Blacklock's Reporter

The Department of Veterans Affairs unfairly dismissed a widow’s appeal for benefits based on inaccurate assumptions, a federal judge has ruled. The decision followed six years of appeals: “In my view this is an unsatisfactory situation.”

Canada’s 60,000 federally-registered charities may engage in non-partisan political activities under a sweeping Ontario Superior Court ruling. A judge yesterday struck down Canada Revenue Agency guidelines on advocacy as an illegal curb on free speech: “The impact of this case is huge.”

A chartered accountants’ survey warns of spreading gloom over Canada’s economic prospects in the face of taxes and U.S. trade battles. A majority of executives, 68 percent, said the nation is now less competitive than it was a year ago: “This matters.”

A misfired  climate change gag written by federal staff to “make us cool” prompted a flood of public complaints, according to Access To Information records. The Privy Council think tank Policy Horizons Canada received so many protests it hasn’t published anything since: “I had an idea to make us look cool on the internet.”

Health Canada interviewed children as young as 5 in devising standard labels for use on legal cannabis, according to records. A research study made no mention of similarities between the red marijuana leaf symbol and Team Canada’s hockey logo worn at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics: “The red background was attention-grabbing.”

A former manager found innocent of wrongdoing at Library & Archives Canada says he was ruined by prosecutors. The longtime executive was acquitted at trial June 11. Prosecutors are not appealing the verdict: “I’ve lost four years of my life.”

The Commons immigration committee yesterday ordered rare summer hearings on illegal immigration. MPs accused cabinet of skewing data to downplay a sharp rise in border crossings: “We’re concerned about the safety of our border.”

About a third of homeless people, 29 percent, do not file yearly tax returns though they could earn thousands in benefits, says the Canada Revenue Agency. The study followed 2017 research that found the poor are so intimidated by the Agency they would forego a federal cheque: “Individuals did not realize they stood to benefit.”

Public servants in Nunavut are among the best paid in Canada despite high local unemployment, according to evidence in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit. More than 1 in 4 positions in the territorial service are vacant: “There is no shortage of job opportunities.”

Federal regulators say they have no data on the success or failure of a program to have cable providers offer $25-a month TV packages. One consumers’ group described the 2016 campaign for so-called “skinny basic” cable as a marketing ploy: ‘We do not have statistics.’

The Canada Revenue Agency in an internal audit admits it has no accurate reporting of how long taxpayers must wait in applying for relief from interest and penalties. The Agency receives more than 400,000 applications a year from taxpayers who seek help in hardship cases: “These recurrent problems create increased frustration for individual citizens.”

A stunt pilot has lost a long legal fight with Transport Canada over a fine for reckless flying. Regulators complained a YouTube video depicting a helicopter skidding past a pond hockey game breached Aviation Regulations: “Each of the players was an expert skater.”

A federal food safety ombudsman hasn’t filed an annual report in two years. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the office is still functioning, but simply stopped public reporting of its work: “It continues to provide administrative redress.”

A judge has thrown out a bid by the Canada Revenue Agency to search hydro customers’ accounts for evidence of tax avoidance. The Federal Court called it an obvious fishing expedition that breached the “right of everyone to be left alone by the state”.