Federal prisons have hired so many new staff that in three regions of the country, prison employees outnumber inmates. "This may be a canary in a coalmine," says a Liberal MP who requested the data; "This suggests it is becoming harder to govern our penitentiaries."
The popularity of gluten-free eating is prompting a new grain lobby to counter "fad diets" that are giving bread a bad name, according to organizers. Farmers, millers and bakers complain only 10 percent of Canadians eat their daily requirement of whole grains as recommended by the Department of Health.
Police nationwide are now banned from using manually-recorded breathalyzer machines after regulators cited possible "human error." Federal records show the instruments were used by at least two police forces as recently as this past July. The Supreme Court has noted unreliable readings due to equipment malfunction or police error "is not merely speculative, but is very real."
Atlantic fishing groups say one of the "best conservation methods" in the industry is in peril with a little-noticed change in federal regulations intended to save taxpayers more than $500,000 a year. "You're in a Wild West show," said one industry advocate.
The Canadian military has deployed more forces to the Hawaiian Islands than the terrorist-ridden capital of Pakistan, documents show. Unexpectedly detailed records released by the Department of National Defence show Canada's military contingent in Islamabad is also outnumbered by forces assigned to Wichita Falls, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
An obscure policy change on all-Canadian standards for food containers may cost thousands of processing jobs, warns an industry group. Regulators promised to "consult" on the change, previously announced without notice, that would enable processors to adopt American standards in packaging canned fruits, vegetables, honey and other products.
One of Canada's most venerable clubs for air force veterans has taken its last run. A club dedicated to airmen who enlisted before the outbreak of World War II is surrendering its federal charter. Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney called the closure "unfortunate," but expressed the nation's gratitude: "They will never be forgotten."
A show 'n tell bill that requires all unions to disclose financial data will cost a fortune to administer, says a member of the House finance committee. MPs resume hearings today on the bill to publish details of all unions' finances on a government website.
Federal approval of new genetically-modified crops are reviving debate over science and safety. The uproar follows Health Canada's approval of crop varieties modified to tolerate a herbicide banned in Scandinavia amid concerns of elevated risks of cancer and other illness.
The author, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock's tradition.
Canada's book publishers are appealing for a national policy to rescue an industry hit with cuts and closures. The lobby effort comes as Douglas & McIntyre, the largest Canadian-owned publisher, received an extension of its bankruptcy protection.
A British Columbia tax ruling reaffirms the definition of "employees" includes taxi drivers, noting cabbies who operate company cars have "little control" over their work. "Whose business is this?" asked a federal judge in the case of six Kelowna cabbies who worked 10-hour shifts for a 40 percent split of fare receipts.
Three government scientists have patented a new glue so strong it can withstand the hottest temperatures ever recorded on the earth's surface.
Commemorating an "ugly milestone," a taxpayers' advocate invited Canadians to watch the national debt clock pass the $599,999,999,999 mark. "We've erased all the progress made in 11 years of balanced budgets, pushing our debt to a fresh, all-time high."
Federal inspectors have shut down another Alberta meatpacker only hours after Parliament enacted new legislation promising "stronger" enforcement of food safety. Royal Assent for the food safety bill came amid the closure of an Edmonton plant over a Listeria scare, a bacterium that Health Canada warns may "in serious cases" lead to brain infection and death.
