|
| |
|
Regulators |
|
|
BURLINGTON - Muhammad Watto, 54, alleges in court documents that the
Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC)
has engaged in fraud, forgery and human rights violations. (CBC)
WINNIPEG - MB's child welfare agencies are suing the province for more than $250M, alleging the government is holding back money. The lawsuit alleges that the provincial government is 'unilaterally holding back 20% of the funding from First Nation and Metis Welfare agencies.' (CTV)
LONDON, ON - A London woman who survived breast cancer isn't faring so well against city bylaw officers who fined her $2,260 for providing a service to patients that medical staff say is invaluable. (London Free Press)
Project will cost taxpayers more
MONTREAL - The
REM is going to cost taxpayers a lot more than was initially
stated. When it was first
proposed, the
Caisse de Depot was going to building, own, and manage the light
rail line in Montreal with about $3B in funding from the federal and
provincial governments and the city of Montreal, while putting up
about half the cost itself. (CTV)
SASKATOON - The family of an Indigenous teen found dead in Regina 2 years ago is raising concerns over the coroner's report into his death. The Dubois family's concerns were raised in the wake of a multi-million-dollar court settlement involving the coroner's office. (CBC) RELATED: SK coroner rules no inquest in 6 prison deaths
TORONTO - Billion-dollar companies paid by auto insurers hire doctors
to assess accident victims in a process called independent medical
evaluations, and then edit and package those medical reports.
The assessment firms play a significant role in how medical
opinions are obtained and shaped for the insurance industry.
(Globe & Mail)
MORE:
ON to reform auto insurance system
A Marketplace investigation of the world's largest diploma mill has
discovered many Canadians could be putting their health and well-being
in the hands of nurses, engineers, counsellors and other professionals
with phoney credentials.
Fake diplomas are a billion-dollar industry. (CBC)
EDMONTON - The
Alberta Dental Association and College released the new Alberta
dental fee guide, which includes recommended fees for specific
dental procedures. But
some of the fees are nearly double those recommended in BC.
(CBC)
OTTAWA - The federal government effectively allows industry to represent Canadian consumers nowadays, a wolf-as-shepherd situation if ever there was one. (CBC) PREVIOUS: Consumers need a backbone Cancel the tax break Non-Profit Industry
OTTAWA - The wide-ranging
omnibus budget bill,
C-44, includes a section that would increase the excise duty rates on alcohol
products by 2% and automatically adjust the rates in line with
inflation on
April 1 of each year,
beginning in 2018. (Globe
& Mail) MORE:
Senate stands down on
automatic sin tax increases
Bureaucratic reflex to overclassify
OTTAWA - The reluctance of Canada's intelligence and federal policing
agencies to share information with the country's business community is
a national security weakness that needs to be addressed.
(CBC)
TORONTO - Rent control policies implemented more than 20 years ago
aimed at helping low-income Ontarians get affordable housing are
having the opposite effect now, and making accommodation even harder
to find, an economist with the CIBC argues in a new report Tuesday.
(CBC) REPORT:
Wrong medicine
pdf
Exact opposite of what is needed |
WINNIPEG - Manitoba plans to probe the 'tragic waste of money' at the Canadian province's electricity utility, which has carried out $14B of projects in recent years, the premier said. (Bloomberg)
PICTON - OPP have taken the unusual step of charging the head of a Children's Aid Society for overseeing an agency that placed 10 children with foster parents who ended up being convicted of sexual abuse. (CBC) PREVIOUS: Executive facing charges
MONTREAL - Quebec's ombudsman says the
province's attempt to reform healthcare took its toll on the sick
and the elderly.
Marie Rinfret did not mince words
as she tabled her report saying the reforms were rushed and ill-thought out, and
often caused delays in treatment.
(CTV)
OTTAWA - 5 satellite receivers in Inuvik sit dormant despite the fact they have been ready for service since Oct 2016. They were built by Norway's Kongsberg Satellite Services and American satellite company Planet Labs. More than 18 months ago, both companies began the application process for federal licensing. ISED said the licence applications were approved on Feb 27. But this doesn't mean either company can begin using the receivers. What remains is approval from Global Affairs Canada, and a second licence under the Canada's Remote Sensing Space Systems Act. (CBC)
TORONTO - Research from the CD Howe
Institute revealed zoning regulations, development charges and
housing limits in and around southern Ontario's Greenbelt have added
around $168,000 to single-family houses in the Greater Toronto Area
and about $644,000 to the cost of others in.
