Management at the Canada Border Services Agency has still not streamlined its billion-dollar computer systems for monitoring cross-border traffic, says a federal review. The Auditor General said the agency has failed to complete an overall plan that avoids costly duplication: “It’s typical”.
The Canadian-led Arctic Council failed to play a leadership role on climate change, says research co-written by a former chair of the Canadian Polar Commission. Analysts said the international panel mandated to promote Arctic issues has fallen short in promoting cooperation on global warming and other issues: “The Arctic Council can’t accomplish what people expect”.
Parliament is not being told the value of tax giveaways including a 15% credit for mining companies, says the Auditor General. The office in a report said the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit, estimated to cost from $40 million to $100 million annually, is not evaluated by the finance department: “We’ll gladly do it”.
The Commons today is expected to pass a motion expanding federally-regulated security screening to regional airports across the country. Local authorities blame the lack of screening for loss of air routes: “Why did all this have to happen? That’s the part I don’t get”.
Health Canada has failed in its mandate to curb the non-medical use of antibiotics, says Auditor General Michal Ferguson. The auditor in a report noted regulators first proposed a national strategy on antimicrobial resistance in 1997: “It will likely be many years before there is one”.
Parks Canada has raised fee revenues by up to 42 percent since 2006 amid agency complaints of declining attendance at parks and national historic sites. Documents show the department collects tens of millions of dollars a year in admission and camping fees: “Parks are national treasures that are becoming less and less accessible”.
Canada Post is accusing of running the clock on a pay equity dispute dating back 23 years. The Crown corporation earlier waged a separate 28-year battle on pay claims by women clerks that was finally settled by the Supreme Court: “The length of this case offends the public conscience”.
A proposal to submit all government advertising to a third-party auditor has been blocked by the Commons’ Conservative majority. Federal advertising has cost taxpayers more than $750 million since 2006, by official estimate: ‘That buys a lot of insulin pumps for kids with diabetes’.
A former Canada Revenue Agency auditor has been cited in Tax Court for incorrectly claiming tens of thousands of dollars in business losses. The purported losses followed a failed attempt to launch an in-flight magazine for airline passengers: ‘He did not feel the need for due diligence’.
Canadian shipowners are pledging $1.5 million in new research in a bid to comply with U.S. environmental rules feared to restrict trade. The U.S. earlier ordered that Great Lakes shippers plying Atlantic waters must install costly equipment to treat ballast water before calling on American ports: “We’re under scrutiny”.
Cabinet will proceed with amendments permitting aquaculture operators to use pesticides in fish habitat, says Fisheries Minister Gail Shea. The plan followed a petition from 124 scientists and conservationists asking that cabinet withdraw proposed changes to the Fisheries Act: ‘They actually provide more clarity’.
The Senate will consider a legal ban on photographs of the Atlantic seal hunt. Amendments to federal regulations would permit RCMP to seize any camera, and allow the government to sue any publisher for “defamation” in using hunt photos: “Are licenses issued so people can observe what happens in slaughterhouses?”
The Commons has defeated a bill mandating better VIA Rail service and allowing employees to buy up to 10 percent of the company. Conservative MPs rejected the private bill as costly and disruptive to freight service: “It is a significant financial risk”.
The government is using statistical averaging in mistakenly claiming immigration is at an all-time high. The Department of Citizenship acknowledged it ignored century-old data in claiming current levels set a record: ‘They are trying to claim the immigrant vote’.
Parliament should ban interest charges over 21 percent under federal usury laws, a Senate committee has been told. A private bill would abolish higher rates charged by payday loan companies, credit card issuers, utilities and other firms: ‘Bell Aliant in Atlantic Canada has an interest rate for non-payment on time of 42%’.
