Price swings in the billion-dollar lobster sector will make it very difficult to sell in new markets, says an industry group. The Fisheries Council told a Commons committee lobster marketing remains a problem due to up and down pricing: "The marketplace hates that. Retailers hate it. Food services hate it”.
Spammers, marketers and firms suspected of violating commercial law are targeted under a cybercrime bill, confidential records show. Department of Justice briefing notes disclose the legislation, depicted as targeting child pornographers and drug lords, was also planned to aid Competition Bureau attorneys: "Can we be cynical with reason?"
Parks Canada and other agencies spent millions on a three-week search for 19th century Arctic shipwrecks, confidential accounts show. The expensive mission came amid cuts in national parks budgets and unfunded maintenance for historic sites: "This smacks of public relations to me".
Police have a constitutional right to conduct random Breathalyzer tests of drivers leaving a liquor store parking lot since it’s “not as if the officer had targeted a daycare or church”, an Ontario court has ruled. The judgment comes as MPs consider legislating random breath testing: "At issue here is only location targeting".
Transport Canada’s fleet of oil spill surveillance aircraft will remain at three planes to spy three oceans, the Great Lakes and 243,000 km of coastline. However officials promise to spend more time in the air: 'We feel that any risks can be mitigated'.
Refits of puncture-prone tank cars like those in the Lac-Mégantic disaster will take years to complete, warns a Transport Canada panel. Authorities recommend a feasibility study on getting rid of unsafe cars: "The longer those cars are out there, the longer they will be a danger to the public".
A 149-year tradition in Government of Canada cheques will end in 2016 with the substitution of paper payments by prepaid cards, officials say. The Receiver General said anyone receiving a paper cheque for tax refunds, pension or benefits will automatically be switched to prepaid cards: “The question is, are we changing the nature of cash?”
Mounties attempting to unionize say they're optimistic the Supreme Court will lift a 94-year ban on collective bargaining in the federal force. The Mounted Police Professional Association of Canada noted the RCMP remains the only civilian police force forbidden by executive order from joining a union: "We're seeking equal treatment".
The CBC did not pay the Canadian Coast Guard for a “fun” Arctic cruise aboard an icebreaker for anchorman Peter Mansbridge and a television crew, authorities confirm. Memos show the government put the vessel at the network's disposal for a 2012 TV story, though policy states no media are to get a free ride: 'The Coast Guard did not charge journalists'.
A tax credit for Canadian miners has been renewed for a fourteenth straight year amid claims it’s become a giveaway to corporations. Finance Canada again extended the credit, worth $100 million this year: "We see this as a gift to investors".
Structures with sprinkler systems are safer than those without, regardless of the type of construction materials, new research concludes. Analysis of actual fire reports and fatalities involving different building materials found no safety advantage to concrete, metal or wood under the National Building Code: "Sprinkling takes away that threat".
The National Capital Commission billed taxpayers for massages, beach balls, $4520 worth of hot chocolate and hundreds of thousands more in incidental costs to host Ottawa’s annual winter festival, secret accounts show: "I bet you could not find another ice sculpture contest anywhere in Canada that offered massage therapy".
Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries won’t say if they will appeal a stinging Federal Court judgment that they broke the law in failing to protecting threatened species. Documents show both departments had to be sued before complying with federal law: "This isn't just a technical breach".
Canada’s largest airports are “quasi-monopolies” that must increase accountability, says a Montréal think-tank. Airports have collected some $14 billion in fees without proper Transport Canada oversight, concludes a report: "We feel there is something wrong here".
Hundreds of deaths in federal prisons pass without proper review by the Correctional Service, says the nation’s Correctional Investigator. Howard Sapers said authorities typically take years to conduct a cursory review of inmate deaths attributed to “natural causes”, like the inmate who died of cancer after being treated with antibiotics: 'It is first and foremost a prison service'.
