Canadian drivers would see a $200 million reduction in gas taxes under a reform bill introduced in the Commons. Bill C-529 would restrict the 5% GST to the actual gasoline motorists buy, and not layer it on other federal and provincial fees as a tax on tax: “People are rightly irritated.”
Halal foods, prescribed for Muslims by Islamic law, are being regulated for the first time by the Department of Agriculture. The trade in halal products is worth $1 billion a year, by official estimate. Canada’s Halal Monitoring Authority noted Muslims on average eat almost twice as much meat as other Canadians.
The Department of Finance will not detail how much taxpayers spent on a federal port facility tagged for privatization. Newly-profitable Ridley Terminals Inc., the only federal investment of its kind, may be sold within six months after running deficits for years: “Are we selling the terminal at the right moment?”
A national study warns fish are being contaminated by a stew of pharmaceutical drugs flushed through Canada’s waste treatment systems. Research conducted with Environment Canada found drugs in waterways are impacting hormones, reproductive systems and the metabolisms of fish: “Things went haywire.”
New laws on foreign takeovers are “unclear” and may “chill” investment, says the Canadian Bar Association. Lawyers said wording of Bill C-60 is so convoluted it is not obvious which companies fall under special scrutiny, and that even Canadian firms might be subject to review.
A bill forcing 3 million union members to publish personal data is the “Faustian bargain” Canadian labour made in exchange for tax-deductible dues, says a law professor. Dr. Moin Yahya of the University of Alberta is the first legal scholar at parliamentary hearings to support C-377, a bill that compels unions to publish confidential data on the internet.
A federal judge has thrown out a human rights settlement for a foreign aid worker who wanted assignment to a war zone. The diabetic employee received $20,000 in damages from the Canadian International Development Agency for being refused a posting as medically unfit: “The question here was, how would it affect other employers?”
Canadian National Rail is under federal investigation for alleged unfair trade practices targeting sawmill operators in two provinces. The Competition Bureau probe comes as MPs unanimously voted to grant shippers more leverage in dealing with the nation’s railways.
Cabinet is withholding terms of federal loans given to corporations, including an Alberta processor that’s paid only a fraction of financing it received before losing its license in the biggest beef recall in Canadian history. XL Foods Inc. has repaid a tenth of a $1,161,102 federal loan, according to documents: “What are we getting for it?”
A bill that compels all Canadian unions to publish confidential data is “inappropriate,” “unconstitutional” and a “significant invasion of their privacy,” witnesses told a Senate hearing. But a contractors’ group that lobbied for Bill C-377 says it may produce expert analysis proving the measure is legal, though contentious.
Discovery of genetically-modified wheat supposedly removed from the North American market is renewing debate over controls on unapproved products. The Oregon case follows a similar Canadian incident involving modified flax seed discovered nine years after it was ordered destroyed.
Parliament faces a pushback from business ratepayers over continued federal aid for municipalities. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, in a new report and Commons testimony, depicted large cities as unaccountable and bloated with billion-dollar payrolls.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization has suffered large deficits on foreign exhibitions, including $463,000 lost in displaying imperial Chinese artifacts, new accounts show. Disclosure of the deficits came as MPs voted to refocus the museum on Canadian stories.
Two tobacco smugglers who sued the revenue department for return of cash they claimed fell from the heavens have lost their case in Federal Court. A judge dismissed the claim by a couple found driving with $3,300 in bootleg tobacco and $11,775 bundled in twenty-dollar bills, telling police “ça tombe du ciel” (“it fell from the sky”).
Cabinet is concealing details of far-reaching trade talks even from industry insiders forced to sign confidentiality agreements. In a process one MP dubbed “a farce,” the Dairy Farmers of Canada confirmed they were denied access to technical texts in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks despite receiving secret briefings. “Listen, we’re down to the most sensitive negotiations,” Trade Minister Ed Fast told Blacklock’s.
