Canadians are ambivalent about a national pharmacare program, according to Department of Finance research. Focus groups polled by the department said any program should be income tested to serve only those who can’t afford out-of-pocket expenses for medication: 'There were concerns about how much it might cost.'
MPs’ protests spoiled a costly project by the Department of Finance, newly-released records show. The department paid researchers to gauge the real-time response of focus groups to a budget speech they couldn’t hear: "There was a significant amount of skepticism around the speech related to credibility."
A federal judge yesterday upheld a 2014 law on tax data sharing by the Canada Revenue Agency. American-born residents living in Canada challenged the Act as a breach of Charter and privacy rights: "There is nothing this Court can do."
An Alberta court has reduced the balance owing on a payday loan. The court called the interest charges unconscionable, equal to more than 50 percent a year: "I was not sophisticated or knowledgeable in the ways of business."
Any re-elected Liberal cabinet will reintroduce a bill to ban junk food advertising to children, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said yesterday. A ban estimated to cost advertisers nearly a billion a year was promised by cabinet in 2015 but never passed: 'It will absolutely be a priority.'
Liberal ridings in Ontario and Atlantic Canada received the largest share of military spending outside the Ottawa region last year, according to Department of National Defence economists. Access To Information data show 15 of the top 20 ridings voted Liberal: "This is not to be construed as an economic analysis."
The Department of Labour has rejected an appeal from CFL players for workplace health and safety protection under the Canada Labour Code, according to Access To Information records. Players sought the “minimum rights and protections that apply in every workplace across Canada.”
Cabinet for the second time in two years is enacting new regulations targeting unfair trade by Asian steelmakers. Canada has run a trade deficit in steel since 1996: "We cannot compete with the government of the People’s Republic of China."
A drug gang member who pleaded guilty to trafficking is not personally responsible for GST on cocaine sales, the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled. Judges cited a Québec law that narrowly defines commercial partnerships for tax purposes: "Tax laws should not be interpreted in the name of vague public policy."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Andrew Scheer vows to deliver what recent prime ministers could not: Build the Trans-Mountain pipeline, fix Canada-United States relationship…”
The federal Commissioner of Elections yesterday collapsed a first-ever fake news investigation. The office confirmed foreign “individuals” planted a false story to discredit New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh, but could not find out who was responsible or why: "Individuals outside Canada played a key role."
A federal panel yesterday confirmed start-ups and small, family-run newspapers are excluded from a $595 million media subsidy program, as reported by Blacklock’s July 12. Corporate publishers demanded their own subsidies be paid in time for the general election: "There's always self-interest."
A federal labour board has upheld the firing of a Muslim call centre employee at the Canada Revenue Agency over Tweets celebrating deaths of Allied troops in Afghanistan. The board called the social media posts disturbing: "We want revenge. NATO must pay the price."
A national panel yesterday cited a radio station for breaching ethics guidelines for on-air contests. Listeners were urged to contact the station for a chance to win a sun holiday after the draw was already made: "I'm excited!"
Life insurers may deny claims by policyholders who conceal marijuana use, says the British Columbia Supreme Court. Underwriters testified people who smoke even a fraction of the amount allowed by Parliament are uninsurable: "All insurance is based on risk."
