Most Canadians see no improvement in the economy this winter with 24% fearing “worse is yet to come”, according to Department of Finance research. The in-house polling also found the country evenly divided on what cabinet should do with an expected 2015 budget surplus: ‘It’s a clearer sense of the public mood’.
A Senate committee will conduct hearings on a bill to ban insurers from requiring genetic tests on policyholders, and outlaw “discrimination on the ground of genetic characteristics” under the Canadian Human Rights Act. Conservatives oppose the bill as an bid to regulate insurance contracts: “Is it fair?”
Homeowners who claimed property damage due to toxic fallout from an Inco Ltd. refinery have lost a bid to take their case to the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear an appeal on a failed class action lawsuit by residents with contaminated property: ‘It’s really bad news’.
After a nearly year-long consultation, telecom regulators have set out new rules on evaluating TV and radio takeovers. The CRTC said it will require TV station buyers to contribute to programming funds on the same basis as the radio sector: “This is very helpful”.
The St. Lawrence Seaway continues to rebound after losing the first four weeks of its shipping season to heavy ice. Total traffic to August 31 was 20 million tonnes, 3% above the same period last year according to new figures. Traffic continued amid an increase in tolls: “The Seaway has to be sustainable”.
Air Canada has issued directives to flight crews to keep pornography out of aircraft following employee complaints that prompted a Transport Canada investigation. Posts of obscene images in jet cockpits were documented in evidence submitted to federal officers. The documents were released through Access to Information: “One picture in two weeks is one thing; five pictures in one day is another”.
In a court ruling expected to be appealed, a federal judge has concluded CBC cuts to French-language programming are subject to scrutiny by the Official Languages Commissioner: ‘The CBC does not exist to serve the government’.
Natural Resources Canada is facing demands it update 20-year old energy label standards on appliances and electronics. Research by the Consumers Council of Canada concluded labels are confusing and often uninformative: “People aren’t quite sure”.
Confidential terms of a European trade pact pose a “serious threat” to the viability of Canadian shippers, says the Seafarers International Union. Workers joined shipowners in protesting amendments that lift local shippers’ preference in transferring cargo between Canadian ports: “This is the most serious threat we have ever faced”.
The RCMP are launching a long-awaited national feasibility study on equipping officers with miniature cameras. It follows a 2007 incident in which amateur video captured the death of a Polish airline passenger, Robert Dziekanski, in police custody at Vancouver International Airport: ‘RCMP are not immune to criticism’.
The Supreme Court has effectively killed a class action lawsuit against some of Canada’s largest pharmaceutical companies over cough syrup. Justices declined to hear the appeal of a B.C. mother who complained of a “waste of money” in buying children’s cough medicine found ineffective by Health Canada: “The Court got it wrong”.
Cabinet has little to show for millions spent on ads for a federal works program, says the government’s own research. Pollsters reported most Canadians surveyed had no recollection of the ad blitz, and those who did only vaguely recalled images of people at work: ‘It was propaganda’.
All-for-one talks on a massive Pacific trade treaty should beware of exemptions for “sensitive products” like dairy that would jeopardize the effort, say exporters. The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance said ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership talks must not hinge on continued protection for quota-based producers: ‘All countries have interests’.
Industry Canada’s consumer Wireless Code remains virtually unknown to cellphone users amid widespread complaints of poor service and high telecom fees, the government’s own research shows. Surveys by the CRTC also indicate a large number of cellphone users — up to a third in some provinces — are unhappy with their telecom provider: “Bill shock”.
The Department of Fisheries is accused of violating federal law with a first-ever proposal allowing the use of chemicals in fish habitat. The proposed amendments to the Fisheries Act follows appeals from aquaculture operators to allow pesticides on fish farms: ‘The department is shirking its obligations’.