(CP)
WINNIPEG - If red light violations were
based on a yellow traffic signal duration of 5.2 seconds - as
recommended by the
ITE formula rather than 4.0 - over 90%
of these photo enforcement violations would not have occurred.
In 2011, the city's traffic engineer, Luis Escobar, concluded in a
report to council that four seconds was adequate
.pdf for Winnipeg and was consistent with engineering practices.
(CBC)
OTTAWA - Canadians undergo more than a
million medical tests and treatments every year that they may not
need, according to a report that reveals big variations in the
ordering of some procedures.
(Globe & Mail)
Appointed bureaucrats define culture
OTTAWA - The
Canadian
Cultural Property Export Review Board's
repeated refusal to certify the bulk of the
PARLEE BEACH - The NB government was
worried about protecting the reputation of Parlee Beach and the
Shediac economy when it developed a unique water-testing system for
the beach in 2000.
Documents suggest that between 1998
and 2002, the goal of keeping the beach open was just as important
as public health and environmental concerns. (CBC)
VANCOUVER - Given federal plans to spend
$186B over the next decade or so on infrastructure, where should
Ottawa invest our tax dollars?
Conclusion: Ottawa's doing it in
all the wrong places.
(Sun Media)
OTTAWA - A year after Ottawa rolled out a new scheme to crack down on
employers violating the rules of the temporary foreign worker program,
only 3 businesses have been fined or banned for non-compliance.
(Toronto Star)
OTTAWA - New legislation
creating the Canada Infrastructure Bank will hand power over some of
the bank's decisions to the federal cabinet, raising the issue of how
independent it actually will be.
(Globe & Mail)
TORONTO - Sidewalks to nowhere, rogue lemonade stands, and a war on
sandwich spreads. If it seems ridiculous it must be the heavy hand of
government rolling out another spool of red tape, restraining us all
in a tangled mess of short-sighted regulations.
(CFIB) |
|
TORONTO - Just before he was hit with a $20M penalty for 'appalling' breaches of Ontario's securities law, Toronto businessman Wayne Pushka took to the road. The OSC wants the $20M, but judging by its track record it is unlikely to be successful. A Toronto Star investigation shows that roughly $360M in penalties levied over the past 10 years remains uncollected. (Toronto Star) |
Regulator never charged promoter Quebec hoping to derail regulator Creating a securities regulator Strategy to Combat Investment Fraud .pdf NB, SK to join |
|
Investors sue securities commission Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Bay Street fear high paying job losses Flaherty joined by foe in pursuit of regulator Friedland settlement .pdf BC Securities Commission (BCSC) |
Officer's killer can do investor relations Ontario obstacle to TMX-LSE union Bid reopens Canadian benefit debate Can Flaherty regulate the regulators? Another flaw in the system gets noticed Why the OSC so rarely gets its man Why white-collar crime team fizzled |
|
First Nations have treaty rights to produce and sell cigarettes
tax-free on reserves.
Under Canadian law, if you don't have status as an indigenous person,
it's illegal to buy untaxed cigarettes.
A carton of 200 full taxed cigarettes costs $100 or more in
most places in Canada. But on-reserve, W5 was able to buy cartons of
untaxed cigarettes for as little as $15.
(CTV) Complex income tax system costly |
CRA says it is a model employer |
|
OTTAWA - A skittish
federal Liberal government has unveiled a series of tougher gun
control measures to fulfill election promises to crack down on gun
violence while insisting it isn't bringing back the politically
explosive long-gun registry.
(Toronto Star) |
Liberals using selection bias stats for gun crime |
|
OTTAWA - The international airports in
Toronto and Vancouver have each signed contracts with the Canadian
Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA)
that give them additional screening resources, even as the agency
absorbs another cut in its budget this year.
