Canada must end the “race to the bottom” on corporate tax cuts, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday told reporters. The Liberal Party has proposed $4.2 billion a year in new taxes mainly on corporations: "Everyone else had to tighten their belt."
Four million Canadians who’ve declined a Covid shot cannot all be characterized as anti-vaxers, says a leading epidemiologist. The executive editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal Of Health Sciences said cabinet “has not been clear” about the point of vaccine passports: "Our biggest value is our freedom and our democracy."
The Department of Environment yesterday said it seeks data on whether “unnecessary plastics” can be eliminated in food wholesaling and distribution. Cabinet has said it will proceed with an initial ban targeting a half-dozen single use plastic items by year’s end: "At the end of the day voluntary compliance by companies is not going to be enough."
The anti-trust Competition Bureau has reopened an investigation of Google Canada five years after dropping an earlier probe. The Bureau in Federal Court records seeks confidential data on the company’s YouTube ad sales and viewership in Canada: "It is considered by many advertisers as ‘must have' inventory."
The Department of Health yesterday would not comment on its own legal opinion that compulsory vaccination is unconstitutional. The finding dates from a 1996 report: "Your personal medical information is the most intimate and private information about you."
No federal employee will be fired under a Treasury Board vaccination policy, according to internal documents. The Board yesterday would not comment on documents that also grant wide exemptions for workers who decline Covid shots based on sincere beliefs "religious in nature" regardless of whether they are recognized by any religion: "The validity of the belief itself must not be challenged."
The Commissioner of Elections yesterday levied fines against 15 Liberal Party organizers for technical breaches of the Canada Elections Act including the agent for a Member of Parliament. MP Mike Kelloway (Cape Breton-Canso, N.S.) did not comment: "Publication of the penalties was not withheld."
Federal regulators yesterday rejected appeals from airports and transport companies to delay enforcement of accessibility regulations. Companies had ample time before Covid to prepare, said the Canadian Transportation Agency: "It is not enough for transportation service providers to simply make an assertion that a cost is too high."
Bats are neither pests nor rodents, a British Columbia court has ruled in a pre-Halloween judgment. The decision came in the case of a homebuyer who uncovered a colony of 85 bats roosting in a hidden ceiling: "Not everyone views bats as unwanted house guests."
The post office, the biggest civilian employer in the federal public service, will permit unvaccinated employees to work by taking free weekly Covid tests, according to its largest union. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said accommodation was reached with management and lawyers to ensure workers “have options that respect your rights.”
Canada’s largest protestant church complains its “predominantly white” members lack understanding of the Black experience and have not atoned for slavery. “Some people in the United Church have been slow to respond,” the Church wrote in a report: "The Church has not yet been able to apologize for its role in slavery or work towards reparations."
Festive lighting is not constitutionally-protected free speech, a judge has ruled. The decision came on a pro-life legal challenge of light displays on Edmonton’s midtown landmark High Level Bridge: "Pink represents unborn girls, blue represents unborn boys."
The Senate is hiring independent lawyers on retainer. It follows a three-year lawsuit by a former legislator alleging senators breached Charter rights: "The Court has no role in judging their lawfulness or fairness."
Courts have again rejected claims for a multi-million dollar payment in a defamation case. Million-dollar defamation awards are rare but not unprecedented in Canada: "The internet can be a particularly dangerous mode of publication for defamatory content."
Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, says he tells unvaccinated friends it’s their personal choice but recommends they take precautions like avoiding large gatherings. Four million eligible Canadians have declined their Covid shots, according to Public Health Agency figures: "If they choose not to be immunized that’s their choice."
