Cabinet initiatives to improve rail service fail to address “high-level” challenges that threaten the export trade, says one of the country’s largest private grain shippers. Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd. of Winnipeg made the appeal after winning a federal court judgment on rail regulation: “How can we bridge that gap between the interests of shippers and railway shareholders?”
Opposition New Democrats are signaling support for a private Conservative bill mandating prominent health labels on cellphones and other wireless devices. The bill follows Health Canada assurances that radiofrequency levels are acceptable: ‘If there is no risk, why is the industry burying the warnings?’
Cabinet is at a loss to explain the state of legislation following a landmark Supreme Court judgment permitting the RCMP’s 23,700 members to unionize. Parliament earlier passed a bill sanctioning the demotion and firing of police deemed “troublemakers”, in the words of one MP: “This is where the hard work begins”.
Inside research by Natural Resources Canada confirms Canadians remain wary of pipeline megaprojects even as cabinet okayed the Northern Gateway venture. A 2014 department study shows Canadians surveyed were also suspicious of claims that pipeline construction will benefit the country: “Outside of Calgary, very few people thought it was personally relevant”.
The future of two species of Atlantic whales is under review by the Department of Fisheries amid fears they’ll be impacted by increased tanker traffic. Authorities asked for expert opinion on whether to list bowhead and killer whales as a “special concern” under the Species At Risk Act, meaning they “may become threatened or endangered”.
The Supreme Court is leaving marijuana insurance disputes up to industry and policyholders. The court would not consider an appeal redefining the insurance value of cannabis. The dismissal came as Health Canada forecasts the number of medical marijuana users nationwide will rise to 400,000 within a decade: ‘This was a high-value asset in the home’.
The Supreme Court of Canada has struck down a 95-year ban on unions in the RCMP as unconstitutional. Justices in a 6-1 decision ruled the restriction on collective bargaining in the federal police force violated the Charter of Rights. The Court gave cabinet one year to amend regulations permitting RCMP to unionize.
“The current RCMP labour relations regime denies RCMP members that choice, and imposes on them a scheme that does not permit them to identify and advance their workplace concerns free from management’s influence,” wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Justice Louis LeBel.
The Court also ruled that excluding RCMP members from the Public Service Labour Relations Act was effectively unlawful, but left it to Parliament to examine what form of collective bargaining will be sanctioned in the force.
The sweeping judgment appeared to nullify new RCMP Regulations granting the commissioner extraordinary powers to discipline and fire members. The regulations enacted last month permit the commissioner to bypass the Canadian Human Rights Act in disciplining members; allow management to demote or fire officers; compels officers to “undergo any tests, examinations or other assessments” by commissioner’s order under threat of suspension; requires all members take an Oath Of Secrecy similar to federal intelligence agents; and forbids RCMP from “making public statements criticizing the Government of Canada or the operations of the force.”
The Mounties were the last major police force in the country to be barred from forming a union. Cabinet banned collective bargaining in the RCMP in 1920 following a public outcry over police strikes in Winnipeg, Boston and London.
Seven organizations supported the union drive as interveners in the Supreme Court case, including the Canadian Police Association; Public Service Alliance of Canada; Canadian Labour Congress; the B.C. and Canadian Civil Liberties Associations; Association de la Police Montée du Québec and Conféderation des Syndicats Nationaux.
By Dale Smith 
Climate change poses a “profound risk” to Northern airports that are vital links to remote communities, says Transport Canada. The department is commissioning a $160,000 study of three airfields in Manitoba, Nunavut and Northwest Territories affected by thawing permafrost: “Airports are the only lifelines to these communities”.
Canadian Pacific Rail has lost a court challenge of interswitching rules that allowed an Alberta customer to ship grain at a quarter the cost of CP freight rates. The ruling follows cabinet attempts to promote more competition in rail freight by expanding interswitching across the Prairies: “That is a great boon to shippers”.
New federal restrictions on installation of computer software are so complex they may trap unwitting businesses, say executives. Regulators prohibited any installation of software on computers, cellphones, tablets and other devices without the consent of owners: “It does leave some lingering questions”.
A bid to press one of the Canada’s largest environmental class action lawsuits has failed at the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear an appeal from homeowners in Cape Breton who complained of industrial fallout from a century of steel-making: “It’s a travesty”.
Canada Border Services Agency has quietly resumed installation of audio-visual recorders at airports and land crossings after a public outcry prompted suspension of the surveillance program three years ago. The agency confirmed it has lifted a ban on installing recorders. In a confidential memo, management said the surveillance equipment was needed to spy on employees suspected of criminality: “This is shocking”.
Changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will see thousands of migrants lose their work permits beginning April 1. The impact has prompted Unifor to launch an information hotline for foreign hires, the first of its kind: “There is a big deadline coming up”.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments today in two key cases challenging the reach of the Bankruptcy And Insolvency Act. Delinquent drivers in two provinces are attempting to overturn rules that denied them a license for non-payment of penalties even after being discharged from bankruptcy: “It affects a large number of people”.
Maritime lobster fishermen say they are making progress, slowly, in adopting reforms to save the industry from a devastating price collapse. P.E.I. harvesters said they proposed to move closer in 2015 to creating a marketing board financed by a levy on fishermen: “We don’t have this opportunity very often”.
