A Department of Public Works venture intended to save taxpayers’ money on federal office space has not measured any savings, says a consultants’ report. Analysts concluded the project went 65 percent over budget: “Cost savings have not been measured or reported.”
TV weather forecasters should become announcers for climate change, says the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society. The scientific group acknowledged obvious shortcomings in the plan: “The reason people watch the weather is for weather.”
The Bank of Canada in a research paper says Amazon.com has clobbered Canadian online retailers. Three parties campaigning in the October 21 election have proposed to tax e-commerce sales by foreign vendors: “We want it to be fair.”
A labour board has confirmed bias in a federal public service appointment. The ruling follows a 2018 survey that found most federal employees think their workforce is rife with cronyism: “What do you do?”
The Liberal Party in a campaign questionnaire yesterday said if re-elected it will regulate Facebook, YouTube and other social media to prohibit content deemed hurtful. Scofflaws will face significant fines. Authors of the questionnaire said regulations should also ban “false attacks” on politicians: “We will move forward with new regulations for social media platforms.”
A Conservative Party proposal to hire 250 new border agents would cost nearly $30 million a year, the Parliamentary Budget Office said yesterday. The Agency already routinely hires more than 250 new officers each year, according to an internal audit: “I will take steps to restore confidence.”
A media fact checker that garbled facts in questioning a New Democrat Party election proposal yesterday said it would not issue a correction. The commentary claimed to examine “rhetoric from party leaders” before the October 21 vote: “This is the stupidest election.”
An insurance broker who didn’t sell a customer enough coverage has been ordered to pay nearly a quarter-million in compensation. Brokers have a duty to determine clients’ needs, said Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench: “An insurance professional should not rely on the goodness of human nature.”
Money laundering by drug dealers nationwide is worth more than half a billion dollars a year, says a federal agency. The Access To Information disclosure follows a Commons health committee report recommending Parliament decriminalize simple possession of narcotics: “Traffickers deposit cash into their chequing and savings accounts to pay bills.”
A national press ombudsman in the first ruling on election campaign coverage yesterday dismissed complaints of biased reporting by a British Columbia weekly. Readers complained of snide treatment of a Pentecostal church that planned an October 10 all-candidates’ debate: “I’m getting tired of it.”
Legal Aid clients have no right to privacy over disclosure of how much their case cost taxpayers, a St. John’s judge has ruled. The decision came in an Access To Information request for ten years’ worth of payments to Legal Aid law firms: ‘It is not an unreasonable invasion of privacy.’
The Department of Immigration is budgeting $52,000 on special counseling for fifty-seven overseas employees suspected of “compassion fatigue”. The condition has been cited in other research involving paramedics and emergency room medical teams: “Compassion fatigue is real.”
The Department of Canadian Heritage in an Access To Information memo confirms a steady decline in CBC ad revenues since the loss of Hockey Night In Canada profits. It contradicts earlier CBC claims that loss of hockey licensing cost the network only a “few dollars”.
The national pay equity gap has narrowed to 87¢ with men and women in one province at parity on hourly wage income, Statistics Canada said yesterday. Women achieved higher pay and better education in the past twenty years but typically still earn less than men: “I was a victim.”
The chair of the Senate budget committee has resigned as director of Telus Communications, a federal contractor. Senate rules allow public office holders to serve on the boards of federally-regulated corporations: “A senator may own securities.”
