Legislators should do more to help small and medium-sized businesses become exporters, says a Liberal senator. The Senate trade committee in a July 6 report proposed more guidance for a million small companies to sell overseas: “You have everybody doing bits and pieces but there is no convergence”.
Canada Post is again raising stamp prices for the sixth time in five years, to a record 90¢ to mail a letter. Employees and customers described the rate hike as senseless, noting the Crown corporation reported a $218 million pre-tax profit in the past fifteen months: “If your mail volumes are going down, your solution is to increase pricing?”
Parks Canada is spending $800,000 on private consultants for new concepts on hiking trails. The agency said the contracting is part of a “hearts and minds” campaign to promote national park use. Authorities declined an interview: ‘It’s a stronger, deeper understanding of the very essence of Canada’.
Veterans’ benefits should be paid on the same basis as unemployment insurance and other civilian entitlements, says the federal Veterans Ombudsman. Guy Parent yesterday said payments should be criteria-based and subject to audit, just like EI benefits, noting ex-service members face a “frustrating” process in claiming pensions they are owed: “There should be an element of trust”.
An 85-year old motorist who waged a Charter of Rights challenge against mandatory exams for senior drivers has lost a bid to appeal to the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear the case: ‘Driving is a privilege, not a right’.
Cabinet is reviving a seniors’ grant program that is funding sex manuals, iPads, Italian films and a Chinese cooking course. The New Horizons For Seniors program cost taxpayers $34.1 million last year: “That’s crap”.
Canadian legislatures should narrow defamation law to protect public figures from so-called SLAPP lawsuits when speaking out on terrorism, says the Senate national security committee. The panel yesterday urged measures to shield lawmakers and pundits from “vexatious litigation” by groups accused of terrorist affiliation: “Those who have a different ideology have brought libel suits”.
Employment Canada faces a revived class action lawsuit after misplacing financial data and Social Insurance Numbers belonging to more than half a million student loan recipients. The Federal Court of Appeal said the department should be made to answer allegations of negligence and breach of confidence: “They have to work much harder”.
Environment Canada has approved the use of two oil spill dispersants as safe and “practically non-toxic” following an evaluation by federal scientists. One advocacy group disputed the claim: “Sheer bollocks”.
Cabinet has enacted a flawed union bill despite Senate warnings it must first correct sloppy drafting that compromises a federal labour board. The labour department yesterday confirmed Bill C-525 came into force June 16 though one Conservative senator called it defective: “The government is aware”.
Authorities are installing new metal detectors and X-ray screeners at every federal court in the country. Officials would not say if the security program is related to passage of Bill C-51 the Anti-Terrorism Act: “For security reasons we will not be commenting”.
Introduction of a West Coast oil spill preparedness plan after Parliament vetoed a tanker ban smacks of “sloganeering”, says an MP. Cabinet yesterday proposed $2.1 million in aid to municipalities and First Nations to develop oil spill responses: ‘We don’t have a world class system’.
A federal ruling on unsafe work conditions is prompting renewed calls for regulation of the armoured car industry. Two-man crews were deemed a “danger” under the Canada Labour Code with guards susceptible to ambush, assault and injury: “Banks and major customers need to rethink their positions”.
Air cargo shippers may see new screening fees of 15¢ per kilogram under a Transport Canada program to take effect next year. New “voluntary” security rules would see shippers apply to screen cargo at their own expense or face anticipated charges: “How do you apply it?”
Canada Revenue Agency has won a court judgment that confirms sweeping access to confidential documents for tax audits. The ruling came amid protest from one of the nation’s largest oil companies that accused auditors of “fishing” for unreported taxes: “Every taxpayer is accountable”.
