Promoters of so-called “fair trade” oil are the target of a complaint to Elections Canada over alleged breach of campaign fundraising laws. Greenpeace Canada filed the complaint against a pro-oilsands website with ties to the Prime Minister’s Office: “It talks like a front group”.
A Senate panel has been told CBC-TV should revive its mandatory licensing fee to compensate for shrinking ad revenue. An original CBC tax collected door to door was repealed by cabinet in 1953: “Call it a program fee; that would probably be a more palatable term”.
New use of pesticides by fish farmers will pose no “unacceptable risk” to the environment, promises Health Canada. However a Conservative Senator notes the department has already been cited for failing to protect habitat: “Is everything just fine?”
Air Canada may be violating federal law by trademarking its 1937 corporate identity, says an MP. The carrier has already been cited for the most complaints under the Official Languages Act: “It’s an insult”.
A U.S. appeals court has agreed to hear complaints from Canadian and U.S. processors and farm groups in a cross-border trade dispute. The disagreement has cost $6 billion in six years: ‘It is a costly rule’.
Cabinet is being urged to again rewrite its own rail reform bill to force carriers to improve service. The latest bill remains ineffectual, MPs were told: “Bill C-30 does not carry sufficient teeth”.
A Conservative MP says he is optimistic lawmakers will endorse his private reform bill to permanently curb the power of the Prime Minister’s Office. MP Michael Chong appealed to caucus to agree on ways to remove a leader by secret ballot: “It affects all parties”.
Province House, a Charlottetown landmark credited as the cradle of Confederation 150 years ago, is in “fair to very poor” condition with much of the original structure replaced in successive, botched renovation jobs, records show. Parks Canada faces millions in restoration costs, including corrections to repairs it already attempted: “It’s sad”.
Transport Canada will rule next week on whether to order immediate refits of 90,000 rail cars deemed a public hazard. The deadline follows a warning from safety investigators the puncture-prone cars are risky and must be eliminated: “I’m not happy with these cars moving dangerous goods”.
The Supreme Court will hear a key dispute over environmental compensation against a multinational firm operating overseas. Justices agreed to consider a lawsuit by residents of the Ecuadorian Amazon against Chevron Corp. and its Canadian subsidiary: “We really need to question how independent these subsidiaries are”.
Cabinet is granting itself new powers to enact auto safety rules without public notice. An omnibus bill would eliminate a requirement that Transport Canada publish the full text of all regulatory changes before they become law, or give advance notice of new rules: “The changes are significant”.
A home builder whose senior executive was reappointed a CMHC director has lost a Supreme Court bid to settle a tax dispute with the government. Authorities refused comment in the case that saw Mattamy Homes fight federal auditors over a GST avoidance scheme: “I’m not surprised”.
Critics are just mild over an Industry Canada policy paper that proposes to “enhance” internet service and choices for telecom consumers. The document Digital Canada 150 reiterates previously-announce regulations: “It actually pushes back the commitment”.
The message leaves little room
for doubt.
The Americans should get their acts together
and decide on the Keystone pipeline;
they’ve been dragging their feet for too long
and Ottawa is losing its patience.
In the Oval Office,
a weary advisor
looks at his boss.
“It’s Stephen Harper, Sir;
the Canadian President, I think.”
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday) [photo City of Toronto Archives] 
The Royal Canadian Mint is quietly killing a celebrated plan to create its own e-money program. The veto follows a “communication” from the Bank of Canada: “We couldn’t issue another currency”.
