A federal order to boost Prairie grain shipments under threat of six-figure fines will be put to the test amid confirmation that penalties aren’t automatic. Transport Canada confirmed any fines for non-compliance are up to judges: “A court of law will ultimately decide”.
Environment Canada is conducting research on bird collisions with windows amid estimates that deaths run into millions a year. Authorities proposed a scientific estimate of the problem, especially for migratory birds travelling through urban landscapes in spring and autumn: “This is a very serious problem”.
An industry group has privately lobbied cabinet to reform Canada’s milk quota system as a “luxury” that threatens jobs. The Dairy Processors Association petitioned the Prime Minister and cabinet to revise the decades-old supply management system: “The pressure will come”.
Parks Canada cuts are marking a close to research and recovery of artifacts dating from among the earliest Western Canadian settlements. Authorities served notice they will catalogue and store the last of 9500-year old tools, fossils and other treasures recovered from archaeological digs: “It’s come to an end”.
The federal mortgage insurer CMHC is researching new condo sales in selected markets in an initiative consumers’ advocates say is overdue. The agency will track construction, sales, footage, and units left unsold or rented by developers: “Government-backed insurance wasn’t intended for market speculation”.
Bankers stung in a spectacular check kiting fraud have lost a Supreme Court bid to hear their case. Justices declined further appeals in the fraud estimated at $12 million: “That shows you just how uncertain the law is – and it really is”.
The national health care system should deploy teams of specialists to treat patients with addictions, mental illness and other ailments to lower costs, says a think-tank. The Conference Board said billions could be saved: ‘It’s more seamless care, better co-ordination’.
A businessman who claimed he made most of his money at the casino has had to fold ‘em in Tax Court. Canada Revenue concluded the man under-reported his business income 72% by posing as a lucky gambler. Casino winnings are not taxable in Canada: ‘There is a problem’.
A federal anti-trust agency has okayed a $110 million consolidation in the armoured car cash delivery business amid union worries on guards’ safety: “By driving down costs it becomes a race to the bottom”.
A security breach
around Stephen Harper
forces RCMP
to review their procedures.
One wonders
if officers will now be posted
in the House of Commons.
That way
they could quickly intervene
should any question
get too close
to the Prime Minister.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday). 
Confidential records show Finance Canada dismissed warnings its changes to a bank ombudsmen system would mainly benefit bankers. The government’s own Financial Consumer Agency cautioned the proposal would weaken consumer protection: “We are the worst of the worst”.
Cabinet has approved new funding for Ukraine following foreign aid grants last year that ran to nearly half the amount they gave Haiti. Foreign Minister John Baird said most of the new aid, including a grant to the National Bank of Ukraine, is coordinated through the IMF: “It’s not just a matter of writing a blank cheque”.
The Department of Fisheries says it will not sanction any “taxpayer-funded buyout programs” to aid the $1 billion lobster industry hit with declining prices: “We need to sit down with these people for God’s sake”.
Cabinet is being pressed to amend rules that charge migrant farm workers for Canadian benefits they can never claim. The United Food and Commercial Workers said minimum-wage fruit pickers and other migrants are paying more than $20 million a year in EI premiums though they’re disqualified from benefits: “It is outrageous”.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a key case of an attorney who claims client privilege in withholding financial data from Canada Revenue. The Alberta lawyer argued tax authorities had no right to identify his clients or know how much they were billed: “It’s potentially a really important case”.
