The Department of Public safety paid a cable TV personality $133,000 as a “social media influencer”, according to accounts. Staff did not comment on payments to HGTV host Bryan Baeumler for a series of short YouTube videos including tips on how to clean eavestroughing: “Set your ladder on level ground and wear gloves.”
A labour tribunal has rejected a compensation claim for hearing loss from 43 years’ exposure to photocopiers. A retired administrative assistant blamed the daily click and whine of copy machines for her partial deafness and tinnitus: ‘They were very large and noisy printers.’
An Alberta man has won $495 in compensation for a bad flight with Jet Airways Ltd. The award is the latest in a series of rulings against the airline by the Canadian Transportation Agency that hears travelers’ complaints: “I’m not the only one.”
Builders yesterday cautioned the Commons finance committee to brace for a public outcry over little-known changes to the National Building Code. Regulations to take effect in 2022 would compel homeowners to meet new energy efficiency guidelines when repairing, renovating or selling existing property: “You have seen nothing in terms of pushback.”
Senators yesterday criticized the CRTC as a weak advocate for consumers. Canadians now pay an average of nearly $3,000 a year for telecom services, by official estimate: “I am convinced it is not serving the public interest.”
The Prime Minister’s Office has received nearly 10 times more letters and emails on the Atlantic seal hunt than any other topic, records show. The office was flooded with millions of protests as Parliament sped passage of bill to celebrate the annual hunt: “Activist groups from away and at home in Canada have dealt a significant blow.”
Canadian enforcement of piracy law is so dismal property owners must resort to costly civil litigation against importers of Chinese knock-offs, says an organizer with the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network. The federal Public Prosecution Service has not pursued a new piracy case since 2014: “We instigate more civil actions than there have been criminal proceedings.”
Cabinet faces a third bill, the latest sponsored by a Liberal senator, proposing pension-friendly amendments to bankruptcy law. Legislators have proposed numerous reforms in the aftermath of Sears Canada’s bankruptcy: “There’s an openness to figure out what we can do.”
MPs yesterday passed a bill to ban food advertising to children. The legislation would give restaurants and food manufacturers two years to comply: “The definition of ‘healthy food’ was not nailed down.”
Criminal defence lawyers yesterday appealed to the Commons justice committee to rewrite a cabinet bill restricting jury selection practices. The bill to ban peremptory challenges follows the Attorney General’s complaint over the February 9 verdict in a Saskatchewan murder trial: “We would be doing a very big disservice in our justice system.”
Fundraisers yesterday appealed to a Senate charities committee for appointment of a stand-alone federal agency to regulate the sector. Charities complained their main point of contact is Canada Revenue Agency tax auditors: “We have an enforcer.”
A $1.69 per tonne levy on oil shipments by rail is insufficient to protect taxpayers from another Lac-Mégantic disaster, an MP said yesterday. Access To Information records show the compensation fund totaled $13.3 million in its first two years, and is now some $20 million – a fraction the cost of the $409 million Lac-Mégantic clean-up: “The railway fund pales in comparison.”
Saskatchewan’s information commissioner has faulted a municipality for a 600 percent overcharge in releasing public records under the Freedom Of Information Act. The federal cabinet abolished the user fees in 2016: “This is a gross overestimate.”
Access To Information records show a costly Canada 150 project funded by taxpayers drew a fraction of its promised target audience. Project Tessera was intended to have 1,000,000 Canadians fill out electronic questionnaires. Fewer than 25,000 participated online: “This number changes daily albeit incrementally.”
Federal research sees a “soft” market for electric cars even as cabinet promotes a $182.5 million plan to boost sales. Transport Canada is to detail its Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy by year’s end: ‘It’s too new to risk buying one.’
