Housing starts nationwide have dropped sharply with construction of single family homes down in 4 of 5 cities, reports the federal insurer CMHC. Only three provinces saw a general increase in starts so far this year: “The economy is having an impact.”
Industry Canada has “confused international markets” with its veto of the sale of a Manitoba telecom asset, a former CRTC regulator tells Blacklock’s. The department blocked the $520 million sale of Manitoba’s largest fibre-optic network to an Egyptian buyer: “Terrible.”
Canada Revenue auditors are prowling Auto Trader magazine, Craigslist and municipal building permits in a multi-million dollar crackdown on tax cheats, documents show.
The federal strategies to curb the underground economy are detailed in tax office reports released through Access to Information.
In an operation run through its Surrey, B.C. office, Canada Revenue monitored private listings of vehicles for sale at Auto Trader, Craigslist and newspaper classified ads to identify “curbers” – unlicensed car salespeople passing as private owners.
“It is clear from this research that a significant portion of the used car sales industry is controlled and operated by unlicensed dealers,” noted one tax report. “Many purchasers of used cars have a negative perception of licensed dealers, preferring to purchase a car through a private sale. Often purchasers are unaware they are buying from a reseller, believing instead they are participating in a private sale.”
Auditors recovered more than $1 million in tax in the British Columbia operation. Of 435 suspicious car sellers, 90 were identified as “curbers” – a 21 percent delinquency rate. Nationally the tax department estimates an average seven to 15 percent of Canadians do not pay taxes as required.
“From a collections perspective, this project helped to corroborate that there is a large underground curbing industry,” auditors reported. “It is likely similar throughout the country.”
In a separate special audit in Ontario, tax agents scoured lists of municipal building permits to check on worksites for unregistered small-town subcontractors. The review of 8,396 permits identified 2,751 unregistered companies with a resulting tax collection of $4.5 million.
Auditors wrote they were “aware anecdotally…that there are many subcontractors in the construction industries who have not filed for income tax purposes or have not registered for GST,” according to a department report Construction Sectors In Small Communities.
“Building permits proved to be an excellent source of information and attending building sites helped identify contractors who operated off the grid,” wrote auditors; “The reception from municipal officials…has been excellent.”
The Ontario campaign targeted building permits issued in Sudbury, North Bay, Parry Sound, Muskoka, Sault Ste. Marie, Orillia and Barrie, and authorities proposed it go nationwide: “The underground economy in the construction industry is a national issue, and this approach could be successful on a national level.”
Auditors at the Canada Revenue’s Kelowna, B.C. office also targeted installers who work for hardware and home improvement stores. Revenue agents targeted 93 hardware stores in 19 communities, finding 7 percent of installers were tax delinquents. Canada Revenue collected $4.5 million in taxes, $559,000 in interest payments and $843,000 in penalties: “This sector, given the lack of reporting of this type of income in these circumstances, may form part of a future high-risk profile,” auditors reported.
By Tom Korski 
Air Canada has been ordered to halt liver enzyme testing of employees to ensure they don’t drink at home. CUPE won the arbitrator’s order pending a full hearing on the case of a woman flight attendant tested to see if she was sober off-duty: “It is a violation of privacy.”
Natural Resources Canada is spending on research for “clean coal” technology that is commercially unviable without a price on carbon emissions, says an expert: ‘Who’d build a plant 10% less efficient when you’re not forced to do that?’
Cabinet has taken another step to slapping $1 billion worth of tariffs on U.S. goods from Wisconsin cheese to Washington apples. The World Trade Organization complied with Canada’s request for a panel hearing in a five-year dispute over meat labeling.
Some of the country’s largest farm groups vow to oppose curbs on chemicals cited by Health Canada for “affecting the environment”. The action comes as critics campaign against the pesticides currently used on everything from grapes to potatoes.
Researchers urge that Canada and the U.S. standardize policies to save endangered species. Scientists concluded Canadians could be more transparent, Americans could be less subjective: “This is important.”
Jobless rates for youth in what was Canada’s manufacturing heartland now approach rustbelt levels, according to new research. Unemployment among young workers is worse than in Ohio, Wisconsin or Minnesota, and nearly approaches Illinois’ 18% rate: “It’s worrying.”
The Canadian Wheat Board proposes to speed its privatization ahead of a 2016 cabinet deadline with a grain-for-shares scheme. It would see $5 shares swapped for every tonne of grain delivered in what the board called a buying “opportunity” for farmers. The board was established as a Crown agency in 1935.
Citizenship & Immigration Canada proposes to compile a database of 2.2 million individuals’ fingerprints in the name of national security. It will be the biggest non-criminal file of its kind in Canadian history. Authorities acknowledged mistakes will be made.
Federal investigators have opened a probe of the nation’s largest rent-a-car firms alleging deceptive trade practices, Blacklock’s has learned. A judge ordered Avis and Budget Rent A Car to submit records regarding one of the most common billing practices in the business: “They want to ask us some questions.”
The Canadian Coast Guard confirms it provided an icebreaker at no cost to a Danish shipping company in the Northwest Passage though it proposes a general fee increase on other commercial shippers. Officials declined an interview.
Most small businesses consider regulations a minor irritation but curse federal tax filings as the most time-consuming chore, says Industry Canada. Small businesses typically submit two forms a month to the government, at a yearly cost of $3,444: “More and more and more.”
New wireless carriers’ entrance into most provinces has been slow and subscription growth has been even slower, according to new CRTC data. Only four provinces succeeded in attracting new subscribers last year: “I’m still shackled to my contract.”
