The Department of Northern Development proposes a major deregulation of northern petroleum and mining ventures, analysts tell Blacklock’s. Amendments are expected to reduce the number and scope of federally-mandated regulators in the Northwest Territories.
MPs are being pressed to “lend their voice” to public housing policy affecting constituents in their own ridings. Advocates say expiry of subsidies for co-op renters may lead to evictions for thousands of people: "We would like the government to take a serious look at this."
Cabinet yesterday took another step to imposing punitive tariffs on U.S. goods in a dispute over meat labeling. The Department of Agriculture served notice it formally asked the World Trade Organization to convene a compliance panel. Ottawa has threatened to impose 100% retaliatory tariffs on products from Vermont syrup to Washington apples.
The secretive Communications Security Establishment has become the fastest-growing federal agency in Canada, though few Parliamentarians can find out exactly what it does. Staffing at the surveillance group has increased 32% in six years: "This whole issue is becoming more and more frightening."
A Nova Scotia accountant has lost a bid for a Supreme Court pleading he was “scared to death” by the Canada Revenue Agency. Judges declined to hear further testimony in the case of the businessman who "felt lost" when confronted with a $261,000 tax bill: "I'm not surprised."
The Department of Fisheries is allowing reallocation of unclaimed cod quotas in southern Newfoundland in a test project welcomed by local fishing communities. More than half the quota is unclaimed due to low prices, 50¢ a pound: "There is no value in cod fish at the moment."
A Canada Revenue audit of a fund used to support Canada’s top-ranked women’s tennis player gave Tax Court a glimpse into money and sport. The father of tennis pro Eugénie Bouchard has been ordered to pay $81,143 in disallowed claims from an “in and out scheme” used to finance her career: “I’m not going to find investors for everyone else’s kids.”
New research is disputing a long-held claim that speedier drug approvals inevitably lead to increased health and safety warnings by regulators. A study concludes there is no proof haste makes waste in drug regulation: "Safety warnings are safety warnings."
Independent manufacturers and an ex-hockey pro who served in Parliament say they welcome a federal anti-trust inquiry into retailing of hockey gear. It follows Blacklock’s disclosure that the Competition Bureau is seeking Federal Court orders to further its probe of Canadian Tire Corp.’s takeover of a rival sporting goods chain: "Should they allow the acquisition? No."
Health Canada is being urged to examine the safety of a line of glass cookware following a $1.15 million jury award to a man left permanently injured by a Dutch oven. The incident followed numerous complaints to the department from consumers who used glass cookware: "This is real."
The Department of Foreign Affairs spent $200,000 on a turn-out-the-vote campaign in Zimbabwe’s fraud-ridden elections. A department official, asked if the money was well spent, replied: “The project was vital.” The grant was paid to a Harare group, according to financial accounts: "This was a crooked election."
Federal trust-busters have interviewed executives of the nation’s largest hockey manufacturers in a probe of sporting goods retailing. The Competition Bureau’s secret investigation targets a bid by Canadian Tire to buy rival Pro Hockey Life, finalized this week. “At this point we can confirm the Competition Bureau is reviewing the proposed acquisition,” an official told Blacklock's.
An omnibus budget bill that amended dozens of federal laws may end in the Supreme Court amid its latest legal contest, says a constitutional lawyer. Parts of the 452-page bill face new challenges before a federal judge: "This is the kind of case that can go to the Supreme Court."
The Department of Fisheries has expanded its ban on the wild Pacific salmon catch in two famed British Columbia waterways amid alarmingly low fish populations: "We confirmed those numbers and they are real."
The Department of Natural Resources faces a federal lawsuit over the constitutionality of limits on its licensing hearings. A Vancouver-based group is asking a judge to halt the vetting of witnesses by the National Energy Board: "This is a last resort."
