Clik here to view.
Audit warned Transport Canada about dangerous goods safety risk in 2006 in...
OTTAWA — Transport Canada was warned in an internal audit seven years ago that Quebec, the Prairies and the North — the sites of some recent high-profile railway accidents — had the highest rates of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal officials delayed release of Lac-Megantic records, watchdog finds
OTTAWA – Transport Canada officials were asked to delay the release of the department’s records related to the Lac-Megantic tragedy and “focus on other priorities,” an investigation by Canada’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harper government gave big oil and pipeline companies $400M to go green
OTTAWA – Canadian taxpayers have given more than $400 million to some large oil, gas and pipeline companies in recent years to support green projects that are also boosting the industry’s environmental...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stephen Harper’s government edited message about taking climate change seriously
OTTAWA — Federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq set aside a proposal from her department earlier this year to publicly state that the Harper government recognized scientific evidence that humans...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harper government used cash advance to pay for ads touting environmental...
OTTAWA — The federal government had to dip into a senior bureaucrat‘s special reserve fund for a cash advance before it could launch a $9.5 million advertising campaign that responded to criticism...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transportation Safety Board slated to recommend new safety measures following...
OTTAWA — Better identification of dangerous oil products, a crackdown on old railway tank cars and emergency response plans could be among the key themes identified Thursday by the Transportation...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal government’s telecommunications transformation to save millions
OTTAWA — Federal workers will find themselves in the midst of a robust telecommunications transformation in the coming months and years as the government cuts the cord on landlines and moves to mobile...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chuck Strahl quits Security Intelligence Review Committee
OTTAWA — A former cabinet minister in the Harper government has quit as the head of the body that oversees Canada’s spy agency over lingering ethics questions. Chuck Strahl made the announcement in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Opposition slams Stephen Harper government for spending reserve money on ad...
OTTAWA – Opposition critics are accusing the federal government of bad fiscal management following revelations it took a cash advance from a $34-million reserve fund to rush a 2012 advertising campaign...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to deliver federal budget Feb. 11 during Olympics
OTTAWA — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will deliver the federal budget on Feb. 11, when many Canadians will be more focused on athletes competing for gold than on how their federal government is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tory government soft on energy mishaps: Mulcair
OTTAWA — Following a weekend explosion on a natural gas pipeline in southeastern Manitoba, opposition critics are accusing the Harper government of putting oil industry interests ahead of public safety...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harper government to ban costly rule-making by public servants, says Tony...
OTTAWA – The Harper government has given Parliament notice it plans to table legislation Wednesday that would prohibit public servants from creating unnecessary rules and red tape that cost businesses...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harper government spends $23,000 to ‘cull’ materials from seven libraries
OTTAWA — Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea has told Parliament that her department discarded up to 84,000 items from seven libraries across the country, spending nearly $23,000 in what it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Better insurance needed for dangerous cargo, minister says
OTTAWA — Companies that ship dangerous cargo may soon require better insurance coverage so taxpayers don’t foot the bill for disasters such as the Lac-Megantic derailment, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal government cutting $3 billion from rail safety, health and...
OTTAWA – The federal government will cut $2.6 billion in spending and nearly 5,000 jobs from its science-focused departments between 2013 and 2016, says a report released Thursday by a union...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Union raises security concerns over $400-million federal email deal with Bell...
OTTAWA-Small businesses and a union representing professional public servants are raising fresh questions about the value and security of a federal government deal that is now underway with Bell Canada...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Management at federal science agency making wrong decisions, says leaked survey
OTTAWA – The National Research Council says it’s not surprised at a survey that says three out of five employees at the federal government’s scientific research agency are frustrated by decisions made...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Superbugs slipping through ‘gaps’ and ‘loopholes’ in Canadian regulations
Canada needs to better control and contain resistant microbes — or superbugs — that are killing and sickening thousands of Canadian each year, say leading doctors. A good place to start, they say, is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Academics take issue with ‘flawed’ pipeline policies and leadership
VANCOUVER — A Canadian-led group of academics has taken to one of the world’s top science journals to call for a moratorium on new oilsands and pipeline projects. The group, led by ecologist Wendy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal policies block communication on everything from drugs to climate: report
The Harper government’s preoccupation with message control has earned several federal departments a failing grade for communication. A report released Wednesday by researchers at Simon Fraser...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cities encouraged by talks with Harper government on dangerous goods
OTTAWA — Canada’s cities say they are encouraged by recent discussions with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government to improve safety of dangerous goods going through their neighbourhoods by rail....
View ArticleClik here to view.
A history of Canadian free trade negotiations
Free trade has become a staple of Canadian federal government policy since NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) was signed in 1994. Here is a rundown of the trade deals successive...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harper government cut revenue agency crime unit after report called for...
OTTAWA – The federal government eliminated a special team of tax auditors tasked with investigating organized crime and integrated the unit’s role into another branch of the Canada Revenue Agency after...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Canada told security, human rights and sustainable development key to...
OTTAWA — The European Union’s new ambassador to Canada says any potential free-trade deal between the two sides is contingent on a side agreement on security, human rights, and sustainable development...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Canada needs new ‘world-class’ infrastructure, federal records show
OTTAWA — Despite significant and sustained investments since the turn of the century, Canada is still being challenged with new demands for “world-class” public infrastructure to sustain its economic...
View ArticleClik here to view.
