The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld dismissal of a whistleblower’s complaint of government wrongdoing. The ruling follows a Common committee report that legislation on protecting employees from reprisals is so flawed it requires major revisions: “The Act has pretty much been a disaster.”
Conservative MPs yesterday joined Unifor and the Teamsters in opposing a cabinet bill to exempt railway crews from federal privacy law. One MP warned of “unintended consequences” that compromise Canadians’ rights: “There are privacy laws in this country for a reason.”
New Statistics Canada Census data show residents in 10 cities pay close to or more than 30 percent of their income for housing. The 30% threshold is cited by regulators as a benchmark on basic affordability: “They have to live somewhere.”
Industry Minister Navdeep Bains says cabinet has no plans to rewrite federal bankruptcy law to secure employees’ pensions. Members of three parties in the House, including a Liberal backbencher, have proposed reforms prompted by the impending closure of Sears Canada: “The government has to look at it.”
British Columbia’s information commissioner says a revised federal Access To Information Act imposes so many restrictions on access it is “ironic”. Witnesses at the Commons access committee criticized the bill for prescribing new ways to conceal records: “Most of the Act is focused on exceptions to access.”
The Department of Finance took eight months to release uncensored climate change documents to federal auditors. Staff had refused to release records on tax credits and bonuses paid to oil and gas companies, and unredacted environmental assessments: “It was only this past Friday that Finance Canada gave us the other information that we asked for.”
A federal agency faulted for levying random fines increased its collections 79 percent last year, according to records. The Financial Transactions & Reports Analysis Centre was cited in four court judgments for imposing arbitrary penalties on scofflaws: “I simply cannot tell how the director calculated the base figures.”
Cities say a federal proposal to mandate energy refits of existing homes, apartments and commercial buildings is news to them. The Department of Natural Resources is drafting the code to be introduced in 2022: “It’s not the first time we are left scratching our heads.”
Teamsters say they will take Transport Canada to court if regulators proceed with plans to exempt train crews from federal privacy law. A cabinet bill would mandate video and voice surveillance of locomotive crews: “It’s ridiculous.”
Senators yesterday moved to end a filibuster over a contentious private bill to rewrite O Canada. The bill was introduced in the Senate June 6, 2016 but has yet to see a final vote over all-party opposition to gender-neutral lyrics: “Yea or nay, we must seize the day.”
A Conservative bill offering tax credits for owners’ restoration of heritage properties would cost up to $67 million a year, 20 percent more than originally estimated, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. Witnesses yesterday told the Commons environment committee the bill would do little to help charities or low-income owners: “What is the best way to support heritage in Canada?”
The Department of Fisheries is taking the first steps to writing a standalone Aquaculture Act. The proposal follows a 2016 recommendation from the Senate fisheries committee to streamline a “mishmash” of regulations on fish farms: ‘It would be the first dedicated Act of its kind.’
Media, advocacy groups and lawyers yesterday faulted a cabinet bill on disclosure of records as so inadequate it “should be called the Guide To Keeping Secrets Act”, said one official. Witnesses told the Commons access committee the bill should be rewritten or withdrawn: “You give new tools to these officials and they will use it to the max.”
A federal insurer that protects bank customers’ deposits is raising its loss provision by 54 percent. The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation said the sharp increase was prompted by “probability of default” and other factors. Canada hasn’t seen a bank failure since 1985: “You have to be a little bit forward-looking.”
An Alberta tribunal has ordered a small business to pay $56,000 in damages for breaching the Human Rights Act in a conversation. The judgment, one of the largest of its kind, followed an unsuccessful job interview: “I should have had a witness there; it was my mistake.”
