In a further sign of a slowing economy, urban housing starts in July declined 3.4 percent year over year, says the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. New home construction for the month – traditionally one of the busiest for starts – totaled the fewest since January: "There are legitimate fears".
Parliament is instructing tour guides to ban all mention of the Ottawa attack that prompted passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Guides escorting thousands of daily visitors past the Centre Block spot where a gunman was fatally shot by police must not speak of the event even if questioned, officials confirmed: "We don't talk about that!"
Major changes to air regulations are being postponed due to the general election. Advocates yesterday expressed frustration with the delay in amending flight crew rules for the first time since 1996: "There are a lot of good excuses -- I get that".
A federal board is claiming the right to void copyright on protected works after five years. The claim is made in court documents filed in a multi-million dollar Alberta lawsuit: "They are creating a precedent here".
The Department of Canadian Heritage proposes a marketing study of the music business amid complaints of inadequate support for the industry. The department seeks “insight into current marketing trends, practices and challenges of artists and entrepreneurs”, it said: "How do you get exposure?"
The Department of Finance in a confidential 2015 memo contemplates a collapse of Alberta’s economy. The memo says a repeat of a devastating 1982 recession complete with bank failures “should not occur”, but cautioned that modern circumstances “only partially mitigate the negative impacts of declining oil prices”.
Citizenship Canada in defiance of the digital age is buying microfilm to store millions of old immigration files. One analyst described the purchase as “unusual”, though a film distributor said the pre-war technology remains the cheapest way to store archival data: "Most organizations assume they will somehow figure it out".
A single mother who pleaded for jail rather than pay an $800 customs fine she couldn’t afford has won sympathy but no relief at a federal panel. An adjudicator noted “frustration and injustice” with the harshness of the Canada Border Services Agency penalty: "This regime provides tough justice".
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Intended as a place of solemn reflection on the meaning of oppression…”
Blacklock's newsroom pauses this week for our annual August holiday. We bid all our friends and subscribers a happy summer break and safe journey on your travels. Blacklock's returns August 8 -- The Editor.
A pledge from Canada Border Services Agency to fix long-standing problems with a costly information technology system is drawing skepticism from MPs. The Agency since 2013 has been cited for failing to streamline computer databases that cost taxpayers millions: "They never get to where they need to go".
The longest-running pension dispute at Veterans Affairs Canada has ended unhappily for a British Columbia family. A federal judge expressed sorrow but dismissed compensation for 1954 injuries suffered by an RCAF officer: ““If everybody did what Bob did, hopefully we would all make a difference”.
Decades of data are being reviewed by Health Canada investigators to find links between ozone pollution and urban death rates. The study is the latest commissioned by regulators amid growing evidence that city air causes illness and mortality: "There is no safe threshold".
Industry Canada is conducting a six-figure survey of small business debt for the first time since doubling loan limits under its Small Business Financing Program. Cabinet last January 23 raised the maximum loan to $1 million and extended terms from ten to 15 years: "We certainly didn't ask for it".
Outdated landfill sites may pose a risk to water supplies across the country, say analysts. There are more than 10,000 landfills nationwide, by Statistics Canada estimate: "They were unplanned and un-engineered sites".
