Canada Post’s pension deficit, the largest in the country, is a “big weight” on the Crown corporation’s viability, says the chair of a federal task force. “There is no magic bullet,” Françoise Bertrand yesterday told a Commons committee. A memo earlier described the $8.1 billion pension shortfall as a crisis: “The profit will be quickly lost”.
Railways will be required to install video and voice recorders in locomotives as a safety measure, says Transport Minister Marc Garneau. Rail union representatives cautioned the order must protect employees from management surveillance: “Privacy is the law of the land”.
Cabinet will introduce legislation by July 1, 2017 to restore full environmental protections in the Fisheries Act. Conservative amendments enacted four years ago were “an abuse of process”, said Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc: “I recognize the frustration that people have”.
Hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting pension beneficiaries will now receive federal cheques. Cabinet yesterday enacted regulations promising automatic enrollment in the Old Age Security program. The government previously pocketed more than $1 billion a year in unclaimed seniors’ benefits: ‘Some of these poor souls couldn’t afford food’.
The Department of Natural Resources billed taxpayers the equivalent of more than $600 an hour to have employees attend a seminar on how to write “punch-packing” memos. The spending was disclosed in Access To Information documents: “Why should you attend?”
The Canadian Coast Guard’s icebreaking capacity is so precarious it’s unreliable in icy conditions, a shippers’ lobbyist has told the Senate fisheries committee. The testimony follows Access To Information records indicating the Coast Guard has had to ration fuel: ‘Russia is way ahead of the game’.
Canadian regulators should have a duty of care to companies damaged by unfair trade practices, says an Atlantic exporter. The firm unsuccessfully sued the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for failing to enforce trade terms in a multi-million dollar dispute with Venezuela: “What is the function of the Agency?”
Canadian diplomats billed taxpayers for a petty cash bribe paid amid the chaos of Libya’s 2014 civil war, newly-released records show. The payment was identified as a “claim against the Crown” in Public Accounts: “I recommended that funds from the cash float be used”.
The Senate is taking up a cabinet bill to repeal two Conservative labour measures described as “a frontal attack on Canadian unions”, said a sponsor. MPs have already voted for repeal: “Bill C-525 encourages autocratic management”.
Cabinet will consult industry and the provinces on drafting a first-ever Aquaculture Act, says Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Officials gave no deadlines. One Conservative senator earlier warned consultations could be lengthy and delve into Constitutional issues over fisheries: “It is a long process”.
The industry department forecasts a newspaper depression within five years. Staff in a secret memo predicted the industry will shrink by nearly a quarter: ‘Readership is down, circulation has fallen’.
Legalizing marijuana will not reap huge tax revenues, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. An analysis concluded net government income from cannabis is unpredictable: “There are potential revenues, but there are also potential costs”.
A federal bank will not disclose the cost of its NHL sponsorships despite repeated requests. The Business Development Bank of Canada denied spending any money on pro hockey until its CEO bragged about the ads at the Commons finance committee: “BDC does not sponsor the NHL”.
Regulators have been too slow in reviewing recommended reforms including mandatory recorders in rail locomotives, says the Transportation Safety Board. The agency yesterday noted dozens of safety proposals, a total 52, have lapsed for a decade or more: ‘It’s not enough to point out a problem and then wait’.
Canadians pay too much for too little telecom service, say Liberal members of the Commons finance committee. “I was just complaining about my wireless bill,” said one MP.
