A sceptics’ organization, Bad Science Watch, is trademarking its name in pursuit of “unbiased factual information” in the drafting of federal regulations. “We want to be evocative and speak to the activist nature of the organization,” said the chair of the group that has petitioned MPs for “good science policy.”
The government’s much-vaunted development of a biofuel-powered aircraft faces numerous challenges before it is commercially viable, reports an industry association. “They showed it can be done,” said an executive, but noted Canada currently has no plant capable of producing quantities of aviation-grade fuel.
On the edge of Saskatchewan’s Cypress Hills is the town of Eastend, population 471. It has four churches, a Kinsmen Club and Scotty, Canada’s largest Tyrannosaurus Rex. “It’s in the twilight zone,” writes Candace Savage, “where the plains of northern Montana meet and morph into the prairies of southern Saskatchewan.” It is also a crime scene.
Canadian media giants including newspaper corporations with billion-dollar revenues, have received six-figure government grants designed to help rural weeklies “overcome market disadvantages,” records show. “The editorial department doesn’t even know we apply for these grants,” said the CEO of one corporation that received $565,988 in taxpayers’ aid.
The odd journey of the Altona, a Pacific container ship moored for months off the British Columbia coast after surviving storms, bankruptcy and contamination by a uranium spill, has finally ended in Federal Court.
Sun Media Corp., famed for denouncing taxpayers’ costs for welfare and arts funding, sought and received more than $800,000 in federal grants for weeklies in its print division over a two-year period, according to documents tabled in Parliament. The subsidies were intended to “produce and distribute high-quality Canadian editorial content,” said the Department of Heritage.
A hi-tech federal system designed to speed border crossings for trucking companies has instead resulted in confusion and delays. Two months after its launch, the system has been plagued with snarls “beyond what could reasonably be attributed to learning-curve issues,” said an industry group.
A Canadian farm group is seeking a half-penny toll on raspberries to promote domestic fruit amid an onslaught of imports from the United States, Chile and Mexico: “We first noticed the shift in 2006 and it has become a trend.”
The Department of Justice has rung up nearly $3,000,000 worth of legal costs in defending money laundering regulations that courts have found unconstitutional, Blacklock’s has learned: “Whether it’s time well spent is another question.”
A proposed $5 million increase in national park fees will price the wilderness experience beyond the reach of some visitors, says an advocacy group. Parks Canada has given Canadians till Feb. 18 to comment on its proposal to hike fees following a five-year freeze and budget cuts.
An Ottawa summit on policing has offered little for municipalities seeking federal funding to offset rising budgets for law enforcement. Cities estimate policing costs have nearly doubled in a decade, to more than $12,000,000,000 nationwide.
The nation’s rents have defied two recessions and a financial panic by rising at a faster pace since 2000 compared to the previous decade, according to federal figures provided to Blacklock’s. Alberta saw the steepest rent hikes over the period; Ontario and New Brunswick the smallest.
A former federal track officer and racing judge credited with blowing the whistle on misinformation that affected horse wagering is suing to regain his old job. The Federal Court application follows the officer’s firing for “insubordination” by the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency, a board that supervises betting at racetracks nationwide.
Canada’s food processors are confronting critics’ claims the industry is third-rate and lacks exciting research and development: “When it comes to innovation the Canadian food industry is content to compete for a bronze medal.”
Complaints of drafty offices have inspired a Toronto IT manager to patent a new device to regulate air flow in automated systems. Patent #2779724, Ceiling Vent Diffuser, is designed to ease “discomfort on the part of employees,” according to a patent application with Industry Canada.
