A “significant increase” in whistleblower reports from oil insiders is prompting the National Energy Board to hire consultants for advice on how to process complaints. The Board yesterday reported receiving 17 whistleblower complaints in the past two years. There were none in 2013: 'These are reports from external parties'.
In a ruling affecting thousands of prison inmates, a federal judge has struck down a longstanding Correctional Service risk assessment test as biased and “unreliable”. Court heard that management knew for years their standard psychological tests were flawed: "It doesn’t mean inmates will be flooding the streets; it means they will be given a fair shake".
Only 1 percent of Canadians rate foreign affairs a top government priority, according to in-house research by the Privy Council Office. Voters were three times more likely to name the trade deficit than terrorism as a “threat” to the economy. The data was released just before last evening’s French-language leaders’ election debate on foreign policy: "It was the lack of good jobs that made them worry".
Canada’s telecom regulator has released a new code governing wholesale broadcasting that sets out rules between broadcasters and programmers. The code attracted an unusually large number of submissions ahead of the CRTC's requirements for simplified pick-and-pay cable and satellite packages of $25 a month: "It is not clear".
A surprise 2013 tax break on hockey gear came only five weeks after Bauer Hockey Corp. threatened to move its Canadian operations over high tariffs, say newly-released documents. The manufacturer in a secret letter told the Department of Finance that rising tariffs “will have a direct effect on Bauer’s Canadian operations.”
A federal board that regulates drug prices is unconstitutional and should be disbanded, says a manufacturer. Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is challenging the legality of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board in Federal Court: 'They win this case, there won't be a drug in Canada that is price-controlled'.
Most migrant workers facing expulsion under a four-year deadline on labour permits were able to stay in the country, says an industry group. Thousands of temporary foreign workers saw their permits expire April 1: 'The deadline didn't affect us as much as we thought'.
The Canadian Coast Guard must beef up its icebreaker fleet or risk transport disruptions that will hurt the economy, say shipowners. In an election appeal, the Canadian Shipowners Association noted inadequate icebreaking caused troubles in the past two winters: "It's difficult work".
The federal prison population is forecast to rise by 25 percent or more within six years, says the Correctional Service of Canada. Prison management has already been cited by auditors for grossly overestimating inmate projections: "I don’t know how we would see a 25% rise".
A federal whistleblower law is being challenged in court over arbitrary limits on investigations. A Department of Natural Resources employee said his complaints of reprisals were dismissed for failing to meet a 60-day deadline: "It takes time to ruin a person".
Canada’s first federal credit union is proceeding with a merger of 14 institutions in what is expected to fuel more amalgamations. Parliament introduced legislation five years ago allowing credit unions to apply for federal licensing: "A lot of credit unions are looking at what we're doing".
A pair of federal employees have been docked two years’ pay after taking a moonlight swim in a Parks Canada pool. In an unusually steamy ruling, a labour board said the couple that took a romantic swim off-limits showed lack of respect towards their employer’s core mandate: "They should suffer the consequences".
Cabinet is drafting legislation to strip benefits from federally-regulated pension plans, according to a private letter by Finance Minister Joe Oliver. The finance department had appeared to drop the proposal in months prior to the election campaign: "The government is now developing the federal legislative framework".
Rigid enforcement of trivial rules on migrant labour has earned Employment Canada a reprimand from a federal judge. The court struck down a department ruling that disqualified the hiring of a temporary foreign worker due to a misplaced address: "It was a little bit unfair".
A new Parliament should enact a limited pharmacare program to subsidize families that spend more than $1,500 a year on medication, says the Canadian Medical Association. Physicians also proposed billions in extra grants to provinces with older populations: 'A new government could do it right away'.
