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 The unpublished code to take effect by 2022 would cost homeowners up to $35,000, by official estimate: "Start adopting model energy requirements for existing homes."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?"
British Columbia’s highest court has upheld the Canada Labour Code firing of a call centre employee who blamed traffic for chronic lateness at work. The Court in a rare split decision ruled there are limits to excuses for tardiness: "Traffic was a bitch!!"
The RCMP spied on a former president of the Alberta Federation of Labour from as early as 1965, according to secret memos released through Access To Information. Police kept meticulous surveillance records on David Werlin, a 1990 candidate for presidency of the Canadian Labour Congress: 'He makes frequent trips to Vancouver on CUPE business.'
A former government researcher alleges federal agencies concealed evidence of lead contamination from private homeowners in an Ontario community. The ex-staffer in a Federal Court lawsuit claims she suffered reprisal from management and was ultimately fired in 2017: "Management was concerned if residents were to be informed of contamination on their property they could sue."
The Department of Fisheries is proposing first-ever national standards on coastal fish farms. The initiative follows a critical audit on environmental risks of salmon growers: "What are the gaps or weaknesses in existing management practices?"
About 20 percent of the nation’s roads are in poor or “very poor” condition, says a first-ever Statistics Canada infrastructure survey. Researchers did not estimate the value of unfunded repair bills facing taxpayers: "It may not ever be possible to eliminate the infrastructure ‘deficit’."
The Department of Finance in a secret Access To Information memo proposes to widen its surveillance of cash transactions in Canada. Staff complained of gaps in reporting by auto dealers, auctioneers and others, and again suggested lawyers report cash dealings despite a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that the practice is unconstitutional: 'The department is working toward next steps in due course.'