(CBC) |
Canada's sky high airport fees National Airports System (NAS) 26 NAS airports serve 94% of all traffic |
|
OTTAWA - The quest of a NB man to purchase slightly cheaper alcohol in a neighbouring province has failed after making it all the way to Canada's highest court, which has ruled the prohibition on doing so is constitutional. It declared that Canada's constitution simply 'does not impose absolute free trade across Canada.' (National Post) |
No politician wants free trade Tax revolt could be a blessing Provincial free trade solution Warnings withdrawn as PEI overhauls liquor laws What about free trade within Canada? Liberals vote down free-the-beer More new booze rules in Alberta |
|
Entitlement enabler update coming Provincial cash cow thrown out Feds back move to liberalize flow of alcohol |
Challenge to Beer Store monopoly Monopoly triggers legal actions Monopoly is political evolution |
|
Judge rules ban violates constitution Monopoly enabling the entitled Alberta small brewers association
Political donations won't influence changes NB Liquor says it could go out of business Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act |
Finance minister says LCBO is here to stay Short over a trillion empty beer bottles |
|
End of the Victorian era in BC? Municipalities want to keep powers Value of 'social responsibility' |
Fight to free our grapes is far from over BC liquor regulators at work, again |
|
Cinema gains liquor license, loses movies |
Report outlines wasteful staff spending In Al Gosling's death hope for others Ontario to merge or axe more agencies Outlaw may destroy social order |
|
|
Service NB admits property tax error Premier troubled by allegations Effort to deflate tax assessment scandal
2016 NB's AG report: I, II, III & IV |
|
MARKHAM - Their stories are horrific. All of these shocking scenes
were the result of neglect by 2 major Ontario nursing home providers,
2 new proposed class-action lawsuits allege.
The landmark lawsuits target 2 industry giants:
Extendicare and
Sienna
Senior Living. (CTV)
Proposed class action lawsuits
PEI AG report 2017 .pdf
Monitoring seniors' services 2015
L'Isle-Verte
nursing home fire |
Woman falls to her death at care home Police probe nursing home death Coroner probes 2nd nursing home
Slow fix
Ontario
Public Guardian and Trustee
|
|
OTTAWA - As of Jan 1, 60- and 40-watt incandescent light bulbs can no longer be manufactured or imported into Canada, an extension of the ban on 75- and 100-watt bulbs that came into effect a year earlier. (Globe & Mail) |
Industry killed incandescent bulbs Incandescent light bulb ban Jan 1, 2014 Industry killed incandescent bulbs |
|
OTTAWA - Many Canadians are overpaying for prescription glasses due to weak competition in the market and strict eye-test regulations that make it hard for consumers to shop around, a Marketplace investigation reveals. (CBC) |
|
|
TORONTO - In her new annual report Ontario's Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk bemoans 'excessive' wait times for hospital beds, reveals shoddy highway paving by contractors, and unveils that the government's own projection for its cap and trade program will see the majority of its cuts to greenhouse gas emissions come from outside ON, despite its $2B yearly price tag. (CBC) |
|
|
TORONTO - According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), there were more than 84,000 physicians in Canada last year, or 230 per 100,000 population - the highest proportion ever. (CNW) Physicians in Canada 2016 .pdf More doctors, less billing growth |
Canadian Institute for Health Information National health expenditure trends Young doctors aren't taking over from retiring Proposed class action grows Class action Report defamatory to regulators |
|
Doctors allowed to give files to private firms Cause of death incorrect too often Licence revoked in ON recruiting in AB |
Canadian Medical Association Journal Small group of expensive patients Fraudulent claims investigation |
|
Vow to reduce secrecy is vague in details Government spends $750K on 'scare' |
No crisis 'until it was too late' Regulators still protecting their turf Health Care Services - Nunavut |
|
Doctor should have know patient was dying |
Cosmetic surgery crackdown begins Review to examine pathology department College of Denturists of Ontario |
|
HALIFAX - A 7-year-old Nova Scotia boy who suffered brain damage at birth has received a $6M settlement. (CP) Bureaucrats cover up 11 deaths
Procurement May 2018
.pdf
Annual report 2016
.pdf Building program needs to be improved |
Need to tighten fraud controls 2017 report .pdf 142 child death cases to be reviewed Doubt cast on reasons children died Police sway pathologists' conclusions |
|
EDMONTON - Alberta spent $27.4M of public funds on subsidies to the
province's 15 most expensive private schools last year.
