Cabinet leadership is required to address failings of Canada’s Access to Information system, says a federal commissioner. Suzanne Legault said cabinet must ensure compliance with federal law, as in the case of one department that improperly withheld documents for three years.
Nearly 1 in 4 small businesses forecast poor sales through to 2014, according to Industry Canada data. Research determined the outlook is so uncertain that small business now rates financing a minor problem: “If your business isn’t growing your demand for capital is not there.”
Water quality in one of Canada’s most famous lakes has declined over a decade despite efforts to reclaim the landmark. Satellite imagery confirms that algae growth spiked by farm chemical runoff and urban waste has worsened in ten years: “The entire lake is a concern.”
The Canadian Transportation Agency is extending a certificate of fitness for the bankrupt railway implicated in the fatal Lac-Mégantic wreck. The railway meets liability insurance requirements, but only because its freight business is down 70% and it no longer ships crude oil.
Cabinet proposes to renew grants to the auto and defence industries amid a slump in manufacturing sales. Authorities called it an investment in “proven” job creation. The pledge followed new data confirming another drop in manufacturing sales: “It’s really taking a beating.”
Cabinet is contemplating more privatization in a bid to balance its budget in 2015. The government in its Throne Speech vowed it “will review federal assets” in an attempt to eliminate its $26 billion deficit: “When it is in the best interest of Canadians, they will be sold.”
The think-tank Fraser Institute denies it skewed data to support claims that “environmentally-friendly” pipelines are four times safer than railway tank cars. However a senior director acknowledged skipping contradictory research completed by the Senate: “I’m not familiar with that report.”
The Department of Public Safety plans a public database, the first of its kind, to map terrorist incidents, crimes and “extremist activities” across the country. Authorities reported no terrorist incidents in Canada last year. The department declined Blacklock’s interview request.
The Canadian Coast Guard is cutting its price on an unloved patrol boat once used to lob tear gas at fishermen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and now for sale on the internet. The relic of the Atlantic cod wars has been up for auction since July without a buyer.
Canada’s airports and carriers are appealing for tax and rent relief after blaming government policies for a decline in tourism. Officials said a 4¢ federal fuel tax, provincial excise charges and ground rents have made air travel too expensive.
Oil companies and corporations accounted for most donations to last summer’s Alberta flood victims despite claims of a public outpouring of relief, records show.
The Canadian Red Cross confirmed less than one-third of donations it received were from individual Canadians, with nearly 70% from corporate donors. The agency would not disclose what portion came from companies based in Alberta, itself.
“As a national organization we do not track donations down to that level,” a Red Cross spokesperson told Blacklock’s.
No professional fundraisers would agree to an interview. However informal polling by one Conservative MP identified conflicted opinion on the topic. The online survey by MP Ed Holder of London West, Ont., asked: “Will you consider making a donation to charities in order to help the Alberta flood victims?” Forty-seven percent said yes; 40 percent said no; 13 percent were “unsure”. Holder did not comment.
The Canadian Red Cross had appealed for “urgent help” to aid southern Albertans after June floods killed four people and forced the evacuation of 65,000 people in the Calgary area. Donations totaled $33 million in cash and gifts, with $22 million from corporations and $11 million worth of “financial and in-kind donations from individuals and community groups.”
The Red Cross would not detail how much it collected from individual Canadians living outside Alberta. “We do not have the provincial breakdowns,” a spokesperson said.
The $33 million in aid was one of the largest fundraising responses to a domestic disaster, compared to other Canadian Red Cross campaigns including:
Oil and gas companies were the largest single corporate donors to Alberta flood relief, according to data compiled by the Business Civic Leadership Centre, a research agency of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Donors included Suncor Energy ($1.5 million); Cenovus Energy ($1 million); ConocoPhillips ($1 million); Canadian Natural ($1 million); Husky Energy ($1 million); PTTEP Canada Ltd. ($1 million); Statoil Canada Ltd. ($1 million); Shell Canada ($550,000); Encana Corp. ($500,000); Apache Canada Ltd. ($500,000); BP Canada ($450,000); Chevron ($150,000); Imperial Oil ($100,000); and Spectra Energy Corp. ($100,000).
By Tom Korski 
A federal judge has upheld Canada Revenue’s denial of tax credits for donations to the church of scientology. Tax Court ruled that while scientologists had “charitable-like activities”, a donor had no claim to tax credits: “His personal choice does not mean he was denied the benefit of a law.”
Health Canada is issuing new label requirements that caution certain medicines are no substitute for vaccines. The action follows protests by the group Bad Science Watch that criticized licensing of unproven products: “It’s not like Tylenol.”
Farm advocates including a former agriculture minister caution that changes to oversight on food safety must keep producers in mind. Health Canada for the first time gains regulatory supervision over all meat, fish and food inspection: “What difference will it make?”
Regina now has one of the lowest urban unemployment rates ever recorded in Canada, according to new federal data. The Saskatchewan capital reported 3% joblessness, a level economists consider as full employment: “We need a lot of skilled trades to come in and move our economy forward.”
