A 205% increase in U.S. commercial border fees will drive many small Canadian trucking lines out of business or block them from shipping to American destinations, says an industry group. Some 29,000 trucks cross the border daily: "The proposed increases are ludicrous".
An unhappy taxpayer who took Canada Revenue and other officials to court again and again and again has lost a bid for one last appeal to the Supreme Court. Justices declined to hear the case after a chief clerk described the tax-filer as a “vexatious” litigant: "Most people do get the message".
The latest rail reform bill should “put more teeth” into service requirements for shippers, says Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. However critics replied the legislation deserved a “whole mouthful of teeth” to improve rail performance: "This should have been done a year ago".
Fish farmers face a “long process” in enacting a federal aquaculture law that complies with the Constitution, says a Conservative senator. Aquaculture companies have appealed for an Act of Parliament that would standardize industry rules: "It is different in every province".
A federal consumer protection agency that draws most of its budget from banks is more carrot than stick, says an MP. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada yesterday reported it is so flush with industry funding it didn’t spend half the grant it received from Parliament: "I think it should be illegal".
Nearly two-thirds of Canadians surveyed oppose privatization of the post office, according to a poll commissioned by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Suggestions cabinet would sell the Crown mail monopoly follow a Canada Post plan to charge customers 35% more for less service: "They are preparing the ground".
A federal board is reviewing standard-issue wire mesh safety glass installed in public buildings nationwide for generations. The review comes amid injury claims and a $5 million civil lawsuit. The Canadian General Standards Board confirmed it's reviewing standards on wire mesh glass for the first time since 1990: 'It can cause horrible injuries'.
A federal commissioner says Agriculture Canada's new royalty system for plant breeders will not punish growers with higher costs or onerous restrictions. Critics charge Bill C-18 will impose unprecedented patent costs on growers: "There's lots of choice out there".
A federal probe of dramatic hikes in propane prices has ended with a finding of no proof of collusion or price-fixing. The Competition Bureau concluded there was no evidence of unfair trade practices as prices rose as high as 71.5¢ a litre: "You can imagine my shock".
Parks Canada counted phantom schoolchildren in misrepresenting the success of a $1.6 million promotion, documents show. The agency claimed tens of thousands of teenagers as participants in a program though Statistics Canada reported the students don’t even exist: "That's ridiculous".
Made In China – and Bangladesh and Mexico – is the label on apparel purchased by most federal departments and agencies, records show. Of all Crown buyers free to contract uniforms, shirts and jackets offshore only three bought a majority of Canadian-made clothing: "The lowest cost wins the bid".
Friends and employees of the CBC are appealing to taxpayers to “show their support” for the Crown broadcaster following its loss of hockey revenues. However cabinet reasserted it will not make up the network’s $150 million-a year shortfall: "They can operate within their existing budget".
Nearly as many Canadians were killed while trespassing on railway property last year as the number who perished in the Lac-Mégantic disaster, data show. Railway officials and regulators counted 44 deaths of trespassers on tracks nationwide, with another 90 fatalities in collisions at level crossings: "These tragedies can be prevented".
Actual costs of a new stealth jet fighter would sink the entire military budget, says a think-tank analysis. Critics put the cost of F-35 jets at between $90 billion and $126 billion over the forty-year lifespan of the fleet: "There would be no money left for anything else".
The Bank of Canada is shelving its “dead money” criticism of corporations it once accused of hoarding cash amid the lowest tax rates of the postwar era. Governor Stephen Poloz told MPs he found no fault with firms sitting on more than a half-trillion dollars in accumulated revenues: "Companies and their boards have been going through a lot".
