The Commons is being asked to declare a moratorium on storage of nuclear plant waste on Lake Huron. Authorities northwest of Toronto petitioned Ontario Power Generation to bury radioactive waste a kilometre from the lake: “Nobody else is proposing anything”.
A rail bill promising better service for shippers has cleared a Senate committee amid caution it remains ambiguous and poorly-defined. Senators okayed Bill C-30 with “observations” on its shortcomings: ‘This is so it does not go unnoticed in the future’.
Food processors would face new sugar labeling requirements under a private Commons bill. The legislation proposes all prepackaged foods carry a sugar content label prominently displayed on the front panel of packaging. Canadians consume 26 teaspoons of sugar daily on average: “People want to know what they are eating”.
Canadians’ right to privacy from warrantless police searches and tax snoops must be examined by an independent panel, say MPs. Legislators and advocacy groups urged a review of intrusive measures. The call follows Blacklock’s disclosure that new legislation grants police unprecedented powers to search tax records without a warrant: “We really are at a crisis point”.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is being cited for breaching federal law in withholding public documents. The incident followed its refusal to release files regarding a 2013 notice on “catastrophic” earthquake liability as requested by Blacklock’s Reporter.
Nearly two-thirds of young Canadians subscribe to internet television, according to newly-released data from broadcast regulators. Fully 62 percent of Canadians under age 34 buy Netflix and other internet TV: “This has irreversibly altered the TV landscape”.
Goods & Services Tax rebates will be subject to garnishee orders under a new federal policy. However cabinet removed Canada Savings Bonds interest payments from their list of “garnishable moneys” for the first time in 25 years, noting bonds aren’t paying much anyway: “The interest isn’t worth the trouble”.
RCMP management is accused of speeding enforcement of new regulatory powers ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether to lift a 1920 ban on unionizing the force. Regulations give the commissioner authority to fire members without appeal: “Everyone needs to be held to account”.
Lobster fishermen are casting a wary eye on a new season, the first since Atlantic regulators proposed initiatives to bolster the billion-dollar industry. The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association reported an uneven catch with varied prices to date: “We aren’t at the price point to make a profit”.
A “shock scenario” of a doubling of interest rates would slash farmland values up to 13 percent on average, says a confidential Agriculture Canada study. The department commissioned secret research on historic debt levels, noting farmers have used rising land values for loan collateral. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz declined an interview.
Cash-strapped Parks Canada spent $191,300 on polling research that confirmed most Canadians do not know what the agency is, or what it does. Pollsters also reported only 14% of Torontonians were aware of Parks Canada, and 6 percent nationwide appeared to confuse the agency with an NBC sitcom: “What were they hoping to get?”
Canada’s national mammal is at the centre of a trademark dispute over namesake high-calorie snacks sold by rival bakers. Beavertails Brands Inc. challenged Beaverstyx over its use of the beaver motif. More than 540 “beaver” trademarks have been registered in Canada since Confederation: ‘It is a national emblem’.
Distillers are appealing to MPs to repeal a portion of federal excise taxes skewed against their industry to the benefit of beer and wine makers, an executive says. Distillers urged Parliament to take $1 off duties on spirits including popular brands of whiskey, vodka and rum: “The facts are glaring”.
Decades of data confirm postwar bush fires are more frequent and damaging in Western Canada, according to the Department of Natural Resources. The department’s Canadian Forest Service identified a greater threat from forest fires in the West: “These are big dollars”.
The Supreme Court has upheld a mandatory retirement rule in a B.C. case deemed “very significant” for professionals including attorneys, accountants and engineers. Justices ruled 7-0 that a Vancouver law firm could force out a partner who contracted to leave at 65 despite a provincial ban on mandatory retirement: “Just a gold watch and a pleasant dinner”.
