The federal treasury will extend long-sought public works subsidies, says Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. In a move praised by municipalities as a “significant gain,” Flaherty said financing of a Building Canada plan, set to expire in 2014, will be renewed.
Parliament is extending tax benefits for business, big and small, including a $1,000 Employment Insurance hiring credit for mom 'n pop companies, and a $1.4 billion tax benefit for Canadian manufacturers and processors: "We lobbied hard for these initiatives."
Cabinet proposes more, new and creative user fees in its drive to eliminate the $26 billion federal deficit, and hints that Cabinet will "look at options to improve the financial viability" of all Crown agencies: "Why wouldn't they?"
The finance department is declaring war on tax deductions, credits and “loopholes,” proposing to raise billions of dollars with obscure regulations on everything from parking spots to safety deposit boxes. The finance minister says the measures would "help ensure everyone pays their fair share."
Airlines may now impose perpetual fuel surcharges on travellers following a new ruling by federal regulators. The Transportation Agency ruled it will no longer "closely monitor" airline fees now that carriers are required to disclose full-fare prices under threat of $25,000 fines.
Canada is "looking at all our options" in a threatened tariff war with the United States over meat labeling, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz tells Blacklock’s. The U.S. has till May 23 to dismantle a discriminatory regulation that's estimated to have cost Canadian producers $5,000,000,000.
Doctors are appealing for sweeping federal restrictions on non-essential use of antibiotics. The Ontario Medical Association reported common use of antibiotics in livestock now endangers “one of the most fundamental and life-saving tools in medicine.”
Departing Governor Mark Carney cut Bank of Canada full-time staff by 7 percent while hiring more contract employees and summer students, records show. The central bank hired some 300 students and temporary employees last year: "Everything we do affects the confidence that Canadians have."
A federal pledge to enact a “world class tanker safety system” is largely confirmation of practices already underway save for the appointment of an expert committee, say analysts. Cabinet named three members to a Tanker Safety Expert Panel to monitor the sector.
A foundation created in memory of a House speaker and First War combat veteran has wound down. Organizers cited declining interest in the work of the foundation, created in 1980 to honour the contributions of a parliamentarian who spent 50 years in public life.
The Department of Public Safety spent nearly $8 million on an ad campaign that most Canadians never noticed, or were unlikely to heed before Google, according to officials’ own survey. The campaign was supposed to promote emergency preparedness: "It's a joke."
Regulators warn a fixture of suburbia, the attached garage, may pose an “uncertain” public risk of illness from benzene poisoning. The Department of Health proposed first-ever federal guidelines on benzene, linked to leukemia.
Canada’s 2012 Olympic rowing teams cost taxpayers $1,202,900 in grants, according to newly-released federal accounts. It was the largest block of grants to any Olympic athletes under a federal program to subsidize “excellence in sport,” according to the department that runs the program.
Canada’s Olympic triathlon team, ranked one of the worst in the world, received $132,000 in grants before competing in the London Summer Games, according to new federal accounts. And horse riders with the equestrian squad received $213,600 in taxpayers' funding before finishing 13th out of 13 in team jumping.
The finance department spent nearly $14 million on media advertisements promoting its last budget, according to new accounts. Authorities would not divulge ad spending for this week’s 2013 federal budget, to be tabled Thursday at 4 pm Eastern time.
