The Department of Justice says it is looking for “wiggle room” from a Supreme Court decision to obtain client information from Canada’s 27,000 law firms. The department earlier lost a $3 million court battle over an Act that compelled lawyers to disclose clients’ cash transactions: “It won’t be easy.”
MPs yesterday gave approval in principle to a Liberal bill mandating an Indigenous perspective on historic commemorations. Legislators faulted the Historic Sites and Monuments Board for celebrating European-themed people and places since its creation in 1919: “We have come a long way since then.”
Copyright owners blame ideological cost-cutting for a federal lawsuit by school boards over payment of millions in photocopy fees. Educators in eight provinces – all but Ontario and Québec – have sued over royalties: “This is an attempt to avoid paying authors and publishers for their work.”
Legislators have a moral obligation to defeat a bill to legalize marijuana, says a senator. Cabinet has sought a Second Reading vote on agreement in principle with its cannabis bill within 24 days: “That is clearly bad legislation.”
The Department of Finance says it can’t help consumers who complain of price gouging since the 2012 elimination of the penny. Access To Information records detail complaints from Victoria to Québec City over price rounding on credit and debit transactions at gas stations and other retailers: “Is this legal?”
A federal regulator has rejected a claim for lost wages by an airline passenger who suffered a three-day flight delay. The Canadian Transportation Agency said the onus is on travelers to prove actual damages until Parliament enacts a passenger rights bill: ‘Regulations would be binding; that’s the distinction.’
Boys convicted of crimes are more likely to be jailed for subsequent offences in adulthood, says research by the Department of Public Safety. Career criminals typically cost taxpayers $1.4 million by age 30, by official estimate: “Getting convicted tends to be followed by an increase in offending.”
Transport Canada is the target of another lawsuit over the last federally-subsidized marine shipper in the country. Access To Information records disclosed in 2017 Court proceedings estimated subsidies to ferry vehicles by Marine Atlantic Inc. cost taxpayers millions: “Crown corporations are expected to function without preferential treatment.”
Union executives and MPs yesterday said a significant rewrite is needed to a federal workplace harassment bill. Witnesses testifying at the Commons human resources committee complained the bill does not define harassment: ‘It is critical you actually have it in the law.’
The Canada Revenue Agency has won a $54,895 judgment against a student borrower who went eight years without making payment on a federal loan. Write-offs of unpaid loans cost taxpayers nearly $3 billion: “This is a case that is appropriate for summary judgment.”
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada Co. has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a federal investigation into misleading advertising. The agreement with the Competition Bureau is the latest in a probe of car rental agencies dating back seven years: ‘Consumers will now be able to trust the prices they see advertised.’
Statistics Canada is testing sewage to gauge the country’s marijuana consumption before and after legalization. The agency yesterday acknowledged the survey of trace cannabis flushed through municipal wastewater systems is uncertain: “StatsCan is using non-traditional methods to acquire as much information as possible.”
Governor General Julie Payette tripled the budget of her predecessor for swearing-in ceremonies last October 2, according to financial records. Payette’s investiture cost nearly $650,000. The Governor General appealed for an end to poverty: ‘It’s our duty to diminish inequity here.’
MPs yesterday expressed dismay over data that 1 in 5 federal public service executives are harassed at work. Members of the Commons human resources committee said reforms are needed: “That statistic is very worrying.”
School boards nationwide are suing for millions in refunds from copyright owners over fees paid to photocopy textbooks. The Federal Court case is the first since a key ruling last July that educators cannot indiscriminately copy works free of charge: “This will get interesting.”
