It is “too soon to tell” if cabinet’s promise of a statutory right to basic housing will address actual needs, advocates said yesterday. The Parliamentary Budget Office earlier disputed claims of any enforceable right to shelter: "Look, this is a symbolic right."
A cabinet-appointed panel yesterday proposed a long recovery plan for a Crown corporation so badly mismanaged MPs suggested it simply close. The proposal follows disclosures of “jaw-dropping” misconduct at the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp. of Winnipeg: "What an absolute mess."
The Department of Public Works is proposing to give away surplus goods to charities instead of conducting daily auctions on a federal website. The proposal follows a 2018 audit that found federal agencies earned 61¢ on the dollar in the sale of used vehicles, equipment and other items: "Would donated items be resold?"
The Privy Council office spent nearly $25,000 polling Mexicans on a tentative trade deal. Only a fifth of Mexicans strongly agreed Canada is a trustworthy partner: 'I don't think anyone would appreciate Mexicans coming to Canada and opining.'
Municipalities may effectively ban the sale of marijuana with bylaws, the British Columbia Supreme Court has ruled. The decision, the first of its kind, upheld a 2017 West Kelowna bylaw that made it difficult for cannabis stores to get a license: 'Criminal law may be one thing, but municipal law is another.'
Cabinet in a burst of appointments has named hundreds of job-seekers to federal posts at 63 federal boards and commissions, including former Liberal cabinet ministers. The number of appointments in the past nine weeks is more than 50 percent greater than those by the previous Conservative cabinet in the identical pre-election period in 2015: "Everything is always about partisanship for the members of the opposition."
The federal Competition Bureau is reopening its 2004 investigation of one of the biggest privatizations in Western Canada's history. The Bureau alleges Canadian National Railway breached a promise of “better service” when it took over publicly-owned British Columbia Rail fifteen years ago: "The Commissioner has reason to believe CN is not adhering to its commitments."
Cabinet is delaying introduction of a costly Clean Fuel Standard until after the October 21 election. The regulation mandating more use of ethanol and biodiesel is forecast to spike fuel prices beyond the 12¢-a litre carbon tax on gasoline: "How many cents will the Clean Fuel Standard add?"
Taxpayers who suffer high-handed treatment by auditors should take their complaint to the Canada Revenue Agency’s ombudsman, says a federal judge. The decision came in the case of a tax-filer who said he was “maliciously berated” by Agency staff: "If the tax assessment is wrong, it does not matter if the process was flawed."
A federal agency in a rare disclosure says it weighs the political “angle” before releasing records to MPs, media or members of the public. The note from Telefilm Canada was obtained under Access To Information: "This is the tip of the iceberg."
A Newfoundland & Labrador labour board has upheld the firing of a crane operator who tested positive for trace amounts of marijuana. The board was told longtime cannabis users may suffer “residual impairment” days or even weeks after actual consumption: "There was a potential for a catastrophic result."
Even Parliament won’t hire veterans despite passing hire-a-vet legislation. Cabinet yesterday named a non-military appointee as Commons Sergeant-at-Arms, a $165,000-a year ceremonial post historically given to distinguished ex-soldiers: "We must do better and lead by example."
Québec Superior Court has ordered Sunwing Airlines Inc. to trial on complaints it advertised “champagne service” without serving real champagne. Cabinet in 2015 amended the Trademarks Act to protect champagne as the sole property of winemakers from the Champagne region of northeast France: 'It's used in everyday language as a superlative.'
The Canada Revenue Agency in an Access To Information memo says it did not write off a penny in uncollected tax last year due to lost paperwork. Loss of files in-house prompted $109,849 in write-offs the previous year: "It was surprising."
A human rights tribunal will investigate the complaint of a retail store employee fired after vaping marijuana during business hours. The British Columbia Tribunal rejected a management request to dismiss the case: "I informed her that smoking weed at work is still considered as being under the influence and that it has to stop."
