The “jury is still out” on public-private partnerships years after cabinet created a new Crown agency to attract investment in public works, says a former finance minister. Cabinet documents indicate few departments have used P3 funding models, and those who have could not account for time or money spent on the process: ‘It’s pretty thin’.
Consumer grievances to a federal telecom ombudsman declined last year but still run into the thousands, according to new data. The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecom Services said wireless subscribers remain the most unhappy customers: “We are optimistic”.
Canada’s two largest credit card issuers have agreed to cut merchants’ fees one step ahead of a Senate bill to regulate charges. Visa and MasterCard Canada, accounting for 90% of credit card transactions, yesterday submitted a proposal to Finance Canada to limit fees to an “average effective rate” of 1.5%: “The devil is in the details”.
A Health Canada agency that regulates farm chemicals proposed to “restrict” use of bee-killing pesticides, but subsequently opted for a five-year study. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency draws 17% of its budget from chemical manufacturers’ license fees: “Who’s paying the piper here?”
A Senate bill would proclaim a national sealing day alongside Mother’s Day and Victoria Day as a May observance. Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette suggested 70,000 seals be culled: “I suggest we approach some meat processors”.
A Senate bill marking the fall of Saigon has been renamed amid complaints, including protest from the Government of Vietnam. The legislation would observe the collapse of South Vietnam to communist forces in 1975: “They faced constant, unimaginable peril”.
New regulations for air cargo screening are raising concerns proposed rules would mean less federal oversight of shipments. The regulations are intended to saves shippers $20 million a year: “Industry would be policing itself”.
Shippers are gearing for a final push in the last weeks of the Great Lakes freighting season following a contract settlement with workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Seaway management and Unifor representing 460 employees agreed to a new contract that eliminates the risk of a strike: “We have been meeting day and night”.
The National Capital Commission, a Crown agency that manages the Prime Minister’s home, Rideau Hall and other Ottawa landmarks, should be held to account by taxpayers say MPs. New Democrats propose a series of citizen consultations on the work of the commission that saw 16% of its staff reassigned last year: “It is fair to ask questions”.
Conservative Bill C-377 that would compel unions to disclose confidential information is illegal and may breach parliamentary rules, says a Conservative Senator. Diane Bellemare, a Québec economist named to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said the measure will have repercussions that merit close study: ‘Does it infringe on rights?’
The Supreme Court will hear a landmark patent case alleging a drug maker sought to keep low-cost generic versions of a popular hypertension medication off the market. Justices agreed to hear an appeal in the dispute that saw generic manufacturer Apotex Inc. sue for lost profits: “It’s the fault of Parliament for creating this insane system”.
Canadians should stop eating processed food or pay higher taxes for the privilege, Senate obesity hearings have been told. One legal scholar urged legislators to adopt a “clear, consistent, simple message” that the marketing and consumption of snacks and processed food is unsound: “That is a real challenge”.
Animal rights advocates are protesting a $6,000 federal fine on a trucking company repeatedly cited for negligence in the death of chickens. The shipper was fined following an investigation by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency: ‘It’s staggering’.
A bill to proclaim a national Pope Day has come to more grief in Parliament over Roman Catholic Church philosophies on gender and sexuality. The bill that sped through the Commons now awaits a final vote in the Senate amid complaints it was given short shrift in hearings: ‘Let’s have a Billy Graham Day’.
CBC should cut all news and sports content to focus exclusively on Canadian drama, films and other artistic programming, says the deputy chair of the Senate communications committee. Leo Housakos dismissed the Crown broadcaster’s coverage as mere repetition of programming available from other media: “Everyone is doing news”.
