A Western trade group alleges railways have slowed service since the introduction of a new rail reform bill. “It may be worse than you folks realize,” an advocate told MPs. The Railway Association of Canada dismissed service complaints as a “myth,” saying most customers are satisfied.
Cabinet has quietly repealed a 1965 regulation forbidding new mining exploration in a two-mile strip of land on Baffin Island. Neither the Minister of Northern Development nor his department would explain who requested the change, or why: “This is extraordinary.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has issued the annual awards nobody wants: its yearly observance of the most wasteful spending of public funds. “It’s enough to bring you to tears,” said Gregory Thomas, the federation’s national director.
Canada’s rail “duopoly” is under fire by billion-dollar commercial customers, including one mining executive who likened dealings with railways to a hostage taking. But the chief of CN dismissed complaints of “the big, bad railroad,” saying industry should consider itself “lucky” to have rail service.
A private bill proposing to make it a felony to tamper with cellphone serial numbers has been introduced in the House of Commons. The sponsor dismissed suggestions the measure will kill the cellphone resale market, but acknowledged it “would be dangerous to rely on Kijiji” for your cellphone needs.
Legislation about to pass the House of Commons will root out “troublemakers” and “poor performers” in federal policing, says a Conservative MP and veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Critics charge the bill grants Draconian, paramilitary-style powers to the RCMP commissioner in demoting and firing members.
Six towns and a Prairie First Nations reserve are front-runners for a multi-billion dollar bedrock storage vault for spent nuclear fuel rods from the country’s power reactors, industry sources tell Blacklock’s. The dump will require 150 years of monitoring for radiation leaks.
Canadian companies victimized by counterfeiters must pay the cost of enforcement under a new bill. Copyright owners will even be charged the cost of destroying bootleg products seized by border officers. Industry Minister Christian Paradis would not take Blacklock’s questions.
A parliamentary committee has opted not to question regulators over warnings Canada is unprepared for an Atlantic oil spill. Investigators have warned regulators “need to do more to prepare for a major oil spill.”
Canada’s ethanol and biodiesel producers are lobbying for new requirements mandating renewable ingredients in home heating oil and Maritime diesel fuel. Regulations that exempt the two expire at month’s end. Sources confirmed lobbyists pressed MPs for new mandates favouring the industry. “That is not going to happen,” said one senior Conservative.
The partial privatization of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. is unlikely to change the Crown agency’s corporate direction anytime soon, says a senior executive. Cabinet has said it will “shortly” privatize operations at AECL’s labs in Chalk River, Ont.
The feds forecast a golden age of Canadian agriculture following historic high farm incomes and exports in 2012. “Not bad while the global recession is still on,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told a Commons committee.
Canada’s Mental Health Commission and partners are drafting a national standard to promote mental health in the workplace, much like existing accident prevention programs. Mental health issues account for some 30 percent of short-term disability claims, analysts estimate: “Companies have really resisted dealing with this.”
Federal regulators propose more increases in user fees, this time on pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers. That follows proposed hikes in fees on park visits, grain inspection, and piloting of freighters through the Great Lakes.
A new report is fueling fresh debate over Alberta’s oilsands, suggesting development must be re-evaluated to maximize benefits: “This is an industry that is headed into major turbulence.” An oil price plunge to $27 per barrel in 1986 froze oilsands development, and drove Alberta into its worst budget crisis since the 1930s.
