Paper cheques have made a comeback as retailers try to avoid high transaction fees on credit cards, says the Bank of Canada. The Department of Finance has for years threatened to regulate card fees though no legislation has been introduced to date: “Who do we work for?”
Twenty-five New Democrat MPs will pressure cabinet for legislation this year to regulate legal internet content, Party leader Jagmeet Singh said yesterday. Regulations should include censoring “misinformation,” he said: “It has to be the government.”
Vacancy rates in federal offices run as high as 70 percent or more under a pandemic work-from-home policy for employees, records show. Cabinet quietly dropped claims it could save billions by selling empty buildings: “We are reimagining our workplace.”
Men are more likely to file their taxes using off the shelf software while women tax filers worry about making mistakes, data show. Canada Revenue Agency researchers quizzed taxpayers nationwide to spot differences between the sexes: “A number of concerns are present.”
Fewer than a tenth of complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission alleging anti-Muslim discrimination are ever referred to a full hearing, records show. The Commission said it had “limited” resources in its $42.2 million annual budget: “The Commission understands.”
Canadian farms use three times the amount of antibiotics in poultry, pigs and cattle than the European Union, says the Public Health Agency. New figures point to increased risk of antimicrobial resistance in humans, said an Agency report: “14,000 Canadian deaths were associated with antimicrobial resistance.”
Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, has sold his financial interest in marijuana amid a sharp downturn in the sector. Nationwide a total 24 cannabis retailers, wholesalers and distributors filed for bankruptcy protection last year: “I no longer have an interest.”
Organized crime is suspected of operating in the public sector, says an Access To Information briefing note at the Department of Public Safety. The memo did not identify any federal office by name but said there was “corruption in the sector.”
Polar bears are so plentiful they have become a nuisance, says a Department of Environment report. New data contradict repeated claims by then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and others that bears were victims of climate change: “Inuit are concerned about this increasing number.”
The Department of Environment yesterday claimed “real progress” in hitting climate change targets. The most recent data confirmed 2020 emissions fell nine percent mainly due to pandemic lockdowns and travel bans: “This report shows the real progress Canada is making.”
Taxpayer-owned VIA Rail will see continued steep losses for at least another two years despite layoffs and service cuts. The railway in an updated Corporate Plan predicted this year’s operating deficit will run to $411 million: “There remains an important risk.”
Cabinet “pissed away our credibility” in dealing with the Freedom Convoy, said the Prime Minister’s parliamentary secretary. Liberal MP Greg Fergus (Hull-Aylmer, Que.) made the remark in a text message critical of cabinet: “We politicians have pissed away our credibility.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s mandate requiring that Canadians drive electric cars will cost at least $99 billion, new federal figures show. Numbers did not include millions in hidden costs like retraining auto mechanics, said his department: “Proposed amendments are expected to lead to a loss of consumer choice.”
The compact fluorescent bulb once touted by cabinet as a climate-friendly energy saver will be phased out within a year due to mercury pollution. Environmentalists and regulators 20 years ago praised the bulbs as essential in addressing global warming: “The status quo was not considered to be a viable option.”
New regulations by Treasury Board President Mona Fortier would further delay Access To Information disclosures that currently stretch into years. The Board in a Christmas Eve notice said Canadians seeking public records should be required to show their birth certificate or other proof of citizenship: “No consultations were deemed to be necessary.”
