Cabinet will budget millions for a national harbour clean-up of derelict boats. A single wreck abandoned on the St. Lawrence River will cost taxpayers $34 million, said the Department of Fisheries: “Taxpayers are on the hook for a huge amount of money.”
Canada Post is being challenged over job cuts. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers in a Federal Court application said managers used faulty data to justify regional cuts, a position upheld by a labour arbitrator: “They are ruining the service.”
Farm fertilizer accounts for a higher rate of greenhouse gas emissions than originally estimated, says new University of Manitoba research. Release of nitrous oxide with spring thaws adds another 22 to 30 million tonnes of emissions each year, said researchers: “It is significant.”
A federal agency is comparing fossil fuel industries to tobacco manufacturers. The government think tank Policy Horizons Canada warned regulators could be sued if they do not enforce a climate change plan: “It’s all part of the ongoing scare tactics.”
The Department of Justice says federal employees may copy thousands of password-protected works without payment or permission in the name of research. Lawyers made the claim in response to Blacklock’s lawsuit against Health Canada for unauthorized copying of online content to more than 1,000 employees.
“There was no profit involved in the sharing of these articles,” wrote government attorneys in a statement of defence filed in Federal Court. “The articles were shared for a non-commercial research and review purpose. They were used fairly because the distribution of Blacklock’s material was limited to articles that specifically addressed the defendant’s work.”
Blacklock’s filed the copyright claim after discovering health department staff from 2013 through 2016 used its website to buy electronic passwords for $148 or $157, ignored a warning against distribution, then copied works numerous times without seeking permission or a licensing agreement. Health Canada’s lawyers described distribution as “limited”.
The statement of defence noted a single Blacklock’s subscription was intended for “media monitoring purposes”. Health Canada and its Public Health Agency at the time paid more than $289,000 a year for media monitoring including:
The department also charged millions in licensing fees on its own intellectual property sold to third parties. Licensing fees collected by Health Canada and the Public Health Agency totaled $6.7 million in the period from 2006 to 2016, according to an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons. The department also vigorously enforced its own copyright, sending “a total of eight notices to third parties in respect of alleged infringements pertaining to copyright for non-commercial purposes,” said Inquiry.
Access To Information records obtained by Blacklock’s indicate Health Canada copied 119 news stories and made them available to 1,192 people. Department lawyers claimed distribution was 122 articles shared with 500 staff.
Legislators will conduct a statutory review of the Copyright Act this November, the first study of its kind since 2012. “Decisions of the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada continuously add to the legal and policy issues,” cabinet wrote in a 2017-18 Departmental Plan on copyright.
A Public Policy Forum review of media released January 26 urged that Parliament protect all publishers from wholesale copying of electronic content. “We recommend this review tighten the usage of copyrighted news material in favour of creators without unduly stifling the social power of sharing on the internet,” said the study The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy & Trust In The Digital Age. “News producers have a right to benefit from their work for a reasonable period while pursuing the business strategy of their choice.”
“Whole works can be duplicated instantly,” said Digital Age; “In many cases, the issue arises when aggregators, bloggers or others use material without permission.”
The media study was subsidized with a $130,000 grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
By Staff 
A bill to rewrite Canada’s usury law for the first time since 1978 has been reintroduced in the Senate. Parliament has failed to protect consumers from criminal interest rates, said a borrowers’ advocate: ‘Rates range from 443% in Manitoba to 651% in Prince Edward Island.”
The Commons will not support a private bill mandating labels on genetically-modified organisms. The Department of Agriculture in Access To Information documents has warned it could sue any province that tries to pass such a law: “It is simply a response to public opinion surveys.”
A United Nations report critical of federal environmental policies is an embarrassing wake-up call for cabinet, say advocates. Parks Canada was faulted for failing to protect the nation’s largest national park from illegal logging, hydroelectric dams and mining: “We have come up very short.”
A total 315 veterans — less than 0.1 percent of the public service — have been hired under a 2015 bill promising preferential treatment for ex-military in applying for government work, says Veterans Affairs Canada. The number of jobs at federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations total 379,000: “We would like to see better results.”
Regulators have no reason to delay a proposed ban on a common pesticide, the Commons agriculture committee has been told. Health Canada is considering the phase-out over three to five years of a farm chemical deemed an environmental risk: “As an MP it makes it difficult.”
Employers must accommodate staff with drug addictions and be non-judgmental, says a Canadian Human Rights Commission guide for corporations. The document was published as cabinet prepares to introduce a bill to legalize recreational marijuana: “Understand that the employee might be feeling pressured, guilty or anxious.”
Parliament must reform trade laws to counter steel dumping by Chinese mills, union and industry executives yesterday told the Commons trade committee. Weak legislation has made Canada vulnerable to shipments from state-owned China producers, officials said: ‘We cannot compete with the People’s Republic.’
A court judgment upholding a $6,000 fine for animal suffering by a food processor should spur an ongoing review of federal regulations, says an MP. More than 1.5 million birds and livestock die in transport each year, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency: “We don’t want fines to become just the cost of doing business.”
The Commons last night voted 222 to 60 in favour of Canada’s first anti-genetic discrimination law. A total 103 Liberal MPs supported the bill over objections of the Attorney General and cabinet: “Most Canadians would be shocked.”
Cabinet will likely not legalize marijuana this term even if a bill passes Parliament, say Access To Information records. Cabinet anticipates years of study and consultation on regulations, said memos from the departments of health and justice: “We need to do a lot more research.”