(CBC) 2017 SKQB 109 .pdf $329M school board budget vote Higher fees for regulated screening Kindergarten hoax available .pdf Province takes over Catholic school board Trustees asked to explain high expenses Catholic trustees avoid police probe |
Board was wrong to heed opinions
School
resource officer program Falconer never asked us: no-shows Toronto board mandarins snub safety probe Millions of dollars and labour negotiations Crisis of confidence,' in school safety Parents shocked by board spending |
|
TORONTO - Over two years ago, according to the Toronto Star's reporting, Toronto Hydro spent some money, and may have given some of it to some politically connected people, to study the possibility of privatizing itself. (Toronto Star)
ON's electricity markets and their effects
Fair Hydro plan
.pdf
What is the global adjustment fee?
|
Hydro in Toronto more than double average
$6.7B acquisition may gouge ratepayers
Chubu Electric Power Toyota Tsusho Things to know about AG report AG blasts $1B+ in grants to businesses Consumers pay billions extra
|
|
Wynne launches petition against herself
Premier tries to defend green wash Privatize profits, socialize risks Governments addicted to spending |
Alarm over province's growing debt |
|
Another megaproject wrong choice Cancellation of gas plants issues .pdf OPP scouring for more documents
|
|
|
ON to sell off 60% of Hydro One $7M for consultants on Hydro One and beer Power plants, police and the bureaucrat |
Wynne waits for Horwath to pull the plug Wynne sues
Energy spike
slipping back down |
|
40% hike approved
by regulator Coordinated effects & Trading Report .pdf Fine for driving up power rates Gas Plant cancellation cost $1.1B ON kills plan for new nuclear plants |
Crown corp seeks 16% rate hike |
|
NS Power loses bit to suppress |
Energy Conservations Board (ERCB) Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) Review of options .pdf |
|
Canada MPs to end isotope crisis Toronto Hydro takes and spends Chalk River crisis sired by AECL Atomic Energy chair steps down |
Williams blasts regulatory board Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project Touted as best option, despite hike Muskrat Falls cheaper than wind power Hydro rebate won't offset increases |
|
HST adds $1.6B to Ontario energy bills |
Power grid needs $293B from you Power prices set to rise sharply Scrapping power plan won't halt hikes Pricing Ontario electricity options Nunavut power rates going up 19% Energy sector on $100K Sunshine list Most expensive, least reliable |
|
Statscan blames gas prices on taxes OTTAWA - In a study Statistics Canada puts the blame for uneven gas prices in Canada on some provincial and municipal governments. |
|
|
TORONTO - A shocking report by the City of Toronto's Auditor-General paints an 'alarming' picture of how private firm duplicity and galling bureaucratic indifference allowed the city to put at risk the safety of employees, firefighters and visitors to thousands of city buildings such as City Hall, Metro Hall, Union Station, daycares, long-term care homes and recreation centres. (National Post) Fraud investigation of a vendor |
Ontario Highway Transportation Board 'Significant hazard to public safety' |
|
VANCOUVER - BC's Passenger Transportation Board has approved 175 additional taxi licences for Vancouver. However, the municipal government would need to lift its moratorium on new licenses, which extends to this fall as the city waits on a provincial review to see how BC's taxi industry can coexist with ride-sharing applications like Uber. (CBC) 2016 Uber has taxi industry in disarray |
97% of
licences are leased out
|
|
EDMONTON - The office of the chief medical examiner of Alberta failed to conduct even the most basic due diligence to justify a new contract for the transport of bodies in rural Alberta, a review by Alberta's auditor general has found. (CBC) OAG July 2016 report .pdf |
Lawsuit launched against regulator Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council Another senior official leaves AMVIC |
|
TORONTO - They are the first port of call for workers hurt on the job. But when decisions are made about accident victims with complex injuries, a new study suggests doctors feel sidelined by workers' compensation boards. (Toronto Star) Hiding injuries rewards companies |
Risky workplaces faces cash penalty Board shields unsafe job sites When companies get rewarded for mistakes Construction site safety under scrutiny Surrey crane mishap raises new questions Construction site safety under scrutiny Watchdog urged to investigate WSIB |
|
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has sided with the federal government in a long-running legal fight with Quebec's leading labour organizations in a multibillion-dollar employment insurance case. (CP) |
|
|
