Employment Canada has paid out $258 million in retroactive benefits to low-income pensioners who forgot to file their 2015 tax returns. The department stopped short of remitting billions in unclaimed benefits owed retirees who were unaware they could ask for assistance in the first place: “It is morally outrageous”.
The Supreme Court should decide “once and for all” if interprovincial trade barriers are lawful, says a British Columbia senator. The appeal follows an April 29 New Brunswick court ruling that struck down a ban on the cross-border transport of discount beer: “Do you want to fool around here?”
A bill to ban animal testing by cosmetics manufacturers has hit its first parliamentary opposition. The measure appears unnecessary and fails to address consumer safety, said a biochemist in the Senate: “Not all animal testing is cruel”.
Cabinet has struck a $2 million task force on Canada Post without appointing any postal workers or managers to the panel. A final report on “options” to run the Crown corporation is due by December 31: “This one is different”.
Canada’s pay equity system is a failure and should be quickly reformed, says the Minister of Labour. MaryAnn Mihychuk said a new system should cover all employees in federally-regulated industries – some 800,000 Canadians, by official estimate: “Work quickly”.
Air Canada is only grudgingly in compliance with federal law on bilingualism, says the Commissioner of Official Languages. The criticism comes two years after the airline won a Supreme Court challenge under the Official Languages Act: ‘They feel they are saddled with this burden’.
Cabinet is wrong to make climate change a criterion for reviewing pipeline megaprojects, says an industry executive. The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association also praised Conservative changes to pipeline reviews, though the National Energy Board has described the amendments as controversial: “The industry is in a crisis”.
Federal inspectors are budgeting $127,000 a year in compensation for landowners affected by invasive beetles blamed for billions in tree damage. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency could not explain the modest funding to replace trees killed by the Asian long-horned beetle and other imported pests: “Compensation must be paid”.
Bell Media Inc. is appealing to MPs to overturn a regulator’s ban on Canadian ads on the most-watched sporting event on TV. Bell executives said the ruling on Super Bowl ads has damaged the Canadian economy and cost the network millions: “None of this is in anyone’s interest”.
A CMHC director is challenging a security blacklist after having his luggage searched 11 times in two years by customs officers. The lawsuit revealed new details of databases run by the Canada Border Services Agency: ‘He was forthright and fully cooperative”.
The St. Lawrence Seaway is economically redundant and should never have been built, says a Conservative senator. The Seaway, already operating at less than half capacity, saw a 9.5 percent decline in traffic last year: “We were sold a bill of goods”.
The Senate has passed a bill proclaiming a National Seal Products Day with a jeer at retired French film star Brigitte Bardot. The actress lobbied for the first transatlantic ban on Canadian seal pelts forty years ago: “This is what happens”.
Transport Canada has done a haphazard job on long-term planning for its passenger rail service VIA, says Auditor General Michael Ferguson. Auditors cited the railway for “significant deficiency” in the way its run: “This makes it difficult”.
Industry consultants claim the Department of Health is using unreliable data in calculating inadequate prescription drug coverage. The department says 2 in 10 Canadians must pay out of pocket for necessary medication.: “The 20 percent number is weak”.
Canadian women earn on average 90¢ for every dollar earned by men, not the 74¢ most widely cited in pay equity discussions, says StatsCanada. One Conservative MP noted employers can still find a “sneaky way” to underpay women in the workforce: “Wage inequality is complex”.
