A federal regulators’ failed proposal on fisheries policy has prompted advocates to organize a new industry association. “There are concerns there is a movement afoot to corporatize the industry,” said the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association.
Federal agencies propose to raise millions of dollars in new user fees on industry, from operators of grain elevators to owners of Great Lakes freighters: “We all knew this would happen sometime.”
Fewer than 6 million Canadians – less than a quarter of those who file federal tax returns – are contributing to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan, new data show. Analysts noted the low rate followed the 2008 financial panic and economic slowdown.
A Federal Tax Court judge invoked Shakespeare in voiding charity receipts from two Toronto men who claimed to donate almost a fifth of their income to a church that failed a federal audit: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”
A farm animal rights group that famously championed humane treatment of livestock and once advocated a Canada-wide veal boycott has quietly disbanded. The Canadian Farm Animal Care Trust was stripped of its charity status for failing to file a federal tax return.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has accepted an application by a school to register “I Love Ottawa” for promotional use. Federal law permits the use of the maple leaf in trademarks so long as applicants “conform to good taste.”
A British academic book publisher is suing a Canadian librarian and his employer, McMaster University, for $3 million for alleged defamation in a blog post. McMaster in a statement said it “strongly supports the exercise of free speech.”
The RCMP is apologizing over an “innocent” Parliament Hill encounter that provoked allegations of Muslim profiling. Majority Leader Sen. Marjory LeBreton vowed to investigate the “very alarming” incident, though police tell Blacklock’s it was an honest misunderstanding.
The House has opened debate on legislation to end 172 years of practice in alerting Canadians to changes in federal regulations. Promoters of the bill have declined interviews. Critics fear the measure will permit rule-making by stealth: “I am suspicious.”
A quarter-century after a federal health minister declared tobacco was socially taboo, it so happens that 5,764,843 Canadians still smoke. Industry Canada still grants patents for improved cigarette rolling machines. And for many aboriginal Canadians, cigarettes are “an important industry that helps to provide the needs of life,” writes journalist Jim Poling, Sr.
Introduction of a lobster quota would “tear apart” Atlantic Canada, a Nova Scotia cabinet minister has told a Senate committee: “If you go down that road…you will see communities further deteriorate and erode.” The exchange came amid declining lobster prices, and new regulations that will cost fishermen $565,000 a year.
Telemarketers will be charged up to $14,130 for a copy of the National Do Not Call List under a fee schedule proposed by regulators: “We definitely want a commission that is able to focus on dealing with the bad apples.” Regulators will use the proceeds to pay enforcement costs.
An anti-bacterial ingredient used in scores of products like soap, toothpaste and cosmetics is now under federal review following nearly a decade of health warnings. Environment Canada says it must decide if triclosan is “toxic.”
A bill to outlaw the transboundary sale of bulk water to the United States has passed the House of Commons with all-party support. Violators who ship more than 50,000 litres a day — “no larger than a tanker truck” — face million-dollar fines and federal prison.
Long-awaited shipping reforms affecting the movement of millions of tonnes of goods will require detailed amendments to curb the influence of large railways, say MPs: “There is no competition. The shippers are captive.”
