A Saskatchewan case has redefined deductible medical expenses after a tax court judge ruled a husband could legally deduct thousands in travel bills to see his ill wife, though Canada Revenue argued the visits were not medically necessary.
An acronym trademarked by a Canadian public relations group resembles a shorthand term for Korean Communists, though the volunteer agency says the similarity is purely coincidental.
A federal labour relations referee is gaining greater powers to expedite settlements in the first major revision to regulations since 2001. "This looks like a good-faith effort to modernize the rules," said one labour lawyer; "I don't see monkey business."
Weight Watchers Canada is lobbying Parliament for "consideration" in the next budget that Blacklock's sources indicate would include tax credits for diet programs and supplements. The government already offers a fitness tax credit for children's hockey and other sports. Federal data show Canada is the fourth fattest nation on earth.
Nearly three quarters of federal guards on the Canada-US border speak English only, documents show. But managers in the transport industry call the unilingual trend an economic fact of life. “To ship across the border you must comprehend the national language of the United States – which is English,” said one trucking executive.
More than a quarter-million jobs grew from canola last year, the nation's most valuable crop. New federal data show nationwide, food processing is now the country's biggest manufacturing sector.
Builders are bypassing more than half a dozen federal laws and scores of regulations in planning a new bridge from Windsor, Ont. to Detroit, the busiest border crossing in the country.
Industry Canada is reviewing a patent from a Nova Scotia firm for tap 'n' go electronic parking meters that promise speedier service. “This may be ‘whiz-bang’ for older drivers," said the device's co-inventor, "but certainly young people are embracing tap ‘n go technology."
The Canadian Police Association is expressing interest in a device invented by two Alberta men that alerts highway patrol officers and passersby to any motorist who fails to comply with mandatory seatbelt laws.
Necessary repairs to urban roads and utilities are so costly the unfunded expense would break Canadian cities without federal aid, mayors say. “If we tried to finance it all with property taxes no one could afford to live in their homes,” said Hazel McCallion, twelve-term mayor of Mississauga.
Cuts to tax credits for scientific investment have dropped Canada to 17th in a global ranking of research and development incentives among industrialized countries, says an industry group: "If you're an R&D company -- hopefully the kind of company we want to attract -- you are not coming to Canada."
The public works department faces a trade inquiry over claims an agent "overstepped his technical capabilities" in demanding goods be held to a tolerance specification of a thousandth of an inch. "I've never heard of something so stupid," a defence contractor told Blacklock's.
The Department of National Defence is restricting a Chinese "news agency" from its briefings pending a review of the organization's Ottawa press credentials. Xinhua confirmed to Blacklock's it was barred from attending a briefing where Minister of Defence Peter MacKay unveiled Canada's first military satellite, Sapphire.
The nation’s home builders warn forecasts on “affordability” are now so skewed “the impact is very serious over time,” said an executive. The Canadian Home Builders’ Association concludes housing affordability “is worse today than at any time since the early 1990s” despite misconceptions in Parliament and the public over low mortgage rates.
Health Canada is changing the rules on food additives after lobbying by industry that complained of red tape. In one instance, an additive for infant formula to prevent clogging in feeding tubes took almost four years to be approved after federal scientists determined it was safe.
