Canada Revenue has lost millions of dollars to tax evasion by a "multitude of fraudsters" egged on by an internet conspiracy theory, documents show. Adherents cite Scripture and old English law in claiming they don't have to pay income tax: "The number of participants is growing quickly."
Natural Resources Canada is commissioning a $12,000-a day test of radioactive sensors over the Nevada desert under a Nuclear Emergency Plan. No atom or H-bomb was ever tested in Canada, though the National Research Council once checked 30,000 baby teeth for traces of radioactive fallout.
Canada Border Services Agency has won a Federal Court lawsuit against the buyer of a California car suspected of under-reporting its full value at customs. A federal judge dismissed an appeal by an Alberta bargain hunter who had his BMW seized at the border: "The law applies equally to all."
CMHC is hiring realtors for “expert advice” on housing policy. The federal insurer proposes to pay the Canadian Real Estate Association a retainer to provide data and suggestions on the market nationwide. The association has already cautioned MPs that maintaining house prices "is a crucial pillar of a strong economy".
A tax board that dropped two commas and a zero from a municipal assessment has lost a court battle for a review of the error. The typo turned a routine tax assessment for $7,790,000 into $779000 – a clerical blunder that cost more than half a million dollars in tax: "I've never seen anything like it."
A drunk driver has lost a fight over a lifetime license suspension using a federal provision of the old Young Offenders Act. The driver appealed a three-strike ban after claiming his first conviction at age 17 was to have been expunged: "Young drivers who drink pose a real threat to public safety."
Archival scientific data from studies including taxpayer-funded research is being lost at an alarming rate, according to a University of British Columbia investigation. Some 80% of raw data is unrecoverable: 'There is an obvious solution'.
Parliamentarians are proposing new limits on payday loans following a court judgment that saw a leading lender cited for illegal interest rates. A woman in Kitchener, Ont. was charged $722 to borrow $782: "There is no way that should be allowed in Canada.”
An MP says he is taken aback by protests against his proposal to allow random Breathalyzer tests by police. Tarik Brahmi said he is so astonished by negative reaction he may withdraw his bill: “So many people are so opposed to what seems obvious.”
A farm group say federal curbs on chemicals rated lethal for bees will be unfairly costly for growers. Grain Farmers of Ontario said it's commissioning Conference Board of Canada research on the impact of restricting insecticides: "We need to address that."
Alberta MPs should be “shamed” into relenting on civil service salary disclosures with the adoption of the policy in their home province, says an advocate. Alberta begins publishing salaries online January 31: "It's incumbent on me to do the shaming."
Exploding golf balls are outlawed, and War of 1812 re-enactors are forbidden from storing more than 10kg of black powder at home under new Natural Resources Canada regulations.
Unions challenging a Saskatchewan purge of the provincial Labour Relations Board have lost a bid to take their case to the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear an appeal over the 2008 firings of board members replaced by Saskatchewan Party appointees: "The government tends to have a free hand."
A federal agency is cautioning consumers over new mobile-payment systems with obscure terms and conditions. The Financial Consumer Agency said users of wireless devices who pay bills via palm-sized service agreements should beware of very fine print: "There are potential gaps."
The Library of Parliament hired a patent attorney to trademark its image for key chains, coffee mugs and other paraphernalia. Filings with Industry Canada’s intellectual property office indicate library management hired an Ottawa law firm Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP to handle its application. Costs were not disclosed.
