The Canada Border Services Agency promises honest reporting of wait times under its latest attempt to avert travelers’ delays. The agency previously admitted to under-reporting wait times through guesswork: "I assumed this was already taking place".
Cabinet should order the routine release of most government data for public scrutiny, says an MP. Complaints over concealment of federal documents were up 9 percent last year: 'We need to look at the law'.
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “It starts in telemarketing. Computers with human-like capabilities make automated calls to customers, deliver messages with precise intonation, use voice recognition to engage in a dialogue. People can’t always tell…”
The Commons will debate a private bill proclaiming a National Garden Day each and every June.
The legislation would celebrate home and commercial horticulture across Canada, including one Prairie City where the growing season lasts just eight weeks: "Nearly everybody loves flowers. It makes people feel good."
Transport Canada is being taken to Federal Court over its refusal to divulge even basic information about the country’s no-fly list. The department was cited for concealing records by the Office of the Information Commissioner: 'You are denied on the basis of nothing that you can know about'.
Widening restrictions on federal employees’ right to strike are a bid to weaken labour, says the Customs and Immigration Union. Employees are suing cabinet to overturn an order declaring as many as 1500 new employees “essential” and forbidden from striking: "That is their larger plan".
A confidential cabinet memo cautions Canadians in certain occupations will have trouble finding work over the next decade. Industry Canada compiled a list of careers projected to flatten by the year 2022: "There will likely be pressure".
Health Canada must amend "silly" rules under the Food and Drugs Act that regulate some types of lipstick in the same manner as cancer drugs, says a manufacturers’ group. Industry appealed for further amendments to a bill now before the Commons: "I have never met anyone who thinks this makes sense".
Legislation governing migrant labour must prevent conditions akin to human trafficking, says an independent report. The study concluded the system is rife with abuses including five-figure recruitment fees charged by offshore recruiters: "It's time we start taking this very seriously".
Cabinet is being taken to Federal Court by employees on a claim it overreached in limiting workers’ right to strike. It is the first lawsuit of its kind stemming from no-strike provisions of an omnibus budget bill signed into law this past winter: "I think its completely ridiculous".
A new federal privacy bill gives corporations “subjective” leeway in deciding when and where to divulge breaches of clients’ information, analysts say. Bill S-4 is the largest rewrite of federal privacy law since 2001: "This has been a long, long time coming".
A 90-year lifespan will soon be commonplace for Canadians, says the Office of the Chief Actuary. Authorities said projections will see Canadians grow to be among the oldest people on earth: 'How is the government planning to cover the costs?'
Cabinet has named a $127,000-a year “financial literacy leader” in an initiative critics described as pointless. The posting falls under the government's Financial Consumer Agency that draws 85% of funding from banks and other financial institutions: "It is not obvious why this is necessary".
There are 6.7 unemployed Canadians for every vacant job, according to a new Statistics Canada report. The federal agency identified a steady rise in the proportion of job-seekers to positions.
The impact of budget cuts at Canada Border Services Agency is “like climbing Everest”, authorities admit in staff documents. Files released through Access to Information confirm the agency cut programs including detection of counterfeiters, and dog teams assigned to track drugs and guns: “Tough times are looming".
