Dear Bev Oda: I Want My Money Back
Dear Bev: Forgive the informal greeting, but I figure I’m on a first name basis with anyone who spends my money – particularly someone who spends my money so easily. Sure, you’ve apologized for...
View ArticleFederal government pays $60 million in credit card transaction fees over five...
The federal government is paying a small fortune each year — about $12 million annually — in merchant fees to credit card and debit card providers for being able to use their services to complete...
View ArticleEmployment Insurance reforms push ‘placeholder’ jobs
Memo to the Government: “Placeholder” jobs may pay some bills, but they will not prove the saviours of the economy. As part of the changes to Canada’s Employment Insurance program announced this week,...
View Article13 countries Canada doesn’t want you to visit
Most people like to visit safe destinations for their holidays, but some prefer getting off the beaten path to visit less-travelled corners of the globe. It’s for those people that Foreign Affairs...
View ArticleConfusion led Foreign Affairs to alter pro-trade advertisements
OTTAWA — The Harper government altered ads aimed at helping Canadian businesses benefit from trade relationships after they fell flat in their test phase because of confusing language. The ads were...
View ArticleGaining currency: One-cent coin sees some new uses, but you can’t melt it down
OTTAWA — Canadian consumers have largely scorned it and the country has ended its production. Yet the federal government remains a protective parent of the penny – specifically the question of how the...
View ArticleAboriginal commission awaiting millions of archived government documents
OTTAWA — No truth, no reconciliation. That was the dominant message at rallies held across the country on Thursday, where protesters urged the federal government to “immediately” release all...
View ArticleAnimal rights groups call for complete ban on gestation crates for pigs
OTTAWA — New rules that would improve conditions for pigs on farms in Canada by heavily restricting the use of controversial “gestation crates” aren’t good enough, animal rights advocates say. But...
View ArticlePlaying blind man’s bluff with foreign investment
One day we will have a full reckoning of the damage done to Canada’s economy as this government wanders about in search of a mandate, a philosophy or a clue. In the meantime, investors in this country...
View Article‘Transformational’ aboriginal education reforms ahead, minister says
OTTAWA — The Harper government released a contentious plan Tuesday to reform education for First Nations children that one cabinet minister says will be “transformational,” but that aboriginal leaders...
View ArticleWhy you’ll pay $1 a stamp and won’t get mail delivered to your door in urban...
OTTAWA – Canada Post’s abrupt announcement Wednesday that it will be ending door-to-door delivery in urban centres and sharply increasing the price of stamps represents a significant shift in the way...
View ArticleDon’t treat passport as a ‘get out of jail free card,’ government warns...
OTTAWA – With thousands of Canadians poised to travel abroad over the holiday season, the Department of Foreign Affairs wants to remind the public that a Canadian passport is “not a ‘get out of jail...
View ArticleCanada’s new envoy to Israel a strong critic of Palestinian leaders
OTTAWA — Just days before Prime Minister Stephen Harper visits the Middle East, his government has announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Israel who has publicly expressed strong criticism in...
View ArticleTaxpayers pick up $8,000 tab for former top Mountie’s Manhattan rent
Taxpayers are paying about $8,000 a month for the former commissioner of the RCMP to live in Manhattan for three years while he works for Interpol in New York, plus his $200,000-plus salary. William...
View ArticleFeds new approach to labour markets compelling
Amid all the blather and inanity of Budget 2014 — Search and Rescue Volunteers Tax Credit, anyone? — one chapter stands out for its coherence, relevance, I might even say boldness. I’m speaking of the...
View ArticleExperimental Lakes Area expected to open in spring
OTTAWA — The federal government has yet to close a deal to keep the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area research facility open, but is already introducing regulations so research can get underway...
View ArticleDecision to reclassify Swiss firearms angers gun owners
Gun enthusiasts were livid Thursday over the RCMP’s decision to reclassify as prohibited a line of Swiss-imported firearms, which have been legal in Canada since 2001. Whether owners of those guns,...
View ArticlePosh properties available as Canada sells off several diplomatic digs
OTTAWA — Got a few million dollars socked away? Looking for posh digs in highly desired neighbourhoods in major world capitals? A big-name owner is looking to sell some gorgeous surplus properties. The...
View ArticleFederal government ordered to disable public websites susceptible to...
OTTAWA — All federal departments using software vulnerable to the so-called Heartbleed bug have been ordered to immediately disable public websites. The directive issued late Thursday calls this a...
View ArticleCoyne: Heavy-handed tactics deprive Tories of much-needed goodwill on Gateway
The point has been made, and well, that the Harper government was not exactly bubbling over with enthusiasm Tuesday in releasing its decision on the Northern Gateway pipeline project. No minister was...
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