Cabinet promises new steps to ensure a 14-year old Act of Parliament is not “overlooked” in cases of workplace death or injury. A union executive said the pledge appeared thin after years of weak enforcement: “What is it the government is going to do exactly?”
Northerners mistrust of a multi-million dollar food subsidy program that will cost taxpayers $78.3 million this year. Research by the Department of Indigenous Affairs concluded most residents suspect retailers are pocketing subsidies intended to lower the cost of essential foods: ‘There is a lack of confidence the subsidy is passed on to the consumer.’
He works the bowflex to
build his body,
expand chest circumference,
add mass to biceps, triceps.
The other guy
works to burn calories,
reduce belly circumference,
take away pounds from hips, thighs.
They take turns on the scale.
(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 agency breached Treasury Board directives in awarding a six-figure contract to a speechwriter, records show. The Superintendent of Financial Institutions gave the sole-sourced contract to a former spokesperson. A procurement ombudsman will examine the award: “There was an administrative error.”
A retired federal researcher alleges Health Canada is withholding documents on the impact of radio waves from cellphones, Wi-Fi and other wireless devices. The biologist in a Federal Court application asked that a judge compel the department to release all records under the Access To Information Act: “I worked for government and we kept meticulous records.”
A Tax Court dispute gives a glimpse into the working lives of flight attendants at Jazz LLP, an Air Canada subsidiary. New hires are paid a base salary of $23,000 with a “three strike rule” for staff who fail to show up for irregular shifts on as little as 2 hours’ notice.: “If employees are not reliable those persons are likely to lose their job.”
The Canada Border Services Agency faces another federal lawsuit over the seizure of unreported cash from travelers. The Supreme Court to date has declined to hear appeals of the Agency policy that’s brought revenues averaging more than $5.3 million a year: “I received the Queen’s Jubilee medal and am a law-abiding citizen.”
Canada Post in a confidential 2012 report claimed it could not continue operations without disrupting its delivery network and unionized workforce. The inaccurate forecast failed to anticipate profits on mail delivery in three of the last four years: “We have no time to waste.”
U.S. authorities claim Canadian mills dumped a “massive surge” of cheap softwood lumber into the American market last year. The Department of Commerce yesterday would not disclose data they said would prove the case: “That’s proprietary.”
A Commons motion mandating that cabinet develop plans for a national environmental clean-up of derelict vessels has lapsed. Cabinet promised six months ago it would table the harbour plan “very soon”.
Most Canadians have no understanding of what federal agencies do with their private data and fear misuse of information, says in-house research by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. A majority, 78 percent, support legislation to extend privacy protection: ‘74% think they have less protection now than they did ten years ago.’
Federal agencies paid a 20 percent subsidy to an Ottawa think tank to examine new ways to plan and pay for infrastructure, say Access To Information records. The Public Policy Forum advocated more toll roads: ‘Wouldn’t it make sense to discourage car usage?’
Cabinet says it will fight punishing U.S. tariffs on lumber exports, but would not disclose research it prepared in anticipation of a long trade dispute. “It is going to result in tough times,” said Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr.
Health Canada met privately with pharmaceutical executives to weigh a “cost-benefit analysis” of a new drug safety law, says the department. The closed meetings last October prompted regulators to waive a multi-million dollar requirement that drug companies automatically submit all clinical data when licensing new products: ‘We would not require case reports when a person has died.’
An Elections Canada proposal to digitize the country’s 18-million name voters’ list appears hasty and rife with security worries, say analysts. The agency in a notice said paper records have become too cumbersome: “Security is not even on the menu.”
