Appointment of a new federal advisor on mining ethics is largely pointless and fails to address larger issues of corporate responsibility, critics say. The position of Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor had been vacant for more than a year: 'It's like having a judge with no powers'.
The government may seek contractors’ cost guarantees on a mammoth renovation of Parliament after running millions over budget on similar refits to heritage buildings. Public Works Canada expressed wariness over the estimated $1 billion budgeted to renovate the iconic Centre Block: 'It's on budget -- so far'.
Federal regulators face a “make or break” dilemma over internet TV exempt from controls under federal law, says a secret cabinet memo. The memo marked CONFIDENTIAL cautions that Netflix and other internet broadcasters are challenging Canada’s decades-old system of regulating electronic media: 'It's a turning point for Canadian TV'.
Repealing a threat of jail time for Canadians who submit false information to statisticians appears likely with speedy passage of a Conservative bill. The penalty under the Statistics Act has never been used: "Let's just get rid of it".
Another multi-million fraud has unravelled in Tax Court with disclosures on two former registered charities cited as receipt mills. Earlier charity scams prompted Canada Revenue Agency to propose a registry of every paid tax preparer in the country: "Those bank statements were fabricated".
Claims of a “cold rush” in Arctic shipping are unfounded with climate change unlikely to attract commercial traffic, experts have told an Ottawa conference. Authorities said insurance costs remain so prohibitive the North will remain largely untraveled despite forecasts of ice-free passage in summer: "All we have done is talk about it".
Canadian producers are challenged by “overcrowded” media markets due to the impact of Netflix and YouTube, says an industry report. The Canadian Media Production Association warned of increased cost pressures from unregulated media: "We don't have a homegrown juggernaut like Netflix".
Public Works Canada is privatizing a national historic site opened by John A. Macdonald in 1890. Local authorities warn of a difficult sale: 'It's hard to put a total dollar value on that'.
There are no figures on whether a multi-million dollar Children’s Fitness Tax Credit has had any impact on youth obesity, a Senate panel has been told. The YMCA said Canadians are “fooling ourselves” in thinking credits will slow obesity-relate disease: "On its own I don't think it is going to make the difference".
Federal regulation of bitcoin will have to be complex and far-reaching to delve into the minutiae of the pseudo-currency, attorneys have warned the Senate banking committee. Lawyers said bitcoin could not be easily regulated as money, a barter product or financial derivative: "You would have no idea".
Government seniors’ discounts should be abolished as a needless subsidy, says a think tank. The Institute for Research on Public Policy said property tax rebates, cut-rate bus passes and discounted recreational fees for seniors are a 20th century relic: "This is unfair".
Investment in clean-air technology can see a 50 percent spinoff on investment, according to the Conference Board of Canada. The board analysed Alberta’s clean energy fund, the Climate Change & Emissions Management Corp., in concluding spending generated net economic benefits: "There is no silver bullet".
Québec is cast as xenophobic, a caricature some Québecers have done little to dispel. Only the Québec Soccer Federation banned Sikh children from league matches; “They can play in their backyard,” the director-general said. Only a Québec lunch monitor humiliated a Filipino-Canadian boy who wanted to eat with a spoon. Yet in both instances, many Québecers were as outraged as anybody. The soccer league apologized; the school board was hit with $17,000 in damages from a provincial human rights tribunal.
Sociologist Gérard Bouchard acts as an unofficial translator, attempting a reasoned explanation of why Québec does what it does. Interculturalism is thoughtful and eloquent. The inexplicable has a very simple explanation, Bouchard writes: “multiculturalism” tunes to a different frequency in Québec than it does anywhere else.
Federal agencies paid more in $17 million in credit card transaction fees last year, according to the Department of Public Works. A bill currently before the Senate would drastically reduce Visa and MasterCard fees payable by public institutions and other vendors: "We pay".
Young Canada faces more “precarious” job prospects than a generation ago with a university degree offering no guarantee of meaningful work, a Liberal Senate caucus forum has been told. Analysts said the outlook for young job-seekers appeared bleak: 'Degrees don't qualify them to do very much'.
