Tax Court has struck down a five-figure penalty for late payment after citing ambiguities between English and French-language versions of the Income Tax Act. The Court itself raised the issue in a routine appeal: "The French version is rather different."
The tourism department is searching for a world-class, distinctive all-Canadian meal. Nothing immediately comes to mind, staff wrote: "No one national cuisine is closely identified with Canada."
Railways anticipate a sevenfold increase in fuel fees under a national carbon tax, says a rail lobbyist. Executives told the Senate agriculture committee that railways should pay less tax than trucking companies since they are more efficient: "But you guys can’t find out where the cars are."
The Canada Border Services Agency reports it seized less than a million dollars’ worth of counterfeit goods last year. The Department of Public Safety estimates the trade in bootlegged trademarks is worth $30 billion annually: "I hope the government takes a very serious look at these numbers."
Senators are questioning the value of a Commons bill to voluntarily discourage landfilling of compact fluorescent mercury lightbulbs. MPs passed the bill last January 31 after deleting a requirement that Environment Canada mandate a toxic disposal program on provinces: "Do we need to give a nudge every time?"
The Department of National Defence spent nearly $100,000 surveying 2,000 renters on whether they like military housing. Only 28 percent said they were very satisfied living on base: 'The objective is to measure customer satisfaction.'
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “It was 1992 when the UN designated March 22 as World Water Day…”
A Senate bill would close a “canyon-sized loophole” in federal law that permits foreign meddling in elections, says its sponsor. Senator Linda Frum (Conservative-Ont.) said the Canada Elections Act is so weak, even hostile foreign governments can influence campaigns: "This part gets tricky."
The Senate yesterday passed a bill to enact Australian-style regulations on plain packaging of tobacco products. Manufacturers have threatened to challenge the bill as a breach of the Trademarks Act: "Controversies exist."
A member of a federal advisory panel on electric cars says a government target to boost sales will be difficult. Cabinet has budgeted a total $182.5 million to promote plug-in recharging stations, though electrics account for less than 1 percent of auto sales: "It would be very, very challenging."
Health Canada says Parliament must meet a July 1, 2018 date to legalize marijuana. The deadline is fixed though department memos said drafting of complex regulations requires more research: 'Canada Day is our country’s birthday, not a festival for dope smoking.'
A Transport Canada manager says a federal law requiring Air Canada to offer bilingual service puts the airline at a competitive disadvantage. The Commissioner of Official Languages in a 2016 Special Report To Parliament said the carrier is in habitual breach of the Act: "That comes at a cost."
Cabinet is trying to avert a break-up of its omnibus budget bill over Senate complaints of a rush to approve a $35 billion Canada Infrastructure Bank. Senators said the 292-page bill may be split or amended to tighten scrutiny of Bank funding and operations: "Look, it's not a huge emergency."
Federal mortgage insurers say only a 1983-style recession with high unemployment could result in serious losses. “We remain confident,” CMHC executives told the Senate national finance committee: "The events would have to be cataclysmic."
Cabinet is budgeting $1.1 million a year for a national program to clear harbours of derelict vessels. The funding would barely cover the cost of removing a single abandoned fishing boat, said an MP: "This money is not going to go far."
