The Department of Finance spent nearly a quarter-million dollars on artistic themes for its 2017 budget, say Access To Information records. Costs included $89,500 for talent fees and photos of models posing as middle class Canadians: “It’s fresh; I love where this is going.”
The Department of Public Safety is buying a fleet of drones for deployment on border patrol. Staff said drones were needed in part for wildlife surveys, but declined further comment: “I wouldn’t be surprised if there are drones being used right now.”
Apple Canada Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit over the charging of royalties on music webcasts. The dispute follows a 2014 Commons committee report that complained composers’ work has become a “pennies business” with collapsing CD sales: ‘They are feeling the squeeze.’
The Department of Citizenship in 2018 will begin compiling the largest non-criminal fingerprint database in Canadian history. The initiative follows a 2013 pilot project approved by the previous Conservative cabinet to collect prints and photos from all temporary residency applicants: “Information will only be shared in a manner that respects Canada’s privacy laws.”
The national carbon tax will cost $5.8 billion next year, says the Conference Board of Canada. Annual revenues will rise to $30 billion by 2022, the equivalent of about $2,300 per household: “Policy makers really need to communicate to Canadians the scale of how this transformation will impact their everyday lives.”
Department of Health research shows many Canadians ignore mothers’ advice and skip breakfast. Federal focus groups also concluded the department’s benchmark Canada Food Guide is outdated and influenced by food lobbyists: “Eating seems to have become more of a chore.”
Federal employees fear being branded as rats or snitches if they report wrongdoing, says a report commissioned by the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. The Office declined to say how much it paid for the psychoanalytical study: “This sends a chilling message.”
Parks Canada in a directive coinciding with Canada 150 observances says it is no longer buying historic properties. Authorities blamed insufficient funding. The agency added it has no plans to revive a 2007 program that offered subsidies to property owners to restore historic buildings: “It’s linked to a budget plan that we don’t have.”
A federal ombudsman appointed to answer consumers’ banking complaints did not levy a single fine in 2016, according to its latest Annual Report. The Financial Consumer Agency did not comment: “Nobody has reviewed how this benefits Canadian consumers.”
The Canadian Transportation Agency has referred 8 in 10 complaints from air passengers to mediation where customers were offered modest settlements like frequent flyer points. One MP questioned the close relationship between the regulator and commercial airlines: “That’s not consumer protection.”
A Liberal senator says a cabinet bill promising greater independence for Statistics Canada still sanctions political coercion. Three former chief statisticians have protested the bill fails to outlaw cabinet influence in data gathering: “The public would not be aware.”
A Tax Court judge has dismissed thousands of dollars in business write-offs claimed by a former child actor. Claims included $4,256 for DVDs and theatre tickets written off as “research and development”.
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Comptroller General Bill Matthews says fraud occurs within the federal government, though total costs are unknown. Matthews’ testimony at the Commons public accounts committee followed an audit that faulted federal agencies for a lack of staff ethics training: “There is no reliable estimate on the financial impact of fraud.”
Attorneys and executives yesterday urged the Commons industry committee to rewrite a 2014 anti-spam law. MPs were told current regulations are too broad, target the wrong people, and are largely ineffectual in combating malware.
“We’re talking about a piece of legislation that is breathtakingly large in scope,” said Scott Smith, director of innovation policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce; “Organizations are struggling with anti-spam compliance.”
Bill C-28 An Act To Promote The Efficiency & Adaptability Of The Canadian Economy restricts unsolicited “commercial electronic messages” with exemptions for emails to current customers, warranty and bank notices, and responses to emailed questions. The Act defines restricted email as any message with data, hyperlinks or contact information intended to “encourage participating in a commercial activity”.
Lawyer Barry Sookman, senior partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP of Toronto, said the Act casts such a wide net it prohibits even innocuous emails from charities or small business start-ups. “Canada’s anti-spam legislation makes it illegal for a child to email neighbours promoting a lemonade stand or asking if they want a babysitter or whether they can mow their lawns,” said Sookman.
“The legislation as it was articulated was to actually protect consumers against malware, spyware, phishing,” said Sookman; “What’s happened in the real world, not the theoretical world of those people who conceived of the legislation? It has had no material impact on the purveyors of damaging spam or malware.”
“The burdens fall on legitimate businesses,” said Sookman; “It’s small businesses, sole proprietorships; it’s everybody who is caught by the breadth of this legislation.”
“Consumers obviously don’t want to get malicious types of spam,” said Sookman. “They may think the legislation is the reason they aren’t getting as much. The real reason has nothing to do with the legislation; it’s the anti-spam filters that they have.”
More Than A Million Complaints
Regulators received more than 1.1 million spam complaints since enacting the law three years ago. Consumer advocates said they believed the Act has worked, but acknowledged a lack of data. “We are here today largely in the dark regarding the effect of the legislation on spam or electronic messaging,” said John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
“The decision was made to put consumers in control in 2014,” said Lawford. “We think it’s the right decision. If there are many people competing to get your attention, that spam builds up.”
“Companies can still reach Canadians by email; there is no commercial email ban,” said Lawford; “Marketers are here to defend stale lists and lazy marketing.”
MP Brian Masse (Windsor West, Ont.), New Democrat industry critic, noted Canada “was one of the few G7 countries without anti-spam legislation” prior to the Act. “It’s a privilege to send me marketing information, even if I am a customer,” said Masse. “It’s not their right, it’s a privilege. I approach it from that perspective.”
Witnesses yesterday recommended MPs exempt business-to-business communication from anti-spam rules, and more narrowly define unsolicited commercial communications. An attorney for Desjardins Group credit unions said the Act as written is so vague, it would prohibit managers from sending unsolicited anti-fraud notices with hyperlinks or a corporate logo.
Executives also sought the permanent repeal of a “right of action” clause written into the Act but never enforced. The provision allowed consumers to file individual $200 compensation claims against companies accused of sending unsolicited emails. Cabinet suspended enforcement last June 7, three weeks before the clause was to come into effect.
“We think that recourse should be completely withdrawn from this legislation,” said Aisha Fournier Diallo, senior counsel for Desjardins Group. “The Canadian Radio Television & Telecommunications Commission is the regulator, and it’s preferable to turn to such an agency rather than clog up the courts with interpretation of this legislation.”
By Tom Korski
