A Liberal bill to regulate merchants’ credit card fees has passed Second Reading in the Senate amid Conservative warnings it will not go much further. Bill S-202 would cut merchants’ fees to a fraction of the $5 billion now collected annually: ‘This does not strike a fair balance’.
Canada’s privacy commissioner is being urged to protect citizens’ rights under a cross-border tax treaty. MP Charlie Angus questioned whether the innocuous-appearing agreement exposes Canadians to intrusive checks by U.S. agents: ‘Do procedures protect privacy rights?’
CNR accuses cabinet of trying to “punish” railways with another bill intended to speed deliveries on the nation’s crucial freight network. The new bill, the second in less than a year, would mandate shipping quotas and subject railways to arbitration under threat of fines or license suspensions: “They ought to listen this time”.
Cabinet will divert nearly $30 million from its military budget for commemoration of obscure historical milestones and military disasters, new records show. Events include remembrance of the first German chlorine gas attack of WWI, and the drowning of four Nova Scotians off the coast of Chile: ‘What will they cut to pay for these things?’
The Department of Agriculture is hiring dogs to counter an airborne threat to its field research. Authorities are contracting canines to chase whole flocks of Canada geese blamed for causing havoc at an experimental facility: “We have lost hundreds of thousands of dollar in research”.
Environment Canada says fracking companies may use up to 10 tonnes of restricted chemicals without reporting the release to federal regulators. And the department said it will not monitor the amount of wastewater produced by 200,000 hydraulic fracturing wills nationwide: “There is no desire to know”.
Transport Canada says VIA Rail must meet commuters’ needs within its budget amid service cuts and record deficit forecasts. The budget reminder came as MPs contemplated the loss of continuous Atlantic to Pacific passenger rail service for the first time since 1889: “We need this to continue”.
Canada Revenue is unravelling another charity kickback scheme, this one involving millions in undeserved credits claimed by nearly 4000 tax-filers. Details were divulged in Tax Court where a federal judge waive a three-year limitation period in reassessing tax returns: “I find it implausible”.
Canadian airline pilots are appealing for better safety management systems following new details of a Nunavut charter flight crash that killed twelve people: ‘What is needed are better defences’.
Natural Resources Canada awarded eco-grants to Sears, McDonald’s Restaurants, oil companies and pulp mills, newly-released records show. Documents indicate a program promoted as assistance for homeowners paid its largest grants to some of Canada’s biggest corporations: “These companies are flush”.
Environment Canada has quietly issued 16 new permits to dump waste at sea since easing restrictions on disposals six weeks ago. Cabinet lifted requirements that new applications require 30 days’ notice, and expire annually: “It is unremitting”.
A federal judge in an angry ruling has dismissed false allegations of bias against the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The agency was accused of prejudice by a federal contractor who complained of unfair treatment at the Department of Public Works: “These allegations are groundless”.
The United Food & Commercial Workers in a “crazy precedent” has won a dispute with Mexico. The B.C. Labour Board rejected a decertification vote at a Mission greenhouse amid complaints of intimidation by Mexican diplomats: “I’ve never seen anything like that before”.
The Legion in a rare public protest has rebuked cabinet over secretive plans to bill the military for commemoration of selective historic milestones. The criticism follows a Senate proposal to consider stripping cabinet of planning functions for the nation’s 150th anniversary: “Let’s be transparent and lay it on the table”.
Labour leaders are bracing for final Commons debate on a Canada Labour Code bill that would see unions decertified on the votes of 40 percent of members: “There are enormous problems”.
