Average telecom fees have climbed by more than twice the rate of inflation since 2014, according to the CRTC. Newly-released data follow a cabinet order to shield consumers from increasing charges: "I’m not convinced the CRTC has the fortitude."
A multi-million dollar green energy hoax has been detailed in Ontario Superior Court. Shareholders poured a fortune into a Canadian patented pollution-free generator supposedly fueled by kinetic energy: "Investors were lining up."
Plastics manufacturers are cheering a British Columbia Court of Appeal ruling that struck down a City of Victoria ban on single-use plastic bags. Some 55 other municipalities nationwide have introduced similar restrictions: "Victoria definitely demonized the product."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “It was one of ancient Rome’s greatest spectacles. The military commander who had led his forces to victory received a hero’s welcome…”
A federal panel that includes corporate publishers of the Winnipeg Free Press and Le Droit is recommending cabinet’s $595 million press bailout exclude start-ups and small family-run publications from getting federal aid. A panelist yesterday said executives seeking subsidies should have disqualified themselves from denying aid to competitors: "I do believe it is a conflict."
MP Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada is limited to less paid TV ad time than the Marxist-Leninists under a federal order issued yesterday. An arbitrator acknowledged the Canada Elections Act discriminates against new parties that did not run candidates in a previous campaign: "Everybody deserves a shot."
Cabinet has approved regulations mandating French services at airports in all provincial capitals effective July 10, 2020. The proposal earlier drew protests from airport managers who questioned where they would find bilingual staff in cities like Charlottetown or Regina: "That is a big concern."
Federal and provincial governments are terrible forecasters that routinely miss budget targets by billions, the C.D. Howe Institute said yesterday. Parliament has run deficits in 40 of the past 52 years and in 2016 repealed a balanced budget law: "Expenses and revenues typically come in above what governments promised."
Leading pollsters yesterday demanded the CBC stop copying thousands of dollars’ worth of research without permission or payment. The Crown broadcaster acknowledged lifting survey results for its own use, including data bought by other media: ‘We’ve asked them to stop doing it.’
Cabinet yesterday named an ex-Liberal candidate to a $248,000-a year federal post. It was the 293rd appointment approved by cabinet since May in a pre-election hiring blitz: "Partisan affiliation is not a barrier to being appointed."
Cabinet yesterday approved a mammoth data scoop on every Canadian border-crosser – some 300,000 drivers and air passengers a day – to catch Employment Insurance scofflaws, tax evaders and longtime snowbirds claiming Old Age Security. Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien approved the scheme, said staff: "Information will support ongoing investigations."
VIA Rail must pay $25,000 to an ex-porter fired for jostling with a passenger over a tip. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal cited the Crown railway for “engaging in a reckless discriminatory practice” because the former employee was diagnosed with depression: "Hard proof of discrimination is rare."
The Department of Veterans Affairs saved $300,000 last year by denying tax-free allowances to aged WWII and Korean War veterans, according to records. Veterans in their 90s were rejected if their monthly income was as little as $200 higher than regulations permitted: "We made a solemn promise."
Anti-semitism is more prevalent in British Columbia than neighbouring provinces though BC has so few Jews many residents would be unfamiliar with the community, says federally-funded research. Anti-Muslim sentiment peaks in Québec though the Muslim population is a fraction of Ontario’s: "It is media imagery that people react to."
Cabinet yesterday disputed estimates a Clean Fuel Standard will quadruple the cost of the carbon tax to $200 per tonne, but would not divulge its own figures. Regulations will be detailed after the October 21 general election: "This is not some sort of election trickery."
