Independent manufacturers and an ex-hockey pro who served in Parliament say they welcome a federal anti-trust inquiry into retailing of hockey gear. It follows Blacklock’s disclosure that the Competition Bureau is seeking Federal Court orders to further its probe of Canadian Tire Corp.’s takeover of a rival sporting goods chain: “Should they allow the acquisition? No.”
Health Canada is being urged to examine the safety of a line of glass cookware following a $1.15 million jury award to a man left permanently injured by a Dutch oven. The incident followed numerous complaints to the department from consumers who used glass cookware: “This is real.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs spent $200,000 on a turn-out-the-vote campaign in Zimbabwe’s fraud-ridden elections. A department official, asked if the money was well spent, replied: “The project was vital.” The grant was paid to a Harare group, according to financial accounts: “This was a crooked election.”
Federal trust-busters have interviewed executives of the nation’s largest hockey manufacturers in a probe of sporting goods retailing. The Competition Bureau’s secret investigation targets a bid by Canadian Tire to buy rival Pro Hockey Life, finalized this week. “At this point we can confirm the Competition Bureau is reviewing the proposed acquisition,” an official told Blacklock’s.
An omnibus budget bill that amended dozens of federal laws may end in the Supreme Court amid its latest legal contest, says a constitutional lawyer. Parts of the 452-page bill face new challenges before a federal judge: “This is the kind of case that can go to the Supreme Court.”
The Department of Fisheries has expanded its ban on the wild Pacific salmon catch in two famed British Columbia waterways amid alarmingly low fish populations: “We confirmed those numbers and they are real.”
The Department of Natural Resources faces a federal lawsuit over the constitutionality of limits on its licensing hearings. A Vancouver-based group is asking a judge to halt the vetting of witnesses by the National Energy Board: “This is a last resort.”
The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster is prompting a review of all train operators’ insurance requirements to account for “catastrophic events”, says the Canadian Transportation Agency. It noted the July 5 wreck marked the first time a federally-regulated railway faced claims that exceeded its coverage.
Broadcasters face stringent requirements on correcting even casual errors in news coverage under a ruling by regulators. The Canada Broadcast Standards Council said TV networks must issue on-air corrections for minor garbling in their reports: “This creates a precedent.”
Canada’s privacy commissioner is expressing unease over the findings of an internet audit that identified large gaps in consumer protection measures. Two in 10 websites and apps had incoherent policies: “It’s lame.”
A Department of Finance “test case” of the retail impact of tariff cuts is limited in scope and may not get the answers the government is after, says an industry group. The Retail Council of Canada questioned whether the federal study will “capture the full effect of the tariff changes”, an executive said.
Health Canada is denying a claim it’s delaying regulation of chemicals blamed for widespread damage to bee colonies. The department said it is “carefully examining” documentation of bee deaths attributed to pesticides, but planned no response till 2014 at the earliest: “Unacceptable.”
Telecom regulators have dismissed an appeal by Bell Canada over a ruling on wholesale internet charges. The Canadian Radio-Television & Telecom Commission reaffirmed wholesalers must provide standard rates to independent clients: “They’ve stuck to their guns.”
Federal revenue agents feared one of Ottawa’s most popular tax credits had become an “open bar” for Corporate Canada, according to an unpublished government report. Canada Revenue Agency commissioned the study but withheld it from MPs and initially declined to release it to the Department of Finance: “This is odd.”
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency proposes more deregulation of the fertilizer industry, including repeal of a ban on misleading claims by manufacturers. The “red-tape reduction” proposals are to be drafted following the close of public consultations Sept. 17.
