The Government of Canada is still selling VHS films though the world’s last manufacturer of exclusive Video Home System recorders halted production last year. Walmart has not sold VHS titles since 2005: ‘It’s a captivating 24-minute video on unapproved aircraft parts.’
A retired Canada Revenue Agency auditor cited for “unreliable” testimony has lost a federal lawsuit over a tax reassessment. It is the second case in two years involving former auditors faulted for incorrectly claiming business expenses: “He had kept all his business receipts in a shoe box.”
Cabinet faces a last-ditch federal lawsuit to rescue a Conservative bill mandating disclosure of confidential union finances. A “public interest litigant” filed the Federal Court suit to save Bill C-377: “It was flawed legislation.”
Cabinet will not fix a date to pass legislation creating a first-ever RCMP union despite missing two Supreme Court deadlines. The bill has yet to be taken up by MPs seven months after Senators broadened its terms: “How long does it take?”
Statistics Canada privately opposed the 2016 repeal of a law threatening jail for Census scofflaws out of concern it would “create confusion” during last year’s national count, say Access To Information memos. Prosecution of Census boycotters must continue, wrote then-Chief Statistician Wayne Smith: ‘It reinforces the importance of the Census.’
The industry department in a secret 2016 memo discussed a “Buy Canada” policy to aid the steel industry. The Access To Information memo cited “near-crisis conditions” due to dumping of China-made products: “Conditions are not expected to improve.”
Pay and benefits for federal employees will be scrutinized under a new Treasury Board study. The Board will spend $1.9 million to review civil servants’ salaries as collective agreements expire, and compare costs to private employers: “There’s some tension there.”
Ottawa could sue any province that mandates labeling of the first genetically modified animal, say Access To Information memos to Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. Memos said cabinet may launch a constitutional challenge, though government research shows most Canadians favour mandatory labels: ‘It may revive domestic pressures to change Canada’s labeling regime for GM foods.’
Canada’s Public Sector Integrity Commissioner breached a whistleblower’s rights in dismissing claims of reprisal, a federal judge has ruled. Commissioner Joe Friday did not comment. The case followed allegations the government in 2013 told staff to deny legitimate Employment Insurance claims: ‘The Commissioner violated procedural fairness rights.’
Federal regulators are detailing the first new rules under a food safety bill that passed Parliament five years ago. Processors, importers and retailers would be required to buy $250 permits and keep electronic records to more quickly trace tainted products: “It’s not acceptable.”
The Canada Revenue Agency logs more than 2,000 complaints a year of misdirected tax mail, including hundreds of privacy breaches. The Access To Information disclosures follow three lawsuits in three years by taxpayers who successfully challenged reassessments due to lost mail: “The Minister owes a duty of fairness to all taxpayers.”
Citizenship Canada is hiking its photography budget for “creative and emotive” images of its new minister. The department budgeted $45,000 for photos this year after spending $10,010 in 2016: ‘Pictures need to be attractive to the general public and media.’
The Government of Canada has spent six figures in a $1,231 dispute over a Canada Pension Plan deduction, says a British Columbia complainant. The pensioner filed a federal lawsuit seeking return of his benefits: “Where does the money go?”
Environment Canada is testing Arctic mammals for toxic polychlorinated biphenyls 40 years after cabinet banned PCB production nationwide. Samples from mammal blubber will help track global pollution, the department said: ‘Contaminants have been stored for years in snow and ice.’
Any tax gains from legalized marijuana will be offset by higher policing and enforcement costs, say Department of Public Safety memos. The Access To Information documents confirmed the findings of the Parliamentary Budget Office that forecast little net financial gain from decriminalizing cannabis: ‘Keep the price point low to dissuade illegal production and trafficking.’
