The Supreme Court is leaving marijuana insurance disputes up to industry and policyholders. The court would not consider an appeal redefining the insurance value of cannabis. The dismissal came as Health Canada forecasts the number of medical marijuana users nationwide will rise to 400,000 within a decade: 'This was a high-value asset in the home'.
The Supreme Court of Canada has struck down a 95-year ban on unions in the RCMP as unconstitutional. Justices in a 6-1 decision ruled the restriction on collective bargaining in the federal police force violated the Charter of Rights. The Court gave cabinet one year to amend regulations permitting RCMP to unionize “free from management influence”.
Climate change poses a “profound risk” to Northern airports that are vital links to remote communities, says Transport Canada. The department is commissioning a $160,000 study of three airfields in Manitoba, Nunavut and Northwest Territories affected by thawing permafrost: "Airports are the only lifelines to these communities".
Canadian Pacific Rail has lost a court challenge of interswitching rules that allowed an Alberta customer to ship grain at a quarter the cost of CP freight rates. The ruling follows cabinet attempts to promote more competition in rail freight by expanding interswitching across the Prairies: "That is a great boon to shippers".
New federal restrictions on installation of computer software are so complex they may trap unwitting businesses, say executives. Regulators prohibited any installation of software on computers, cellphones, tablets and other devices without the consent of owners: "It does leave some lingering questions".
A bid to press one of the Canada’s largest environmental class action lawsuits has failed at the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear an appeal from homeowners in Cape Breton who complained of industrial fallout from a century of steel-making: "It's a travesty".
Canada Border Services Agency has quietly resumed installation of audio-visual recorders at airports and land crossings after a public outcry prompted suspension of the surveillance program three years ago. The agency confirmed it has lifted a ban on installing recorders. In a confidential memo, management said the surveillance equipment was needed to spy on employees suspected of criminality: "This is shocking".
Changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will see thousands of migrants lose their work permits beginning April 1. The impact has prompted Unifor to launch an information hotline for foreign hires, the first of its kind: "There is a big deadline coming up".
The Supreme Court will hear arguments today in two key cases challenging the reach of the Bankruptcy And Insolvency Act. Delinquent drivers in two provinces are attempting to overturn rules that denied them a license for non-payment of penalties even after being discharged from bankruptcy: "It affects a large number of people".
Maritime lobster fishermen say they are making progress, slowly, in adopting reforms to save the industry from a devastating price collapse. P.E.I. harvesters said they proposed to move closer in 2015 to creating a marketing board financed by a levy on fishermen: "We don't have this opportunity very often".
Cabinet’s mammoth omnibus budget bills will ultimately be tested in the Supreme Court, says a B.C. attorney who successfully challenged Parliament’s methods in amending the Fisheries Act. The upcoming 2015 budget bill is the first since a judge ruled cabinet ignored a legal requirement to meaningfully consult on changes to federal law: "Canadians should be outraged".
The Government of Canada in a blistering judgment has been cited for breaching the Canadian Human Rights Act. A federal adjudicator ruled Employment Canada hounded a disabled employee out of his job after 20 years’ service: "The story ended sadly".
Federal research on oil spill scenarios off the British Columbia coast raises questions over cabinet’s 2014 approval of the Northern Gateway project, says an advocate of a tanker ban. The fisheries department is contracting $50,000 worth of “oceanographic monitoring” of the Douglas Channel near Kitimat, B.C., future site of an Enbridge Inc. tanker terminal: 'They gave the green light'.
Federal spending cuts mushroomed from $3.8 billion to $14.6 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. The fiscal watchdog reported direct program spending fell 2.3% compared to the same period last year: 'There is a problem'.
The Supreme Court will rule Friday on whether to lift a 95-year union ban in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The judgment follows adoption of new RCMP Regulations that forbid police from criticizing management: "Now is the time to bring them into the 21st century".
