A federal tax credit once described by tax analysts as an “open bar” for corporations cost taxpayers $2.7 billion last year, according to a Department of Natural Resources report tabled in the Commons. Payments peaked at $4 billion before the previous Conservative cabinet cut the subsidy: “It is one of the most generous systems in the world.”
Ottawa marks 150
in a year-long festivity.
I see it in my morning paper.
Arriving from France,
La Machine is marching
a spider and a horse-dragon
in a battle-of-the-giants.
They spit fire by the National Gallery,
by the Chateau Laurier,
and by the War Museum.
Coming from Quebec City,
Red Bull constructs
400 metre of downhill course
above the Rideau Canal locks,
gearing for the finals
of Crashed Ice World Championship.
And from England
a royal couple
on Canada Day.
The next pages,
colourful ads capture my attention.
A 10-day tropical splendor
in the Southern Caribbean.
A 20-night package
featuring Rio, Santiago, and Buenos Aires.
Or two weeks
in Rome, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona.
A dilemma.
Traveling far away, or
staying to enjoy
our own local treasures.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
A federal judge has ruled the Department of Citizenship breached the Charter of Rights in refusing to grant a Canadian citizen a passport. The Federal Court described staff conduct as severe and unwarranted: “This could happen to other people.”
A U.S. company has sold the first genetically-modified animal protein in Canada, according to data uncovered by advocacy groups. The engineered Atlantic salmon was unlabeled, and believed sold in Québec at the same time MPs defeated a private bill mandating labels on genetically-altered foods: “No one knows where this is in the marketplace.”
Canadians are worried about rising food prices, according to research by the Department of Agriculture. The cost of groceries was repeatedly cited as a concern in a department survey, though pollsters didn’t ask the question.
The RCMP wrongfully fired an Alberta constable who admitted having sex on duty, says the Federal Court of Appeal. Management acted unfairly and relied on hearsay and inadmissible evidence, the Court ruled: “It’s not the first time.”
The Department of Finance spent nearly a quarter-million dollars on artistic themes for its 2017 budget, say Access To Information records. Costs included $89,500 for talent fees and photos of models posing as middle class Canadians: “It’s fresh; I love where this is going.”
The Department of Public Safety is buying a fleet of drones for deployment on border patrol. Staff said drones were needed in part for wildlife surveys, but declined further comment: “I wouldn’t be surprised if there are drones being used right now.”
Apple Canada Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit over the charging of royalties on music webcasts. The dispute follows a 2014 Commons committee report that complained composers’ work has become a “pennies business” with collapsing CD sales: ‘They are feeling the squeeze.’
The Department of Citizenship in 2018 will begin compiling the largest non-criminal fingerprint database in Canadian history. The initiative follows a 2013 pilot project approved by the previous Conservative cabinet to collect prints and photos from all temporary residency applicants: “Information will only be shared in a manner that respects Canada’s privacy laws.”
The national carbon tax will cost $5.8 billion next year, says the Conference Board of Canada. Annual revenues will rise to $30 billion by 2022, the equivalent of about $2,300 per household: “Policy makers really need to communicate to Canadians the scale of how this transformation will impact their everyday lives.”
Department of Health research shows many Canadians ignore mothers’ advice and skip breakfast. Federal focus groups also concluded the department’s benchmark Canada Food Guide is outdated and influenced by food lobbyists: “Eating seems to have become more of a chore.”
Federal employees fear being branded as rats or snitches if they report wrongdoing, says a report commissioned by the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. The Office declined to say how much it paid for the psychoanalytical study: “This sends a chilling message.”
Parks Canada in a directive coinciding with Canada 150 observances says it is no longer buying historic properties. Authorities blamed insufficient funding. The agency added it has no plans to revive a 2007 program that offered subsidies to property owners to restore historic buildings: “It’s linked to a budget plan that we don’t have.”
A federal ombudsman appointed to answer consumers’ banking complaints did not levy a single fine in 2016, according to its latest Annual Report. The Financial Consumer Agency did not comment: “Nobody has reviewed how this benefits Canadian consumers.”
