Parliament last night narrowly defeated a proposal to ban imported shark fins amid fears it would provoke foreign retaliation against the Atlantic seal hunt and Alberta oil sands. The measure would have abolished a 100-tonne a year trade in imported fins: "We must be very careful here."
A tariff hike on everyday goods will cost consumers more than the government predicts, warns the chair of the Senate finance committee. Higher duties will raise the price of Chilean fruit, China-made housewares and Korean appliances: “Consumers are not going to be happy."
A secretive federal panel assigned to develop regulations on oil and gas greenhouse emissions has held 18 months’ worth of meetings without divulging its discussions. The Process Working Group, dominated by Albertans and oil delegates, has met 14 times since 2011 without disclosing its agenda: "All the pieces fit -- they have no intention of trying."
Air travellers in Canada may soon see standardized rules on baggage handling and check-in. Federal regulators will seek public input till April 15 on a U.S.-style proposal to adopt uniform regulations on checked and carry-on luggage: "It has to be simple."
The finance department paid a newspaper columnist thousands of dollars for help in discussing its austerity budget, documents show. Brian Lee Crowley, a contributor to the Ottawa Citizen and Globe and Mail, received $7,781 to host three budget roundtable meetings sponsored by the Department of Finance, according to a finance official and accounts tabled in the Commons.
Consumer complaints of telemarketing calls have increased 58 percent in the past three years, according to records. Formal protests by phone owners who registered with the National Do Not Call List totaled 106,089 last year, compared to 67,340 in 2009.
The Canadian Booksellers Association, a trade group that championed independent dealers since 1953, is no more.The association served notice with Industry Canada it is surrendering its charter: "Everybody wants to stay alive."
A tax ruling expected to raise the price of thousands of everyday goods has been delayed till 2015 amid demands from industry and Parliament that Canada develop a “coherent” policy on tariffs. New taxes on imports will raise prices $1 billion, by government estimate: “Do we have a method here?”
Canada’s phone regulator is reviewing a request to waive restrictions on automatic dialing machines. Marketers want to relax the rules that limit use of so-called ADADs, or Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices: "It has real consumer benefits."
The department of finance has taken no steps to tax simplification despite appeals from chartered accountants, and a precedent from the U.K. The main 2013 budget document ran to 433 pages of text and commentary, excluding thousands of pages of regulations still required to pass it into law: "They have not made a real commitment to tax simplification."
Changes to tax law intended to assist new farmers are "one step forward and two back," says the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The finance department proposes to double claims for losses by new growers with off-farm income.
An earlier opening to the billion-dollar lobster season by the Department of Fisheries is being welcomed by industry groups. Warmer waters have meant earlier molting times: "You don't harvest tomatoes on a certain day of the year if they aren't ripe."
Newly generous Canadians will qualify for “super” tax credits-- up to 54 percent -- in an attempt to reverse declining trends in charitable giving. The initiative follows a House committee report that Ottawa try new credits to encourage more taxpayers to donate to charities.
Ottawa is criminalizing “zapper” accounting software that distorts reporting of business revenue. And regulators are warning all Canadian companies must be rid of the computer program within nine months or face fines and imprisonment.
Pacific Salmon conservation will be given increased funding with a British Columbia-based foundation expected to receive $1 million per year to improve salmon habitat: "A drop in the bucket."
