An unhappy hydro customer has lost his Supreme Court bid to argue for the right to receive utility bills by courier and not Canada Post. Justices declined to hear the case noting the definition of “mail” was clear: "When individuals read statutes they can often run into trouble".
The Commons has rejected a proposal to hike the CBC budget amid disastrous revenue losses from its dropping of NHL rights. MPs rejected a New Democrat proposal to reinstate the last of federally-mandated cuts to the network's budget: "I cannot see any purpose for English TV".
Heavy Great Lakes ice has slowed shipping through the St. Lawrence Seaway to less than half normal cargo volumes to date. Shippers said ice conditions, the worst since 1979, put the freighting season weeks behind schedule: "It's been a painful start".
A Canada Border Services memo urging that guards save time and money by halting random searches for narcotics in shipping containers is an accurate outline of “priorities”, says an official. Authorities for the first time confirmed the memo published by Blacklock’s March 27 and suggested it remains policy: "If you're one of our trading partners you really have to question where the security is".
Transport Canada acknowledges for the first time no advance public notice is required of new safety regulations under changes to federal law. The admission came after exhaustive questioning in the Commons transport committee: "We should be very, very clear and honest about what's going on".
Cabinet should create a new federal office to ensure Canadian multinationals conduct themselves ethically, say advocates. The United Steelworkers, Canadian Catholics and others pressed for appointment of a mining and energy ombudsman. The appeal came a month after MPs vetoed an anti-corruption bill affecting multinationals: "Corporations have a duty".
Health Canada updates of regulations on drinking water aboard public transportation are already obsolete, say carriers. Industry contacted by Blacklock’s said common standards already exceed proposed revisions. Canada has not seen a typhoid outbreak aboard a plane, train or cruise ship since 1970: "We are a leader in this".
The Commons by a 147 to 124 vote last evening rejected a motion to renew long-term funding for social housing. The Conservative majority dismissed the proposal as vague and bureaucratic: "In Winkler, Manitoba we do not want Ottawa telling us how to spend housing dollars”.
The nation’s overall economy rates OK to satisfactory, according to the Conference Board of Canada. The think-tank also ranked provinces by performance, and rated two as having economies that are near-failures: "Resources are ruling the day".
The Canadian Coast Guard confronted by the coldest winter in 35 years cancelled employee call-ups and staff replacements aboard its icebreakers to meet budget targets, according to an internal memo. Records confirm the country's two heavy icebreakers were out of service in the coldest weeks of winter, even as ferry service was disrupted and shippers cited mounting losses: "To me this doesn't add up".
Rising police expenses including salaries for $85,000-a year constables are unsustainable without reform, says the Commons public safety committee. MPs in a majority report said excessive wage settlements, inadequate care for the homeless and mentally ill, and “changing demographics” are driving police costs near the breaking point: "We have to take action to fix it".
All provinces must adopt a mandatory Species At Risk Act similar to federal legislation if diminishing wildlife and habitat are to be saved, say British Columbia environmental groups. The public appeal follows a B.C. Supreme Court ruling the province had no mandatory duty to save centuries-old Douglas fir trees even after designating them as a species at risk: "It's probably time".
A landmark case on public employees’ right to strike goes to the Supreme Court Friday. Justices will hear a final appeal on the constitutionality of a Saskatchewan law, echoed in a federal bill, granting public employers wide powers to declare workers “essential” and therefore forbidden from striking: "There's a lot riding on this".
Federal departments and agencies have spent nearly half a million dollars in promoting messages on Twitter, including more than $78,000 spent by the CBC even as it contemplated job cuts. Agencies paid to have their Twitter thoughts featured at the top of search results: "The CBC as a corporation has some decisions to make".
Cabinet is lifting a liability cap on compensation from oil tanker spills after noting current limits come nowhere near the cost of cleaning up a catastrophic accident. Transport Canada said limits on payouts fixed to a 1990 formula under a federal Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund will be repealed. Clean-up costs associated with any environmental disaster will be met by the federal treasury, then recovered by fees on oil shippers: "We'll see".
