One in four Canadians surveyed admit to stealing copyright material online, according to Department of Industry research. The unpublished findings were disclosed yesterday at the Commons heritage committee: "They go to find anything they can without paying for it."
The Commons justice committee yesterday proposed that provinces raise pay and offer free counselling to jurors. The recommendations followed tearful testimony from jurors who complained of mental anguish from attending gruesome criminal trials: "It's like a plane crash."
A federal consultant yesterday said Parliament should rewrite its Pilotage Act to cut labour expenses. The statutory review cited a “commonly-voiced industry perspective that pilotage costs in Canada are too high.”
The Commons finance committee by a 5-4 vote yesterday rejected a proposal to maintain tax-free medical marijuana for 270,000 registered users nationwide. A cabinet bill to legalize cannabis would tax medical marijuana at the same rate as recreational drugs: "It will have a very negative effect."
The Senate in a 41 to 31 vote yesterday accepted a final Commons rewrite of a transport bill. Senators had attempted to expand rail shippers’ rights and faced “near instant rejection” by the Commons, said the chair of the Senate transport committee: "Take heart."
The Commons fisheries committee tomorrow is expected to pass a cabinet bill restoring environmental protections under the Fisheries Act. MPs yesterday approved technical changes to the bill, but rejected a New Democrat amendment mandating regular reporting of damage to habitat: "It takes a lot of work to improve legislation."
A national broadcasting regulator has suspended airplay of a country and western hit 60 years after its release. One adjudicator in a rare dissenting opinion said the ruling on a Hank Thompson song set a dangerous precedent: "This decision could chill future broadcast of older songs."
A former CMHC auditor in a Federal Court claim alleges he was fired after embarrassing managers with disclosures of misuse of funds by Québec’s provincial housing corporation. The allegations predate a February 20 review that faulted the Société Habitation du Québec for breaching provincial law: "The audit was an extreme success."
Most Canadians consider mandatory minimum sentences unfair and unnecessary, according to polling commissioned by the Department of Justice. “We put our trust in judges,” one respondent told researchers.
A union representing flight attendants has lost a five-year court challenge of Transport Canada safety regulations. The Canadian Union of Public Employees complained it had a right to be heard by cabinet, but was never fully consulted: "There is no duty of procedural fairness."
The Department of the Environment is granting a mining company approval to turn a freshwater lake into a tailings pond. The order requires that mine operators spend $2.2 million to create a new lake stocked with pickerel: 'It would destroy fish habitat.'
Blacklock’s pauses for the Victoria Day holiday with best wishes to subscribers and friends. We’re back tomorrow — The Editor.
Dundurn Press marks the twilight of an era with an intriguing project. They compiled commentaries from the nation’s most distinguished monarchists in what may be the last book of its kind in the era of Queen Elizabeth, 92. It’s a souvenir that documents deep public ambivalence. Canada in 2018 is one of only fifteen nations to retain the Queen as head of state. Others include Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
“The concept of the Queen of Canada or the Queen of New Zealand is an important legal and political reality,” writes contributor Sean Palmer. “However, beyond these constructions the public understanding of the Crown in each realm is not necessarily robust.”
Federal in-house research shows Canadians are wary of any free trade agreement with China. Cabinet has been attempting to negotiate a pact with the People’s Republic since 2016: "I distrust China."
The Canadian Transportation Agency has denied general compensation to unhappy Air Canada travelers including an 89-year old woman left without a wheelchair, and a young family denied boarding amid confusion over travel visas. Cabinet has promised enactment of a passenger rights’ bill with statutory damages by year’s end: "It's frustrating."
