Parks Canada in Access To Information memos says it’s wary of pressure from environmental groups over protection of national treasures. A United Nations monitor in 2017 warned of “significant concerns” over the agency’s protection of a World Heritage Site in Alberta: “NGOs will likely continue to use the World Heritage Convention as a lever.”
An Ontario man docked five days’ pay for uttering a racial slur at work has been ordered to pay an additional $1,000 in damages. The language “would be reasonably expected to be offensive to any person”, ruled the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.
The Canadian Embassy in Washington has signed a three-year, $1.8 million contract to light the building with solar power. The costly mission opened in 1987 after going 200 percent over budget: ‘The Embassy is committed to energy derived from sustainable sources.’
Federal regulators plan a deer cull in a National Park Reserve. Parks Canada says it wants contractors to eradicate every fallow deer on British Columbia’s Sidney Island: ‘This is not one of the highest priorities.’
The Salvation Army
plans a new shelter
in Vanier, Ottawa.
A 350-bed facility.
Opponents say
it’s a poor neighbourhood.
Gangs, drugs, arson, prostitution.
The community needs
a vibrant main street to
attract businesses and
boost economic growth.
A shelter would create a
poverty ghetto,
kill the dream
of a better future.
Proponents say
it’s a poor neighbourhood.
The shelter would not drag things
down much further.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
Illegal lobbying has dogged two contentious bills in Parliament. Access To Information records disclose multiple complaints of unreported lobbying over legislation on marijuana and rail safety at the Privy Council Office and Department of Labour. Scofflaws were not named: ‘One stated he is part of a coalition regarding marijuana; it does not have a name.’
A former director of Library & Archives Canada yesterday went to trial in an alleged $3.5 million bid-rigging case. Barney Shum and five others are accused of conspiring to rig IT contracts at the federal agency in 2009: “There’s no smoking gun of any kind.”
Climate change threatens future Winter Olympic venues, says international research led by a University of Waterloo team. A gradual temperature rise could make cities like Vancouver a high-risk bidder for snowy sports, said a co-author: “Calgary is climate reliable under all our scenarios.”
A marijuana smoker has been acquitted of impaired driving after a judge ruled prosecutors failed to prove the user was reckless. The ruling by a Newfoundland & Labrador court is the first since the Commons passed new legislation on drug-impaired driving: “The test for impaired driving by alcohol is well known.”
Retiring Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson says Parliament should have enacted a 2013 Senate bill amending the Conflict Of Interest Act. The private Liberal bill sought to repeal a loophole that allows legislators to conceal large gifts from lobbyists or contractors they consider personal friends: “It’s sort of embarrassing.”
A federal agency counts nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of contaminated lands in the nation’s capital, including abandoned industrial sites and the gardens of one official residence. The National Capital Commission counted 228 toxic sites with unsafe levels of contamination: ‘There is a lot of work to do.’
A federal judge has rejected a claim for unpaid interest and compensation by a government employee whose bonus was processed six months late. The Court heard the paperwork for more than $8,000 in performance pay was misplaced in a filing cabinet: ‘I want a full explanation.’
Transport Canada yesterday enacted new regulations to curb environmental risks from Arctic shipping under threat of $1 million fines. The department in earlier Access To Information documents rated the chance of a major Arctic spill as negligible: “The Canadian government is all talk and no walk.”
Newly-released data confirm Vancouver International remains the slowest major airport in the country. Travelers reported an average wait of more than 13 minutes to check baggage through security: “We do everything we can.”
A federal agency says it will release its first-ever review of bank sales practices by April 1. Consumer advocates said they do not expect hard-hitting results from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, which is funded by banks: ‘There is a significant lack of horsepower in consumer protection agencies.’
