Parliament faces a pushback from business ratepayers over continued federal aid for municipalities. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, in a new report and Commons testimony, depicted large cities as unaccountable and bloated with billion-dollar payrolls.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization has suffered large deficits on foreign exhibitions, including $463,000 lost in displaying imperial Chinese artifacts, new accounts show. Disclosure of the deficits came as MPs voted to refocus the museum on Canadian stories.
Two tobacco smugglers who sued the revenue department for return of cash they claimed fell from the heavens have lost their case in Federal Court. A judge dismissed the claim by a couple found driving with $3,300 in bootleg tobacco and $11,775 bundled in twenty-dollar bills, telling police “ça tombe du ciel” (“it fell from the sky”).
Cabinet is concealing details of far-reaching trade talks even from industry insiders forced to sign confidentiality agreements. In a process one MP dubbed “a farce,” the Dairy Farmers of Canada confirmed they were denied access to technical texts in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks despite receiving secret briefings. "Listen, we're down to the most sensitive negotiations," Trade Minister Ed Fast told Blacklock's.
Canada’s telecom regulator is urging industry to address one of the most persistent consumer complaints – how to cancel a contract. Complex rules and terms, rarely standardized between companies, can "leave a consumer frustrated," acknowledged one association.
A long-awaited Senate report is urging more action to rescue the nation’s billion-dollar lobster industry. The Senate fisheries committee proposes a renewed federal program, due to expire in 2014, that budgeted more than $50 million for license buy-backs.
Seven percent of foods randomly tested by federal inspectors violated Food and Drug Act regulations on colouring and industrial dyes, including cheddar cheese. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency would not name the cheese it tested, but said results were obtained at a lab in Longueil, Que.
The Supreme Court is being drawn into Senate debate over a contentious labour bill. Opponents of legislation that compels unions to publish confidential data urged the Department of Justice to test its constitutionality: "It is mind-boggling."
From fishing boats to carcinogenic chemicals, federal agencies are taking years, even decades to correct regulatory mistakes despite the risk of lawsuits. “It’s a scary prospect,” Senator Bob Runciman told Blacklock's; “We see files that have been around for twenty, thirty years.”
Coal plants granted clean-air exemptions face more stringent emission targets under a private bill. Green Party leader Elizabeth May proposed to waive a grace period for coal plants to comply with Environment Canada targets: "A 50-year wriggle room for any coal-fired power plants is outrageous."
Money cannot buy success in health care, according to a national analysis by the Conference Board of Canada. The study concluded cash alone did not buy A-grade medicare across the provinces, and concluded Canadians “spend too much for what we get” overall, said an analyst.
A Conservative MP accuses cabinet of trying to “gut” a disclosure bill on public service salaries. Brent Rathgeber said proposed amendments are cause for “mistrust and suspicion,” and subject senior public servants to less scrutiny than $10,000-a year contractors.
Canadians have set a record for electronic filing of tax returns, saving the treasury the $3.50 cost of processing each paper form, says the Canada Revenue Agency. Taxpayers filed more than 1,000,000 electronic returns in a single day, a record: "Canadians are moving into the electronic realm."
Parliament is being warned a “Trojan Horse” labour bill is illegal and will be struck down by the courts if passed. Bill C-377 compels unions to disclose confidential data: “It feels like it is using the Income Tax Act as a Trojan Horse to regulate unions.”
Canada is being pressed to follow a U.S. lead in electronic monitoring of truck drivers. An industry group urged that Parliament require the installation of on-board recorders on all transport vehicles -- a measure opposed by independent drivers in the United States.
