Killing home mail delivery will have “huge repercussions” for Canada Post, the Senate has been told. Authorities attempted to defend a proposal to end home delivery for five million urban householders beginning in 2014: “The important thing for Canadians is that we continue to have a postal service.”
Winemakers are appealing for more subsidies to withstand the impact of a free trade pact with Europe. Vintners told a Commons committee they are at a disadvantage even with the repeal of 45¢ per litre E.U. tariffs on Canadian wine exports: “They are superpowers in wine”.
Proposed changes to a Canada-wide building code by the National Research Council are raising the ire of critics amid claims of fire hazards. Amendments would raise the height limit on wooden structures from four storeys to six, a measure that already meets code in British Columbia: “It hasn’t been analyzed enough.”
Canada Post faces public fury over surprise plans to increase rates 35 percent and kill home delivery for more than 5 million Canadians.
The Crown agency with a mail monopoly reported a pre-tax profit of $127 million last year.
Business, labour and seniors groups expressed anger over the scheme, disclosed 12 hours after the Commons broke for its Christmas recess: “It’s pretty dramatic.”
The Department of Agriculture is giving itself new powers to amend regulations without public notice or parliamentary scrutiny. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s office would not comment on terms of a new omnibus farm bill: “There has to be care given to that.”
MPs have quietly concluded a probe of the wealth gap with a report that reaffirms existing federal policies. The Commons finance committee proposed no new initiatives following a year-long study of income inequality: “Life isn’t fair.”
The Senate is to study fish farming amid industry complaints a “patchwork” of regulations is hurting the trade. Senators voted to conduct a national probe of aquaculture involving species now regulated by the Fisheries Act: “It is a farming industry; we’re not fishing.”
The Supreme Court is to consider whether companies can force retirement of workers who aren’t necessarily protected by human rights law. The case involves a B.C. attorney who challenged mandatory retirement at 65: “Can you contract out your human rights?”
Public Safety Canada is studying the impact of fees on U.S. trade. The department said, while inspection charges and other fees comprise less than one-tenth of one percent of the value of imports and exports, the cumulative impact of fees is unknown.
The Senate is to hold hearings on the future of the CBC following its loss of lucrative NHL hockey rights to Rogers Communications Inc. Senators voted to conduct a national probe of the public broadcaster that draws $1.1 billion in annual subsidies: “Corporations can become complacent; was that the case at the CBC?”
Contractors are pressing Parliament for legislation requiring prompt payment of bills on construction sites. A coalition appealed to MPs to enact a federal version of an Ontario bill that mandates quick settlement of accounts by building owners and other debtors: “There are no strict timelines for payments.”
The Government of Canada spends nearly $840,000 a year on TV sets for daytime viewing by employees, according to spending records tabled in the Commons.
New televisions, the majority high-definition sets, cost taxpayers $6.69 million over the past eight years, documents show.
“We wanted to see how money is being spent,” said New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, who asked for the data. “The government is telling everybody the cupboard is bare, yet we see enormous amounts of spending within the bureaucracy that never seems to make it to front-line services.”
“You have to ask, why is there money to blow on TVs?” said Angus, MP for Timmins-James Bay, Ont.; “What kind of value are Canadians getting for their money?”
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation spent more on televisions than any other department or Crown agency, totaling $2.5 million over the period from 2006 to 2013-14.
Other enthusiasts for daytime TV included the Canada Revenue Agency, with $439,000 on new sets, followed by Canada Lands Company Ltd., the federal agency that owns Toronto’s CN Tower ($327,000); and the Department of Justice ($326,000).
The Department of Industry did not bill taxpayers for a single TV set over the eight fiscal years. Other leading agencies that do not watch television at work are Statistics Canada and the Standards Council of Canada.
Angus, a four-term MP, said he asked that his own government-issue TV be taken from his office months ago.
“I actually asked that the TV be removed,” said Angus. “In nine years of having it in my office I never turned it on. Never used it.”
By Staff 
The number of immigrants expelled from Canada has increased 80% since 2010, records show. Immigrants subject to “departure orders” for offences from falsifying papers to suspicion of terrorism totaled 17,882 last year: “They want a tough-on-crime image”.
Finance Canada would have a balanced budget today if the federal tax on large corporations had remained frozen at 2002 levels, according to figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office. The corporate rate has been cut by eleven points in the past decade: “Budgets are about choices.”
Police and border guards pledge to “game up” on security measures amid debate on a bill to intercept counterfeit goods. Security managers told a Commons committee that improvements must be made following criticism by the Auditor General: “I’m confident.”
