Blacklock's Reporter

Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Management says random acts of kindness go a long way. I check the list. ‘Ask a colleague about their family’…”

A federal watchdog in an Access To Information memo proposes to publicly name and shame banks suspected of breaching the Proceeds Of Crime And Terrorist Financing Act. Staff warned of “significant pushback” from banks after the name of one scofflaw was inadvertently disclosed in 2017: "There may be reputational impact."

Heating oil distributors have until year’s end to draft plans to manage spills by federal order. Cabinet in 2017 listed a common home heating oil as toxic: "There will be some challenges."

Most retailers and wholesalers surveyed, 63 percent, say they’ve never heard of a new federal food safety law though it passed Parliament six years ago. The Department of Health has delayed until 2021 full enforcement of the Act prompted by tainted meat scandals: "All these new changes cause a lot of confusion."

Authorities used a boastful Facebook post to track a boat owner wanted for repayment of the six-figure clean-up cost for an abandoned vessel, according to Federal Court filings. A bill pending in the Senate aims to save taxpayers the cost of clearing harbours of derelict boats: "I use social media."

Records disclose the Department of Industry typically waives all payments for up to five years on easy-term taxpayers’ loans awarded to corporations. One automaker was obliged to pay less than 2 percent a year under interest-free terms: "If it's a loan, then fine, tell us the information."

Passengers denied boarding due to airline overbooking must prove it if they claim compensation, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court has ruled. The decision came in the case of a Cape Breton family that missed a flight home after overhearing a service agent complain there were too many people trying to board the aircraft: "There is no automatic right to be paid."

The Ethics Commissioner yesterday ruled ex-fisheries minister Dominic LeBlanc breached an Act of Parliament in awarding a $24 million-a year clam license to a company managed by a family member. The license approved seven months ago has since been revoked: 'Mr. LeBlanc should have known.'

A federal judge has approved $12.5 million payments to three law firms involved in a class action lawsuit over forced adoption of Indigenous children. Payments of all legal fees are budgeted at $75 million by the Government of Canada: "There has been no explanation."

“Right-wing forces exist in Canada,” the Department of Canadian Heritage says in a report on multiculturalism: “There continues to be a need to address challenges associated with an increasingly diverse Canada including the rise of populism."

Federal websites are considered clumsy, difficult to find and feared to be a security risk, says in-house research by the Department of Industry. Findings were based on a survey of Canadian businesses, small and large, following the 2017 shutdown of two government websites: "Smaller businesses were more likely to report issues."

The Federal Court has blocked a bid to strike Waldorf-Astoria as a Canadian trademark. The company operates no hotels in Canada, prompting a federal registrar to revoke its trademark as dormant in 2014: "Would it be contrary to common sense?"

Cabinet was only days away from releasing the cost of federal subsidies to 15 of Canada’s largest corporations when Bombardier Inc. sued to block the disclosure, records show. Bombardier has sued five times in eight years to prevent release of figures it considers confidential: "There are issues."

Cabinet will decide by November 30 whether to repeal a requirement that federally-funded historical projects tell a “positive national story”. The Department of Canadian Heritage recommended repeal of a current policy that emphasizes "national pride".

CMHC in a report cites “tension” in providing housing aid for welfare recipients over minimum-wage workers. The comment comes as cabinet finalizes a bill on a promised National Housing Strategy: 'These are reflections of societal values and fairness.'