Cabinet’s vaunted cap on domestic wholesale roaming charges will not likely result in actual benefits for customers, the Senate communications committee has been told. It follows release of a report that calls for a new approach to the telecom industry: "That's up to the wireless companies to do that".
Marijuana increases risks of lung cancer, memory loss and may even lower IQ in heavy users, the Commons health committee has been told. Health Canada officials and expert witnesses said smokers, especially young Canadians, should be advised of the drug’s risks: "What we're hearing now would shock Canadians".
Shippers are appealing to MPs for protection from railway demands that they pay more for liability insurance on chemicals, fertilizers and other dangerous goods. Executives say demands from railways are arbitrary and disruptive, and appear to discriminate against certain industries: "It's not even a hidden agenda -- they are quite open about it".
Parks Canada reports hundreds of facilities in its care are in “critical” condition including a historic 1846 tower and artifacts of the Northwest Rebellion. The agency in a report to Parliament acknowledged 503 of its properties are rated “critical”, another 2400 are in “poor” shape: "They can't find money to preserve these national treasures".
Health Canada has paid out more than $84 million in compensation to aquaculture firms to destroy diseased fish, officials disclosed.. Authorities identified seven outbreaks of disease at fish farms since 2012: “It is recognized that this approach is not sustainable".
The Department of Foreign Affairs has bought more real estate than it’s sold in three of the past four years despite a promised campaign to get rid of foreign holdings. New land buys topped $178 million since 2011 amid a cabinet pledge to sell, sell, sell: "It's a scramble".
Local TV losses have more than doubled, according to the latest industry figures compiled by the CRTC. Local ad revenues fell 1 percent last year; national advertising revenues were down 5 percent: "Production in Canada cannot be solely based on private financing".
Proponents are resigned to defeat of a Supreme Court bilingualism bill but predict the language requirement will be law some day. The 41st Parliament again failed to pass legislation that all Court appointees be fluent in English and French. The measure has been before the Commons since 2008: "I feel sad".
A federal scheme to monitor travel plans of all international airline passengers may be delayed. Citizenship & Immigration Canada suggested the complex program announced as a security precaution in 2011 will not be in place as planned next year: "It is on the books".
Cabinet has poorly managed the federal prison system, says the Auditor General. Researchers found the Correctional Service over-estimated its prison population, then over-estimated savings from prison closures, then over-crowded prisons in the Prairies and Ontario while B.C. penitentiaries were under-capacity: "The theme really is that planning was not adequate".
Canadian groups are endorsing U.S. engineers' response to Asian carp deemed a threat to Great Lakes ecosystems. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes installation of new locks in Chicago and other measures to stem the spread of the aggressive carp: "The cost of doing nothing will trump the costs of preventing the invasion".
Railway workers say they do “not trust” employers to comply with privacy laws if Canada requires installation of video and audio recorders in locomotive cabs. Executives of Teamsters Canada told the Commons transport committee they fear railway managers will use cameras to spy on employees: "Why can't we cross that hurdle?"
A Conservative bill in the Senate would create a national day of observance for the collapse of South Vietnam. Some 60,000 Vietnamese fled to Canada after the communist takeover of their country: "April 30, 1975 marks a sad day".
Statistics Canada must improve accessibility of its data after making it free of charge, recommends the nation’s chief auditor. The statistical agency removed all fees on self-serve information in 2012, but makes it hard on users to find figures they need, an audit concluded: "It's very frustrating".
Federally-insured mortgages for first-time homebuyers averaged more than a quarter-million dollars last year, according to Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. The federal agency said it considered the debts reasonable: "It's almost a cultural attitude towards debt these days".
