Canada’s tariff policy has become a paperwork burden that does little to protect manufacturers, says a Toronto think tank. Cabinet in 2013 introduced $1.1 billion in tariff hikes over five years: "These tariffs are on items that Canada produces very little of".
Regulators have broadened the mandate for a little-known federal commissioner assigned to take consumer complaints against telecom companies. The government’s own research shows few Canadians ever contact the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services: "99% of the time they have never heard of the CCTS".
Cabinet will consider a private Liberal bill to shift Employment Insurance benefits for some working mothers. The bill would allow pregnant claimants to seek benefits seven weeks early if their health is deemed at risk from working conditions: "The substance of the bill is really profound".
Farm fertilizers can accumulate in soil for up to 30 years or more, according to new University of Waterloo research. Scientists warned of a “biochemical legacy” that sees commercial fertilizers leach into groundwater, lakes and streams: “It could be 30, forty or even fifty years”.
An insurance policyholder who sued over a bullying claim has lost a bid for a Supreme Court appeal. Justices dismissed the case of contested coverage on a household insurance policy: "Companies are insulating themselves from paying".
A 76¢ dollar is credited with winter gains in manufacturing including food processing. Statistics Canada says processors’ sales grew 4.6 percent in January to $8.4 billion, a record: "The dollar is fine, but you don't want to live off that".
Canada Revenue Agency transferred 155,000 tax files to the U.S. under a far-reaching agreement that’s drawn privacy protests. Up to a million Canadians may be affected by a tax provision inserted into an omnibus budget bill two years ago: "The agreement is deeply flawed".
The Supreme Court will not hear an appeal from a national charity stripped of its tax status after its director spent funds on a trip to Disneyland. The Humane Society of Canada lost its charitable status in a 2007 federal audit: "It shows how difficult it is for a charity to reverse a decision".
A federal judge has struck down a “fair dealing” defence in a copyright dispute. The Court ruled an Alberta publisher had no right to republish electrical codes developed by the Canadian Standards Association: "This is why we have the courts".
In an “unprecedented” initiative a federal fisheries panel has concluded marine conservation should be tailor-made to local areas. Cabinet pledges to expand the nation’s marine conservation areas: "We haven't done very much".
Transport Canada is contracting drones to monitor oil spills off the nation’s 243,000 kilometre coastline. The program follows warnings that regulators have little oversight over Arctic shipping: "It has limitations".
Cabinet will curtail budget advertising that cost some $750 million over the past nine years, says Treasury Board President Scott Brison. Authorities stopped short of proposing independent oversight of government-paid ads: "Canadians are angry".
A new National Building Code in its first revision in five years promises more energy efficiency in new homes. The rewrite follows complaints from the Department of Natural Resources that Canadians earned a reputation as “energy pigs”.
RCMP will see a first-ever union certification drive this spring regardless of whether Parliament removes an unconstitutional ban on collective bargaining, say organizers. Lawmakers face a May 16 deadline to lift the 1920 ban: "It makes for a relatively seamless transition".
The Senate will holding hearings, the first by a parliamentary committee, on the household cost of a carbon tax. The investigation by the energy committee follows government research that identified widespread public scepticism over carbon pricing: ‘How does that affect Fred and Martha, the ordinary citizen?’
