Parks Canada is spending $120,000 for keyword searches of media and Twitter commentaries to see what Canadians are saying about the agency. Similar keyword contracts by other federal departments covered a wide range of themes from “gangs” to “oil spill” to "electric cars".
New research confirms plant diversity may hold the key to reducing species losses worldwide, says an Alberta co-author. The research proposed changes in land use by park managers and ranchers to conserve plants and reduce harmful impacts of drought and erosion: 'Biodiversity is the greatest insurance'.
A telecom discounter best known for its celebrity endorsement by ex-Leafs enforcer Tie Domi is under federal investigation for misleading advertising. Evidence submitted to a federal judge by the Competition Bureau includes copies of a Comwave Networks Inc. ad with the former NHL strongman: “You don’t have to be Tie Domi to stand up to the big guys!”
Air passenger complaints to the Canadian Transportation Agency account for a small fraction, less than a hundredth of one percent, of the number of actual passengers, according to new data. The Agency said it received 396 complaints against Air Canada and WestJet last year; the two airlines carry some 40 million passengers a year: “The system is broken”.
Canadian National Railways has seen a lawsuit thrown out of court after years of delays. The Supreme Court refused to hear the railway’s appeal of dismissal in the case involving industrial contaminating dating from the 1920s: "One day some horses got stuck in a gooey substance they could not get out of so they had to be shot".
Telecom regulators are again mulling some method to curb “spoofing”, a technique by unlicensed telemarketers to bypass call-display technology. Regulators have seen “a significant number of complaints” involving camouflaged ID by marketers, said the CRTC: "It is annoying and in some cases dangerous".
The anti-trust Competition Bureau is investigating a celebrated joint venture between Air Canada and state-run Air China of Beijing. Investigators in Federal Court documents questioned whether the agreement will see the two carriers monopolize their transpacific routes: 'It may reduce the incentive to introduce new service'.
A paper-thin federal surplus may still be salvageable if cabinet quickly defers billions in spending, says an economist. The Parliamentary Budget Office yesterday shredded cabinet’s claim of a $1.4 billion surplus this year – the first balanced budget since 2007: "“Troops, if you’re expecting those bullets anytime soon, you’ll have to wait until next fiscal year".
A Canadian-based patent owner is suing Netflix in Federal Court alleging breach of intellectual property on cryptography. Copy Protection LLC of Kanata, Ont. claims the internet TV service used its proprietary technology to prevent illegal downloading. Netflix has not yet filed a statement of defence: "There is no denying that technological innovation is redefining the very definition of broadcasting'.
An employee sacked after an angry sales meeting has won benefits but no “moral damages” in a dispute at Atlantic Canada’s largest Ford dealership. Tense confrontations at work do not necessarily justify compensation for mental suffering, ruled the Supreme Court of Newfoundland & Labrador: 'A less sensitive person may have reacted differently'.
The defence department has issued 70 pages of specifications for new camouflage screens. A contract notice included details on how to write an instruction manual for using the small tarps – one page only, Concise Oxford English – and a requirement that screens mustn’t be made from PCBS. Canada outlawed the manufacture of polychlorinated biphenyls in 1977: 'No cracking, peeling or flaking'.
The impact of new anti-piracy legislation has been marginal more than six months after the bill was signed into law, says a trademark attorney. Witnesses at parliamentary hearings had warned the bill was flawed and costly: "They have only started a few cases".
A confidential memo shows cabinet is counting the days to see if Canada's economy reaches a first-ever benchmark of $2 trillion before an expected October 19 election. Deputy Finance Minister Paul Rochon warned of “the uncertainty over predicting the exact time at which this will occur.”
Industry Canada has written off more than $303 million in bad loans to corporations since 2006, according to accounts released through Access To Information. The department refused to name companies in default: "If Canadians knew more we could see for once how inefficiently these programs are run".
Canada’s provinces must cut a total $28 billion a year, every year, for decades to come if debt levels are to be sustainable, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. Only three provinces – British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Québec – now have balanced budgets: "Measures have to be taken".
