The Treasury has granted Air Canada another break on its pension liabilities despite competitors’ protests of favouritism. In a rushed announcement after business hours, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty consented to an Air Canada demand that it again defer full payment on its pension fund liability: “That’s a lot of money.”
Government revenues from tourism total $21.4 billion annually despite a sluggish economy and continued downward trend in visits by Americans. Restaurateurs noted industry margins are so tight they are nearly eclipsed by the cost of credit card acceptance fees.
A federal agency has ruled a U.S. railway violated Canadian regulations following noise and nuisance complaints from neighbours in a small Quebec town. CSX Corp. was cited for blaring whistles and idling locomotives for hours at a time in a residential neighbourhood: “It’s like living in a war zone.”
Trade experts and farm groups warn of an escalation in a cross-border dispute that has cost Canada $5 billion to date, by industry estimate. Ottawa is threatening to slap billion-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods if Washington does not comply with a fair trade ruling by a May 23 deadline.
Canadian companies are questioning a new federal bill that would force them to pay the cost of enforcing copyright law against counterfeiters. The legislation would oblige copyright owners to pay for tracking, seizing, storing and destroying bootleg imports. The industry minister declined an interview.
Canadian industry requires more regulation of railways if shippers and exporters are to grow, warns an executive. The nation’s fertilizer producers said they are at a loss to hold railways to service agreements without federal oversight: “Practically speaking, what rights do we have now?”
Shark populations are declining around the world and it should be a concern for policymakers in Canada, researchers warn. A Commons vote is pending on whether to outlaw the sale of shark fins.
Government-funded researchers in Manitoba have applied for a trademark to promote a “climate advantage” diet of all-Canadian foods from Saskatoon berries to bison meat: “There is a Scandinavian diet; we want to promote a healthy Canadian diet.”
U.S. health care reforms could have unexpected implications for Canada and may place added burdens on the public system, an academic warns. A Western Washington University professor predicts declining American investment in research and development will affect Canada in time.
Funding for a support program for Atlantic Canada’s lobster fishery will be reduced 38 percent this year, according to budget estimates: “We are in a phasing out of the program.” The fisheries department says it has bought back some 500 lobster licenses from fishers in a bid to rationalize the industry.
Every bottle of domestic wine contributes $31 to the nation’s GDP, say producers. The Canadian Vintners Association published industry research that calculated wine production is worth $6.8 billion a year to the economy.
A federal agency is suing its own Department of Justice over excessive fees charged for information Canadians are entitled by law to see at minimal cost. The information commissioner accuses Ottawa of demanding improper fees to divulge records: “This is enormously disturbing.”
Federal regulators propose new rules to promote “choice” of wireless service providers amid customer complaints. Industry Canada said firms must provide roaming capacity to competitors and share cellphone towers; and at least four “players” in every region can acquire rights in an upcoming Nov. 19 spectrum auction.
The animal kingdom enforces a hierarchy in which members deemed inferior are put in their place. Chickens literally peck their inferiors into submission; thus the phrase, “pecking order.” Stigma Revisited is an arresting account of this same sort of thing in contemporary Ottawa
Federal inspectors confirm they did not recall a single one of scores of dried teas found to contain detectable levels of pesticides in violation of national standards. One quarter of dried teas sampled had pesticide residue. Regulators refuse to say if the tea was sold anyway.
