Household pesticide use has returned to 20-year old levels after declining for years, says Statistics Canada. The agency reported nearly a third of Canadians use chemicals on lawns and gardens: “The increase is troubling overall”.
A bill mandating French services in airports from St. John’s to Whitehorse is prompting protests from transport managers nationwide. Airport executives said the bill to expand the Official Languages Act will be costly and complex: ‘This would be a challenge for cab companies with drivers who speak Polish’.
Cabinet is considering a proposal to fine lobbyists who breach federal law in seeking favours from friends on Parliament Hill. Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd said violators of the Lobbying Act should pay penalties: ‘An MP or Minister may feel a sense of obligation’.
A bill to proclaim November 11 a national holiday has finally cleared a Commons committee, leaving it little chance of being passed into law in the final weeks of the 41st Parliament. The bill drew protest from small businesses, the Royal Canadian Legion and one of the country’s largest Catholic school boards: ‘It would be just another long weekend’.
A mysterious plane crash that prompted calls for Transport Canada regulation has been reviewed by a federal tribunal. A Yukon charter company successfully challenged a ruling that its practices may have posed a danger: “We have no idea what happened or why”.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is pressing the Senate to pass Canada’s first DNA protection bill. The recommendation follows appeals from civil liberties advocates to restrict insurers’ use of genetic tests by policyholders: “We’re not doing anything about it”.
Federal regulators dispensed with a cursory review of oil spill risks from an offshore Nova Scotia drilling project in just seven days, documents reveal. The Department of Fisheries gave scientists exactly one week to analyze a Shell Ltd. oil and gas venture in the Shelburne Basin: ‘Canadians want a regulator, not a cheerleader’.
Canada Revenue Agency proposes to fingerprint tax evaders in a crackdown on the black market economy. The plan is cited in a cabinet memo released through Access To Information: ‘Fingerprinting reinforces the seriousness of the charges’.
Senators’ rejection of a DNA privacy bill leaves Canadians at the mercy of insurance companies and employers, says the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. The group petitioned every Senator to recall a bill quashed by committee May 5: “There is urgency”.
VIA Rail must work to reduce costs after running a $317.1 million deficit last year, says Transport Canada. The department’s parliamentary secretary yesterday told the Commons the Crown passenger rail service remains costly: “Costs and losses are up”.
Canadians are just mild about cabinet’s income splitting tax program, according to research for the Department of Finance. Focus groups in four provinces had “mixed” views on the multi-billion dollar plan even after being told to watch a Finance Canada video depicting the scheme as a tax saver: “A few individuals assumed it was mainly for wealthy families”.
The defence department, criticized in Parliament for inept contracting, has issued 167 pages of specifications for new mukluks. The contract notice includes requirements for “adjustment and closure systems” – also called laces: “Mukluk assembly is defined as a left and right boot”.
Accountants and tax preparers fear Canada Revenue Agency is about to offload responsibility for individual tax audits. The worries are cited in a cabinet memo obtained through Access To Information: “This supports the concern heard from others that CRA is shifting audit responsibility”.
Most Canadians surveyed in a federal tracking poll are concerned insurers will use genetic testing to deny coverage. A private Liberal bill to outlaw the practice was rejected by a Senate committee three months ago: “I have little expectation of privacy today”.
Citizenship Canada has given fingerprint records to the RCMP without clear legal authority, according to documents. A parliamentary committee cited the department for handing police the biometric data collected from foreign students, immigrants and overseas applicants for work permits: “They know we’re watching”.