The council that oversees thousands of immigration consultants in Canada is in the midst of what many describe as a crisis, beset by resignations, infighting and harsh criticism from lawmakers and lawyers. The chief concern about the apparent crisis confronting the ICCRC is that those who will suffer most are the immigrants and refugees who often use consultants in their efforts to live in Canada. (CBC) |
Part 1: Problems in the system |
|
OTTAWA - The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court decision ordering the largest real estate group in the country to make detailed financial information about home sales more open to the public. In a ruling the court upheld a previous decision in favour of the Competition Bureau in its case against the TREB. (CBC)
Real estate associations guarding their secrets
Reason for order .pdf |
Real estate board protecting us |
|
TORONTO - A Star investigation found that since 2010 more than $2.6B in public money has flowed to dozens of companies that had repeated or significant violations of environmental rules designed to keep the public safe. Those companies in total were fined about $15M. Critics note that, in effect, taxpayers paid their fines, and in many cases, the companies continued to pollute. (Toronto Star) |
Quebec's recycling industry performing poorly Recycled still ending up in dumps Ontario Electronic Stewardship |
|
NIAGARA FALLS - Tourism fees are not uncommon in cities across Canada. But in Niagara Falls, there's no independent body overseeing the funds and ensuring that the money goes back into promoting the city. (CBC) |
TORONTO -
Many
question whether the
Ontario Municipal Board
should be allowed to continue wielding its unelected power over a
city crunched for resources.
(Toronto Star) |
|
HALFIAX - A pair NS pharmacy managers have been suspended after making prescription drug dispensing mistakes in unrelated cases that ultimately led to the deaths of 2 patients. The professional misconduct suspensions against Alexandra Wilson and Leanne Forbes, came following settlements with the NS College of Pharmacists' investigation committee. (CBC) |
Family seeks class action suit
TORONTO - As part of an
attempt to have the suit certified as a class action case against the
Revera chain, lawyers have filed a statement of claim that raises
82 examples, including that of the lead plaintiff, the family of
Arthur (Ross) Jones, who died in hospital in June 2014 after 11 months
at the Main St Terrace home in east Toronto.
(Toronto Star) MORE:
Lawsuit |
|
TORONTO - Some of the biggest developers operating in the city had been approved for $290M in potential tax breaks on 28 projects. (Globe & Mail) |
OTTAWA - There was a spike in applications
for Canadian citizenship after the government relaxed the rules
around residency requirements and language proficiency this fall.
(CBC) |
|
EDMONTON - AB's Auditor General Merwan Saher says the Assured Income
for the Severely Handicapped (AISH)
program is rife with duplication, roadblocks, subjective
decision-making, and failing quality control.
(CP) |
Taxpayers taken to the cleaners, again TORONTO - In Jan,
2018, the Ontario Gaming GTA LP, a partnership between the
Great Canadian Gaming and Brookfield Business Partners,
completed the purchase of a bundle of casino operations from the
Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation. The deal is part of the OLG's
sale of almost half of its casinos and slots over the last 3 years.
(Globe & Mail) |
|
TORONTO - For the lucrative rights to dispense publicly funded drugs to Ontario nursing homes, pharmacies must pay the homes millions of dollars in secret per-resident 'bed fees.' (Toronto Star) |
OTTAWA - Canada's chief statistician has resigned in protest over what he says is the federal government's failure to protect Statistics Canada's independence. (CBC) MORE: Statscan head quits Loss of independence Wayne Smith |
|
OTTAWA - The National Capital Commission issued an apology to a father and his two little girls after the organization shut down their kid-run lemonade stand for operating without a permit on NCC land. (PostMedia) MORE: Crown Corp apologizes Back in business, with a non-profit goal |
WINNIPEG - MB's Auditor General's latest report found weaknesses in how Manitoba's Department of Infrastructure manages bridges. The report found 616 bridges weren't inspected at all. The department manages about 3,000 bridges and large culverts. The report looked at provincial bridges, not municipal or city bridges. (CTV) |
|
MONTREAL - Quebec has placed the Order of Engineers (OIQ)
under trusteeship. The
Order, which certifies and disciplines all engineers in the province,
has been subject to a number of internal disputes in recent months.
(CTV) |
TORONTO - Citing 'systematic disregard'
for professional medical assessments of injured workers, advocates
have asked Ontario's government watchdog to launch an investigation
into the province's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).
