French is now a 3rd, 4th or 5th language in a majority of Western provinces, according to new Statistics Canada data. Census research showed for the first time since passage of the 1969 Official Languages Act, more Westerners speak Punjabi, Cantonese or Tagalog than French: “We have to be smart.”
A federal judge has struck down an appeal by one of Canada’s largest auto parts makers to hire temporary foreign workers. The Court ruled the fact few Canadian electricians want to work 12-hour shifts at $29 an hour was not sufficient reason to hire migrants: ‘It is a last resort.’
The University of Regina will ban smoking in private cars on campus under a new policy effective September 1. The ban is the most sweeping of its kind since smoking was first restricted in transportation in Canada in 1975: “We are going to try to be a leader.”
The Canada Border Services Agency seizes fewer than 600 guns a year on average at the U.S. border, according to an Access To Information memo. Prosecutions number fewer than 50 a year: “The number of actual firearms seized has remained relatively consistent.”
The Canada Border Services Agency spends $239 per person, per day detaining illegal immigrants, refugee claimants and travelers wanted on police warrants. The Agency held 6,251 people last year at detention centres and provincial jails: “The cost of detention is not insignificant.”
Statistics Canada data show 34 percent of children under age 6 are obese, overweight or at risk. Rates were over 40 percent in two provinces: “This is directly related to the lifestyles we live.”
Parents of a schoolboy with disabilities have lost a human rights challenge of standardized testing. The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal dismissed a claim that a zero mark on an incomplete test was discriminatory: “This is not an endorsement of standardized testing.”
The Transportation Safety Board says its investigation of a 2016 train wreck was stymied by the lack of cockpit-style recorders in locomotives. MPs will conduct hearings this fall on a cabinet bill mandating video and voice recorders aboard all trains: “Were all signals correctly identified?”
The Department of Justice in an Access To Information memo is complaining of cost pressures though the crime rate has declined for more than a decade. Staff also noted they have no national data on rates of recidivism: “Chronic repeat offenders are responsible.”
Detailed analysis of high school questionnaires shows English-speaking students scored higher on financial literacy than francophones, according to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Authorities cautioned the results were not definitive: “The study did not include such national analysis per se.”
Veterans who leave the Canadian Armed Forces are typically happy, healthy and employed – except for military who saw combat in Afghanistan, says Veterans Affairs Canada research. Soldiers who returned from the Afghan war suffered “a higher rate of difficult adjustment,” wrote staff.
RCMP eat cheese by the tonne, according to accounts. The Depot, the Mounties’ Regina police academy, detailed a mammoth cheese order for recruits and staff: “I met with the chef and we’re looking at the numbers right now.”
Justice Canada says it is awaiting a provincial court ruling on the legality of Parliament’s first DNA anti-discrimination bill. Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould opposed the bill, claiming it is unconstitutional.
A Canadian brewer faces a trademark lawsuit over its use of a “B-side” label. Federal Court battles over beer trademarks are commonplace: “I am of the view that the ordinary beer drinker is sensitive to the names of beers and to what they know and like.”
Health Canada will not force food processors to cut the salt though it would save billions in medicare costs, according to Access To Information documents. The department said it wanted to “nudge” processors to meet voluntary targets in place for a decade: “Much of the effort to lower sodium intake must focus on the food supply.”
