Every bottle of domestic wine contributes $31 to the nation’s GDP, say producers. The Canadian Vintners Association published industry research that calculated wine production is worth $6.8 billion a year to the economy.
A federal agency is suing its own Department of Justice over excessive fees charged for information Canadians are entitled by law to see at minimal cost. The information commissioner accuses Ottawa of demanding improper fees to divulge records: “This is enormously disturbing.”
Federal regulators propose new rules to promote “choice” of wireless service providers amid customer complaints. Industry Canada said firms must provide roaming capacity to competitors and share cellphone towers; and at least four “players” in every region can acquire rights in an upcoming Nov. 19 spectrum auction.
The animal kingdom enforces a hierarchy in which members deemed inferior are put in their place. Chickens literally peck their inferiors into submission; thus the phrase, “pecking order.” Stigma Revisited is an arresting account of this same sort of thing in contemporary Ottawa
Federal inspectors confirm they did not recall a single one of scores of dried teas found to contain detectable levels of pesticides in violation of national standards. One quarter of dried teas sampled had pesticide residue. Regulators refuse to say if the tea was sold anyway.
A Western trade group alleges railways have slowed service since the introduction of a new rail reform bill. “It may be worse than you folks realize,” an advocate told MPs. The Railway Association of Canada dismissed service complaints as a “myth,” saying most customers are satisfied.
Cabinet has quietly repealed a 1965 regulation forbidding new mining exploration in a two-mile strip of land on Baffin Island. Neither the Minister of Northern Development nor his department would explain who requested the change, or why: “This is extraordinary.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has issued the annual awards nobody wants: its yearly observance of the most wasteful spending of public funds. “It’s enough to bring you to tears,” said Gregory Thomas, the federation’s national director.
Canada’s rail “duopoly” is under fire by billion-dollar commercial customers, including one mining executive who likened dealings with railways to a hostage taking. But the chief of CN dismissed complaints of “the big, bad railroad,” saying industry should consider itself “lucky” to have rail service.
A private bill proposing to make it a felony to tamper with cellphone serial numbers has been introduced in the House of Commons. The sponsor dismissed suggestions the measure will kill the cellphone resale market, but acknowledged it “would be dangerous to rely on Kijiji” for your cellphone needs.
Legislation about to pass the House of Commons will root out “troublemakers” and “poor performers” in federal policing, says a Conservative MP and veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Critics charge the bill grants Draconian, paramilitary-style powers to the RCMP commissioner in demoting and firing members.
Six towns and a Prairie First Nations reserve are front-runners for a multi-billion dollar bedrock storage vault for spent nuclear fuel rods from the country’s power reactors, industry sources tell Blacklock’s. The dump will require 150 years of monitoring for radiation leaks.
Canadian companies victimized by counterfeiters must pay the cost of enforcement under a new bill. Copyright owners will even be charged the cost of destroying bootleg products seized by border officers. Industry Minister Christian Paradis would not take Blacklock’s questions.
A parliamentary committee has opted not to question regulators over warnings Canada is unprepared for an Atlantic oil spill. Investigators have warned regulators “need to do more to prepare for a major oil spill.”
Canada’s ethanol and biodiesel producers are lobbying for new requirements mandating renewable ingredients in home heating oil and Maritime diesel fuel. Regulations that exempt the two expire at month’s end. Sources confirmed lobbyists pressed MPs for new mandates favouring the industry. “That is not going to happen,” said one senior Conservative.
