Authorities cannot account for a dramatic decline in tobacco tax revenues collected by the Canada Border Services Agency. Tax collections fell by nearly $200 million last year due almost entirely to a 13 percent drop in one Québec port. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said he was unaware of the figures, obtained through Access To Information: “That has to raise some red flags”.
The St. Lawrence Seaway must be widened if it’s to remain competitive, says the author of a Transport Canada statutory review. The 1959-era Seaway operates shipping locks about half the size of those in a refit Panama Canal: “The Seaway needs to be significantly upgraded”.
A federal airport security agency rated so inefficient it should be disbanded is appealing for a second chance to improve service. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority is blamed for long airport waits and expensive fees for travelers: ‘There is near-universal condemnation’.
Canadians’ economic well-being has stagnated since the 2008 recession, says research by an Ottawa-based think tank. The Centre for the Study of Living Standards said most households are no better off than they were eight years ago: “We haven’t seen any improvement in living standards”.
The CBC poses unfair competition to local newspapers by giving away subsidized digital content, say publishers. The Crown broadcaster has admitted its cbc.ca website operates at a loss: “We should be concerned”.
An underground tax protest movement is now so pervasive notaries are advised to carefully check documents they’re asked to certify. Canada Revenue Agency has recorded more than 20 convictions involving the internet-fueled “natural person” movement: “This falls into the level of insanity”.
A Conservative bill to boost tax credits for charitable donations would cost 70 percent more than sponsors claimed, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. Credits originally estimated to cost $1 billion a year would actually reach $1.7 billion, and nearly $2 billion a year by 2020: “Two billion dollars is a big cost”.
The National Research Council this July will begin work on climate change amendments to the National Building Code. It follows a 2015 report from the Standards Council of Canada that warned climate change poses a serious risk to schools, hospitals and other public buildings: “We believe in a whole-of-government approach”.
Employers need more “stopgap measures” to ease 2014 restrictions on migrant hiring, says the Hotel Association of Canada. Operators said they’re unable to find Canadians willing to work for wages averaging more than $16.50 an hour: “There’s nobody there”.
Federal regulators have failed to adequately monitor potential health risks posed by unsafe cosmetics, says the Commissioner of the Environment. Auditors said Health Canada should gain new powers to order the recall of products and monitor counterfeits: “They are generally a very low-risk category”.