(Toronto Star) MORE:
Secret drug list posted |
|
MUSKOKA - Residents, cottage and business owners on some of the biggest lakes in Muskoka are launching a $900M class-action suit against the ON government because of flooding caused by high water levels. 'Prior to the 2006 Muskoka Watershed Management Plan we had high water but we didn't have constant flooding.' (CBC) |
TORONTO - Queen's Park must fix its 'deeply flawed' developmental
services system to ensure Ontario's most vulnerable people in crisis
are no longer left to languish in hospitals, nursing homes, homeless
shelters and jails, the province's Ombudsman said.
(Toronto Star) |
|
The PEI government's failed initiative to
regulate e-gaming from 2009-2012 included actions that demonstrated
a lack of 'regard for transparency and accountability,' says the
province's auditor general.
(CBC) |
EDMONTON - A senior lawyer's employment lawsuit against the Alberta Human Rights Commission has exposed both a deep dysfunction and a no-holds-barred power struggle within the organization. (CBC) |
|
TORONTO - The Liberal government is under fire for selling off a provincially owned telecommunications company at a $61M loss. Ontera, which provides local and long distance telephone, data and Internet service throughout NE Ontario, was sold to Bell Aliant for $6.3M - less than the $6.5M the province paid consultants, lawyers and others advising the government on the sale. (Toronto Star) |
TORONTO - A judge approved a $35.9M
settlement for hundreds were abused at D'Arcy and 11 other
provincial institutions between 1963 and late 1999.
The agreement allows for up to
7,000 former residents of 12 facilities to claim between $2,000 and
$42,000 each in compensation, said a lawyer for the claimants with
the firm
Koskie Minsky. (Toronto Star) |
|
Not subject to additional screening
OTTAWA - Following reports about toddlers who have been flagged on
no-fly lists, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says airlines
shouldn't subject anyone under the age of 18 to additional
security-screening measures.
(CBC) |
Regulators don't have the power EDMONTON - A Court of Queen's Bench judge has ruled the regulator of Alberta pharmacists does not have the legal power to impose a ban on consumer loyalty programs. The Alberta College of Pharmacists wanted to impose such a ban on pharmacists and pharmacies in 2014, but the Sobeys grocery chain challenged the plan in court. (CP) |
|
TORONTO - Just how many of Ontario's sickest patients fell off a controversial, $100M waiting list for life-saving stem-cell transplants in US hospitals is a secret Cancer Care Ontario said it is 'committed' to keeping. (Toronto Star) |
CFB
BORDEN
- Shared Services Canada had been talking with the military about
the $400M data-centre project since at least 2013, but only last
fall did the agency wake up to the roadblock presented by the
top-secret unit.
(CBC) MORE:
Headaches over IT |
|
The study by the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives tracks the price of child
care across 27 Canadian cities and 3 age groups - infants, toddlers
and preschoolers. (CP)
REPORT:
2015 child care fees
|
CAPE DORSET -
A report examining the circumstances surrounding the 2012 death of a
3-month-old baby in Cape Dorset is calling for a formal
coroner's inquest.
(CBC) REPORT:
Journey through heartache
.pdf |
|
HAMBURG - Increasingly the single-serving coffee pods are attracting critics who say they are an environmental menace. (BBC) |
EDMONTON - Committee members responsible for paramedic registrations
in AB have been suspended. (CBC) |
|
VANCOVUER - The Globe and Mail published a story about New Westminster College, which bills itself as a future global hub for studies in cybersecurity, intelligence and diplomacy, but currently lacks buildings, students or courses. (Globe & Mail) PREVIOUS: The general in his labyrinth Robert Goodwin |
BRIDGEWATER - Dr. Sarah Dawn Jones, 35, is accused of prescribing
50,000 oxycodone and oxyneo pills to one patient, who never received
them. Health Minister Leo
Glavine was at a loss to explain why the drug monitoring program did
not flag the massive over-prescription being alleged in the Jones
case. (CBC) |
|
GATINEAU - Box-office workers stole about $41,000 in cash from the
Canadian
Museum of History
at the same time as an internal review of the books reported no
problems.
