A surprise 2013 tax break on hockey gear came only five weeks after Bauer Hockey Corp. threatened to move its Canadian operations over high tariffs, say newly-released documents. The manufacturer in a secret letter told the Department of Finance that rising tariffs “will have a direct effect on Bauer’s Canadian operations.”
A federal board that regulates drug prices is unconstitutional and should be disbanded, says a manufacturer. Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is challenging the legality of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board in Federal Court: ‘They win this case, there won’t be a drug in Canada that is price-controlled’.
Most migrant workers facing expulsion under a four-year deadline on labour permits were able to stay in the country, says an industry group. Thousands of temporary foreign workers saw their permits expire April 1: ‘The deadline didn’t affect us as much as we thought’.
The Canadian Coast Guard must beef up its icebreaker fleet or risk transport disruptions that will hurt the economy, say shipowners. In an election appeal, the Canadian Shipowners Association noted inadequate icebreaking caused troubles in the past two winters: “It’s difficult work”.
The federal prison population is forecast to rise by 25 percent or more within six years, says the Correctional Service of Canada. Prison management has already been cited by auditors for grossly overestimating inmate projections: “I don’t know how we would see a 25% rise”.
A federal whistleblower law is being challenged in court over arbitrary limits on investigations. A Department of Natural Resources employee said his complaints of reprisals were dismissed for failing to meet a 60-day deadline: “It takes time to ruin a person”.
Canada’s first federal credit union is proceeding with a merger of 14 institutions in what is expected to fuel more amalgamations. Parliament introduced legislation five years ago allowing credit unions to apply for federal licensing: “A lot of credit unions are looking at what we’re doing”.
A pair of federal employees have been docked two years’ pay after taking a moonlight swim in a Parks Canada pool. In an unusually steamy ruling, a labour board said the couple that took a romantic swim off-limits showed lack of respect towards their employer’s core mandate: “They should suffer the consequences”.
Cabinet is drafting legislation to strip benefits from federally-regulated pension plans, according to a private letter by Finance Minister Joe Oliver. The finance department had appeared to drop the proposal in months prior to the election campaign: “The government is now developing the federal legislative framework”.
Rigid enforcement of trivial rules on migrant labour has earned Employment Canada a reprimand from a federal judge. The court struck down a department ruling that disqualified the hiring of a temporary foreign worker due to a misplaced address: “It was a little bit unfair”.
A new Parliament should enact a limited pharmacare program to subsidize families that spend more than $1,500 a year on medication, says the Canadian Medical Association. Physicians also proposed billions in extra grants to provinces with older populations: ‘A new government could do it right away’.
Cabinet has failed to hold mining companies accountable for overseas conduct in the name of “national interest”, says an advocates’ report. The Mining Association and Natural Resources Canada declined comment: “What is happening in the courts is very hopeful”.
The defence department, cited for inept contracting, has issued 107 pages of specifications for new mittens. The department cautioned that palms and thumbs of government-issue mitts “must be flush”, as well as “soft” and “smooth”. Authorities earlier issued 167-pages of specs for mukluks for the troops: “A colour match under north-sky daylight is most important”.
Few Canadians, only 1 in 10, have heard of a national agreement to lower interprovincial trade barriers, says a federally-sponsored report. A majority say consumers’ advocates, labour and business should be allowed formal input to revive the process: “Something needs to be done”.
A longtime employee fired for snooping in a colleague’s file has lost a bid to test her wrongful dismissal claim at the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear an appeal from the woman fired after 21 years on the job: “This area of law is quite unpredictable”.
