Atheism is not a bona fide belief for charitable purposes, says the Federal Court of Appeal. Judges upheld the Canada Revenue Agency’s refusal to grant religious charity status to a small congregation of atheists in the hamlet of McDonald’s Corners, Ont.: “Registration is a privilege, not a right.”
Auditors have faulted Library and Archives Canada for slipshod management of a grant program intended to support community groups. Managers failed to save postmarks to prove applicants met filing deadlines, while other records were so haphazard it was impossible to know why some applicants received grants and others did not: “Staff did not keep the envelopes.”
The Treasury Board yesterday said it does not know the full multi-billion dollar cost of a failed Phoenix software program to upgrade payroll services for federal employees. Costs to date are $2.6 billion but don’t include compensation for employees shortchanged on cheques: “We saw how that didn’t work.”
Federal agencies should drop references to “golden years” when speaking to pensioners, says in-house research by the Department of Social Development. Seniors complained the term is patronizing: “There is nothing golden about getting older.”
The Department of Canadian Heritage budgeted a quarter-million dollars to commission stage plays observing 1969 Criminal Code amendments on homosexuality, according to Access To Information records. “The total budget for this project is potentially substantial,” wrote staff.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in pre-election research paid pollsters $78,964 to test voters’ response to images promoting foreign aid. Photos of laughing children were most popular: “Simple information should be used.”
The Department of Canadian Heritage went sixty percent over-budget on Flag Day observances then hid actual spending from taxpayers. Expenses for the 2015 anniversary of the Maple Leaf flag were buried in 3,773 pages of Access To Information records withheld by the department for four years. Managers did not comment: “A significant portion of what was included under the events actually has nothing to do with the events.”
The Federal Court has dismissed a contempt charge against a Canadian Union of Public Employees advisor for cussing an employer. Profanity is not a personal attack per se, said the Court: ‘It is a slang expression used to tell someone where to go.’
Saskatchewan’s privacy commissioner has faulted a public agency for leaving its office doors propped open overnight in the Town of Melfort, population 6,000. The place was so quiet nothing was stolen: “Locked offices should be required.”
Former cabinet minister
Peter MacKay
says Andrew Scheer
missed an open net.
As though he wants Scheer
to be a better forward.
But MacKay,
taking his own shot
at the Conservative’s leadership,
wants Scheer to be
a poor goalie.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
The Department of Natural Resources in a confidential report told the United Nations to stay out of the Trans Mountain pipeline debate, warning First Nations do not “have a veto over government decisions”. The report followed complaints the project could breach a U.N. treaty on racial discrimination: “Canada’s response will not be made public.”
The head of the largest Liberal-appointed Senate group yesterday would not commit to passing a $217 million-a year tax on foreign real estate speculators. Senator Yuen Pau Woo of Vancouver previously ridiculed “stories about rampant foreign buying” blamed for rising prices: “Of course all of us have political views.”
Not enough French-speaking people apply for senior jobs as broadcast regulators, the Department of Heritage complained in an Access To Information memo. Staff asked to review résumés of candidates applying for six-figure jobs with the CRTC: “The Minister’s Office is concerned.”
The Department of Justice in an Access To Information memo complains it’s been targeted by political Twitter users with “clear far right leanings”. Staff compiled Digital Scan & Analysis bulletins with monitoring of parliamentarians’ accounts: ‘Some users purposely seek to spread confusion.’
Federal agencies spend an average of more than $18 million a year managing a loan and subsidy program for companies in rural Canada, says a Department of Industry report. More than a tenth of borrowers said it “did not achieve any results”.
