Canada’s middle class is more financially stressed and debt-ridden than ever with a “hollowing out” of families once celebrated as the national ideal, says a stark federal report. The confidential research by Employment Canada was released through Access to Information: "The 'Canadian dream' is a myth more than a reality".
Netflix Inc. is appealing a Canadian ruling that would force the company to retroactively pay music royalties on free trials it offered prospective customers over seven years. Attorneys filed an application with the Federal Court of Appeal against the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada: "It's not anywhere near over".
Confidential government research is contradicting claims a cabinet initiative to align industry regulations between Canada and the U.S. will lower consumer prices. A consultants’ report says the pact may result in marginal gains amid "false expectations", and warns harmonization “could cause significant harm to Canadian distributors, retailers and consumers.” The cabinet study was released through Access to Information.
Levels of airborne dioxins are higher in some regions of Canada than they are in Mexico, according to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The research concluded levels are as much as 10 times those in Mexico despite an overall decrease of atmospheric dioxins in Canada: "What is the source?"
Shared Services Canada proposes to merge all toll-free government phone lines into a single, mammoth "cost-effective" automated answering system. The proposal follows earlier complaints of maddening experiences in trying to call federal departments. Shared Services declined an interview: 'The government is nameless, faceless and difficult to contact'.
The Supreme Court has declined to overturn a 76-year ban on the sale of raw milk. One dairyman named a “crusader” for unpasteurized milk was denied an appeal of his conviction under health regulations: "People who want this product can't get it".
Canadians rate the CRTC as too friendly with lobbyists and prone to government “propaganda”, according to the broadcast regulator’s own research. The findings are detailed in a study commissioned by the agency: "There was a certain amount of cynicism".
The Canadian Medical Association reports millions of people have no supplemental insurance to cover costly prescription drugs and other care past 65. The finding follows a survey commissioned by doctors that found one-third of Canadians must pay for costs not covered by medicare: "You will see unequal care".
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition: “A data management company offers to securely destroy your documents…”
If Aboriginal Canadians all lived in one place they would be Canada’s sixth largest province with 14 seats in the House of Commons.
If they were a nation they would be the 161st member state of the United Nations, larger than Cyprus, Iceland or Fiji.
Authors of “Aboriginal Populations”, a compelling demographic study, conclude the community is probably larger now than at any point in millennia though actual numbers of the pre-Confederation era are historical guesswork – perhaps 200,000, maybe more.
The underground “de-tax” movement, blamed by Canada Revenue Agency for costing millions, has suffered a lethal blow at the Supreme Court. Justices refused to hear an appeal from a delinquent tax-filer who claimed exemption from federal law: "This scheme is being actively promoted".
Health Canada proposes to award a $638,000 contract to a food processors’ group for “educational messages” on labeling at supermarkets. The funding follows appeals from consumers’ advocates that cabinet legislate standard nutrition labels on food products: "What is in a 'fruit cocktail'?"
Federal agencies almost never suffer budget cuts for inefficiency regardless of whether they meet annual targets, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office. Analysts in a critical report concluded funding was divvied up whether or not individual agencies were proven well-managed: 'It is like a gong show'.
Environment Canada in an enforcement blitz has cited a leading oil recycler for illegally shipping millions of litres of hazardous waste to the U.S. without a permit. New Brunswick’s Atlantic Industrial Services shipped reclaimed oil to Maine: "It was a hazardous material'.
Air Canada in a landmark ruling is being ordered to divulge confidential records on security complaints by travellers who allege racial profiling. The order is the first public glimpse into secretive federal security blacklists enacted after 9/11. It follows an appeal by a Halifax man who complained he was repeatedly badgered by airline staff and employees of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority: "I am a citizen".
