The Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether Canada’s National Gallery acted in bad faith in reversing itself on minimum payments to artists for exhibition of their works. Groups representing painters and other visual artists earlier won a tribunal judgment against gallery managers: “This case may test the Supreme Court”.
Police will gain unprecedented powers to search Canadians’ tax records without a warrant under an obscure amendment to the Income Tax Act. The new rule, questioned as unconstitutional, was uncovered by the Senate finance committee in a 375-page budget bill: ‘Lawyers are getting frustrated with these large, omnibus bills with hidden agendas’.
A federal court judgment in favour of an Alberta mother against CN Rail will help all families working in federally-regulated industries, says the lawyer who won the case. The railway fired the woman after refusing reassignment to care for her two small children: “Accommodation for family responsibilities for all practical purposes is now finally resolved”.
Health Canada’s privatized medical marijuana scheme puts the public “at risk” and compromises doctors, says a medical group. The Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada said the program that relies on physicians to prescribe cannabis to patients is unscientific, unsound and may be unsafe: “You don’t pick it up from your pharmacy; that says it all”.
Anti-trust investigators have ended a probe of alleged unfair trade practices targeting Western sawmills. The Competition Bureau said it had no proof Canadian National Rail Co. broke federal law in dealings with customers who declined to ship through its Thornton Yard terminal near Vancouver: “We will continue to monitor the market”.
Agriculture Canada has denied chicken farmers’ application to create a national marketing board for pullets. The Pullet Growers of Canada expressed disappointment with the veto. Young chicks remain the only birds in the poultry system that are not under supply management: “We have come too far to just give up”.
The Supreme Court will decide whether the country’s most profitable toll road can reach beyond bankruptcy to collect a debt. Justices agreed to hear an appeal in the case of a truck driver told he must settle nearly $90,000 in unpaid tolls with interest or be refused a vehicle permit: “In human terms it’s very real”.
Cabinet is acknowledging for the first time the post office actively studied reviving its Postal Savings Banks before abandoning the plan for service cuts and 35% rate hikes. Studies showed comparable electronic banks like ING and PC Financial saw larger profit margins than regular banks, even through the recession: “It analyzed and looked at all of the options”.
Quiet amendments to auto safety regulations that permit cabinet to change rules without public input are more “efficient”, says Transport Canada. The little-noticed change permits cabinet to rewrite regulations under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act without advance notice to consumer groups, industry or the public: “We want to remove red tape”.
Heritage Canada should be removed from its lead role in planning the nation’s 150th anniversary amid an apparently narrow focus on military themes, critics say. However one official said the department was doing an “okay job” in preparing for the 2017 sesquicentennial.
Cabinet’s vaunted cap on domestic wholesale roaming charges will not likely result in actual benefits for customers, the Senate communications committee has been told. It follows release of a report that calls for a new approach to the telecom industry: “That’s up to the wireless companies to do that”.
Marijuana increases risks of lung cancer, memory loss and may even lower IQ in heavy users, the Commons health committee has been told. Health Canada officials and expert witnesses said smokers, especially young Canadians, should be advised of the drug’s risks: “What we’re hearing now would shock Canadians”.
Shippers are appealing to MPs for protection from railway demands that they pay more for liability insurance on chemicals, fertilizers and other dangerous goods. Executives say demands from railways are arbitrary and disruptive, and appear to discriminate against certain industries: “It’s not even a hidden agenda — they are quite open about it”.
Parks Canada reports hundreds of facilities in its care are in “critical” condition including a historic 1846 tower and artifacts of the Northwest Rebellion. The agency in a report to Parliament acknowledged 503 of its properties are rated “critical”, another 2400 are in “poor” shape: “They can’t find money to preserve these national treasures”.
Health Canada has paid out more than $84 million in compensation to aquaculture firms to destroy diseased fish, officials disclosed.. Authorities identified seven outbreaks of disease at fish farms since 2012: “It is recognized that this approach is not sustainable”.
