The Canadian Grain Commission deferred millions in capital costs that must now be charged against user fees, says an internal report. The commission delayed "rust-out" maintenance till after deciding to hike user fees to cover budget shortfalls: "We all know we're paying too much".
Cabinet is cutting the number of foreign PhD and graduate students permitted into Canada by half to 500 a year, but boosting the number of foreign-born tradespeople from 3,000 to 5,000. Preferred immigrants include electricians, plumbers and steamfitters: "How do they know?"
Canadians’ fatness reflects higher living standards and should be protected from the “anti-obesity lobby”, says a Calgary think tank. The Fraser Institute accuses health experts of skewing health data to raise unnecessary alarm: "We should expect to be a little heavier".
The Department of Agriculture is budgeting $45,000 a day for a booth at a Paris trade show. Authorities refused an interview on spending that includes 1,600 glasses of wine and beer served by "hostesses" in a relaxing lounge: "Where is the merit of it?"
A union-sponsored conference has pressed Canada Post to revive consumer banking services once rated a “win-win” by management. Canadian bank profits average 20.5% annually and as high as 33% for internet-based institutions: 'This is very valuable'.
MPs seek hearings on the now-suspended Temporary Foreign Worker Program in the food trade amid industry fears regulators over-reacted to abuses at one restaurant chain. The outcry follows new research the plan has contributed to higher unemployment for students and other low-skill job-seekers: "It should be strongly regulated".
The internet “currency” bitcoin may soon transform money-laundering and banknote smuggling, warns the Canada Border Services Agency. In a confidential report managers expressed alarm over bitcoin’s attraction for black marketeers: "It may be favoured by organized crime as it masks activity".
Health Canada will finally ban a carcinogenic chemical additive from children’s products. The order comes 37 years after researchers first identified risks posed by a flame retardant common in children’s toys, pillows and pajamas: "Do we trade off one bad chemical for another?"
The RCMP have enacted new regulations that dismantle grievance boards and confirm a commissioner’s power to promote, demote or fire officers. The new rules come in advance of a Supreme Court judgment on whether to lift a 94-year ban on unions in the federal police force: "Who does the commissioner answer to?"
Barely 1 in 100 Canadians surveyed are concerned with cabinet priorities on pipelines and free trade, according to government data. Research commissioned by the Department of Natural Resources showed Canadians are more likely to care about corruption, Senate abolition and the environment: "There was little or no awareness".
A constituency poll by a cabinet minister confirms widespread resistance to any new tax to fund the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The survey results were reported amid new CRTC research showing record numbers of viewers are quitting network TV, period: "Change is upon us".
Cabinet must show vigorous leadership in adapting to climate change and the risk of extreme weather, says a former federal environment commissioner. Scott Vaughan told an Ottawa climate conference the need was dramatized by disastrous 2013 flooding in Calgary and Toronto blamed for four deaths and $7.2 billion in damage: "We need transformational thinking".
A simple adjustment in fees at national parks may help prevent millions in environmental damage, a University of Guelph research paper proposes. Groups contacted by Blacklock’s praised the idea. Parks Canada refused an interview: "It is certainly worth testing".
Nine-figure quarterly profits for the nation’s two largest railways are angering shippers after a winter-long wrangle over inadequate service. Both CN Rail Co. and Canadian Pacific reported gains in net revenues at the same time service complaints prompted new federal legislation: "Competition is absent".
Canada lacks the “political will” to vigorously pursue commercial fraud, says the former counsel for a now-disbanded Bre-X class action lawsuit. The long-lived litigation over the 1997 fraud has ended after Ontario Superior Court concluded there was little money left to recover on behalf of swindled investors: "Everybody was happy to go along with it".
