Canada has made a growth industry in shipping hazardous material out of the country, nearly doubling exports in a decade, according to official figures. Shipments of recyclable toxic waste increased by more than 200,000 tonnes since 2005: 'Is there is room to improve?'
Cabinet must “think again” when attempting to recruit Canada’s 27,000 law firms as federal agents in combating money-laundering, attorneys say. The Government of Canada had no comment after the Supreme Court struck down a 2001 law allowing federal agents to scrutinize lawyers’ client lists in the hunt for suspected criminals: 'Lawyers are not agents for the state'.
Three months after promising speedy disclosure of proposed cuts to Crown employees’ pension benefits, cabinet is quiet on plans to repeal guaranteed benefits. “We’ll just wait,” said Kevin Sorenson, Minister of State for Finance: "I can tell you one thing..."
The Supreme Court today struck down yet another Act of Parliament, a 2001 bill compelling lawyers to submit clients’ identities in the name of anti-terrorism. Justices ruled unanimously that cabinet went too far in treating attorneys as agents of the Government of Canada: “The government did not have to go to litigation”.
One Canadian airport is rated a notably high-risk entry point for drugs, pornography and disease, according to confidential federal records. And a busy U.S. border crossing is described as a terror risk due to the large local “Arab population”, according to a Canada Border Services Agency report: "There have been no cases of terrorists".
Meaningful cuts to regulatory red tape may take “several years” to achieve in the face of bureaucratic inertia, says the chief of a federal advisory panel. The Treasury Board launched what it called an “ambitious” campaign to curb pointless regulation three years ago: "Has there been significant improvement?"
Cabinet appears to be weakening Access To Information laws “by attrition” amid a shortage of funding for the federal agency that oversees fair disclosure of public records, says a Liberal MP: "They are starved on two fronts -- lack of powers and lack of financing".
Trucking companies, not railways, ship the overwhelming majority of Canada’s dangerous goods, new federal data confirm. Statistics Canada said the rate “raises questions” amid greater public focus on rail safety: "We move them one truck at a time".
Transport Canada is mandating new safety regulations on school vans following a 2008 accident that killed eight people in New Brunswick. However regulators stopped short of requiring seat belts in all vehicles that transport schoolchildren, saying the measure would be expensive and impractical: 'It would significantly increase the cost of school buses'.
The federal tax system is so complex Canada Revenue Agency is buying thousands of software kits to help individuals fill out government forms. The tax department contracted the off-the-shelf computer programs for use by community groups that volunteer to help Canadians complete their tax returns: "Things keep getting added and nothing ever gets removed".
Cabinet will harmonize regulations on labeling of hazardous chemicals within two years, according to a notice. The initiative has been ongoing since 2011: "It took a lot longer than anyone had anticipated".
A CBC union has been cited for violating the Canada Labour Code after a longtime shop steward harassed a fellow employee. Graphic details of the case were suggested in videotaped evidence submitted to the Canada Industrial Relations Board: 'You do not admit to having left a moist substance'.
Fifty-four years after pioneering wheat sales to China, Canadian food exporters are largely unknown in the People’s Republic, complains an industry report. The Canadian Agriculture Policy Institute urged that federal regulators help boost sales: "Canadian food remains off the radar".
Environment Canada is testing the Great Lakes for traces of a stew of chemicals including cocaine, insect repellent and an ingredient found in rat poison. More than 8 million Canadians draw their drinking water from the lakes: "We need to take this seriously".
The disciplining of a “rogue employee” after three years of federal hearings and reviews points to an imbalance facing small employers, says an attorney who handled the case. A British Columbia food processor was the subject of 7 separate hearings on complaints by a single employee: "Often you're dealing with Ma and Pa employers who don't have great financial resources".