(CBC)
Interis
Consulting Inc
Auditor
General of Canada |
Freedom of expression
CALGARY -
The Campus Freedom Index from the
Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms awarded 208
grades to 52 campuses on a scale from A to F. REPORT:
2014 Campus
Freedom Index
.pdf
Costs go up,
ranking does down
University
Rankings 2014-2015 |
|
EDMONTON - A judge has reversed an Alberta human rights ruling that found a regulator discriminated against a foreign-trained man who wanted to work as an engineer. (CP) |
MONTREAL - The incident began 3 years ago when Veronika Piela, 92, had about $600,000 in the bank. (CTV) RELATED: NS incompetent persons act review |
|
Project given Parks Canada grant CAPE BRETON ISLAND - A coalition of opponents of the Mother Canada memorial say Parks Canada gave the group quarterbacking the project a $100,000 grant, even though the federal agency has said no public money is being spent on the proposal. (CBC) MORE: Trouble with Mother Canada Monument divides opinion |
OTTAWA - Transport Canada does not routinely warn the public about all
railway crossings that appear in its database of the country's 500
'highest risk' crossings.
CBC has obtained a list from 2014 generated by special software
designed to predict potential accident 'hot spots.'
(CBC) MORE:
Design flaws
High risk rail crossings list 2014
|
|
OTTAWA - A hike in passport fees has turned out to be a cash cow for the federal government, but Canadians won't be getting any cash back as a result. (CP) |
The Canadian Transportation Agency has been ordered to reconsider a ruling that required Air Canada to separate pooches from passengers with dog allergies in its airline cabins. (CP) |
|
TORONTO - Every year, between 90 and 120
children and youth die within 12 months of receiving care from a
children's aid society. Yet Irwin Elman, who is responsible for these
children, largely has been kept in the dark about the circumstances of
their deaths.
(Toronto Star) |
ST JOHN'S - The province's child and youth advocate investigation into a fatal fire that claimed the lives of 2 children and 1 adult. Carol Chafe said the children lived in harmful conditions for years, and the end result was a house fire in which 2 of the 3 children were killed in 2010 in Nain, Labrador. (CBC) REPORT: Tragedy waiting to happen .pdf |
|
TORONTO -
Ontario's
Ministry of
Community and Social Services unveiled a new plan to ensure its $242M welfare caseload computer network
works properly - as critics slammed the $50M in additional costs for
the system since its November 2014 launch.
(Toronto Star) REPORT:
Path Forward
.pdf
Cost soars to
$294M
Helena Jaczek |
TORONTO - Konstantin Lysenko, a Toronto homeowner is facing $75,000 in fines in connection with a fatal house fire that occurred at 189 Sheridan Ave at approximately 1:40am on Nov 20, 2013. 8 people who live in the house were able to escape, but Alisha Lamers, 23, was trapped in the basement. (CTV) PREVIOUS: Bylaw delays |
|
Development not paying for itself Saskatoon is projected to hit 500,000 people in the next 30 years but according a new report says the growth isn't paying for itself. The basic finding is that new infrastructure, developments and amenities aren't paying for themselves. (CBC) |
6 military cadets were killed and 65
others were injured July 30, 1974, after one of the cadets pulled
the pin on a live grenade that was mixed in with dummies during a
lecture.
(CTV) |
|
EDMONTON - The Certified Management Accountants of Alberta has imposed heavy sanctions against Melissa Smith after a months-long investigation into inappropriate dealings during her 2 years as an executive at Dynalife labs. (CBC) |
OTTAWA - Health Quality Ontario said that although Canada ranks relatively high on an international index measuring 'quality of death,' hundreds of thousands of Canadians have no access to coordinated end-of-life care. (CBC) REPORT: End-of-life care in ON |
|
TORONTO - Under its 10-year contract with the Ministry of Transportation, Serco, the multinational corporation that operates as DriveTest, has had the power since last year to 'self-audit' and 'self-report' any violations of provincial testing standards. (Toronto Star) |
US private equity firm sues Canada TORONTO - US-based fund Quadrangle Group LLC is suing Industry Canada for $1.2B for damages related to equity investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars it made in struggling wireless player Mobilicity. (Globe & Mail) |
|
OTTAWA - The popular area near the Bytown Museum and the Rideau Canal Locks is normally open to the public for free, but Parks Canada and the museum are charging $5 for access before and during this summer's 5 Casino du Lac Leamy's Sound of Light fireworks shows, even though the organizations are not officially affiliated with the event. (CBC) |
TORONTO -
Prashant Tiwari killed himself on June 26 in a Brampton Civic
Hospital washroom while under 'suicide
watch.'
