Blacklock's Reporter

Poet Shai-Ben Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Some claim the federal government’s policy on preventing violence against sex workers is little more than hiding its head in the sand…”

37 people have drowned at national parks and historic sites in the past eight years, according to newly-released Parks Canada records.
Accident reports detailed bloodcurdling accidents, suicides and other tragedies: 'He was standing on a rock preparing to take a picture when he was swept to his death'.

A small business owner says a simple photocopy error saw him swept up in a federal terror-financing probe. A lawsuit alleges the Financial Transactions & Reports Analysis Centre issued fines over a minor clerical mistake: "They still charged us".

Airport and travel authorities are wary over a Citizenship & Immigration plan to impose new requirements on visitors. The department says travellers permitted into Canada without a visa must undergo electronic background checks: "That would create a bit of deterrent".

Contract talks this year at leading railways may see resolution of a dispute over installation of locomotive video and voice recorders, says a union executive. The Transportation Safety Board proposed mandatory recorders following a fatal derailment of a speeding VIA Rail liner.

Public Safety Canada says Toronto must fill out the same forms as anyone else if it seeks millions in compensation from a Christmas ice storm. New Democrat MPs appealed for federal aid after Toronto Hydro took 10 days to restore power to all customers.

In another step to privatization, the Canadian Wheat Board acquired a 10% stake in a Saskatchewan grain terminal. The $3.4 billion Crown agency faces a 2016 sale deadline: "Farm ownership would allow farmers to have an equity investment".

A major airline cited for multiple violations of fare disclosure rules has been let off with a warning, in a judgment one consumer group called “disgusting”. The Canadian Transportation Agency would not say why it failed to levy fines in the case: "This is something we fought for decades".

A federal agency the National Capital Commission is hiring a consultant to aid employees in coping with “difficult” change amid warnings on government-wide austerity in the next budget. The commission saw 16% of its staff reassigned last year: “Change can be difficult".

The Bank of Canada is cautioning consumers to make “informed choices” on bitcoin amid praise for the pseudo-currency as an alternative to actual money. The central bank warned it considers the electronic fad merely an unregulated payment scheme: "It's all speculative."

Short line railways may face ruin under a Canadian Transportation Agency review of liability insurance, says a rail executive. Anticipated hikes in insurance requirements follow the Lac-Mégantic wreck that saw damage more than ten-times the value of third-party coverage: 'All of us deeply regret the tragedies'.

Canada’s privacy commissioner is expanding a probe of advertisers’ online creeping after citing Google Inc. for violating federal law. It follows a complaint by a lone Google user who looked up search terms for sleep disorders, then was dogged by online ads for medical devices: "If Google does not comply..."

A federal judge has sunk the last of a mammoth Canada Revenue Agency tax scheme that saw investors claim millions in losses on a phantom yacht fleet appropriately named Fantaseas. The ruling marked the close of a 28-year tax probe of the Ponzi scheme: "The expenses were a fiction!"

The trade department is invoking national security in refusing to divulge the text of a European pact. Authorities dismissed a request by the Council of Canadians for contents of the agreement signed by the Prime Minister last October 18: "Canadians are being denied information."

Canadian insurers are eyeing investments in public works as municipalities lament an infrastructure "deficit". The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association yesterday described the projects as an “attractive” buy though they can take years to complete: 'They will pay 20, 30, 50 years in the future'.