Changes to natural gas export licenses rated a “gift” to industry will see Canadian firms granted double the licensing terms of U.S. corporations, says the Department of Natural Resources. The changes were inserted in a 157-page omnibus budget bill: 'It provides greater certainty to investors'.
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Nordstrom and Whole Foods are moving in; David’s Tea is announcing a major expansion; Parliament undergoes a $3 billion renovation…”
Of all populist movements to spring from the Prairies in the Mulroney era – and there were dozens – none achieved a more enduring impact than the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Disparaged by critics as a Conservative shill, nobody gave spendthrift Conservatives more grief.
The group once rolled up its giant debt clock outside the party’s national convention: “It was detained by the RCMP and searched by bomb-sniffing dogs,” recalls Federation president Troy Lanigan.
Does the language commissioner really need a car and chauffeur? Did cabinet really have to spend $12 million training geologists in Ethiopia? What was the defence department thinking when it wrote 167 pages of specifications to order mukluks? The Federation has an opinion on that.
Fighting For Taxpayers is an affectionate account of the group’s founding and grassroots financing. Born as the Association of Saskatchewan Taxpayers in 1989, it became a kind of national magpie caw-cawing over frugality in a cheeky, abrasive manner guaranteed to irritate officialdom.
A mammoth security check on federal border agents is so intensive the Government of Canada is hiring outside contractors to investigate its own employees. The Canada Border Services Agency says it needs help to probe the “reliability and loyalty” of staff, but didn't specify whether it will monitor Facebook entries, Twitter comments, LinkedIn pages or Google references: "This is overboard".
MPs have passed a bill to curb bootleg commercial fishing on warnings that fines are too low, and enforcement will take years to fully implement. The fisheries department said it has no estimate on the black market in Canada, though the worldwide trade in illegal fishing is worth billions: "I wonder why it has taken so long".
Parliament has exempted itself from new legislation on workplace protection for interns. The Department of Employment confirmed unpaid staffers in MPs' and senators’ offices are not fully covered by the Canada Labour Code: "Good to know".
Another charity -- the second in a week -- is taking Canada Revenue Agency to court after being threatened with loss of its registration. The Humane Society of Canada Foundation claimed “irreparable harm” if it loses charitable status: 'We want to make sure the sector clearly understands what the rules are'.
High-fructose corn syrup commonly used as a sweetener in processed foods is highly addictive in lab rats, new Canadian research confirms. The study comes as a Senate committee concludes hearings on whether to seek new labels or taxes on sweetened products: "We should really start considering what we are putting in our food".
Canada must veto any European-style ban on bee-killing farm chemicals, says the Senate agriculture committee. The panel yesterday ended an 18-month investigation of bee health with a call for more research: "It is too early".
Cabinet doesn’t know if a multi-billion dollar tax program intended to promote individual savings actually worked. The Department of Finance said it has no information on whether savings rates increased under its 2009 Tax-Free Savings Account plan: "We haven't done that analysis, sorry".
Major oil pipelines see safety audits at the rate of once every 17 years, says Natural Resources Canada. Officials told a Senate committee just a handful of audits occur annually on the 73,000-kilometre pipeline system that’s federally regulated: "You could look at it that way".
Forestry-supported municipalities are appealing for federal help in countering a Greenpeace protest against pulp and paper giant Resolute Forest Products Ltd. of Montréal. Greenpeace accuses the firm of poor environmental practices in Canada: "It is costing us jobs".
Cabinet appears to have no basis for claims 80,000 new jobs will follow ratification of a free trade pact with Europe, says the deputy chair of the Senate banking committee. The Senator cited her own research concluding no rationale can be found for the number: "We tried to find out".
Household pesticide use has returned to 20-year old levels after declining for years, says Statistics Canada. The agency reported nearly a third of Canadians use chemicals on lawns and gardens: "The increase is troubling overall".
A bill mandating French services in airports from St. John’s to Whitehorse is prompting protests from transport managers nationwide. Airport executives said the bill to expand the Official Languages Act will be costly and complex: 'This would be a challenge for cab companies with drivers who speak Polish'.
