The Department of Health yesterday said it is hiring federal consultants to monitor as many as ten pilot projects involving free distribution of medication to drug users. The department did not comment on whether it proposed to federalize safe injection sites: “Treat people who use drugs with compassion and give them the support they need.”
A national broadcast regulator has quietly dismissed scores of complaints against a Vancouver radio host who criticized pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. The Canada Broadcast Standards Council would not explain its decision: ‘China is an open-minded country.’
National railways will spend nearly $79 million installing locomotive video and voice recorders, the Department of Transport said yesterday. Parliament has mandated installation of high-grade recorders in all cabs within two years: “This is an egregious violation of workers’ rights.”
RCMP laid nearly 10,000 pandemic-related charges in four months including breach of the Quarantine Act, Statistics Canada said yesterday. The Canadian Police Association had complained of a hodgepodge of Covid-19 regulations that saw police ticket Canadians for everyday activities: ‘The last thing we need is more conflict between the public and police.’
New Democrats yesterday said Commons committees must expand investigations of alleged favouritism in the awarding of federal contracts. The party’s ethics critic named former Liberal MP Frank Baylis whose medical supply company received a six-figure contract weeks after Baylis left Parliament: “How did that contract happen?”
Federal agencies in four years hired fewer than 800 medically-released veterans though Parliament passed hire-a-vet legislation. An audit said of those who were hired, fewer than three percent were appointed as managers: “Civilian life can be a challenging experience.”
A British Columbia court has detailed windfall gains for Airbnb vendors. Disclosures of actual receipts from a single property follow appeals by the Hotel Association of Canada for federal taxes on short-term rentals: “It is an illegal business.”
The Public Health Agency yesterday said its Covid-19 Alert tracing app was “never going to be 100 percent perfect”. Few Canadians have downloaded the free app intended to notify smartphone users if they were in contact with a coronavirus carrier: “Has this been a flop?”
The Canada Revenue Agency says it knows of “several serious risk associations” where criminals infiltrated its databases. The disclosure was made by a senior manager at a labour board hearing: “We’ve seen it happen.”
New Bank of Canada research confirms hoarding of hundred-dollar bills in a pattern linked to tax avoidance. Analysts said large numbers of $100 banknotes are issued but never returned for wear and tear like smaller bills: “That’s a proxy for the underground economy.”
An under-subscribed pandemic loan program for small business due to expire at midnight last night is extended to October 31. Cabinet again promised to modify terms of the Canada Emergency Business Account to benefit the smallest operators: “Just send the message up to the Prime Minister’s Office.”
Vandalism of Canadian monuments is unacceptable, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday. His remarks followed the August 29 destruction by Montréal protestors of a ten-foot statue honouring John A. Macdonald: “We’re seeing people trying to trigger culture wars.”
British Columbia’s highest court has upheld certification of a class action lawsuit over a corporate customers’ data breach. Hackers in China in 2013 staged a cyberattack on Peoples Trust Company of Vancouver that prompted a federal investigation: “Today, personal data has assumed a critical role in people’s lives.”
CBC-TV advertising revenues collapsed by a fifth in the first quarter. The Crown broadcaster warned of ongoing “economic pressures” for the next two years: “It is anticipated the effects of Covid-19 will persist.”
Only one in six Canadians want closer trade ties with China, says research by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Cabinet in 2016 proposed a free trade pact with the People’s Republic but dropped the idea following China’s arbitrary arrest of Canadian citizens: “Which countries do you believe Canada should be trying to tie itself to more?”
