Few Canadians can list the Canada Food Guide despite decades of promotion by the federal health department, says a new study. University of Waterloo research found fewer than 1 in 100 respondents, only 0.8 percent, correctly identified the recommended food group servings: "Is that surprising?"
Parks Canada hired pollsters to contact 274,000 Canadians to ask if they'd ever heard of – Parks Canada. The $99,100 survey followed cuts to program and maintenance budgets: "They are so far behind the 8-ball".
Unions anticipate a court hearing within nine months on challenges to Canada Labour Code amendments on health and safety. The changes were inserted in the 176th page of a 309-page omnibus budget bill passed in 2013: "It seems like a sneaky and subversive way to gut the Code".
There is no cruelty like bureaucracy. Sociologist Dr. Victor Satzewich explains why Syrian boys don’t get into Canada without ever mentioning “Syrian boys” by name. Satzewich’s first-hand account of the inner workings at the Department of Immigration is not merely timely, it is excellent.
Satzewich visited 11 Canadian visa offices abroad, interviewed 128 staff and witnessed 42 interviews with immigrants. It was unprecedented access. Points Of Entry neither condemns nor patronizes the department; it is what it is. As one officer puts it, “You could train a monkey to do it.”
Canada prides itself as generous and welcoming, to the point of misstating facts. No, we do not let in record numbers of immigrants. No, we do not accept more refugees per capita than any other country. If most refugee applicants are accepted, it’s also true 99.9 percent of the world refugees never get a chance to fill out Form 17-b. Citizenship Canada “could have written the manual on how to design a truly nameless and faceless bureaucracy,” Satzewich writes.
The RCMP spied on 1970s-era gay activists amid fears of allegations over then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s “homosexual proclivities”, say newly-obtained files. The secret police memos were released under Access To Information: “We are aware”.
A federal plan to abolish Social Insurance Number cards has prompted fears of identity fraud, according to a cabinet memo. The government in 2014 stopped issuing the plastic cards as a cost-savings measure: "It is frustrating".
The number of renters in Canada is on the rise, and so are prices. Half of households are renting in select cities, according to new national research: "Incomes are not keeping pace".
Environmental groups challenging a federal gag law limiting public hearings on energy projects have lost a Supreme Court bid. Justices declined to hear the appeal over 2012 amendments to the National Energy Board Act: "I'm disappointed but not surprised".
The military expected to quell political unrest in Canada’s North as territories rebelled against their treatment as “colonies”, according to a confidential 1989 report by the Department of National Defence. The 27-page document marked SECRET was released by the federal archives under the Access To Information Act: "Unrest may be expected to develop in more militant forms in the future".
Cabinet has no evidence a tax scheme intended to promote children’s enrollment in sports has worked, despite costing nearly a billion dollars. The finance department in a secret memo said it failed to find any research on the impact of the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, and noted most parents surveyed said they’d enroll kids in sports without the credit: "It's difficult".
A band of debt collectors is launching a Federal Court challenge against telecom regulations on unsolicited phone calls. Companies filed court papers asking that a judge strike down robo-call rules enforced by the CRTC: 'It is freedom of expression'.
Cabinet is accused of thwarting a union drive within the RCMP despite a Supreme Court deadline that first-ever collective bargaining be introduced by January 16, 2016. An association attempting to organize police says it continues to be denied access: "We're still facing a huge uphill battle".
Tax evasion remains “socially acceptable” despite enforcement efforts, says a confidential Canada Revenue Agency report. However the Agency appeared to drop a proposal to fingerprint taxpayers who fail audits: "Sustained efforts over a number of years will be needed".
Federal regulators are refusing to explain why they failed to ensure compensation for customers of failed airline SkyGreece. The Canadian Transportation Agency yesterday declined comment on why it waited weeks to protect passengers who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on cancelled flights and prepaid tickets: "They seem to be washing their hands of this".
Canada’s power grid is more disaster-proof than it was at the time of an epic 2003 blackout but remains susceptible to extreme weather and cyber attack, says a federal report. The blackout cut power to 50 million customers in Canada and the U.S.: "We are approaching design limits".
