Transport Canada for the third time in two years has been cited by a federal judge for improperly revoking security clearances for airport employees. Federal Court ruled the department got its facts wrong in stripping a Vancouver International Airport worker of his security pass: "The reasons conflict with the evidence".
Fewer than 10 percent of nearly 12,000 people in Canada illegally were deported last year, according to new federal data. The chair of the Senate national security committee said the low rate is troubling: 'Public safety should not be put in jeopardy'.
A justice department agency mandated to prosecute war criminals is down to a single Nazi-era file. The War Crimes Program has 30 employees and a $15.6 million yearly budget, but has not published an annual report in five years or convened a meeting of its research committee: "Canada's visible leadership role is waning".
A pledge by another province to disclose salaries for public employees paid $100,000 or more is prompting renewed calls for Parliament to publish its own so-called “sunshine list”. Newfoundland & Labrador’s promise to introduce a disclosure bill this fall followed a ruling by the island’s privacy commissioner: "The public should not be required to dig around to get this information".
Travelers, airlines and transport companies could save millions with expanded pre-clearance of vehicles bound for the U.S., says Department of Public Safety research. The report put savings in the air sector, alone at more than $47 million a year: 'Potential benefits are significant'.
The Coast Guard has been sailing on rationed fuel and ad hoc funding for decades due to chronic budget shortfalls, say Access To Information memos. Documents disclosed the emergency marine service missed revenue targets every year since 1998: "The Coast Guard was never able to achieve the fee amounts that would have allowed them to achieve their target".
Transport Canada is under-reporting thousands of serious traffic injuries due to inadequate data, says a safety analyst. The department reported a 9 percent decline in serious injuries, according to the most recent annual figures: "We are not good at compiling this data".
Natural Resources Canada is testing laboratories nationwide for potentially lethal Legionella bacteria, the cause of Legionnaires’ disease. Testing of water samples follows discovery of the bacteria in a Québec federal building last year: "The department has not advised us".
Farm Credit Canada is unable to collect an $8.2 million loan on a cranberry farm it now says is worth as little as $6.7 million, according to court documents. The Crown agency did not comment on the case, but observed property values change from time to time: "It makes for a messy day with a lot of work for lawyers".
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Remember your first chess set? Plastic, hollow pieces, same as those all your friends had?…”
The Department of Canadian Heritage in an elaborate secret ceremony repatriated to Bulgaria an antique sword dating from the era of Czar Ferdinand I, circa 1910. One collectibles dealer described the incident as bizarre, saying the “antique” is ordinary military surplus worth a few dollars on eBay: "Seriously, this is ludicrous".
Local authorities are poorly funded to face climate change-related flooding that is rated a national peril, says new University of Waterloo research. The study follows a 2015 report that most major Canadian cities are unprepared: "Municipalities are at the front line, doing the most work, and facing the most risk".
One in four Canadians, 24 percent, still complain of “bill shock” over telecom charges three years after regulators enacted a Wireless Code on the promise of better service. The findings are contained in a $48,500 survey of cellphone clients by the CRTC: "People want more choice".
A British Columbia ban on pharmacy rewards for customers will not be heard by the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear a challenge of the ban on what the B.C. College of Pharmacists called an “inappropriate” practice that preys on vulnerable customers: "It's double-points day".
Parliament faces appeals to quickly end any Canada Post shutdown after management served notice it will lock out workers on Monday. Legislators earlier passed back-to-work legislation on the post office in 1997 and 2011: "How do you stop that?"
