The heritage department spent nearly $55,000 interviewing Canadians on whether they enjoy Christmas lights and tobogganing. Both are popular, said newly-released federal surveys: ‘It’s like asking if you favour cotton candy and unicorns’.
A forestry company has lost a bid to turn a defamation lawsuit against Greenpeace into an “inquiry” of the group’s fundraising and protest methods. Resolute Forest Products Inc. sued for $7 million alleging environmentalists maliciously interfered in its sale of paper products: “If calling myself a radical helps the cause, go for it”.
MPs underestimate the benefits of Canada’s current election system and should be wary of sweeping reforms, a Commons committee has been told. Cabinet vows to adopt unspecified amendments to the Elections Act by the next campaign in 2019: “Canadian democracy already functions”.
Cabinet would be compelled to promote co-operatives and allow existing boards to qualify for federal grants under a private Liberal bill in the Commons. The legislation follows data that 25 percent of legacy co-operatives see no annual growth: ‘Very few business schools educate Canadians about co-ops’.
A federal judge is being asked to settle a human rights dispute over municipalities’ right to hire and fire. Lawyers sued to block a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal investigation of a claim of workplace discrimination: “We can’t create a position”.
A national monument to Cold War victims is again being scaled back with completion delayed till 2019. The Department of Canadian Heritage yesterday launched a design competition for a more modest memorial with reduced budget. Original plans called for 9/11-style beacon lighting and an 800-seat amphitheatre: ‘It is dignified’.
A national referendum on electoral reform could divide the country, says former New Democrat leader Ed Broadbent. The 80-year old Broadbent yesterday told a Commons committee Canada’s current Elections Act “totally distorts the democratic will”.
MPs should enact a migrant workers’ bill of rights and permit farm workers to unionize, says Unifor. A Commons committee report on temporary foreign workers is due once MPs return from summer recess September 19: “We could not sit by”.
Media coverage of unproven criminal charges is not grounds for a human rights claim, a tribunal has ruled. The judgment came over news clipping naming a police officer charged but never convicted of 26 offences: “Media leaked information”.
Retroactive cuts to federal union wage settlements are lawful. The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge of a 2009 austerity law that capped increases for government employees: “It is acceptable legislation”.
Canada Post reports a pre-tax profit of $45 million for the first half of the year. Management said a threatened lockout of workers appeared to have “minimal impact” on revenues.
You,
who haven’t used a lavender, vanilla, or coconut shampoo in
months,
let alone jasmine, citrus, or Hawaiian-fresh bathing soap…
Who don’t think deodorant
is a good idea on these steamy
days…
Who make no use of cologne, or aftershave,
but instead
let us all enjoy your natural body odours
in the meeting room, in the kitchenette,
or in that slow, crowded elevator…
Congratulations!
You are in good compliance
with our latest guidelines
for a scent-free workplace.
If you could only avoid that
minty toothpaste…
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
Canada has seen fewer terrorist incidents since 9/11 than in the fifteen years prior to the World Trade Centre bombings, says federal research. The number has declined steadily since 1969. Public Safety Canada yesterday omitted all mention of the Access To Information data in a terrorist threat report: “Since 2001 the vast majority of incidents have involved eco-terrorism”.
Labour delegates have voted to lobby cabinet for a broader increase in Canada Pension Plan benefits than proposed by the Department of Finance. Unifor members meeting in convention in Ottawa called for higher CPP payouts: “That’s critical to the whole approach”.
A judge has faulted one of Canada’s largest banks over its foreclosure practices. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia threw out a $16,697 claim from the Toronto Dominion Bank on a $10,877 loan: “Justice is restored”.
