Thousands of Canadians are asking Parliament to enshrine gun rights in the Constitution, ban cat fur imports and permit visa-free travel by Ukrainians under a new electronic petition system. It follows a warning to MPs that anything goes with internet signature campaigns: “I’ve never been an enormous fan of e-petitioning”.
The Canadian Tourism Commission is hiring consultants to determine if its internet marketing program actually works. It follows a 19 percent budget cut four years ago, and the $150,000-a year sponsorship of foreign-language Tweets: “Most newspapers still have a travel section”.
Cabinet expects quick reforms of the National Energy Board following a federal audit that cited the regulator as inefficient and inadequate, says the Minister of Natural Resources. A random audit of 49 licensing conditions on pipeline companies found more than half, 25, were not properly monitored: “It’s not well organized and they’re not talking to each other”.
Federal lawyers improperly concealed government documents sought in a Charter of Rights case, a federal judge has ruled. The Department of Employment falsely invoked solicitor-client privilege to withhold a report that wasn’t written by any of its solicitors: “Access to information is a fundamental human right”.
Cabinet faces fresh demands for reform of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program following restrictions imposed in 2014. Advocates for migrant farmworkers said foreigners should be allowed to become permanent residents: “It isn’t going anywhere”.
Federal police are expanding an auto theft sting in the province with the sharpest rise in stolen vehicles. Electronic surveillance will see bait cars equipped with hidden cameras, streaming video and secret audio recordings to catch thieves: ‘The equipment is invisible to the naked eye’.
Farm leaders and chemical manufacturers say they welcome an end to conditional federal licensing of pesticides after years of protest. Regulators said by June 1 they will abolish the practice of licensing chemicals without full, public health and environmental risk assessments: “They were ‘temporary’ but have lasted anywhere from 10 to 20 years”.
America’s pet fetishism could be a recession-proof opportunity for sharp-eyed Canadian processors, says a Department of Agriculture report. The department marveled at Americans’ “tendency to humanize pets” in research released through Access To Information: ‘Owners view themselves as pet parents with surrogate children’.
RCMP recruitment has fallen to less than half what it was in 2009 despite costly ad campaigns, and enrollment of new cadets in their 50s. New data follow in-house research concluding Mounties are underpaid at $85,000 a year: ‘Members find their compensation unattractive’.
New rules sanctioning chemical use by aquaculture companies will kill wild species, commercial fishermen have told regulators. Petitions to the Department of Fisheries obtained through Access To Information warned of far-reaching effects from 2015 amendments to the Fisheries Act: “How will our industry be protected?”
Grocers say they aren’t to blame for spiraling price hikes like a 19 percent rise in the cost of lettuce. Statistics Canada estimated food prices last year increased an average 4 percent, the sharpest spike in four years: “Margins are razor-thin as it is”.
Write-offs of federal student loans will cost taxpayers $335 million this year, says new research. The country’s chief actuary blamed defaults in part on a poor economy: “It has been difficult for a great number of youths to find work”.
The Coast Guard says it’s not obliged to notify municipalities of oil spills even in city harbours. Officials in emails obtained through Access To Information suggested reporting to mayors was too onerous: “There are hundreds!”
Health Canada is conducting new research on tobacco-related deaths for the first time since 2002. The initiative follows suspension of federal anti-tobacco ad campaigns nine years ago: “We have to do more”.
British Columbia notaries are liable for millions claimed by victims of a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by one of their own. The Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear an appeal of lower court judgments favouring investors in a fictitious Chilean winery scheme: ‘Lots of people were taken for lots of money’.
