Canadian merchants will continue to pay high credit card fees without legislated reforms, says a federal anti-trust agency. The Competition Bureau remarks came in hearings on a Senate bill to cap charges to retailers and restaurateurs: ‘Fees are excessively high’.
A motion before the Commons would see revival of a billion-dollar ecoEnergy program that subsidized home refits. MP François Choquette proposed a renewal of the plan that lapsed in 2012 with grants offered to commercial building owners, as well: “We need innovation”.
Seals are “monsters” that endanger Atlantic salmon, says a Conservative Senator. However Fisheries Canada data indicate salmon are one of the few species that seals do not eat: “Those salmon killers, those salmon-eaters, those river pirates”.
Canadian firms have weak mechanisms to protect customers’ private information. And 58% admit they have no guidelines in place to deal with data theft, says a federal report: “How concerned are you about a data breach?”
The Government of Canada is extending “emotional intelligence” testing for employees. The Canadian School of Public Service contracts the so-called EQi tests: “I spend hours wondering what people meant by offhand remarks”.
The trade department says a contentious China treaty will be ratified though the agreement has lapsed for almost two years and is the subject of a federal lawsuit: “This is a dangerous, dangerous treaty”.
Canadians must police themselves to protect their privacy on the internet, says Canada’s industry minister. James Moore told the Senate communications committee that internet users should not be surprised when service providers mine personal data for marketing purposes: ‘We push personal information online and are surprised when it comes back’.
Canada could create a growth industry by diverting garbage from municipal landfills, say analysts. The Conference Board of Canada predicted thousands of new jobs can be seen in waste management: “The report doesn’t surprise me”.
The Supreme Court has ended a farmer’s class action lawsuit alleging inflated rail shipping charges. Lower courts had dismissed the case dating from the 1995 collapse of the Crow Rate: “Never ask a judge a stupid question like, ‘What’s a fair price?'”
The Senate has given quick Second Reading to a bill to expand a truck route through a national park. The vote came after 40 minutes’ debate. The road is to service a Chinese-owned zinc mine in the Yukon: “It is a very significant deposit”.
Newly-released Cold War files detail wry 1950s-era reports from Ottawa cocktail parties under a federal scheme to keep an eye on Communist diplomats. Accounts of vodka-laced banquets are detailed in declassified records published by Library & Archives Canada: “Russian cigarettes and chocolates were laid out everywhere”.
Cabinet will have “more details” soon on possible aid for dairy farmers affected by a Canada-Europe trade pact, says a Department of Agriculture official. Dairy farmers have protested greater market share for transatlantic cheese imports will cost $150 million a year: “We are very focused on this issue”.
Airlines in Canada are entitled to cancel discount tickets if they conclude cheap fares were sold by “mistake”, says a national regulator. The Canadian Transportation Agency ruling drew puzzled responses from legislators and a consumer advocate: “This leaves us with no protection at all”.
The Department of Fisheries says eco-certification is a reality despite Commons complaints of “craven corporations” and “international activist groups”. Authorities estimated half the country’s wild catch is now certified by the U.K.-based Marine Stewardship Council: “We don’t need any outside group telling us how to manage our resources”.
Canadians are ‘stumbling’ into a new surveillance era without adequate protection of privacy rights, says Interim Privacy Commissioner Chantal Bernier. Speaking at a hearing of the Senate Liberal caucus, Bernier said lawmakers must enact reforms to guard against security over-reach: “Look at the state of surveillance”.
