Shark populations are declining around the world and it should be a concern for policymakers in Canada, researchers warn. A Commons vote is pending on whether to outlaw the sale of shark fins.
Government-funded researchers in Manitoba have applied for a trademark to promote a “climate advantage” diet of all-Canadian foods from Saskatoon berries to bison meat: “There is a Scandinavian diet; we want to promote a healthy Canadian diet.”
U.S. health care reforms could have unexpected implications for Canada and may place added burdens on the public system, an academic warns. A Western Washington University professor predicts declining American investment in research and development will affect Canada in time.
Funding for a support program for Atlantic Canada’s lobster fishery will be reduced 38 percent this year, according to budget estimates: “We are in a phasing out of the program.” The fisheries department says it has bought back some 500 lobster licenses from fishers in a bid to rationalize the industry.
Every bottle of domestic wine contributes $31 to the nation’s GDP, say producers. The Canadian Vintners Association published industry research that calculated wine production is worth $6.8 billion a year to the economy.
A federal agency is suing its own Department of Justice over excessive fees charged for information Canadians are entitled by law to see at minimal cost. The information commissioner accuses Ottawa of demanding improper fees to divulge records: “This is enormously disturbing.”
Federal regulators propose new rules to promote “choice” of wireless service providers amid customer complaints. Industry Canada said firms must provide roaming capacity to competitors and share cellphone towers; and at least four “players” in every region can acquire rights in an upcoming Nov. 19 spectrum auction.
The animal kingdom enforces a hierarchy in which members deemed inferior are put in their place. Chickens literally peck their inferiors into submission; thus the phrase, “pecking order.” Stigma Revisited is an arresting account of this same sort of thing in contemporary Ottawa
Federal inspectors confirm they did not recall a single one of scores of dried teas found to contain detectable levels of pesticides in violation of national standards. One quarter of dried teas sampled had pesticide residue. Regulators refuse to say if the tea was sold anyway.
A Western trade group alleges railways have slowed service since the introduction of a new rail reform bill. “It may be worse than you folks realize,” an advocate told MPs. The Railway Association of Canada dismissed service complaints as a “myth,” saying most customers are satisfied.
Cabinet has quietly repealed a 1965 regulation forbidding new mining exploration in a two-mile strip of land on Baffin Island. Neither the Minister of Northern Development nor his department would explain who requested the change, or why: “This is extraordinary.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has issued the annual awards nobody wants: its yearly observance of the most wasteful spending of public funds. “It’s enough to bring you to tears,” said Gregory Thomas, the federation’s national director.
Canada’s rail “duopoly” is under fire by billion-dollar commercial customers, including one mining executive who likened dealings with railways to a hostage taking. But the chief of CN dismissed complaints of “the big, bad railroad,” saying industry should consider itself “lucky” to have rail service.
A private bill proposing to make it a felony to tamper with cellphone serial numbers has been introduced in the House of Commons. The sponsor dismissed suggestions the measure will kill the cellphone resale market, but acknowledged it “would be dangerous to rely on Kijiji” for your cellphone needs.
Legislation about to pass the House of Commons will root out “troublemakers” and “poor performers” in federal policing, says a Conservative MP and veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Critics charge the bill grants Draconian, paramilitary-style powers to the RCMP commissioner in demoting and firing members.
