Nearly forty years after banning the manufacture of PCBs, Environment Canada is conducting new tests on samples of the toxin in Arctic fish and mammals. The analysis is required under a 1977 United Nations pact: "There are still reservoirs of PCBs in the Arctic".
A federal tribunal has upheld a Canada Food Inspection Agency penalty against a trucker who kept a load of hogs 22 hours in a transport truck in 29° heat. The fine was $6,000. Animal rights activists have protested that penalties are inadequate: "It was a hot day".
A deal’s a deal with Canada Revenue Agency as the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a taxpayer unhappy with terms of a tax settlement. A British Columbia developer tried and failed to appeal tax charges after signing a settlement agreement with the agency: "Taxpayers succeeding with appeals like this is just about non-existent".
A multi-million dollar charity endorsed by Canadian sports celebrities faces a federal order to surrender financial records to tax auditors. Canada Revenue Agency has been attempting to scrutinize the books of the 4Life Foundation since May, according to court records. The foundation's "anti-bullying" motivational speakers include former NHL and CFL players: "Please don't use my name".
In a David and Goliath tax dispute, one of the nation’s smallest municipal organizations is suing Canada Revenue Agency over loss of sales tax rebates worth about one-tenth of its annual budget: "All of a sudden they get a letter".
A catastrophic decline in Atlantic salmon stocks is prompting the Department of Fisheries to appoint an expert advisory panel on the issue in 2015. The initiative follows repeated warnings that numbers of salmon are reaching the lowest levels ever recorded: "We are killing too many".
Farm groups say were never told of a last-minute bill introduced by cabinet before Christmas to amend the Canada Grains Act. Bill C-48 expands the powers of the Canadian Grain Commission to conduct paid inspections at eastern elevators on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River: 'It caught us by surprise'.
Prince Edward Island is now the seventh province to regulate payday loans under a federal cabinet order. The island is authorized to define criminal rates on term loans of 62 days or less under a 2007 Act of Parliament: "It's high time".
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “He set the earthquake – 9.3 on the Richter scale – to hit at precisely 7:59 am…”
Public Works Canada is awarding a $1.25 million contract to a publicist to distribute government-vetted “news” to publishers and radio and TV stations. The budget for handout “news” increased 25% from a previous contract. The department said it wanted to “inform and educate Canadians on public issues”.
Air passenger rights are “uneven” due to a complaints-based system that fails to meet E.U. or American standards, Transport Canada admits in a departmental memo. The document cited public demands for “more prescriptive” regulations that would spell out airlines’ duties to their customers: ‘Air Canada gets 20,000 complaints annually’.
Transport Canada is ordering all major railways to automatically report on traffic, employee training and maintenance worries effective April 1, 2015. The mandate is the latest to follow the Lac-Mégantic wreck that killed 47 people: "Companies are expected to follow the rules".
Federal regulators are citing telecom companies for an odd billing practice – charging fees to lease service poles they don’t own. The ruling followed complaints from local British Columbia cable firms that Telus tried to collect leasing fees on thousands of poles that belonged to somebody else: "They have no cost to recover".
Atlantic Canada’s largest conglomerate is suing an elusive eco-satirist over a copycat website that ridiculed the company. J.D. Irving Ltd. filed a Federal Court claim against “John Doe”, an internet prankster who replicated a corporate publicity campaign with irreverent captions: "Better put out more bird feeders. When we're finished clear-cutting..."
Federal research shows Canadian parents remain ambivalent about teenagers’ marijuana use, despite Health Canada attempts to warn of health risks including lung cancer and lower IQs: 'It's the least of the evils'.
