The Department of Employment yesterday said it will “carefully consider” reintroducing a federal minimum wage for the first time in 22 years. The department claimed wide support for a $15 hourly minimum for federally-regulated workers, matching the highest provincial rate in the country: "We will carefully consider what we heard."
Broadcast regulators in a cabinet-ordered climbdown yesterday reversed a 2017 cut to minimum program funding by Canadian TV companies. The ruling followed 89 petitions from unions and associations, including one that described the reversal as uncommon: "It's almost unprecedented."
In-house research by the Department of Immigration shows Canadians are evenly divided on illegal immigration. Access To Information records show the department has continuously polled on the issue since 2017: 'It's for internal use only.'
The Federal Court of Appeal in a 50,000-word judgment yesterday quashed cabinet’s approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The decision followed cabinet’s May 29 decision to nationalize the British Columbia line at a $4.5 billion cost to taxpayers: "Canada was required to do more."
Access To Information memos disclose federal trade commissioners were advised to help with “problem solving” for Canadian marijuana exporters a year before cabinet introduced a bill to legalize recreational cannabis. “There is a risk," one executive cautioned in an email.
Federal agencies did not initiate a single prosecution last year in Canada’s $30 billion piracy racket. The Public Prosecution Service dropped all mention of enforcement of the Copyright Act and Trademarks Act in its latest annual report: "Canada is a great place to be a white-collar criminal."
One in five Canadian travelers complain of unfriendly border agents, according to in-house research by the Canada Border Services Agency. Typical complaints involved rude treatment depending on the personality of the Customs officer: 'Few felt these qualities were typical.'
The Public Health Agency of Canada in new research counts hundreds of serious lawn mower accidents. Injuries to homeowners included amputation of fingers and toes: "Fatal injuries are also under-represented."
Credit checks on federal employees have cost millions, according to Access To Information records. The Treasury Board in 2014 mandated credit reports on hundreds of thousands of workers to test for “reliability”.
Canada Post yesterday estimated an arbitrator’s ruling in a pay equity case will cost about $242 million. Cabinet has proposed this October to introduce a Pay Equity Act for all federally-regulated employers: "The corporation does not know the final outcome."
Marijuana advocates yesterday appealed to legislators to set aside public areas for cannabis smoking. Cabinet left regulation of public marijuana use to local authorities under Bill C-45: "It’s my right to be able to consume the product."
A federal judge has dismissed a discrimination claim against the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. The complaint was filed by an ex-employee of the Canada Border Services Agency who filed a separate $6 million racial profiling lawsuit against her former employer: "Those are very serious accusations."
Federal agencies should pay small business to hire immigrants, says a Privy Council think tank. Authorities yesterday would not comment on the proposal by Policy Horizons Canada to have taxpayers subsidize entry-level jobs for foreigners: “A monetary value would be assigned to each outcome.”
The Department of Natural Resources in a policy guide says homeowners must bring their properties “into the future” with a first-ever retroactive building code. The unpublished code to take effect by 2022 would cost homeowners up to $35,000, by official estimate: "Start adopting model energy requirements for existing homes."
A federal agency mandated to promote “financial literacy” mistakenly claims Canadians need a bank account to cash a tax refund cheque. There is no such requirement under the Bank Act. The claim contradicted earlier statements by the same Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: "What if you don't have an account?"