First Nation Education Act tops Harper government’s aboriginal agenda
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who began the year watching aboriginals protest outside his office window, will soon see his government grapple with some of the most intractable issues...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dean Del Mastro was “bragging” about saving federal water research facility,...
OTTAWA-The author of a new book about the alleged muzzling of federal scientists says a leaked fundraising letter that featured a Conservative party logo could provide an interesting chapter to add to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal government prepares $24-million oilsands advertising blitz
By Alex Boutilier For Postmedia News OTTAWA – The federal Conservatives hope to counter “intense and sustained public relations campaigns” against Alberta’s oilsands with a $24-million international...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Panda-monium: Panda diplomacy continues for Canada
It has seemingly become a mandatory photo op for federal government ministers travelling to China — cuddling up with an adorable panda. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Minister John Baird and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Opposition brands Canada Revenue Agency spending on audits of charities a...
OTTAWA – By the end of the fiscal year, the Canada Revenue Agency estimates it will have spent nearly $3 million for monitoring and audits from a new fund created to investigate the political...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harper government pledges new railway safety measures in throne speech
OTTAWA — The mayor of Lac-Megantic, Que. was a special guest of the Harper government Wednesday as it pledged to introduce new federal rail safety measures — in response to the summer runaway train...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Information watchdog says Canadian democracy threatened by deterioration of...
OTTAWA — Canada’s information commissioner has put Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s point man for transparency issues on notice that he must answer for significant failures within government in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transport Canada still improving rail safety, Lisa Raitt says
OTTAWA — Transport Minister Lisa Raitt says the federal government is pursuing efforts to improve rail safety following the latest disaster involving a train carrying dangerous goods. “We were very...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Balancing the budget early? Federal deficit $7B below projections, annual...
OTTAWA — The Conservative government is well on its way to balancing the books by 2015, announcing Tuesday it posted an $18.9-billion deficit in 2012-13 — well below the $25.9 billion projected in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Major oil, gas and provincial pipelines excluded from list requiring...
OTTAWA – Some major oil and gas projects and provincially regulated pipelines are among the types of development that won’t require an automatic federal environmental review before getting a green...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal cabinet spending up in 2012-13, as departments tighten belts
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet spent millions of dollars more in 2012-13 on their offices than in the previous year, even as government departments were tightening their belts....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Feds may prosecute railway over Lac-Megantic disaster, cabinet briefing says
OTTAWA — Transport Canada has told its minister, Lisa Raitt, it’s gathering evidence that could lead to federal prosecution against the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway company, the carrier...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Politics Chat: Science v. Government
Are Canadian government scientists being muzzled? According to a recent survey, nearly 90 per cent of public servants believe the answer is yes. But many senior government officials, both past and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal government expects to be back in the black — with room to spare — in...
OTTAWA — The Conservative government’s refreshed fiscal plan for balancing the books in 2015 — and posting a healthy surplus — will see it use billions of dollars from asset sales, department savings...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Elizabeth May joins Afghanistan delegation at climate change talks in Poland
OTTAWA — Green leader Elizabeth May has joined Afghanistan’s delegation at an international climate change summit in Poland after the Harper government didn’t respond to her request to join the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal government gives belated rejection to Elizabeth May on climate summit...
OTTAWA – The office of Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq turned down Green party leader Elizabeth May’s request to join the Canadian delegation at an international climate change summit in Poland –...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Democrats propose science watchdog to address muzzling allegations
OTTAWA — Federal New Democrats are using allegations of the muzzling of government scientists to spearhead a new proposal to create a science watchdog to monitor whether the government is gathering and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Former U.S. ambassador David Jacobson takes aim at climate change skeptics
OTTAWA — Former U.S. ambassador David Jacobson is optimistic about progress in global efforts to tackle climate change. Recently in Ottawa to attend a panel discussion on climate and energy policies,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Canada Revenue Agency has no evidence to show its organized crime plan is...
OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency says it has increased staff in a new unit to investigate charities – from 19 to 31 full-time equivalent workers for the current year. But as it adds staff to increase...
View ArticleClik here to view.
CBC downplays loss of hockey broadcast revenues
OTTAWA — Senior management at the CBC doesn’t plan to ask for new federal funding and anticipates “minimal” impact on programming following a deal announced this week that leaves the public broadcaster...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Senate plans to probe CBC operations
OTTAWA — The Senate is planning a comprehensive review of the CBC’s role in Canadian society examining how it has used billions of dollars in government subsidies received over the years. A Senate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cities getting ‘nervous’ about details of Stephen Harper’s infrastructure plan
OTTAWA — Canada’s cities are warning Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet that they could lose out on infrastructure projects for the upcoming summer construction season because of confusion...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Environmentalist praises Shell Canada over calls for climate change regulations
OTTAWA – An Alberta-based environmental policy research group is praising a major oil company for demonstrating “common sense” about the ongoing climate change policy debate in Canada. Shell Canada’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Harper government spent $331,389 on climate change rules that don’t yet exist
OTTAWA — Environment Canada has spent at least $331,389 to develop long-awaited oil and gas regulations that are still under development, said Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq in a newly-released...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Environment Canada denied 22 per cent of interview requests with scientists...
OTTAWA-At least two federal departments are aiming to “improve” how they communicate in the wake of a report alleging that the federal government is muzzling its scientists. But in a message sent to...
View Article