Canada Revenue Agency faces a court challenge after revoking charity status for a non-profit credit counselling service. Similar groups have been granted registration as charities since 1968. The dispute follows confirmation the Agency is spending $13.5 million on special audits of charities: 'It's unfair and unjust'.
Canada will not force Canadian shipowners on the Great Lakes to equip vessels with costly ballast treatment systems until effective technology exists, says Transport Minister Lisa Raitt. The cabinet pledge comes amid a multi-million-dollar dispute with U.S. authorities who aimed to restrict Canadian access to American ports: "We've not been getting any cooperation".
Canada ranks 16th out of 18 industrialized countries with national health systems in accessing new medicines through publicly-funded drug plans, says a pharmaceutical industry report. The research prompted renewed calls in Parliament for an all-Canadian pharmacare program: "The whole idea is to come together".
Parks Canada has won a five-year court battle against illegal fishing by Métis in a national park. The case saw a curator from the Canadian Museum of History recount the Aboriginal Creator Story in a bid to support the Métis claim: "The Métis didn’t arrive in boats".
A Vancouver attorney has won the right to press a Federal Court claim to fill Senate vacancies. A judge rejected a Government of Canada motion that the entire case be struck as frivolous: “Certainly at some stage senators have to be appointed”.
A Conservative bill to force union disclosure of confidential data is “very harsh”, a research paper quotes Transport Minister Lisa Raitt. Researchers also quote the late finance minister Jim Flaherty as dismissing Bill C-377 as “garbage”. The remarks are cited in an article published in the Journal of Canadian Labour Studies: "It had the support of the PMO, that's what counted".
Canada will see more train derailments involving dangerous goods as petroleum producers ship more by rail, says Transport Canada. The department also predicts oil spills “will likely increase” as traffic grows: "Derailments involving a train carrying crude oil will likely increase".
Thousands of weekend boaters nationwide will see repeal of federal licensing fees that Transport Canada dismissed as largely pointless. The department said a $50 license will no longer be required for most small boats: 'It's freedom of choice'.
The fisheries department is enacting new licensing fees on British Columbia aquaculture firms that critics described as a subsidy for industry. The fees yesterday took effect following brief review by the Senate fisheries committee in 2014: "It's business as usual".
A multi-million dollar federal ad blitz promoting the nation’s 150th birthday sank with barely a trace of recognition among Canadians. Most people surveyed by Heritage Canada said they never saw the ads, while a few vaguely recalled images of men sitting around a table: 'They shook hands'.
Senators are drafting amendments to Bill C-377 with final debate on the contentious union measure set to begin next week. Similar last-minute amendments blocked passage of the bill in 2013: "If we think the bill needs amending, we should amend it".
A parliamentary committee is questioning the legal authority for millions in fees collected from telemarketers by the CRTC. Lawmakers complained of “unsatisfactory” answers from the Commission in a dispute dating from 2013: "I don't think we quite got the point across to the CRTC".
Military procurement is so inefficient Canada appears unready to defend itself, says a Conservative senator. The criticism comes a year after the defence department announced a Procurement Strategy to modernize its policies: 'What would we do if we went into a major war?'
The fisheries department must improve its monitoring of bluefin tuna in Atlantic Canada, say fisherman and conservation groups. The warning comes ahead of a deadline for a stock rebuilding plan that conservationists report is far from being achieved: "They only have a few years left".
Horses should be federally regulated as livestock to promote meat sales, says a trade association. Canadian horse exports are the nation’s leading red-meat export to the European Union, by official estimate: "Horse meat is a great delicacy in Europe and in Toronto restaurants".
