to be a push to bring the 23 states that don't comply into compliance,"" Hennessey said."