A federal judge has struck down a charitable tax scheme that saw donors claim a 2,600% markup on hockey sticks given to a church. Tax Court testimony showed the retail value of Spanish-made wooden sticks was declining when the transaction occurred: ‘They were not making a gift’.
Elimination of a Depression-era drought agency was short-sighted in the face of climate change, an Ottawa conference has been told. Cabinet in 2014 folded the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration into the agriculture department and ordered the release of millions of acres of federally-controlled grasslands: “We need a coordinating agency”.
Rideau Hall is hiring a publicist to boost nominations for an award so obscure few Canadians have bothered to apply for it. The office of the Governor General said it needs help to “stimulate more nominations” for civilian Meritorious Service Decorations: “The Tories made us thirsty for pride”.
The federal Competition Bureau in a “puzzling” policy document says municipalities should deregulate taxis. The Bureau declined comment on whether it favours similar deregulation of federally-supervised railways, airlines and interprovincial busing and trucking companies: “They are trying to destroy an industry that works”.
RCMP are reporting failure in a feasibility study to equip officers with miniature cameras. The Mounties complained of numerous difficulties. The study followed the 2007 death of a Polish airline passenger, Robert Dziekanski, in police custody: “No camera has been identified that meets all of the RCMP’s needs”.
Seven federal departments have struck a “flood mapping committee” to predict the reach of high-water disasters due to climate change. Natural Resources Canada said historic weather records are insufficient: “Canada is behind most other countries”.
The Copyright Act does not protect work compiled by computer programs, say government attorneys. Lawyers in an Alberta court brief said original works processed by computer programs were like “carving a turkey” and do not qualify as intellectual property: “Their position is astounding”.
Evidence in an Ontario court case has shed light on millions in secret rebates paid by the pharmaceutical industry. It follows a mammoth 2014 federal tax audit into bonuses paid to Canadian pharmacists: ‘These are illegal’.
Provincial tax hikes on top one percenters have seen diminishing returns as wealthy Canadians adopted more sophisticated tax avoidance schemes, says new research. The findings come as cabinet proposes to raise federal taxes on families earning more than $200,000 a year: ‘It questions how effective that is’.
Winter ice blamed for cutting power production from Canadian wind turbines is under research by the Department of Natural Resources. The department is spending $105,000 to develop computer models that would predict ice build-up on turbine blades: “It’s one of the biggest challenges to the operation of wind turbines in Canada”.
Industry successfully lobbied Transport Canada to delay for years the introduction of new air safety rules, documents show. Amendments to Canadian Aviation Regulations were put off due to costs though the department said current rules are inadequate, according to a cabinet memo released through Access To Information: “Transport Canada requires additional time to work with industry”.
The Commissioner of Official Languages is investigating why approximately one-third of Canadians oppose bilingualism though it’s been federal law for nearly fifty years. New research is needed to develop a socio-economic profile of opponents, the Commissioner’s office said: “This does not seem at all necessary”.
Canada Revenue Agency plans a Twitter blitz to get young people to pay their taxes, but requires a consultant to tell it “what to say”. The initiative follows federal research showing Canadians are five times more likely to read a weekly newspaper than use Twitter: ‘We require an analysis of the social media landscape’.
There is no statistical evidence shoppers spend more on Black Friday in Canada. New data show the share of retail sales occurring in November and December has remained flat since 2006 despite retailers’ advertising and media hype: “Retailers understand that”.
A federal agency is accused of skewing its contracting to favour U.S. multinationals. Shared Services Canada is the target of an inquiry by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. The hearing follows complaints from Eclipsys Solutions Inc. of Ottawa over its treatment in the tendering of an estimated $100 million contract for electronic server and storage devices: “We were never given the opportunity”.
