The federal mortgage insurer CMHC says it is at a loss to assess the amount of foreign investment in the country’s condo market. Authorities said attempts to determine if offshore speculators skewed sales in key cities have been unsuccessful to date: “What is the demand for the product?”
The cash-strapped Canadian Tourism Commission is hiring foreign-language Tweeters as a “cost-effective” promotion. The Crown agency has seen its budget cut 19 percent in the past two years: ‘The more eyeballs you get, the more value you get”.
A federal judge has upheld a landmark tax ruling that narrowly defines religious congregations under the Income Tax Act. The $1.8 million appeal came in a case that exposed the finances of a polygamist group in southeastern British Columbia: “The children earned about $2 an hour”.
Pharmaceutical drugs flushed through the nation’s waste treatment systems are proven to disrupt entire fish ecosystems, says new Canadian research. Scientists documented the devastating impact of estrogen, commonly found in birth control pills, on lake trout and other species: “Organisms are connected”.
Environment Canada’s “legally defensible” assessment of a British Columbia oil spill confirms fears that cabinet ignored safety in approving the Enbridge Inc. Northern Gateway project, says a B.C. legislator. The environment department proposes to study the impact of Alberta bitumen dumped on the northern B.C. coast.
“It’s as if the government is trying to give itself cover in case of a spill,” said Robin Austin, New Democrat MLA for the riding of Skeena that includes Kitimat, cite of a proposed tanker terminal to ship Alberta oil. “After claiming it is safe they now want to string out facts for the sake of liability.”
Federal researchers are quietly conducting a three-year study of the likely impact of a coastal spill, including research on “clean-up of the non-conventional diluted bitumen products on different types of shorelines.” Authorities cited a “knowledge gap” on the impact of a spill. The study is not due for completion till 2016.
The Northern Gateway project approved by cabinet last June 17 would see Alberta bitumen piped to Kitimat, then loaded onto tankers for shipment to Asian refineries. Government authorities have repeatedly insisted the venture is environmentally safe.
“They are trying to cobble together evidence to justify what they have already done,” Austin said in an interview. “This research is acknowledgment of a very high risk of a spill over the lifetime of this project.”
Austin noted the proposed tanker route through Kitimat’s Douglas Channel is virtually inaccessible except by boat and helicopter: “A spill would be absolutely disastrous,” he said. “This is very worrisome. How would you ever contemplate a bitumen clean-up under those conditions? It is impossible.”
Kitimat City Council has opposed the development of a tanker terminal, though councillors are on record as endorsing construction of a local refinery to process Alberta crude – a proposal not contemplated in the Enbridge plan.
Sticks To Everything But Water
“I’m caught by surprise,” said Kitimat Mayor Joanne Monaghan. “I don’t know what Environment Canada’s baseline study would take into account.”
Monaghan said she was unaware of the federal research. “It seems prudent to have these kinds of studies but we don’t want tankers of bitumen going down the channel,” Monaghan said. “We’ve written the Premier and the Prime Minister, but that doesn’t mean that will happen.”
An earlier federal study cautioned that heavy Alberta bitumen is difficult to clean in case of a coastal spill. The research co-authored by Environment Canada in 2002 tested diluted bitumen in different water and soil conditions to simulate a shoreline disaster.
“Coalesced bitumen is extremely adhesive and sticky,” concluded the research Orimulsion Penetration And Retention In Course Sediments; “The only material that it did not stick to readily was water.”
The research was conducted at the Marine Technology Centre in Sidney, B.C. Scientists concluded leaked bitumen would form into oily “tarballs” or “patties” when in contact with seawater, then “ooze” into pebbled beeches.
By Tom Korski 
The Consumers’ Association of Canada is opposing a Senate bill to regulate merchants’ fees on rewards cards, arguing retailers will simply pocket the savings. A private Liberal bill before the Senate would cap fees at one-sixth what retailers now pay: “This is not a consumer concern”.
Transport Canada proposes no new initiatives on rail safety after being cited for lax enforcement by investigators of the Lac-Mégantic disaster. Transport Minister Lisa Raitt told the Commons transport committee initiatives previously announced will continue, but detailed no original proposals: “We have a problem”.
Environment Canada is being prodded to expand its monitoring of Great Lakes water quality amid concerns on runoff of agricultural pesticides. Ecology groups accused the department of cut-and-paste responses to demands for regulatory proposals to curb toxic algae bloom: “What will it take?”
A finding of racial profiling against the Canada Border Services Agency has been thrown out by a federal judge. The case followed an admission from a customs officer that Chinese travellers are often scrutinized for unusual contents in their luggage: “It is more than common”.
An oil lobby group credited with rewriting key federal regulations is winding up its work. The Energy Policy Institute of Canada surrendered its federal charter. Alberta Conservative Senator Douglas Black, founding president of the lobby, did not respond to Blacklock’s interview request: “There is mounting evidence industry has actually been drafting legislation”.
Cabinet is quietly extending a tax break to thoroughbred horse breeders. Amendments to the Income Tax Act give breeders the same treatment as dryland farmers in deferring taxes owed in bad years. The amendment was written into a 278-page Ways & Means motion tabled in the Commons: ‘We’re like any other business — a restaurant, or the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’.
Environment Canada proposes more research on links between air pollution and related deaths. The department is commissioning new studies on the “relationship” between common pollution sources like industry and traffic, and mortality: “We have so much information on this it seems like someone wants to avoid the question”.
The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from a frustrated job-seeker who complained of cronyism in government hiring. Justices granted costs but would not consider allegations that public service employment is discriminatory: “It’s not surprising”.
The jobless rate in Regina has hit an historic low for any Canadian city with virtual full employment for every worker, according to new federal data. Unemployment in the city is at 2.8 percent, tying the previous record set by Calgary in the winter of 2006: ‘It’s all good’.
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