Construction material, industrial waste and other garbage will more easily be dumped at sea under new Environment Canada regulations. The department already permits disposal of some 4 million tonnes a year in ocean waters: “The assault on the environment is non-stop; It is unremitting”.
The Supreme Court is to weigh class-action lawsuits that seek compensation from 10 financial institutions for secret commissions on currency conversions. Attorneys argue the nation’s largest banks charged customers without ever telling them: “Who regulates the payment industry in Canada?”
Finance Canada is granting beekeepers the same preferential tax treatment it gives dryland ranchers amid apiary losses due in part to pesticides. The promise came as a Senate committee was told of staggering losses in the nation’s bee colonies: “Last year was a rough year”.
New restrictions on foreign workers will cause more disruption for employers who rely on migrants to fill jobs Canadians won’t take, says a business advocacy group. Finance Canada said the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will see more regulations to restrict hiring: ‘An unemployed autoworker from Windsor is not moving to Estevan to take a job at the pizza place’.
New budget cuts to retired federal employees’ benefits on the eve of contract talks are rated “disgraceful” by the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The union expressed dismay over provisions that will see retirees pay twice the cost of health benefits and face new restrictions on eligibility. Finance Canada said the cuts will save taxpayers $1.2 billion a year.
MPs are being warned of “collateral damage” from a private Conservative bill to speed decertification of unions. Witnesses at hearings on Bill C-525 rebuked MPs for the contents of the legislation, and their method of repealing decades-old provisions of the Canada Labour Code: “If they think they’re going to legislate unions out of existence, good luck to them”.
Budget 2014 is rated a fizzle by telecom analysts who cast the agenda-setting document as a rehash of old news releases and long-promised reforms. Cabinet again pledged to cap wholesale roaming fees, and again suggested amendments to penalize companies that violate the Wireless Code: ‘They said it before’.
Cabinet is again imposing new curbs on Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation amid fears of the housing bubble, including an 18% cut in its annual portfolio, and new payment of guarantee fees: “They’re trying to undo previous mistakes in an orderly manner”.
Transport Canada is proposing new safety requirements at railway grade crossings. Neither the Railway Association nor Federation of Canadian Municipalities would comment on the regulations, aimed at reducing the 130 casualties a year at train crossings nationwide.
The Government of Canada vows it will attempt to regulate bitcoin, the rule-free pseudo currency, under the guise of curbs on money laundering. Online casinos will also fall under the Proceeds Of Crime & Terrorist Financing Act.
Cabinet promises to balance its budget for the first time in seven years in 2015 on higher tax revenues, including billions in surplus Employment Insurance premiums and a $685 million-a year increase in tobacco levies: “One would always hope one is setting one’s self up for the next election”.
Finance Canada proposes to abolish “discrimination” in cross-border retail pricing amid warnings the initiative may be pointless and unenforceable. The department said it will introduce a bill in the Commons compelling retailers to account for differences in costs of identical goods in Canada and the U.S. A Senate study earlier concluded Finance Canada’s own tariffs were often to blame: “We have to take a very, very close look at this”.
Cabinet is being pressed to release confidential Canada Post files detailing a “win-win” management plan to launch the nation’s largest banking network. MPs demanded the release of more than 700 pages of censored files documenting a postal bank plan that was abruptly cancelled: “What is their motive?”
Taxpayers will not support any new CBC subsidy to offset lost hockey revenues, says an influential member of a Senate panel reviewing the public broadcaster’s mandate. CBC friends have appealed for more aid after losing $120 million in annual hockey revenue to Rogers Inc.: “Canadians definitely do not want that”.
The Senate is weighing a private Liberal bill to undo cabinet powers to borrow money without consent of Parliament. The measure would repeal obscure changes adopted in 2007: “This goes back to the fundamentals of responsible government”.
