The Public Prosecution Service yesterday said it will provide free counseling for staff lawyers traumatized by graphic evidence in criminal cases. The Commons justice committee earlier recommended similar aid for jurors exposed to gruesome testimony and crime scene videos: “Vicarious trauma is an ongoing issue.”
The Supreme Court yesterday in a Halloween judgment ruled a “life pension” could not be paid to a dead man. The decision came in the case of $497,333 in payments to the bank account of a retiree who vanished: “Death is an event with important legal significance.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs used an obscure fund to fly Canadian chefs around the world to prepare meals for diplomats, VIPs and foreign media, according to Access To Information records. One manager justified the program as proof Canada is a “progressive nation”.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal yesterday ruled the Income Tax Act is so complicated, taxpayers must hire lawyers to correct mistakes. The Court described provisions of the 3,281-page Act as “painfully complex”.
The minority Parliament will be compelled to vote on a pharmacare bill, New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh yesterday told reporters. Singh said his caucus will introduce a bill advocating universal drug coverage once the Commons is sworn in: “We need to do it.”
An Ontario company that claimed an Access To Information request was so aggressive it was defamatory has been ordered to pay $15,000 in costs to the questioner. Canadians have a Charter right to simply ask questions, ruled Ontario Superior Court: “Legislation already provides checks and balances.”
Federal regulators yesterday said they will “update” rules on deployment of armed guards to protect nuclear power plants. The proposal follows Parliament’s passage of a Nuclear Terrorism Act with lengthy prison sentences for anyone threatening a plant: “Various schemes are being examined.”
A Liberal-appointed senator is endorsing secession – for Cape Breton. The island should gain home rule from Nova Scotia as Canada’s 11th province or some other autonomous region, the lawmaker wrote in a commentary published by the Senate: “Perhaps we could become Canada’s fourth territory.”
Transport Canada yesterday served notice of more fee increases at maritime ports. The Coast Guard earlier warned of a “larger increase” on shippers in 2020. Parliament has not balanced a budget in eleven years: ‘It will determine how increasing fees or establishing new ones would impact users.’
A parliamentary employee denied permission to run for a Commons seat is asking that a federal judge cite managers for breaching his Charter rights. Supervisors said the research analyst was free to quit his job: ‘It would seemingly apply to all employees.’
The Québec Court of Appeal has thrown out a constitutional challenge of a royal succession bill. Law professors from the University of Laval argued Parliament could not endorse new rules on the monarchy without Québec’s approval: “It relates to who should be the head of state of Canada.”
A million Canadians now hold more than one job and typically work at least fifty hours a week, Statistics Canada said yesterday. The rate has more than doubled since 1978: ‘There are multiple reasons such as financial necessity.’
Parliament is expected to pass a first-ever federal tax on foreign real estate speculators after the British Columbia Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a similar B.C. levy. Liberals and New Democrats both campaigned on taxing offshore buyers: ‘It’s to limit speculation that can drive up prices.’
Nearly $800,000 in public funding for a French-language radio station in north-central Alberta was intended to be a job creation measure, say Access To Information records from the Department of Industry. The Edmonton station directory names five employees: ‘It is uniquely positioned.’
A New Brunswick MLA paid $120,000 in legal fees to keep his $85,000-a year seat in the legislature. Court of Queen’s Bench declined to award costs in an election dispute that saw the MLA elected by one vote amid numerous irregularities: “The dispute was complicated.”
