The cost of a federal tax credit once dubbed an “open bar” for corporations is now approaching levels last seen a decade ago when the previous Conservative cabinet cut the subsidy. More than 16,000 companies nationwide are now claiming the Scientific Research and Experimental Development credit, said a federal report: "I’m a big, big fan."
There is no evidence a five-year, $133.7 million climate change program reduced diesel emissions in Northern Canada, says a federal audit. The program mainly resulted in “trusting and respectful relationships” with Indigenous people, wrote auditors.
The post office warns it is tracking another heavy loss this year. Revenues for parcels, letter mail and flyers all fell in the first half of 2023, said the Canada Post Corporation: 'We acknowledge the magnitude and significance of recurring financial losses.'
CBC Radio billed more than $160,000 in legal fees to challenge a CRTC order over use of the n-word, according to Access To Information records. The network won its free speech case June 8 in federal court: "The CRTC overstepped its jurisdiction."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “The Liberal Party invites you to participate in a discussion. You may post your opinion, but will have to become a Party member first, declare your support in their philosophy…”
It says in black and white in the Constitution Act everyone has “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression” in this country. In fact, there is little case law on the issue.
In truth, most Canadians have no real investment in the right of expression and could not tell you what it means. The Charter of Rights is squeezed through a Canadian filter that emphasizes conformity and quiet manners.
So we come to Lawrence Hill’s odd essay, Dear Sir, I Intend To Burn Your Book. The title lures the reader in anticipation of a vigorous defence of the right to make trouble. It delivers instead an apologia for hurting someone’s feelings.
In 2007 Hill published a bestseller based on a 1783 British military ledger documenting the migration of American blacks to Nova Scotia. The Book of Negroes sold 500,000 copies in Canada. However, when the novel appeared in The Netherlands under the title Het Negerboek, Hill’s publisher received a death threat and a Black rights group burned copies in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark.
Fewer than half of suspicious packages entering Canada by cross border mail are X-rayed for guns, says a Department of Public Safety report. Auditors said they could find no information on how many guns were seized: "It was not specified."
Inflation is the number one worry facing small business owners, says Department of Industry research. It follows in-house Privy Council polling that found Canadians seek tax cuts to compensate for the rising cost of living: "Those most likely to rate the cost of goods and services as their biggest challenge included businesses with two to four employees."
Federal regulators yesterday said it will take years to finalize rules compelling Facebook to pay for free links to news stories in Canada. Facebook has already suspended all links under Bill C-18 the Online News Act: "The business would be over."
Employers who fired unvaccinated employees merely reflected the “prevailing community view,” a British Columbia labour arbitrator has ruled. Dismissal was reasonable if divisive, he said: "At the time the policy was a good faith promotion of health."
Cabinet conducted research into energy labeling of houses, records show. The Privy Council polled homebuyers on whether they would support EnerGuide labeling given worries over the high cost of fuel: "Participants were asked if it would be important for them to see the EnerGuide label when deciding to purchase a home."
Fewer than a third of Canadians have “high trust” in the federal government, says in-house research by the Public Health Agency. Only “large media organizations” and celebrities scored lower on a trust scale: 'Be honest and admit your mistakes.'
Parliament must be recalled to avert a looming mortgage crisis, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said yesterday. “The vacation is over,” said Poilievre, who described conditions as a “housing hell.”
Rents for tenants who signed new leases typically run to $1,360 a month on a national average, Statistics Canada said yesterday. A third of Canadians are renters, wrote analysts: "Good luck finding a $1,700 apartment in any urban centre in the country right now."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday said cabinet must sell the Trans Mountain Pipeline but stopped short of repeating earlier promises to turn a profit for taxpayers. The Budget Office has ruled out any profit from the pipeline’s sale: "Do you need to prepare taxpayers for having to take a write-down on this?"
