English-speaking federal employees should not be compelled to use French, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Compulsory bilingualism would be unfair to the majority of Canadians, 80 percent, that speak only one official language or the other, said the Federal Court: "The reality in many so-called bilingual environments is that the language of work is English."
More than 120 Canadians, mainly teenage boys, have been hospitalized with fireworks injuries since 2011, according to new data from the federal Public Health Agency. Regulations forbid exploding golf balls, and limit the amount of fireworks people can store at home: "On the other hand, fireworks are a great Canadian tradition."
Cabinet yesterday awarded nearly a half-million dollars to a newspaper lobby News Media Canada to spot “misleading or defamatory information” in election-year news coverage. The lobby’s largest member is Postmedia Network Inc., loser in a $650,000 defamation case: "Obviously people make mistakes."
Environment Canada in an internal audit says it has no plan for checking whether recipients of green subsidies comply with federal agreements. More than a half-billion in subsidies were authorized last year: "There is a risk."
Statistics Canada admits simple mistakes in its data tables, 47 pages’ worth in the past three years, according to a report to Parliament. Errors were minor and did not require any cabinet correction like a 2016 snafu by the Mint for depicting the wrong aircraft on a commemorative coin: "How many corrections have been made?"
The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld an auditors’ decision to strip a psychic “spiritual centre” of its tax status as a religious charity. Courts have issued numerous rulings that narrow the definition of religious work worthy of tax credits: "Non-compliance was serious."
Federal departments and agencies spent more than $2 billion in eight weeks this past spring on everything from party balloons to cable TV, according to newly-released accounts. Yearly “March Madness” sees managers rush to spend unused funds before the fiscal year expires at midnight on March 31: "I have been around long enough to see this."
A cabinet-appointed committee says it’s considering ‘suggestions’ Parliament regulate online news and information. Regulators since 1999 had concluded internet content was beyond federal control, a policy reaffirmed by the CRTC in 2009: "Regulation should have a role."
A federal employee who falsified job references cannot claim reputational harm, the Federal Court has ruled. A judge rejected the appeal after the Public Service Commission concluded the staffer faked references on his home computer: "The Public Service Employment Act is designed to ensure integrity."
More Canadians are using payday lenders despite double-digit interest charges, says Statistics Canada. A bill to impose federal usury laws on payday loans lapsed in Parliament after the Department of Justice opposed it: "A family can be in financial distress well before being in a situation of bankruptcy."
Blacklock's reporters and contributors pause to wish you a happy Canada Day weekend. We're back on July 2 -- The Editor.
Cabinet yesterday raised by 60 percent the cap on thousands of sweetheart contracts that can be awarded to consultants without open bidding. The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman noted federal managers requested the change: "You did a terrible job – here’s another contract."
A steep fine on dirt bikers for breach of the Fisheries Act sends a message to community groups, environmental advocates said yesterday. The Brooks, Alta. Motocross Club was handed a five-figure penalty for riding through mountain streams home to near-extinct trout: "This is a precedent-setting judgment."
Music Canada yesterday faulted the Commons industry committee for an “unfortunate” study it says did not properly focus Copyright Act reforms on creators. Parliament received contradictory recommendations from MPs on revisions expected to be introduced in 2020: "We need to help creators."
You can’t shoot a woodland caribou on Crown lands under a cabinet order issued yesterday. Environment Canada acknowledged the order applies only to army bases, lighthouse stations and other federal property, and would have little impact: "It is an iconic Canadian wildlife species."