His family and the Star have been
unable to obtain information on his care because his father was told
the investigation has been put under the
Quality of Care Information Protection Act.
(Toronto Star)
RELATED:
Poorly written spam law |
|
TORONTO - A probe into why the Ministry of Transportation took 18 months to suspend the license a driver who killed 3 people while driving. (CBC) REPORT: SORT investigation |
OTTAWA - The Conservative government has quietly adjusted its labour data to ignore job postings from Kijiji and similar websites. (Globe & Mail) MORE: Foreign workers Go Public |
|
KITCHENER - The Regional of Waterloo is questioning the fairness of an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) ruling and wants to take the planning tribunal to court – again. The OMB, an arms-length judicial body that decides disputes over planning in the province, ruled in favour of the developers in January. (CBC) |
OTTAWA - 'We will harmonize our duty and tax exemptions for 24-and 48-hour trips to match levels for US citizens,' Conservatives said in their throne speech in 2012. As far as CBSA is concerned, the spouse next to you in the minivan and the kids in the back seat might as well be strangers. (QMI) PREVIOUS: A legal jurisdiction too far |
|
OTTAWA - Parks Canada would have to almost triple its spending on infrastructure upkeep to bring its crumbling assets into good repair, according to an internal report. (Toronto Star) |
IQALUIT - Nunavut's information watchdog says she's found no reason why the territory's justice department refuses to release a report about conditions at the Baffin Correctional Centre. (CBC) |
|
OTTAWA - Justice Peter Annis found that managers at the CATSA 'misled' the board of directors about key details of the bids that resulted in an unfair contract. (Toronto Star) MORE: Smiths Group |
TORONTO - 6 Ontario residents are facing charges after RCMP say the federal taxman was allegedly defrauded of upwards of $200M in a bogus investment scheme that stretched across the country. (CP) |
|
OTTAWA - Changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program are hitting a sour note with music promoters and small club owners who book American bands. (CBC) |
WINNIPEG - The MJC has filed a criminal complaint with the RCMP. (CTV) Assiniboia Downs Stan Struthers |
|
Bills go up as usage goes down THUNDER BAY - Low-flush toilets and other water conservation measures - along with less use by industry - means Thunder Bay collects less revenue from water bills. (CBC) |
MONCTON - NB taxpayers are unlikely to recover much of the $20.5M in money invested in Moncton’s Industrial Rail Services, which was placed into bankruptcy. (CBC) |
|
Internal audit finds problems IQALUIT - An internal audit has found the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) violated almost every financial management rule since its creation in 2009. (CBC) |
Paying millions in lawsuit claims TORONTO - The City of Toronto has spent more than $200M to settle civil lawsuits since 2000, and the payouts are getting richer, a municipal database obtained by the Star shows. (Toronto Star) |
|
System 'fix' already dysfunctional
OTTAWA - Dozens of gravely ill or financially strapped Canadians
denied Canada Pension Plan disability benefits were refused
accelerated appeals in 2014 by Ottawa's badly backlogged
Social
Security Tribunal.
(CP) |
OTTAWA - Importers of popular electronics such as big-screen TVs and MP3 players are ramping up their fight against federal tariff changes, accusing the government of misleading them by offering tariff breaks that it planned to claw back later. (CTV) |
|
VICTORIA - None of BC’s 52 privately operating “run-of-river” hydroelectric projects have been fined or sanctioned by the province despite at least 700 water-use and reporting violations at 16 facilities in 2010 alone, according to a government audit. (Globe & Mail) PREVIOUS: Run-of-the-river Energy BC |
Government wrecked the gas can Soap doesn’t work. Toilets don’t flush. Clothes washers don’t clean. Light bulbs don’t illuminate. Refrigerators break too soon. Paint discolors. Lawnmowers have to be hacked. It’s all caused by idiotic government regulations that are wrecking our lives one consumer product at a time, all in ways we hardly notice. (Laissez Faire Club) Regulators missed wipes |
