A House committee has voted to conceal details of thousands of public service salaries as one MP dismissed the disclosure as pointless. “What’s the benefit?” said Brad Butt (Conservative-Mississauga Streetsville); “I’m trying to wrap my head around what the real public benefit is of average citizens filing these requests all the time to find out what someone’s salary is.”
Attorney General Rob Nicholson is being taken to court on complaints his department broke federal law. A federal commissioner says the Department of Justice broke the Privacy Act by withholding documents. “Government must follow the law,” said MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault, chair of the Commons privacy committee.
Consumers were poisoned by tainted beef while federal inspectors dithered and the Department of Agriculture withheld crucial information from the public, according to a federal report. The review of the biggest beef recall in Canadian history lamented the “underwhelming” competence of XL Foods Inc.,the Alberta slaughterhouse that was the focus of the scare, and the lack of urgency by meat inspectors: “Did 18 people need to get sick? Did so much meat have to end up in landfills?”
A former Supreme Court justice says contentious labour legislation before the Senate is “valid” and constitutional. “I give my legal opinions to clients, not the press,” Michel Bastarache told Blacklock’s. But in a letter to non-union contractors, the retired Liberal appointee wrote Bill C-377 “is consistent with the Charter” despite contrary views from the Canadian Bar Association.
Shipowners face a million-dollar hike in federal fees to pilot Great Lakes vessels, the second increase of its kind for shipowners. Authorities confirmed a 5 percent increase in fees over the next two years, following an increase of up to 9% at East Coast ports: “We think it is disproportionate.”
A federal agency paid cash grants to journalists and media to report on its work, records disclose. The Canadian International Development Agency paid more than $4.7 million over four years for coverage of CIDA and related programs. Subsidies included $12,956 paid to a TV reporter, now with the CBC, and $38,493 to Le Devoir for a story that “reminds readers” of CIDA’s role in Afghanistan, the agency said.
English-speaking Ontario men are the most typical officer cadets at Canada’s Royal Military College. New data show demographics remain unchanged from past decades, despite efforts to draw a broad mix of Canadians to military life: “They must find a way to attract more diverse talent.”
Telecom regulators have blocked a $380 million wireless takeover in a veto the Consumers Association called “amazing.” Telus had proposed to buy Mobilicity’s wireless spectrum subject to approval by the Department of Industry: “It isn’t going to tolerate big fish swallowing little fish.”
RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson says a new code of conduct must “spell out” grounds to fire members. “Give me the tools I need,” Paulson told a Senate committee. Paulson faces multiple lawsuits in Federal Court, including one from an RCMP superintendent who was demoted, he said, for having an extra-marital affair.
Consumer complaints have driven Canada’s telecom regulator to cap some roaming charges and reduce the maximum term on cellphone contracts from three years to two. “People want more choice; they want more freedom,” Treasury Board president Tony Clement told reporters. One consumer group called the new wireless code an “incremental” improvement.
A federal advisor warns Canada may ban antibiotics in food if voluntary controls are ineffective. “The pressure from the public on this issue will become important,” said Dr. Marc Ouellette, Canadian research chair on antimicrobial resistance. Ouellette told Blacklock’s that without consensus, “it may become necessary to ban the use of human medicines in food production.”
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.”
