The Department of National Defence spent nearly $100,000 surveying 2,000 renters on whether they like military housing. Only 28 percent said they were very satisfied living on base: ‘The objective is to measure customer satisfaction.’
It was 1992
when the UN designated March 22 as
World Water Day.
Recognising those who face
water scarcity.
Things got worse since.
From California to the Middle East to South Asia,
groundwater reservoirs are depleting.
Droughts. Over-pumping.
Two billion live in river basins
where use exceeds recharge.
Streams dry up.
Lakes slowly die.
Swaths of countryside
reduced to desert.
Millions move to shanty towns
for loss of farmland.
Those who can,
desalinate sea water.
Meanwhile in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and B.C.,
communities stack sandbags, calling in the
military.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
A Senate bill would close a “canyon-sized loophole” in federal law that permits foreign meddling in elections, says its sponsor. Senator Linda Frum (Conservative-Ont.) said the Canada Elections Act is so weak, even hostile foreign governments can influence campaigns: “This part gets tricky.”
The Senate yesterday passed a bill to enact Australian-style regulations on plain packaging of tobacco products. Manufacturers have threatened to challenge the bill as a breach of the Trademarks Act: “Controversies exist.”
A member of a federal advisory panel on electric cars says a government target to boost sales will be difficult. Cabinet has budgeted a total $182.5 million to promote plug-in recharging stations, though electrics account for less than 1 percent of auto sales: “It would be very, very challenging.”
Health Canada says Parliament must meet a July 1, 2018 date to legalize marijuana. The deadline is fixed though department memos said drafting of complex regulations requires more research: ‘Canada Day is our country’s birthday, not a festival for dope smoking.’
A Transport Canada manager says a federal law requiring Air Canada to offer bilingual service puts the airline at a competitive disadvantage. The Commissioner of Official Languages in a 2016 Special Report To Parliament said the carrier is in habitual breach of the Act: “That comes at a cost.”
Cabinet is trying to avert a break-up of its omnibus budget bill over Senate complaints of a rush to approve a $35 billion Canada Infrastructure Bank. Senators said the 292-page bill may be split or amended to tighten scrutiny of Bank funding and operations: “Look, it’s not a huge emergency.”
Federal mortgage insurers say only a 1983-style recession with high unemployment could result in serious losses. “We remain confident,” CMHC executives told the Senate national finance committee: “The events would have to be cataclysmic.”
Cabinet is budgeting $1.1 million a year for a national program to clear harbours of derelict vessels. The funding would barely cover the cost of removing a single abandoned fishing boat, said an MP: “This money is not going to go far.”
Transport Canada has ordered a national review of the Pilotage Act. It follows a critical audit of one Crown maritime agency that complained of recurring deficits and conflicts of interest by board members: “This is not a mom and pop operation.”
Costly smart meter programs have marginal impacts on households’ actual electricity use, says a University of Waterloo study. The analysis of more than 20,000 customers found demand for power in peak daytime hours declined by a fraction: “What’s the point?”
More than 15,000 Canadians have been charged with marijuana possession since the government was elected on a promise to legalize cannabis, new data show. An MP who requested the records said arrests point to confusion in federal policy: “Why aren’t you doing anything to shut down these marijuana dispensaries?”
Restoration of union card checks in federally-regulated industries is the will of the voters, says the Government Representative in the Senate. Conservative legislators noted Liberals were elected with 39.5 percent of the popular vote: “The government is fulfilling an election promise.”
One of Canada’s last Crown-owned transport companies prices its service at less than half of actual cost, says an Access To Information document. The Transport Canada research said subsidies paid to ferry vehicles by Marine Atlantic Inc. cost taxpayers up to $800 a customer per trip: “I can’t see a fix.”
