A federal plan to abolish Social Insurance Number cards has prompted fears of identity fraud, according to a cabinet memo. The government in 2014 stopped issuing the plastic cards as a cost-savings measure: “It is frustrating”.
The number of renters in Canada is on the rise, and so are prices. Half of households are renting in select cities, according to new national research: “Incomes are not keeping pace”.
Environmental groups challenging a federal gag law limiting public hearings on energy projects have lost a Supreme Court bid. Justices declined to hear the appeal over 2012 amendments to the National Energy Board Act: “I’m disappointed but not surprised”.
The military expected to quell political unrest in Canada’s North as territories rebelled against their treatment as “colonies”, according to a confidential 1989 report by the Department of National Defence. The 27-page document marked SECRET was released by the federal archives under the Access To Information Act: “Unrest may be expected to develop in more militant forms in the future”.
Cabinet has no evidence a tax scheme intended to promote children’s enrollment in sports has worked, despite costing nearly a billion dollars. The finance department in a secret memo said it failed to find any research on the impact of the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, and noted most parents surveyed said they’d enroll kids in sports without the credit: “It’s difficult”.
A band of debt collectors is launching a Federal Court challenge against telecom regulations on unsolicited phone calls. Companies filed court papers asking that a judge strike down robo-call rules enforced by the CRTC: ‘It is freedom of expression’.
Cabinet is accused of thwarting a union drive within the RCMP despite a Supreme Court deadline that first-ever collective bargaining be introduced by January 16, 2016. An association attempting to organize police says it continues to be denied access: “We’re still facing a huge uphill battle”.
Tax evasion remains “socially acceptable” despite enforcement efforts, says a confidential Canada Revenue Agency report. However the Agency appeared to drop a proposal to fingerprint taxpayers who fail audits: “Sustained efforts over a number of years will be needed”.
Federal regulators are refusing to explain why they failed to ensure compensation for customers of failed airline SkyGreece. The Canadian Transportation Agency yesterday declined comment on why it waited weeks to protect passengers who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on cancelled flights and prepaid tickets: “They seem to be washing their hands of this”.
Canada’s power grid is more disaster-proof than it was at the time of an epic 2003 blackout but remains susceptible to extreme weather and cyber attack, says a federal report. The blackout cut power to 50 million customers in Canada and the U.S.: “We are approaching design limits”.
Porter Airlines Inc. is suing Transport Canada to block release of a confidential safety audit of the carrier. The lawsuit follows a 2014 Federal Court ruling that the public may use the Access To Information Act to obtain regulators’ opinions on company Safety Management Systems: “This is confidential information”.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is so dysfunctional employee grievances number in the thousands. Evidence submitted at a federal tribunal indicated hearings on employee complaints take two to three years on average, as long as Federal Court cases: “Some have taken as long as 15 years”.
A landmark environmental lawsuit on offshore liability is bound for a Canadian hearing on go-ahead from the Supreme Court. Claims against a subsidiary of Chevron Corp. represent a test of corporate liability, said advocates: “It recognizes the legitimacy of other courts”.
The Canadian Coast Guard is charging shippers more than $30 million a year in navigation and icebreaking fees, accounts show. It follows a 2013 plan to recover “full cost” on service to mariners: “The real question is what these costs should be”.
Planners will see how Canada rates in ensuring adequate housing for a greying population. The federal insurer Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. is commissioning a $75,000 study of foreign strategies to prevent seniors from “inundating” care facilities, it said: “There is a huge national crisis”.
