The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is pressing the Senate to pass Canada’s first DNA protection bill. The recommendation follows appeals from civil liberties advocates to restrict insurers’ use of genetic tests by policyholders: “We’re not doing anything about it”.
Federal regulators dispensed with a cursory review of oil spill risks from an offshore Nova Scotia drilling project in just seven days, documents reveal. The Department of Fisheries gave scientists exactly one week to analyze a Shell Ltd. oil and gas venture in the Shelburne Basin: ‘Canadians want a regulator, not a cheerleader’.
Canada Revenue Agency proposes to fingerprint tax evaders in a crackdown on the black market economy. The plan is cited in a cabinet memo released through Access To Information: ‘Fingerprinting reinforces the seriousness of the charges’.
Senators’ rejection of a DNA privacy bill leaves Canadians at the mercy of insurance companies and employers, says the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. The group petitioned every Senator to recall a bill quashed by committee May 5: “There is urgency”.
VIA Rail must work to reduce costs after running a $317.1 million deficit last year, says Transport Canada. The department’s parliamentary secretary yesterday told the Commons the Crown passenger rail service remains costly: “Costs and losses are up”.
Canadians are just mild about cabinet’s income splitting tax program, according to research for the Department of Finance. Focus groups in four provinces had “mixed” views on the multi-billion dollar plan even after being told to watch a Finance Canada video depicting the scheme as a tax saver: “A few individuals assumed it was mainly for wealthy families”.
The defence department, criticized in Parliament for inept contracting, has issued 167 pages of specifications for new mukluks. The contract notice includes requirements for “adjustment and closure systems” – also called laces: “Mukluk assembly is defined as a left and right boot”.
Accountants and tax preparers fear Canada Revenue Agency is about to offload responsibility for individual tax audits. The worries are cited in a cabinet memo obtained through Access To Information: “This supports the concern heard from others that CRA is shifting audit responsibility”.
Most Canadians surveyed in a federal tracking poll are concerned insurers will use genetic testing to deny coverage. A private Liberal bill to outlaw the practice was rejected by a Senate committee three months ago: “I have little expectation of privacy today”.
Citizenship Canada has given fingerprint records to the RCMP without clear legal authority, according to documents. A parliamentary committee cited the department for handing police the biometric data collected from foreign students, immigrants and overseas applicants for work permits: “They know we’re watching”.
Most Canadian cities are unprepared for major flooding, says a national study by the University of Waterloo. The research follows a warning from a former federal environment commissioner that Canada lacks a comprehensive program on impacts of climate change: “I am hoping this study is a wakeup call for mayors”.
The Supreme Court will weigh a Saskatchewan test of federal bankruptcy law. Attorneys are challenging a Tommy Douglas-era statute intended to protect farmers from creditors: ‘There are major implications’.
Canada Revenue Agency faces a court challenge after revoking charity status for a non-profit credit counselling service. Similar groups have been granted registration as charities since 1968. The dispute follows confirmation the Agency is spending $13.5 million on special audits of charities: ‘It’s unfair and unjust’.
Canada will not force Canadian shipowners on the Great Lakes to equip vessels with costly ballast treatment systems until effective technology exists, says Transport Minister Lisa Raitt. The cabinet pledge comes amid a multi-million-dollar dispute with U.S. authorities who aimed to restrict Canadian access to American ports: “We’ve not been getting any cooperation”.
Canada ranks 16th out of 18 industrialized countries with national health systems in accessing new medicines through publicly-funded drug plans, says a pharmaceutical industry report. The research prompted renewed calls in Parliament for an all-Canadian pharmacare program: “The whole idea is to come together”.
