Two years after axing its U.S. direct marketing, the Canadian Tourism Commission is attempting to gauge the impact of advertising. The research follows a decline in revenues: "You have to double check all the assumptions".
An Alberta court has ruled the Canadian Food Inspection Agency can be sued for damages after quarantining a farm, even if the farmer received partial compensation. The liability case involves potato growers who accused inspectors of negligence: "The liability of the Agency is a live issue".
Immigrants pay fewer hospital visits than other Canadians, says new federal research. The data follow a 2012 cabinet order restricting medicare coverage for refugees. A federal judge in 2014 struck down the order as “cruel and unusual” and a violation of “standards of decency”.
CBC’s online news service is a media job-killer that undercuts private competitors with subsidized giveaway content, says a Department of Canadian Heritage report. The report is the first of its kind to cite the CBC.ca internet news site as a “challenge” to the viability of local newspapers: 'The newspaper model is broken 'beyond repair', even 'decimated'.
Unions are pressing for a quick summons of the 42nd Parliament to repeal newly-passed Conservative labour legislation already contested in the courts. One bill C-377 would see disclosure of confidential union data beginning in 2016: "We'll see".
A British Columbia court’s dismissal of questions over the reliability of alcohol sensors leaves innocent drivers with little protection against license suspensions, says a Vancouver lawyer. The ruling came as the RCMP consider roadside tests for marijuana-impaired drivers: "The government does get to make the call".
Telecom regulators have dismissed requests from consumers’ advocates for a clear ruling on data mining by telecom companies. The CRTC in a “non-ruling” yesterday said the practice was a privacy issue: "It took six months for the CRTC to decide it wasn't going to do anything".
The Liberal Party yesterday won its first majority government in fifteen years. Returns in the expanded 338-seat Commons were 184 Liberals; 99 Conservatives; 44 New Democrats; 10 Bloc Québecois MPs; and one Green Party MP. Stephen Harper’s defeat marked the first time since 1935 that a Conservative leader won a single-term majority, and was then driven from office by a Liberal sweep.
The immigration department has acknowledged a major privacy breach after personal information on hundreds of employees was accidentally released. Officials blamed “administrative error” for the violation of the Privacy Act: "The breach was discovered".
Federal auditors have been assigned to monitor “schemes” involving Tax-Free Savings Accounts, according to Canada Revenue Agency memos. Wealthier taxpayers have deposited billions under the program: "Taxpayers and their advisors are becoming increasingly aggressive".
The Governor General’s Office requires “tactful” telephone operators willing to manage “unusual” calls. Rideau Hall issued a job notice for switchboard staff with keen judgment willing to work overtime without extra pay: "No premium will be paid for weekends and statutory holidays".
A Supreme Court ruling gives provinces the go-ahead in enforcing automatic roadside suspensions for suspected drunk drivers. Justices upheld a British Columbia law that saw drivers lose their license without being convicted: "The state can punish you in ways other than sending you to prison".
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “In the Conservatives’ School of Economics, Canada is not in a recession; it’s only going through a contraction of the energy sector.
User fees make sense. People who want heated parking and water ski lessons could not fairly expect subsidies from non-skiing pedestrians. But what if true costs of goods or services are so deeply hidden no ordinary accounting is possible? This is where Cleaner, Greener, Healthier steps in. Professor David Boyd of Simon Fraser University calculates actual costs of environmental degradation and totes up the bill. The result is arresting.
Take pesticides. On the polluter-pay principle, Sweden taxes imported farm chemicals at $4.75 per kilogram; in Norway the rate is about $4.30. Finland, Denmark, France, Italy – all charge a pesticide tax reflecting the cost of environmental rehabilitation from the long-term effects of chemical use. The tax in Canada is zero. “Even worse, any pesticide used in agriculture regardless of its toxicity is exempt from the federal GST,” writes Boyd. “Rather than discourage the use of pesticides or reflect their substantial negative effects on human health and ecosystems, this subsidy encourages farmers to use pesticides instead of alternative methods of pest control.”
Privatized inspections of weights and measures are still being “phased in” more than five years after cabinet introduced a bill promising tougher scrutiny of gas pump gouging. Department of Industry memos indicate full inspections under Bill C-14 will not be in place till 2016, and violators will be let off with an "education" letter: "There have been no fines".
