Blacklock's Reporter

Cabinet is widening a legal battle over whether Senate vacancies must be filled by the Prime Minister. The government is appealing a Federal Court ruling that the case proceed after federal attorneys argued the claim was frivolous: ‘Can the Senate wither away into nothingness?’

A contentious bill to compel unions to disclose confidential information is being challenged on a legislative technicality. Liberal and Conservative critics said C-377 will cost taxpayers millions of dollars, violating the scope of private bills: "Does Parliament have the right to do this?"

The fisheries department privately warned of “high” environmental risks from made-in-the-lab salmon despite public assurances, documents reveal. The disclosures were made in court documents filed in a federal lawsuit by two environmental groups: "It is incredibly frustrating to see this being kept from public view".

Pipeline corporations are praising a cabinet bill that caps the industry’s liability at $1 billion in case of an oil spill. However executives of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association contradicted each other on whether the coverage would actually cover costs of an eco-disaster: "Call it a worst-case scenario".

The federal Student Loan Program has lost a bid to force repayment of thousands in debts from a jobless graduate. The ruling in a Saskatchewan court allowed a bankrupt student with a Bachelor of Arts degree to avoid $33,870 in federal loans: "I am not satisfied she obtained a benefit from her education".

Changes to natural gas export licenses rated a “gift” to industry will see Canadian firms granted double the licensing terms of U.S. corporations, says the Department of Natural Resources. The changes were inserted in a 157-page omnibus budget bill: 'It provides greater certainty to investors'.

Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Nordstrom and Whole Foods are moving in; David’s Tea is announcing a major expansion; Parliament undergoes a $3 billion renovation…”

Of all populist movements to spring from the Prairies in the Mulroney era – and there were dozens – none achieved a more enduring impact than the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Disparaged by critics as a Conservative shill, nobody gave spendthrift Conservatives more grief.

The group once rolled up its giant debt clock outside the party’s national convention: “It was detained by the RCMP and searched by bomb-sniffing dogs,” recalls Federation president Troy Lanigan.

Does the language commissioner really need a car and chauffeur? Did cabinet really have to spend $12 million training geologists in Ethiopia? What was the defence department thinking when it wrote 167 pages of specifications to order mukluks? The Federation has an opinion on that.

Fighting For Taxpayers is an affectionate account of the group’s founding and grassroots financing. Born as the Association of Saskatchewan Taxpayers in 1989, it became a kind of national magpie caw-cawing over frugality in a cheeky, abrasive manner guaranteed to irritate officialdom.

A mammoth security check on federal border agents is so intensive the Government of Canada is hiring outside contractors to investigate its own employees. The Canada Border Services Agency says it needs help to probe the “reliability and loyalty” of staff, but didn't specify whether it will monitor Facebook entries, Twitter comments, LinkedIn pages or Google references: "This is overboard".

MPs have passed a bill to curb bootleg commercial fishing on warnings that fines are too low, and enforcement will take years to fully implement. The fisheries department said it has no estimate on the black market in Canada, though the worldwide trade in illegal fishing is worth billions: "I wonder why it has taken so long".

Parliament has exempted itself from new legislation on workplace protection for interns. The Department of Employment confirmed unpaid staffers in MPs' and senators’ offices are not fully covered by the Canada Labour Code: "Good to know".

Another charity -- the second in a week -- is taking Canada Revenue Agency to court after being threatened with loss of its registration. The Humane Society of Canada Foundation claimed “irreparable harm” if it loses charitable status: 'We want to make sure the sector clearly understands what the rules are'.

High-fructose corn syrup commonly used as a sweetener in processed foods is highly addictive in lab rats, new Canadian research confirms. The study comes as a Senate committee concludes hearings on whether to seek new labels or taxes on sweetened products: "We should really start considering what we are putting in our food".

Canada must veto any European-style ban on bee-killing farm chemicals, says the Senate agriculture committee. The panel yesterday ended an 18-month investigation of bee health with a call for more research: "It is too early".

Cabinet doesn’t know if a multi-billion dollar tax program intended to promote individual savings actually worked. The Department of Finance said it has no information on whether savings rates increased under its 2009 Tax-Free Savings Account plan: "We haven't done that analysis, sorry".