Cabinet says a breach of the Privacy Act on a government website was an honest mistake. The Privacy Commissioner yesterday disclosed the site that invited visitors to complete an anonymous questionnaire in fact tracked users’ IP addresses through Facebook: “We’ll make sure that privacy is at the very top of our list.”
Natural Resources Canada says owners of older homes should be subject to first-ever retroactive “energy-ready codes” by 2022. Members of the Senate energy committee warned homeowners would be forced to pay staggering renovation costs: “For some people it will be crippling.”
Air fares will rise with a national carbon tax, says the Air Transport Association of Canada. The Association yesterday told the Commons finance committee the levy, to be introduced in 2018, will also drive business to tax-free jurisdictions in the United States: “It’s another blow.”
Senators have endorsed a committee report to ban junk food advertising to Canadians under 17. The author of a bill promoting the ad ban called it a “long and arduous task” amid protests from marketers, restaurateurs and food manufacturers.
Canada averages more than 12,000 house fires every year resulting in 170 deaths and 1,300 injuries. Statistics Canada yesterday detailed findings of a pilot project to develop a national fire information database: ‘There is a pressing need for this.’
Senators are being urged to quickly pass a private Liberal bill designating Remembrance Day a legal federal holiday. Storekeepers and the Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion have opposed the bill: “This wording is an important symbol.”
An appeal court has upheld a ruling that municipalities may charge commercial ratepayers for services they don’t actually use. The decision came in the case of a small Ontario factory overcharged on wastewater fees: “It would have opened up a huge can of worms.”
Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould says a July 1, 2018 deadline to legalize marijuana is firm and must be met. Police, municipalities, property owners and employers have appealed to the Commons health committee for time to repeal a 1923 ban on recreational marijuana: “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
MPs are faulting an auto defect bill that fails to require Transport Canada to consult police, insurers or the public on safety issues. The Auditor General in a 2016 report criticized regulators for being too close to auto lobbyists: ‘It would have no bearing on many of the structural problems uncovered by the Auditor.’
The Department of Employment yesterday said it wants companies to hire more “under-represented” Canadians, but stopped short of detailing long-promised changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. An official told the Commons finance committee that hiring Indigenous people “remains of paramount importance”.
A federal panel says Parliament should pass a law to protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada. The appeal follows criticism that legislators permitted logging in a national park: “I don’t think it’s wildly expensive.”
Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien says Canadians should have no expectation of electronic privacy when crossing the U.S. border. Therrien yesterday told the Commons privacy committee even legislators should count on Customs searches of laptops, iPhones and other mobile devices: “We should be very concerned.”
The Department of Transportation is hiring consultants to gauge the chance of a catastrophic oil spill off the British Columbia coast. The $1.6 million research on “risk assessments” covers Pacific waters from Alaska to northern Vancouver Island: “It’s timely.”
Statistics Canada is conducting the broadest surveys to date on cannabis use. The agency said it requires data to determine the impact of legalized marijuana: “We are going to have to start building some models.”
The Department of Natural Resources in an Access To Information memo says it must develop an early warning system for earthquakes in two regions of Canada. “Warning systems are in a prototype phase, but public interest is mounting,” wrote staff.
