Former jurors in tearful testimony yesterday appealed to the Commons justice committee to mandate counselling for citizens summoned to attend gruesome trials. MPs said reforms will be recommended: “It’s like a plane crash”
The Royal Bank has lost a multi-million dollar tax appeal over charges paid to mail monthly statements to customers. The British Columbia Supreme Court noted the Bank charged clients a statement fee. The Commons in 2014 exempted banks when it voted to ban paper billing fees by telecom companies: “This is what they call customer appreciation.”
The Canada Revenue Agency would be compelled by law to publish a yearly blacklist of tax evaders under a private Liberal bill introduced yesterday in the Senate. The proposal would also mandate annual accounting of the value of unpaid tax: “Senators are properly outraged.”
2016 marked the first year since Confederation that Canada did not export a penny’s worth of seal products, say authorities. Exports fell from $34.3 million a year to zero under a 2009 European Union ban on Canadian seal products: “In 2016 no seal exports were reported.”
Canada Revenue Agency call centres are so dysfunctional, management hid data to claim the Agency met service standards, auditors yesterday reported to Parliament. Taxpayers have only a 1 in 3 chance of speaking to a live operator, while callers who do get through are likely to get bad advice: “Canadians expect services to be available when they need them.”
Time is short to enact promised reforms to election leaders’ debates for a 2019 campaign, says Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould. The Minister yesterday told the Commons committee on House Affairs that legislation is possible only if MPs act quickly: “There are a lot of questions.”
Environment Canada says its long-awaited carbon tax bill may not be introduced until the New Year. The legislation will give Canadians their first glimpse at technical applications of the tax on all gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane, aviation fuel, heating oil and coal: “Legislation will be tabled in the coming months.”
Canadian programs to save the public from drug-resistant infections are uneven across provinces, the Commons health committee was told yesterday. Health Canada says it has no estimate on how many patients die each year due to antimicrobial resistance: “We need to know what bugs are out there.”
The Coast Guard says it will take at least 14 years for its icebreaking fleet to be fully operational. MPs yesterday criticized management of the agency: “It’s amazing they actually admit they won’t even come close.”
The RCMP says it lacks money and know-how to combat growing cybercrimes including fraud and industrial espionage. A police report concluded the Mounties are largely powerless to combat electronic lawbreaking: “Law enforcement in general lack the tools.”
Internal memos warn of “significant barriers” to a federal plan to have more Canadians drive plug-in electric cars. Release of the files through Access To Information follow public announcements of an ambitious, multi-million dollar program to boost electric sales: ‘The objective is a culture shift.’
The Department of Environment is researching methods of paying polluters to limit fertilizer runoff into the Great Lakes. Access To Information records indicate staff also considered emission charges to “encourage innovation as a way for firms and individuals to reduce emissions”.
The Canada Revenue Agency says it is short $21.6 billion a year in unpaid tax. The Agency did not account for the estimate: “The Agency throws these numbers out there without any backup. Where are the convictions?”
Parks Canada is hiring industrial designers to replace “décor” at parks and national historic sites nationwide. Specifications for new picnic tables run to 35 pages: ‘They should be aesthetically pleasing, subtle, but clear.’
A United Nations agency has downgraded marks for federal conservation in Canada’s largest national park. A UNESCO advisory body said the outlook for Alberta’s Wood Buffalo National Park is one grade above critical: “We really don’t see a lot being done.”
