A federal tribunal has cited Health Canada as intransigent and uncooperative in its aggressive enforcement against a small company’s mosquito repellent. Regulators had little evidence to substantiate claims the firm committed a serious violation of the Pest Control Products Act, an adjudicator ruled: “I am trying to earn a living.”
The Canada Revenue Agency faces a constitutional challenge of its audit powers. A private equity firm is resisting auditors’ demands for tax records as part of what it calls a criminal investigation without charge: “It’s beyond the power of any police force in Canada.”
A Commons bill would make a national observance of “buy local” food promotions. The initiative comes three years after MPs rejected a proposal to promote local food purchases in federal contracting: ‘There are economic benefits.’
Senior Canada Revenue Agency management imposed a news blackout on court proceedings against a Liberal lobbyist during the 2015 election campaign, records show. Access To Information files disclose the Commissioner of Revenue sought a media ban on the case as politically sensitive. Staff questioned the unusual secrecy: “The person in question is politically involved.”
Canadian companies and federal agencies with business in New York should test compliance with new U.S. regulations on cybersecurity, says the chair of the Senate banking committee. The rules follow reports of daily electronic threats to Canadian banks from hackers and criminals: “My belief is the Canadian government is the least prepared of all.”
The birthplace of Confederation is to be gutted this year in a multi-million dollar repair job coinciding with the Canada’s 150th anniversary. Parks Canada budgeted $5 million for year-long maintenance work at Charlottetown’s Province House: “It is sad.”
A Supreme Court judgment leaves more questions than answers on the liability of government regulators, says an intervenor in the case. Judges in a 5-4 decision ruled a regulator was not liable for damages on allegations it tried to punish a landowner: “There needs to be further litigation to test this.”
Ironing my wrinkle-free shirt,
I follow the puddle left behind
by the drip-free steam iron.
In the sink, the non-stick frying pan
soaks in warm water
to remove the burnt omelette
fused to its bottom.
And I still haven’t figured out
how to clean the rust
from the stainless steel BBQ grill.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
A federal dragnet for data on foreign real estate buyers has seen CMHC check Chinese names on property rolls, examine tax records and notaries’ deeds for offshore addresses, and call the RCMP, records show. Details are disclosed in Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. memos obtained through Access To Information: “Be careful about classifying based on last names.”
Piecemeal Criminal Code changes to drunk driving laws are so complex they make enforcement difficult, says an Access To Information memo from the Department of Justice. MPs this year will take up a Senate bill against marijuana-impaired drivers: “It is difficult in some cases to understand.”
Upgrades to one city’s wastewater plant altered the reproductive traits of fish, says new University of Waterloo research. Environment Canada has acknowledged many municipal plants nationwide are in breach of the Fisheries Act: “Wastewater systems have to deposit somewhere.”
VIA Rail faces a federal lawsuit in an unusual dispute over intellectual property rights. Two passengers claim the Crown railway used their idea in developing research on passenger safety: “VIA has not been very attentive.”
Illegal drug use is no more harmful than downhill skiing or eating fast food, says a Department of Justice report obtained through Access To Information. Cabinet is introducing a bill to legalize marijuana for the first time since 1923: ‘There are many other harmful practices that are not criminalized.’
Canada is a step closer to ratifying a United Nations pact on toxic mercury. Cabinet yesterday banned mercury exports after naming Chinese mines and mills as the largest source of airborne mercury pollution over Canada: “Ratification would encourage reductions in global mercury emissions.”
Cabinet faces sailors’ protests over a European Union trade pact. A union coalition today is rallying in Victoria, Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Toronto and Montréal against trade terms called a threat to Canadian maritime shipping: “This has the potential to cost 12,000 jobs immediately.”
