Cabinet yesterday named a new Procurement Ombudsman to a five-year term. The officer assigned to handling contractors’ complaints should more closely monitor work awarded without competitive bidding, said the chair of the Commons ethics committee: “Competition is a great thing for everybody.”
The Canadian Coast Guard is working up “good news” TV coverage to lobby for a bigger budget, according to Access To Information records. Authorities have described the Coast Guard as chronically underfunded: ‘This will inform the public of the benefits of investing in the Coast Guard.’
The Department of Finance in a secret memo says a $50 per tonne carbon tax is only the start of rising fees on fuel. The Access To Information document said higher taxes are planned after 2022. The memo warned of “continued increases in stringency in future years”, but withheld actual figures.
The Governor General’s office is boasting of its rating on a U.S. travel website as proof of popularity. Rideau Hall announced it now ranks 15th out of 255 things to do in Ottawa on TripAdvisor: “Interesting, but not too much.”
Telecom regulators are threatening six small companies with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for alleged technical breaches of the Telecommunications Act. The six ignored requests to register with a little-known federal ombudsman mandated to take customer complaints: “I told them I don’t have the money.”
The Department of Canadian Heritage is cutting the budget for Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill this year, and avoiding any mention of legal cannabis. Cabinet earlier drew criticism for fixing July 1 as the deadline for repealing a 95-year ban on recreational marijuana: “There are 365 days in a year, and it chose Canada Day.”
The Department of Finance is reviewing credit card fee regulations introduced in Australia and the European Union, says a confidential memo. Staff noted some wholesale fees actually increased after cabinet introduced a voluntary Code Of Conduct for the industry: “A number of other jurisdictions have intervened.”
Employment Canada faces a constitutional challenge of its 2018 hire-a-student program criteria. A charity filed a federal lawsuit in Calgary accusing the department of attempting to gag free speech: ‘Compelling you to repeat what the government wants you to say is sinister.’
Cabinet will not meet its own 2018 deadline to ban asbestos. The Department of Environment said regulations will be delayed at least a year, and will not require any inventory of tonnes of asbestos hidden in homes, factories and commercial buildings nationwide: “Requiring all asbestos to be removed from sources such as buildings and homes would be extremely costly.”
The Newfoundland & Labrador Supreme Court has upheld narrow limits on workplace drug testing. The latest judgment comes amid calls for new federal legislation sanctioning random tests for legal marijuana: “We must take all precautions.”
If you live your life
like Hugh Hefner,
your pupils must widen –
heart rate accelerate –
blood pressure skyrocket –
when seeing a woman
all dressed up.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
A Commons petition seeks a public apology from Governor General Julie Payette over remarks she made at an Ottawa conference. Rideau Hall yesterday did not comment on the controversy: “Oh my goodness, lo and behold — “
The Canada Revenue Agency is trying to use hydro bills to identify tax evaders. Auditors previously resorted to examining Craigslist car ads and eBay listings to spot unreported income: ‘It keeps lawyers busy.’
The Department of Canadian Heritage has awarded a six-figure grant to a gay rights group for an undisclosed commemoration project. Access To Information memos suggest the department plans a national observance of 1969 Criminal Code reforms: “I am aware of the funding.”
The Department of National Defence is expanding its enlistment targets. The military yesterday said it must counter “myths about life in the forces” to attract more women and minorities: “That’s a big target for us.”
