More than 4 in 10 Canadians cannot calculate straight interest, according to newly-released OECD data. Jane Rooney, federal financial literacy leader, noted Canadians scored better on other questions posed in a consumer survey of 30 countries: ‘You lend a friend $25. He repays you $25 the next day. How much interest was earned?’
Cabinet proposes that pipeline operators create a $250 million compensation fund for oil spills, but on a voluntary basis. Oil shippers using rail and marine tankers are required to finance a clean-up fund under federal law: “No amount of money can fully restore the damage”.
Federal inspectors cited food processors for 36 incidents of “unsatisfactory” tests for toxins in a six-month period, newly-released data show. Only 9 resulted in food recalls since consumers were never at risk, said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency: “How confident are you?”
The Canada Border Services Agency has fined a jobless Alberta man $1,300 for carrying infants’ milk powder in his airport luggage. The Agency cited the traveler for a “very serious violation” of the Health Of Animals Act: “I wish I had tried to make them understand”.
The Department of Canadian Heritage in a secret memo is contemplating the bankruptcy of the nation’s largest newspaper chain, warning that calls for federal intervention “could become significant”. The memo was obtained through Access To Information: “28 cities would be left without a daily newspaper”.
A federal overhaul of food safety regulations is entering its fifth year amid industry complaints. Parliament’s 2012 passage of the Safe Food For Canadians Act coincided with the biggest beef recall in Canadian history: “Regulations are still pending”.
Canada Revenue Agency is seeking a Court order compelling a credit card processor to surrender client records. Tax attorneys wrote in a Federal Court application they want to ensure Canadian customers are paying tax on sales and income: “Obviously they were looking for my information”.
A traveling couple fined $2,500 for failing to declare a large bankroll in their luggage has lost a bid to challenge the penalty at the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear the case: “People do that all the time”.
Lawmakers will try for a fourth time in two years to regulate merchant fees charged by Visa and MasterCard Canada. The latest Senate bill follows protests from Walmart Canada over high fees charged by credit issuers: ‘Regulation is desperately required’.
A $64 million Arctic grocers’ subsidy has cost up to $2,400 per capita to fly food to remote hamlets, new data show. The Department of Indigenous Affairs detailed partial costs of the Nutrition North subsidy in accounts tabled in Parliament: “This report is limited”.
A convicted fraudster has lost an appeal challenging federal penalties on millions in unpaid taxes. The delinquent taxpayer claimed he never received Canada Revenue Agency notices while in jail: “His memory was inexplicably vague”.
Weekend boaters who cross the Canada-U.S. border would be exempt from reporting at customs, under a Conservative bill introduced in the Senate. It follows one fisherman’s arrest in the Thousand Islands: “The border here is essentially invisible”.
We’re thankful this holiday to friends and subscribers for your support as Blacklock’s embarks on a fourth great year of independent, all-original Canadian journalism. On behalf of reporters, directors and contributors, please accept our thanks.
The Liberal cabinet will not repeal all Conservative amendments to environmental protection laws, says Transport Minister Marc Garneau. “The purpose here is not to turn back the clock,” Garneau told the Commons transport committee.
The Senate has opened debate on a bipartisan bill to ban food ads targeting children under 13. The sponsor, Senator Nancy Greene Raine, noted legislators have tried and failed to introduce similar bills since 1974: “Take action now or taxpayers will need to pay increased health care costs in the future”.
