Canada must establish a national panel on education, says the Council of Chief Executives. The group in a critical report noted Canada is feeble in higher learning compared to other federations like Switzerland: ‘We are the only country in the world without a national ministry of education’.
Canadians receiving tax refunds and benefits cheques will not be denied payment if they refuse to surrender bank account information to the government, says Public Works Canada. The department said a website notice that Canadians “must” enrol in direct deposit does not reflect policy: “Everyone will receive the payments that are owed”.
Transport Canada is ordering railways to publish secretive safety plans following union complaints of concealed self-regulation. New rules will see CP Rail, Canadian National and VIA Rail divulge details of their Safety Management Systems to unions, and guarantee no reprisals against workers who report infractions: “It’s a complete rewrite”.
A photojournalist has lost a court bid against paying CBC legal costs in a case stemming from the network’s breach of the Copyright Act. Catherine Leuthold saw the CBC broadcast her photos without permission, then faced some $80,000 in attorneys’ fees after refusing an out-of-court settlement: “I’ll let others judge whether the CBC should pursue this”.
Port authorities must plan for earthquakes and tsunamis, a 2014 Port Security conference has been told. Geologists and insurers caution Atlantic and Pacific ports are vulnerable to disaster near the nation’s two most dangerous earthquake zones: “We have to get the carriers all together”.
The Department of Fisheries says water temperature, not favoritism, prompted an order that’s angered Prince Edward Island lobster harvesters attempting to recover from a disastrous season. Fishermen complain they were never consulted on seasonal adjustments affecting their livelihoods: “We should have known the policy had changed”.
Analysts are questioning an abrupt Industry Canada decision to set aside a large portion of wireless spectrum for smaller cellphone companies. Cabinet yesterday made the unexpected announcement it would fix a quota for small operators: ‘Why mess up the market?’
Introduction of engineered wheat is “inevitable” despite liability fears and consumer backlash, say confidential Agriculture Canada documents. Senior officials secretly drafted “plausible scenarios” for licensing the product, though a similar attempt a decade ago ended in protests that included a million-name petition from Japanese consumers. The documents were obtained through Access to Information: “It’s very troubling”.
Public Works Canada is at a loss to explain a strong-arm notice that taxpayers must surrender their bank information to receive benefits. Department research shows 1 in 4 oppose the plan, and most others never heard of it: “Canadians generally don’t respond to ultimatums very well”.
The Supreme Court has denied one lawyer’s appeal against police seizure and search of personal computers on allegations of objectionable downloads. The case confirms the right of police to search hard drives on suspicion of wrongdoing: “Searches are conducted all the time”.
A ski resort has lost its legal challenge of Parks Canada’s right to regulate national parks. The Federal Court case followed a dispute over parking: “To cast it as a ‘wake-up call’ suggests prior drowsiness”.
Researchers urge study of leakage from natural gas wells as a public health risk. Scientists at the University of Waterloo identified seepage of methane below ground: “The problem is we aren’t measuring these things”.
Consumers don’t like dairy quotas; aren’t sure what “agri-food” means; and think farmers work hard but take too many handouts, according to federal research.
Those are the findings of focus groups commissioned by the Department of Agriculture.
Asked what words come to mind when thinking of farming, respondents replied “green”; “local”; “organic”; “risky”; “wasteful”; “long hours” and “need government handouts”.
Canadians can wait nearly half a year to see public documents held by federal agencies, records show. Documents detailing typical delays in Access to Information requests vary widely by government office, and average five months at agencies like Canada Post and the Department of Foreign Affairs: “They can stonewall and nobody’s going to stop them”.
A Crown agency Shared Services Canada insists it is on track to bring the national government into the internet age amid concerns over email security. The group created to streamline electronic systems will rely on private contractors but with federal oversight, an official said: ‘It’s not clear why that needed to be outsourced at all’.
