Canadian groups are endorsing U.S. engineers’ response to Asian carp deemed a threat to Great Lakes ecosystems. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes installation of new locks in Chicago and other measures to stem the spread of the aggressive carp: “The cost of doing nothing will trump the costs of preventing the invasion”.
Railway workers say they do “not trust” employers to comply with privacy laws if Canada requires installation of video and audio recorders in locomotive cabs. Executives of Teamsters Canada told the Commons transport committee they fear railway managers will use cameras to spy on employees: “Why can’t we cross that hurdle?”
A Conservative bill in the Senate would create a national day of observance for the collapse of South Vietnam. Some 60,000 Vietnamese fled to Canada after the communist takeover of their country: “April 30, 1975 marks a sad day”.
Statistics Canada must improve accessibility of its data after making it free of charge, recommends the nation’s chief auditor. The statistical agency removed all fees on self-serve information in 2012, but makes it hard on users to find figures they need, an audit concluded: “It’s very frustrating”.
Federally-insured mortgages for first-time homebuyers averaged more than a quarter-million dollars last year, according to Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. The federal agency said it considered the debts reasonable: “It’s almost a cultural attitude towards debt these days”.
The Department of National Defence is appealing to recruit more women while acknowledging military life is considered a “masculine” and “old-fashioned” career. The campaign follows evidence of uncommonly high rates of sexual assault in the military: “Perhaps the army did not choose the best moment for this campaign”.
An innocuous-sounding tax treaty should be withdrawn from Parliament pending deeper review over its reach and impact, say MPs. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act inserted into a 359-page omnibus budget bill requires that Canada Revenue collect data on dual citizens and report it to the I.R.S.: “It’s being pushed through”.
Canadians’ electricity bills vary by as much as 100 percent or more depending on their home city, according to a comparison of rates. Residential and industrial charges ran from about 6¢ per kilowatt hour in Winnipeg and Montréal to 12 cents or more in Toronto, Halifax and Charlottetown: “Is it coal or is it gas?”
Parliament should not enact any new aquaculture legislation without first consulting provinces, says a senior member of the Senate fisheries committee. Promoters complain fish farms are simultaneously regulated by the provinces and four separate federal departments: “I think it is going to be a long road”.
Canada Post warns employees’ pay and benefit cuts are “crucial” to its survival. However the Crown agency declined comment on bonuses paid to senior executives last year including its nineteen vice-presidents: “We do not have a bonus plan that is driven by an entitlement”.
A “suspicious” federal agency watching out for money laundering and terror financing will now share data with the Canada Revenue Agency.
Little-noticed amendments to federal law disclosed in the Senate banking provide for greater sharing with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre: “They’re going to be looking for more and more information so they can justify their existence”.
Public Works Canada should require that contracts for government-issue apparel prohibit bids from sweatshops, says an MP. At least five government departments purchase Bangladeshi-made apparel: “We have to know where these clothes are being made”.
The CBC is developing a “strategic plan” to be unveiled by summer that involves the sale of real estate and schemes to boost internet revenues, says the Crown broadcaster. The network already targeted the sale of 400,000 sq.ft. of realty by 2015: “The challenges that we are facing are severe”.
Atlantic fisheries ecosystems have altered substantially from the 1960s, says Fisheries & Oceans Canada. Authorities are tracking declines in the $350 million cold-water shrimp trade: “We’re looking at a very different environment”.
Parliament must restore the “pretty important” balance between security and civilian oversight of spy agencies, says a Conservative Senator. Security agencies have been found to spy on environmental groups, and even refuse MPs entry to their Ottawa headquarters.
