New details of a remote Alberta pipeline accident underscore failings of a federal liability cap on operators, say environmental advocates. Substandard equipment led to a burst in a TransCanada Ltd. natural gas pipeline that blew a five-metre crater in the ground: "They got lucky".
Parents of twins have struck out a second time in claiming discrimination under the Employment Insurance Act. A Vancouver mother lost her Federal Court bid to press a human rights claim for double benefits: 'It's one set of benefits per pregnancy'.
Cabinet’s new fisheries minister faces a federal lawsuit over old regulations on aquaculture. A British Columbia biologist is asking that a judge review cabinet powers on fish farming: "The Minister acted without authority".
Federal investigators are again urging that Transport Canada mandate audio and video recorders in all locomotive cabs following another VIA Rail incident. Railway unions have cautioned the devices should not be open to misuse as surveillance devices by management: "This has gone on for years".
Regulators must toughen restrictions on radioactive radon gas to protect public safety, says a coalition of health and environmental groups. It follows a 2014 proposal that cabinet offer a $3,000 tax credit to refit homes threatened with radon poisoning: "It is easy to forget about it because it has no smell, no taste".
A small business tax cut was the most popular pre-election finance measure proposed by cabinet, newly-released government data show. It drew a warmer response in federal polling than claims of the first balanced budget in eight years: 'Skepticism was related to the timing in an election year'.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo have created what they call a breakthrough in Canadian battery technology for use in devices from cellphones to electric cars. Rechargeable Waterloo batteries have double the lifespan of existing devices, authorities said: "If we can commercialize this it will really benefit Canada".
The federal mortgage insurer citing “concerns” over a housing bubble is commissioning $125,000 in research on the 2008 collapse of the U.S. real estate market. CMHC said it needs greater understanding in “spotting problematic conditions”. It earlier rated three cities as having unsustainable prices: 'Concerns are raised over the risk of overvaluation in the Canadian housing market'.
The Canada Border Services Agency claims a right to destroy private photographs deemed embarrassing to the Agency. It follows an incident in which agents ordered a British Columbia woman to stop taking pictures of an employee’s SUV blocking a wheelchair ramp: "Why do CBSA agents have an attitude that they are above the law?"
Replacing more unionized police officers with civilian employees “can add value”, says a Department of Public Safety report. Consultants noted six part-time staffers without benefits can be assigned to court duties at half the cost of two union constables: 'The civilian does not get a paid lunch hour'.
A million-dollar fine resulting from a three-year federal probe of home water heater sales is better late than never, say consumer advocates. The anti-trust Competition Bureau opened its investigation in 2012: "The water has gotten pretty cold while consumers have waited for regulators to take action".
Newly-released files disclose the RCMP kept early New Democrat organizers under close surveillance and attempted to block one NDPer’s appointment to a United Nations post. Records of the now-disbanded RCMP Security Service were disclosed under Access To Information: “This is crazy, to think that people like my father were considered a threat to the state”.
Naturopaths have lost a two-year federal court challenge of Health Canada regulations. Advocates argued Parliament has no right to regulate natural products that make medicinal claims: "We have the right to heal our bodies as we wish".
The internet-fuelled ‘detax’ movement has suffered another blow as the Supreme Court declined to hear a constitutional challenge of the Income Tax Act. Adherents claim exemption as “natural persons”: "That's never going to happen".
One of the country’s largest utilities has lost a bid to force telecom firms to quickly implement a wireless civil alert system. Bruce Power, a private nuclear generator, appealed to regulators for a four-month deadline: 'It's leaving Canadians at risk'.
