A compensation fund intended to save taxpayers the cost of cleanup from a catastrophic railway oil spill totals about $20 million after its second year. The fund was prompted by $409 million in claims from the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster: “An accident could cost $20 million or $100 million or a billion.”
A veto by Ontario’s newly-appointed Conservative cabinet could scuttle a 20 percent increase in Canada Pension Plan premiums approved by Parliament in 2016, says a business group. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business yesterday appealed for reconsideration of the premium hike: “This is our final Hail Mary pass.”
Canadians are wary of personal surveillance by a federal spy agency, according to in-house research by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. More than 4 in 10 said they oppose more powers for CSIS in the name of national security. The data follow disclosures the agency spied on environmental groups, unions and former Alberta publisher Mel Hurtig: “It’s unbelievable.”
Cabinet has named the newest Crown corporation created to operate the former Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline. The Department of Finance calls it Project Deliver II Ltd., a name similar to an Oregon food bank: ‘It’s been set up as an operating company.’
An appeals court has ruled against a company that fired an employee for failing a drug test. The judgment by the Newfoundland & Labrador Court of Appeal is the first since Parliament voted to legalize marijuana: “We all take safety very seriously.”
Cabinet says it has calculated the cost of illegal immigration, but yesterday would not disclose the figure at hearings of the Commons immigration committee. One province, Ontario, says it faces $199 million in extraordinary expenses for border-crossers: “The problems seem to be spreading without any light at the end of the tunnel.”
The National Energy Board is asking staff to take Indigenous language training and attend classes on First Nations rights. The initiative follows a 2016 cabinet directive that the oil and gas regulator acknowledge the “essential role of Indigenous people”.
A federal judge has upheld an Employment Canada blacklist of employers found in breach of migrant labour regulations. The court dismissed a protest from a Nova Scotia coal mine fined $54,000 under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the biggest fine issued last year: “The posting of a company’s name is obviously meant to serve as a deterrent.”
A British Columbia judge has convicted a CPR railway manager with breach of a Lac-Mégantic-inspired safety directive. It’s the first verdict of its kind under a 2013 order by Transport Canada: “Just leave it in emergency, right?”
Health Canada in a new guide for marijuana users says effects of cannabis may last “as long as 24 hours”. Authorities had no advice for motorists to determine when they are legally fit to drive after consuming the drug: “It may be challenging.”
Federal scientists are re-examining 1929 records of Atlantic Canada’s worst earthquake to determine the probability of another disaster. The 7.2 quake off Newfoundland & Labrador triggered a killer tsunami that snapped undersea Western Union Telegraph cables: “This is a pilot test to compile historical data.”
The health department yesterday reported insufficient gains under an 11-year program to save billions in medicare costs by cutting salt in processed foods. The average Canadian still consumes 38 percent more sodium than is recommended by the World Health Organization: “I’m concerned.”
VIA Rail in a report is praising itself for “warm, friendly” accommodation of disabled passengers. The Crown railway made no mention of a 2017 ruling by federal regulators that faulted VIA on its treatment of the disabled: “They still get it wrong.”
Federal managers are hiring a private investigator to probe alleged misconduct by Crown attorneys. The Public Prosecution Service confirmed the unusual investigation of Human Rights Act complaints at one of its largest offices: “The Law Society is aware of the allegations.”
An Ontario college has registered “Cannabis 101” under the Trademarks Act and launched the nation’s first post-secondary program on marijuana growing. The eight-month, $10,000 course opens weeks ahead of cabinet’s October 17 deadline to legalize recreational cannabis: “We are responding to market demand.”
