Pilots are protesting a Transport Canada order exempting business aircraft from safety management audits. Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the order was no different than lighter regulation of passenger cars compared to transit buses: “If you’re driving a bus for the city, there are stricter requirements”.
A federal judge in a rare request is asking that cabinet amend regulations to aid a survivor of the largest Arctic rescue mission in Royal Canadian Air Force history. “The circumstances giving rise to this appeal are nothing short of tragic,” wrote Justice Mary Gleason.
Children’s eyesight is getting weaker with many cases undiagnosed, says research by the Canadian National Institute of the Blind and the University of Waterloo. Authors of a new study said the cause could not be determined: “What if using computers or mobile devices is causing our eyes to get worse?”
The CBC faces trial on contempt of court charges after continuing to publish the name and photo of an Alberta schoolgirl killed in a violent attack last March 4. An Edmonton judge imposed a publication ban to protect the 14-year old’s identity: “CBC cannot argue that it is inconvenient for it to obey the law”.
Industry lobbyists for the first time will be excluded from writing the benchmark Canada Food Guide, says the Department of Health. The initiative follows a Senate committee report that faulted lobbyists for skewing the current Guide to boost sales of some foods: “We are very much aware of the perception”.
MPs may leave Conservative amendments to a water protection law in place despite objections from First Nations and environmental groups, says the chair of the Commons transport committee. Liberal legislators said they saw little need to repeal 2012 changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act: “We think there have been some benefits”.
Any carbon tax punishing the coal industry will result in higher electricity prices in 4 of 10 provinces, says a former Alberta treasurer. Cabinet will fix a price on carbon emissions of $10 per tonne beginning in 2018, rising to $50 by 2022: “Shouldn’t it have begun to take climate change seriously 30 years ago?”
MPs have signaled approval of a House motion mandating a national harbour clean-up of abandoned boats. The Liberal motion would see cabinet review measures to hold boat owners responsible for salvage and environmental costs: “Motions are great, but — “
The federal government owes no duty of care to exporters stung by unfair trade practices, a Court has ruled. The judgment came in a lawsuit against the Canadian Food Inspection Agency: ‘It’s the least farmers and exporters expect’.
MPs have opened Second Reading debate on a bill to hike Canada Pension Plan premiums 20 percent on the promise of more generous benefits for retirees. Critics described the measure as a federal tax that will fall heaviest on young workers: “This bill will take money from pockets”.
Cabinet may “at some point” have to restrict foreign ownership of farmland, says the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Authorities acknowledge they have no estimate on the amount of foreign investment in prime land: “It’s really hard to go through the figures and find out”.
A human rights tribunal will decide whether religious groups have a legal right to exclude membership to people of the same faith. The investigation follows a complaint by a Muslim who alleged he was barred from attending prayers because of race: “This mosque belongs to any human being”.
Cabinet will soon introduce a program to manage the multi-million dollar salvage and clean-up of abandoned vessels, says Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc. The Canadian Coast Guard has cautioned any program will be costly: “They are on every coast in the country”.
Most Canadians resent immigrants and fear lobbyists have too much influence on Parliament Hill, says federal research. A total 25 percent of Canadians also think working mothers should stay home. The unusual $53,000 polling on social values was commissioned by the Commissioner of Official Languages: “Regular people don’t have any real say in what elected officials in Ottawa do”.
A federal lender has approved a small portion of loans, less than 3 percent, to manufacturing start-ups, the Commons industry committee has been told. MPs questioned lending practices of the Business Development Bank: ‘How can we promote manufacturing when you’re not willing to take risk?’
