Employment Canada is hiring consultants to upgrade security at federal offices in Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. The initiative follows union warnings of repeated incidents involving hostile visitors: “We’ve had members of the public come in and threaten to shoot employees.”

A federal whistleblower yesterday appealed for changes to legislation sought by a Commons committee in 2017. A review of the former employee’s complaint of workplace reprisal is now in its seventh year after a successful Federal Court of Appeal ruling: “Nothing will change if there aren’t very important fixes.”

Two oil companies have lost a Court bid to conceal public data under the Privacy Act. The Federal Court of Appeal ruled the companies’ claims trivialized legal protections of privacy: “One wonders what this debate is really about.”

Selected small and mid-sized manufacturers are exempt from the national carbon tax under draft legislation detailed yesterday. The exemptions follow warnings of layoffs and factory closures: “When we import our fuels, we export jobs.”

Government attorneys say enforcing a promised ban on children’s food advertising would be “increasingly difficult”. The health department in Access To Information documents also warned food companies and restaurant chains will oppose a ban promised by cabinet in 2015: “Non-regulatory approaches are having limited impact.”

The Department of Health yesterday acknowledged failure in its 11-year program to save billions in medicare costs through salt reduction in processed foods. Sodium levels in some grocery items actually increased under the voluntary program with industry: ‘Limited success demonstrates stronger efforts are needed.’

An official military periodical rates Canada’s search and rescue capability as obsolete and inadequate. The Canadian Military Journal warned of a “frightening reality” that lives have been lost due to inadequate programs: “A boater in the water screaming for help into a cellphone would not receive assistance…”

Parks Canada in Access To Information memos says it’s wary of pressure from environmental groups over protection of national treasures. A United Nations monitor in 2017 warned of “significant concerns” over the agency’s protection of a World Heritage Site in Alberta: “NGOs will likely continue to use the World Heritage Convention as a lever.”

An Ontario man docked five days’ pay for uttering a racial slur at work has been ordered to pay an additional $1,000 in damages. The language “would be reasonably expected to be offensive to any person”, ruled the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.

The Canadian Embassy in Washington has signed a three-year, $1.8 million contract to light the building with solar power. The costly mission opened in 1987 after going 200 percent over budget: ‘The Embassy is committed to energy derived from sustainable sources.’

Federal regulators plan a deer cull in a National Park Reserve. Parks Canada says it wants contractors to eradicate every fallow deer on British Columbia’s Sidney Island: ‘This is not one of the highest priorities.’

Illegal lobbying has dogged two contentious bills in Parliament. Access To Information records disclose multiple complaints of unreported lobbying over legislation on marijuana and rail safety at the Privy Council Office and Department of Labour. Scofflaws were not named: ‘One stated he is part of a coalition regarding marijuana; it does not have a name.’

A former director of Library & Archives Canada yesterday went to trial in an alleged $3.5 million bid-rigging case. Barney Shum and five others are accused of conspiring to rig IT contracts at the federal agency in 2009: “There’s no smoking gun of any kind.”

Climate change threatens future Winter Olympic venues, says international research led by a University of Waterloo team. A gradual temperature rise could make cities like Vancouver a high-risk bidder for snowy sports, said a co-author: “Calgary is climate reliable under all our scenarios.”