The Supreme Court has ruled a shareholder who dumped stock over misleading media reports has no claim against the company. Interveners in the case included investors’ rights advocates: “That’s quite a low standard”.
Privacy advocates worry
that their voice may not be heard
in the debate over the Anti-Terrorism bill.
Someone should reassure them
that their voice will be heard, recorded,
meetings videotaped,
email messages reviewed, filed,
even before they click ‘Send’.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
A court ruling that federal agencies have no right to charge the public for releasing most public records will have a far-reaching effect on access to information, says the Office of the Information Commissioner. A federal judge ruled that charges running to thousands of dollars were disallowed by regulation: “We need more decisions like this”.
Courts confirm Canada Revenue Agency has a right to use evidence collected in unrelated criminal cases to hit taxpayers with penalties for unreported income. It follows a trove of damning financial records seized from a Toronto-area shopping centre operator in 1999: “It can be quite a mess”.
A Senate review of the Canada Border Services Agency will be finalized within weeks, says the chair of the national security committee. However a private bill to appoint an Inspector General to oversee the agency is certain to lapse this year: “There is no reason”.
Canadian accountants rate cyberattacks a leading concern but say most would quickly spot any hackers’ bid to access financial records. The findings are detailed in a joint Canada-U.S. study of accounting professionals: “Hacking, data thefts and large-scale fraud are now all too common”.
Federal agencies have no right to bill high fees for retrieving public documents under Access To Information, a federal judge has ruled. It follows charges of thousands of dollars on Canadians attempting to see government records: “Parliament made it very clear: no regulation — no fee”.
Allegations that a drug maker sought to keep low-cost generic alternatives off the market will be heard by the Supreme Court Monday. The appeal focuses on an industry practice dubbed “evergreening”: “It’s the fault of Parliament for creating this insane system”.
Telecom regulators have eased restrictions on the Al Jazeera Network but cautioned the Arabic broadcaster to be careful with content. Free speech advocates said the network appeared to be singled out for ad hoc controls: “For how many years are we going to exclude this voice?”
Municipalities have no right to jail drivers for illegal parking, a Northwest Territories court has ruled. A judge cited the City of Yellowknife for a bylaw that threatened scofflaws with $2,000 fines and six months in jail: “Jail for parking, are you kidding me?”
Canada should harvest seal penises as aphrodisiacs and process seal meat as rations for refugees overseas, says a Department of Fisheries study. The research aimed at rescuing the waning seal trade was released through Access To Information: “Primary cuts of meat would require marketability at a minimum price of $4 per pound”.
High housing prices have enriched older Canadians at the expense of generations under 40, research says. Data show young Canadians today are less likely to own a home, and more likely to earn thousands of dollars less after inflation, than in the 1970s: “There is a squeeze and it is real”.
Health Canada will continue to sanction use of a best-selling herbicide described as “probably” a cancer risk, but said it welcomes public comment on the decision. Glyphosate, a leading ingredient in herbicides like Monsanto Inc.’s Roundup, was cited as a cancer risk by the WHO: “Glyphosate has been detected in the blood and urine of agricultural workers, indicating absorption”.
Road salt is potentially damaging to lakes and should be closely monitored, says York University research. Up to 60 percent of road salt – the equivalent of thousands of tonnes a year – seeps into shallow groundwater and spring runoff, by official estimate: “There should be a sensitivity index”.
Thousands of small business borrowers would never get bank loans if not for federal guarantees, says an Industry Canada report. As many as half of applicants for a Small Business Financing Program would be denied credit if not for taxpayers’ backing, research says: “If the program does not exist…”
