Parliament must raise the carbon tax to address climate change, says a coalition of labour and environmental groups. The tax is currently capped under legislation at the equivalent of 12¢ a litre for gasoline: “We need leadership to show where we’re going with these taxes.”
Senate Liberals will lose party status in eighty days with the mandatory retirement of their eldest member. A string of retirements next year will see the dwindling caucus stripped of official status in the Senate for the first time since 1867: “It’s very painful.”
Federal regulators are threatening $15,000 fines against directors of six small telecom companies for alleged technical breaches of the Telecommunications Act. The six were cited for failing to pay a $600 registration fee with a little-known ombudsman mandated to take customer complaints: “That’s a lot of money.”
Alberta
gives a cold shoulder
to Justin Trudeau.
Not a single seat
in 2019 federal elections.
To win their hearts
Trudeau may need
to magically build the pipeline
stop talking against Big Oil
and tone down on climate change.
Toronto
gives a cold shoulder
to Andrew Scheer.
Not a single seat.
To win their hearts
Scheer may need
to distance himself from Doug Ford
change his line on abortion
and show up at a Pride parade.
The entirety of Canada
gives a cold shoulder
to Maxime Bernier.
No hearts to win.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
The Department of Employment in Access To Information memos complains a federal labour board is too liberal in upholding grievances by problem employees. Managers were told to protect themselves when disciplining staff for misconduct from absenteeism to surfing inappropriate internet sites: “Cases we deem as solid can still fail.”
Condo boards may outlaw Airbnb rentals, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ruled. Airbnb accounts for ten percent of hotel room sales in Vancouver and Toronto, according to the Department of Finance: “There is a strong incentive for property owners.”
The Public Prosecution Service yesterday said it will provide free counseling for staff lawyers traumatized by graphic evidence in criminal cases. The Commons justice committee earlier recommended similar aid for jurors exposed to gruesome testimony and crime scene videos: “Vicarious trauma is an ongoing issue.”
The Supreme Court yesterday in a Halloween judgment ruled a “life pension” could not be paid to a dead man. The decision came in the case of $497,333 in payments to the bank account of a retiree who vanished: “Death is an event with important legal significance.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs used an obscure fund to fly Canadian chefs around the world to prepare meals for diplomats, VIPs and foreign media, according to Access To Information records. One manager justified the program as proof Canada is a “progressive nation”.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal yesterday ruled the Income Tax Act is so complicated, taxpayers must hire lawyers to correct mistakes. The Court described provisions of the 3,281-page Act as “painfully complex”.
The minority Parliament will be compelled to vote on a pharmacare bill, New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh yesterday told reporters. Singh said his caucus will introduce a bill advocating universal drug coverage once the Commons is sworn in: “We need to do it.”
An Ontario company that claimed an Access To Information request was so aggressive it was defamatory has been ordered to pay $15,000 in costs to the questioner. Canadians have a Charter right to simply ask questions, ruled Ontario Superior Court: “Legislation already provides checks and balances.”
Federal regulators yesterday said they will “update” rules on deployment of armed guards to protect nuclear power plants. The proposal follows Parliament’s passage of a Nuclear Terrorism Act with lengthy prison sentences for anyone threatening a plant: “Various schemes are being examined.”
A Liberal-appointed senator is endorsing secession – for Cape Breton. The island should gain home rule from Nova Scotia as Canada’s 11th province or some other autonomous region, the lawmaker wrote in a commentary published by the Senate: “Perhaps we could become Canada’s fourth territory.”
Transport Canada yesterday served notice of more fee increases at maritime ports. The Coast Guard earlier warned of a “larger increase” on shippers in 2020. Parliament has not balanced a budget in eleven years: ‘It will determine how increasing fees or establishing new ones would impact users.’
