Telecom regulators have eased restrictions on the Al Jazeera Network but cautioned the Arabic broadcaster to be careful with content. Free speech advocates said the network appeared to be singled out for ad hoc controls: “For how many years are we going to exclude this voice?”
Municipalities have no right to jail drivers for illegal parking, a Northwest Territories court has ruled. A judge cited the City of Yellowknife for a bylaw that threatened scofflaws with $2,000 fines and six months in jail: “Jail for parking, are you kidding me?”
Canada should harvest seal penises as aphrodisiacs and process seal meat as rations for refugees overseas, says a Department of Fisheries study. The research aimed at rescuing the waning seal trade was released through Access To Information: “Primary cuts of meat would require marketability at a minimum price of $4 per pound”.
High housing prices have enriched older Canadians at the expense of generations under 40, research says. Data show young Canadians today are less likely to own a home, and more likely to earn thousands of dollars less after inflation, than in the 1970s: “There is a squeeze and it is real”.
Health Canada will continue to sanction use of a best-selling herbicide described as “probably” a cancer risk, but said it welcomes public comment on the decision. Glyphosate, a leading ingredient in herbicides like Monsanto Inc.’s Roundup, was cited as a cancer risk by the WHO: “Glyphosate has been detected in the blood and urine of agricultural workers, indicating absorption”.
Road salt is potentially damaging to lakes and should be closely monitored, says York University research. Up to 60 percent of road salt – the equivalent of thousands of tonnes a year – seeps into shallow groundwater and spring runoff, by official estimate: “There should be a sensitivity index”.
Thousands of small business borrowers would never get bank loans if not for federal guarantees, says an Industry Canada report. As many as half of applicants for a Small Business Financing Program would be denied credit if not for taxpayers’ backing, research says: “If the program does not exist…”
A billion-dollar liability cap on oil spills is less than proven expenses of pipeline breaks and will cost taxpayers, the Commons natural resources committee has been told. A 2010 Michigan leak by Enbridge Inc. has cost more than $1.5 billion to date: “Call it a worst-case scenario”.
Broadcast regulators are accused of violating federal law with an order repealing a code of conduct on the contracting of Canadian shows and films. The so-called terms of trade are to be withdrawn in 2016, a decade after they were introduced to offset “broadcasters’ negotiating power”, according to the CRTC: ‘Thousands of jobs are in jeopardy’.
The latest census will use tax records, not voluntary disclosure, to calculate Canadians’ income. Statistics Canada said it will also delete questions on individuals’ religion in next year’s National Household Survey: ‘It’s another survey that will produce inaccurate statistics’.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is reviewing hospitality budgets after the Canadian consul in Los Angeles spent thousands hiring a celebrity caterer for two cocktail parties. The contracts were disclosed in Parliament: ‘The couscous was delightful’.
The Senate opens hearings on union bill C-377 next week with an appeal to dismiss “misinformation” about the contentious measure, says its Conservative sponsor. The bill would compel unions to publish confidential information on a government website: ‘I’ll hopefully persuade the Senate to pass it’.
A federal panel has cited a Bell Media TV station over an expletive-laced 2014 news interview. CP24 of Toronto was found in breach of standards for repeated profanities uttered by a celebrity guest in a live midday broadcast: “You’re being negative”.
Multi-million dollar medical “tourism” that sees foreigners paying cash for Canadian health care should be carefully researched, says the Conference Board. The think-tank said little data is available on the extent of the practice: “It’s a bit of a catch-22”.
A Conservative motion advocating use of body-worn cameras by all law enforcement officers nationwide will be introduced in the Commons for the “protection of the public and police,” said its sponsor. The RCMP in 2014 launched a pilot project using miniature cameras in Regina: “It’s high time”.
