British Airways is ordered to pay thousands in compensation to Canadian travelers whose tickets were cancelled. The order by the Transportation Agency follows a federal report critical of a complaints-based system that requires air passengers to take individual cases to the tribunal: 'It is producing suboptimal, piecemeal outcomes for industry, consumers and the regulator alike.'
A federal agency mandated to track down war criminals is deporting more suspects than its prosecuting, data show. The justice department unit said it has deported 17 accused war criminals: "Are we living up to our international obligations?"
Library & Archives Canada is investigating ways to publicly release its mammoth sound and film collection now stored in warehouses. Staff contacted Google Canada Inc. to post archival material on the web: "The movie collection is out of this world."
We wish you a happy New Year. Blacklock's pauses this week for our annual holiday break and will return January 3 -- The Editor
Warmest wishes to our growing community of friends and subscribers for a safe and happy holiday. Blacklock's reporters, contributors and shareholders bid you the best of the Christmas season -- The Editor
Cabinet in a rare Christmas dismissal has ousted the president of a Crown corporation. One staffer yesterday said employees were celebrating the termination of the $175,000-a year CEO: 'I was brought in to clean up the mess.'
Provincial liquor board monopolies have a right to charge markups, a Court of Appeal has ruled. One small distiller challenged a 140 percent markup on whiskey as an unconstitutional tax: "It just doesn't make sense."
An obscure and uninhabited Atlantic island deserves federal protection, says a senior Liberal MP. Cabinet is being petitioned to have a scenic Nova Scotia island declared Canada’s 55th National Wildlife Area: "It's a Canadian treasure, completely original."
Legislators desperately need accurate data on the rising cost of crime and courts, says a Department of Public Safety report. Costs in Canada are estimated among the highest in the industrialized world outside the U.S.: 'Concerns about sustainability of Canadian justice system programs and services have emerged.'
Federal agencies need better information on youth unemployment, says a cabinet-appointed panel. The complaint echoes a 2014 recommendation from the Commons finance committee for improved labour market information for young job-seekers: "Young people often don’t know where or even how to find work."
Federal agencies are again delaying release of data pointing to the failure of a voluntary Sodium Reduction Program intended to save billions in medicare costs. A 2016 deadline to have food processors cut the salt yesterday passed without comment: "Our plan was to release all the data in the fall."
Canadians have appealed to the public works department to use its imagination in refitting a landmark heritage building that’s cost taxpayers millions. The department purchased the 1932 U.S. Embassy at the foot of Parliament Hill for $4.5 million in 1999. It’s sat empty ever since: 'How about the world's largest suggestion box?'
The Department of Canadian Heritage sought help from Google Inc. on ways to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017. Staff contacted Google nine times in the past year, according to records tabled in Parliament: 'We asked how a Google brand study could work for Canada 150.'
A Crown corporation spent more than $6 million promoting its “brand image” after 72 years in business, say Access To Information files. Expenses included $20,750 in ads for Ottawa Senators home games: "The level of awareness is pretty small."
More than a quarter of telecom customers in some provinces suffer “bill shock”, says new federal research. And most Canadians are still unaware of a process introduced nine years ago to handle consumer complaints, according to a CRTC study: 'Improvements could be made.'
