Federal regulators yesterday said they will “update” rules on deployment of armed guards to protect nuclear power plants. The proposal follows Parliament’s passage of a Nuclear Terrorism Act with lengthy prison sentences for anyone threatening a plant: "Various schemes are being examined."
A Liberal-appointed senator is endorsing secession – for Cape Breton. The island should gain home rule from Nova Scotia as Canada’s 11th province or some other autonomous region, the lawmaker wrote in a commentary published by the Senate: "Perhaps we could become Canada’s fourth territory."
Transport Canada yesterday served notice of more fee increases at maritime ports. The Coast Guard earlier warned of a “larger increase” on shippers in 2020. Parliament has not balanced a budget in eleven years: 'It will determine how increasing fees or establishing new ones would impact users.'
A parliamentary employee denied permission to run for a Commons seat is asking that a federal judge cite managers for breaching his Charter rights. Supervisors said the research analyst was free to quit his job: 'It would seemingly apply to all employees.'
The Québec Court of Appeal has thrown out a constitutional challenge of a royal succession bill. Law professors from the University of Laval argued Parliament could not endorse new rules on the monarchy without Québec’s approval: "It relates to who should be the head of state of Canada."
A million Canadians now hold more than one job and typically work at least fifty hours a week, Statistics Canada said yesterday. The rate has more than doubled since 1978: 'There are multiple reasons such as financial necessity.'
Parliament is expected to pass a first-ever federal tax on foreign real estate speculators after the British Columbia Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a similar B.C. levy. Liberals and New Democrats both campaigned on taxing offshore buyers: 'It's to limit speculation that can drive up prices.'
Nearly $800,000 in public funding for a French-language radio station in north-central Alberta was intended to be a job creation measure, say Access To Information records from the Department of Industry. The Edmonton station directory names five employees: 'It is uniquely positioned.'
A New Brunswick MLA paid $120,000 in legal fees to keep his $85,000-a year seat in the legislature. Court of Queen’s Bench declined to award costs in an election dispute that saw the MLA elected by one vote amid numerous irregularities: "The dispute was complicated."
Labour groups spent a million dollars less this election than in 2015, according to Elections Canada filings. “You can continue to count on our government,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier told Unifor members.
RCMP will not comment on their public account of a fatal Alberta shooting contradicted by an internal memo. Mounties published a misleading statement alleging a “confrontation” with a motorist who was in fact sleeping before he was abruptly woken and shot by police: "What response do you expect if you wake someone up in the middle of the night with guns drawn, banging on the window?"
Private “cost effective” managers hired to run a federal grant program brought in first-year spending sixty percent under budget, according to Access To Information records. The Department of Public Safety hired private accountants to manage the Memorial Grant Program to avoid any hint of favouritism in payments: 'It requires highly specialized expertise we do not have.'
A Manitoba judge has awarded $109,804 in damages to a female university student targeted by campus gossip. Court of Queen’s Bench was told the remarks were especially hurtful to women of Muslim faith: "Such insinuations could travel."
A third of suspects shot dead by the RCMP over a ten-year period were Indigenous men, according to an internal Department of Public Safety memo. Mounties acknowledged the number “may appear disproportionately high” but denied racial profiling: "All persons are treated equitably."
Federal employees write too many English emails, says Official Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge. The Commissioner in an Access To Information letter faulted public service managers for ignoring his repeated complaints on the subject: "They cannot be accepted."
