10% of federal employees are “lazy”, “dead weight” staff, the Commons finance committee has been told. Conservative MP Brian Jean, a former Alberta Crown prosecutor, claimed public servants make themselves scarce at work to evade assignments: “‘Hide and seek for a grand a week’, that’s what they called it.”
An aging farm population has groups concerned over the greying one of Canada’s largest industries. Data show the average age of farmers is now 54. Census figures also show farmers have larger families, and are more likely to attend church than other Canadians: “Who’s the next generation going to be?”
Fishing and farm critics say a tentative Euro trade pact may cost thousands of jobs. The Commons trade committee was told the repeal of protection measures for Atlantic processors will bring ruin. And a farm group expressed fear for the pork industry: “It’s a great manipulation of public policy.”
Canada’s information commissioner says widespread misuse of wireless devices by federal employees may violate the Access to Information Act. Instant messages exchanged on 98,000 government-issue BlackBerrys have been deleted despite obligations to preserve records: “It’s not my job to train civil servants.”
Transport Canada is being urged to release rail safety data amid claims of confidentiality by shippers. Members of the Commons transport committee said Safety Management Systems required of 35 federally-regulated railways are needlessly secretive: “That’s how it’s been working forever in this country.”
Importers fear Canada Border Services Agency lacks the manpower to enforce new anti-piracy legislation affecting millions of commercial shipments. The counterfeiting bill follows a 10% cut in funding for border security: “Am I confident they will get the appropriate level of funding? No.”
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he’s “in the business of eliminating tariffs” despite proposing across-the-board increases in his 2013 budget. Flaherty told a Senate committee he’s “broadly” examining duties, but made no mention of millions in higher rates detailed in his March 21 budget: “Separate fact from fiction.”
The Royal Canadian Air Force will conduct a “training” session at a Hawaiian diving school this January in a venture that drew no comment from the Minister of Defence.
The RCAF reported it will fly up to thirty staff to Maui in January and February for six-night stays at Lahaina, home of the welcoming Ka’anapali Beach – “one of Maui’s best” – and traditional luaus, according to the Lonely Planet travel guide.
The air force reported that personnel from British Columbia would be “training” at Lahaina Divers, a charter scuba company that promises clients stunning views of coral, hammerhead sharks and a sunken schooner.
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson declined Blacklock’s interview request.
The RCAF said that, while the Pacific junket “has yet to be approved”, it was intended to provide training for search and rescue technicians of 442 Squadron of Comox, B.C.
“Technicians must fulfill specific scuba diving requirements on a quarterly basis to maintain job-essential skill currency,” said Maj. Steve Neta, senior public affairs officer.
The Maui location was picked “due to the quality of the commercial dive support available”, Neta continued: “Technicians are required on a moment’s notice to subject themselves to some of Canada’s harshest climate conditions in austere environments year round. The dive operator at Lahaina offers equipment and standards that meet the Canadian Armed Forces requirements.”
Divers will be flown to Hawaii for week-long sessions from January 18 to February 21. The air force stressed its hotel must be cool and quiet, and within a 20-minute drive of the diving school: “Minimum 3.5-star hotel based on TripAdvisor or other travel websites”, the air force reported. “Accommodation must be located in a safe and quiet environment, higher floors preferred, in an area that is not under construction or being renovated.”
Hotel fares at Lahaina for the peak mid-winter period range from $140 to $310 nightly according to the discount travel website Hotwire.com.
The Lonely Planet enthused that local attractions include the Old Lahaina Luau, “a must-do for visitors to Hawaii”: “You’ll be individually greeted with a fresh flower lei, tropical drink and a personalized souvenir program before your Luau hosts escort you to your seats and acquaint you with the Old Lahaina Luau grounds. At the ocean’s edge, you may gather as the Kalua pig is unearthed from the ‘Imu’, a traditional Hawaiian underground oven. After, you’ll be escorted to the Hale A’i (Eating House) for your buffet dinner. At sunset, the evening’s main entertainment begins.”
By Staff 
Canada is at risk of “repelling business investment” though the corporate tax rate is lower than Botswana’s, says a former Department of Finance visiting economist. Prof. Jack Mintz cautioned legislators to be wary of “populist arguments” to raise corporate rates, now one-quarter what they were in 1960: “There is a dangerous trend happening.”
Twenty years after researching the internet Ottawa still lacks initiative and coherency in service delivery via the web, says the auditor general. Investigators concluded that electronic communications are so tangled, Crown agencies cannot even communicate with each other: “There is no incentive.”
The meat industry says it is taken aback by Health Canada targeting of processors with new penalties. Health Minister Rona Ambrose told the Commons “tough penalties on business” will be introduced to enforce compliance with food inspection regulations. Similar fines last year averaged $2,433 per offence.
A hunters’ group is studying the feasibility of harvesting animals in a national park amid a secret government report that proposes a mammoth kill of grey seals blamed for eating too many fish. Confidential documents citing “consistent pressure” from the fishing industry propose that federal contractors destroy and burn 200,000 grey seals at Sable Island National Park Reserve: “Any orphaned pup should be killed lest it starves to death.”
Falling numbers of union members Canada-wide have “stabilized” after years of decline, federal data show. Rates of union membership fell from 38 percent of the workforce to 30 percent in the past thirty years: “We’ve always been in the basement.”
Federal agents are failing to measure their effectiveness in guarding Canada’s borders against illegal entry despite spending millions of dollars, auditors say. The report comes as MPs debate legislation that would put more onus on the Canada Border Services Agency to intercept counterfeit goods: “I am very concerned.”
New figures appear to support Bank of Canada claims of “dead money” hoarded by corporations hesitant to re-invest in the economy. Industry Canada reported new investment in start-up companies and ventures has fallen for 12 consecutive months and is now half what it was before corporate taxes were cut to a postwar low: “Now’s the time to build those opportunities.”
