In a study that analysts rated unusual, the Public Health Agency is surveying Canadians on which foods make them sick. More than 11,000 consumers nationwide will be questioned on their “gastrointestinal illness” and eating habits: “I haven’t heard of surveys of this kind I must admit”.
A federal judge has quashed a workplace order by the Canada Border Services Agency in only the latest court reprimand involving compliance with labour rules. The agency was cited for an “unreasonable”, “incoherent”, “clearly deficient” order involving an airport employee who attended a safety meeting: “This is not normal”.
Canada Revenue Agency is proposing all tax preparers register with the federal government. The regulation follows the unraveling of a multi-million dollar fraud by a single Ontario company: “It’s absolutely fair for the agency to try and understand who is submitting returns”.
The United Food and Commercial Workers union has won a court battle alleging Mexican diplomats meddled in a B.C. labour dispute. Judges dismissed a claim of immunity by Mexico over charges it coerced migrant workers into voting to decertify a union local: “It’s a very unusual case”.
Canadian mining firms and advocacy groups say they are finalizing a process to disclose corporate payments to overseas governments. The anti-graft proposals follow adoption of a pioneering law in the U.S. four years ago: “We saw this as eventually coming to Canada”.
Some claim
the federal government’s policy
on preventing violence
against sex workers
is little more
than hiding its head
in the sand.
An allegation
no one should take seriously.
It’s twenty below zero.
Buried under snow and ice,
the ground at the National Capital Region
has been frozen-solid
for weeks.
Where do you see sand?
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examiners current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday).
37 people have drowned at national parks and historic sites in the past eight years, according to newly-released Parks Canada records.
Accident reports detailed bloodcurdling accidents, suicides and other tragedies: ‘He was standing on a rock preparing to take a picture when he was swept to his death’.
A small business owner says a simple photocopy error saw him swept up in a federal terror-financing probe. A lawsuit alleges the Financial Transactions & Reports Analysis Centre issued fines over a minor clerical mistake: “They still charged us”.
Airport and travel authorities are wary over a Citizenship & Immigration plan to impose new requirements on visitors. The department says travellers permitted into Canada without a visa must undergo electronic background checks: “That would create a bit of deterrent”.
Contract talks this year at leading railways may see resolution of a dispute over installation of locomotive video and voice recorders, says a union executive. The Transportation Safety Board proposed mandatory recorders following a fatal derailment of a speeding VIA Rail liner.
Public Safety Canada says Toronto must fill out the same forms as anyone else if it seeks millions in compensation from a Christmas ice storm. New Democrat MPs appealed for federal aid after Toronto Hydro took 10 days to restore power to all customers.
In another step to privatization, the Canadian Wheat Board acquired a 10% stake in a Saskatchewan grain terminal. The $3.4 billion Crown agency faces a 2016 sale deadline: “Farm ownership would allow farmers to have an equity investment”.
A major airline cited for multiple violations of fare disclosure rules has been let off with a warning, in a judgment one consumer group called “disgusting”. The Canadian Transportation Agency would not say why it failed to levy fines in the case: “This is something we fought for decades”.
A federal agency the National Capital Commission is hiring a consultant to aid employees in coping with “difficult” change amid warnings on government-wide austerity in the next budget. The commission saw 16% of its staff reassigned last year: “Change can be difficult”.
The Bank of Canada is cautioning consumers to make “informed choices” on bitcoin amid praise for the pseudo-currency as an alternative to actual money. The central bank warned it considers the electronic fad merely an unregulated payment scheme: “It’s all speculative.”
