Issue No. 43, MoNDAY, septeMber 2, 2013, 15 pgs. Feds ... · accountants, engineers, waitresses,...

Issue No. 43, MoNDAY, septeMber 2, 2013, 15 pgs.

A federal department has compiled a blacklist of nearly 100 Canadian companies it suspects are fronts for the “sex trade”. But authorities would not tell Blacklock’s if they ever alerted police.

The Department of Human Resources confidentially instructed staff to consult an official List of Potential Businesses in the Sex Trade when processing applications for temporary foreign workers.

The list of 98 businesses was released through the Access to Information Act . Names and street addresses of the companies were withheld, though the identification of home cities indicated they are located in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland & Labrador.

Government staf f was instructed to reject any foreign work permit from the 98 firms due to “unacceptable working conditions”: “There are reasonable grounds to suspect that there is a risk to any worker of abuse, exploitation including sexual exploitation, or degrading work.” Each of the blacklisted employers had earlier applied for permits to bring foreign hires into the country under the Temporary Fore i gn Worker Program.

“There is a significant concern that some temporary foreign workers could be subject to abuse,” human resources managers wrote

in a July 6, 2012 manual; “Businesses in the sex trade are to be issued (no permits) when applying to hire any temporary foreign worker regardless of the occupation (e.g. exotic dancers, headliners, accountants , engineers , waitresses, artists, etc.).”

Cabinet announced July 4, 2012 it would no longer issue foreigners’ work permits to “sex-trade related businesses.” However, authorities did not reveal they had compiled a blacklist of applicants by name and address that they suspected of abuse.

In a confidential memo, the human resources department cautioned employees who were processing applications that suspicious workplaces were not always evident.

“For the purpose of this directive, strip clubs, escort services and massage parlours are considered business sectors related to the sex trade where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a risk of exploitation, including sexual exploitation,” management wrote. “In addition, businesses outside of the categories of strip clubs, escort services and massage parlours may also be considered as a sex trade-related business if there are reasonable grounds to suspect there is a risk of exploitation or degrading work for any of their workers. NOTE: Professional massage therapy clinics that employ accredited therapists are not

included in this directive.”T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f

Immigration, which jointly announced the permit ban last year, declined comment. The human resources department, asked if it provided its blacklist to law enforcement, also declined comment.

H o m e c i t i e s o f t h e b l a c k l i s t e d c o m p a n i e s were Banff, Alta; Barrie, Ont.; Brampton; Brandon, Man.; Burlington; Calgary; Cambridge, Ont.; Campbell River, B.C.; Castlegar, B.C.; Chatham, Ont.; Concord, O n t . ; C o u r t e n a y, B .C . ; Drayton Valley, Alta.; Dryden;

Edmonton; Etobicoke; Fort Erie, Ont.; Fort McMurray; Grande Prairie, Alta; Guelph; H a m i l t o n ; K a m l o o p s ; Kingston; Kitchener; Laval; Lethbridge; London; Maple Ridge, B.C.; Medicine Hat; M i s s i s s a u g a ; Mo n c t o n ; Morden, Man.; Niagara Falls; New Westminster, B.C.; Nisku, Alta. ; Ottawa; Pickering, Ont.; Powerview, Man.; Red Deer; St. John’s; Sarnia; Sioux Lookout, Ont.; Swan River, Man.; Thunder Bay; Toronto; Vancouver; Victoria; Weston, Ont.; Windsor and Winnipeg.

By staff

Feds Compile “Sex Trade” Blacklist

First, we doeverything inour power to build bridges, and if that doesn’t work... we burn them down!

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BLACKLOCK’S REPORTER SEPT. 2, 2013NO. 43 2

A federal watchdog says 34 federa l departments and agencies, including the Department of Finance, are withholding information needed to review budget estimates.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer named the scofflaw agencies it said had missed two deadlines to provide documentation on the 2013 budget.

“Given that preliminary Parliamentary Budget Office findings seem to suggest that the government plans to spend less and achieve a similar level of output, Parliamentarians may wish

to solicit further details regarding how this will be accomplished,” said Sahir Khan, assistant budget officer.

Cabinet’s 2013-14 budget aims to reduce the deficit by more than $7 billion, though the Department of Finance has not detailed cuts or revenue adjustments totaling that amount.

In addition to Finance Canada, other departments withholding records include the Department of Justice; Natural Resources Canada; Environment Canada; the Department of Aboriginal Affairs; the foreign ministry and Veterans Affairs Canada;

Department of Agriculture; Canadian Food Inspection Ag e n c y; D e p a r t m e n t o f Hu m a n Re s o u rc e s ; a n d Transport Canada.

The budget officer said agencies that had complied were Health Canada; Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp.; and the Hazardous Materials I n f o r m a t i o n R e v i e w Commission.

F inance Minis ter Jim Flaherty did not comment on the budget officer’s citation.

“Some departments are clearly hiding the truth from Canadians about their budget cuts,” said MP Peggy Nash, New Democrat finance critic.

“In our view a longer term solution is that the position

of the Parliamentary Budget Officer has to be completely independent,” said Nash, MP for Parkdale-High Park, Ont. “We are certainly not going to let this drop.”

T h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y Bu d g e t O f f i c e , c r e a t e d under the Accountabi l i ty Act , operates under the L i b r a r y o f Pa r l i a m e n t and not as an independent agency answerable only to Parliament.

Nash in 2011 introduced a private bill, C-381 An Act To amend The Parliament of Canada Act, that would make the budget advisor an officer of Parliament.

By Kaven BaKer-voaKes

Canada’s doctors are pressing Parliament to consider a guaranteed annual income program after citing poverty as a leading cause of illness.

The Canadian Medical Association in a report, What Makes Us Sick, urged that legislators introduce and fund a guaranteed income plan on a pilot basis.

“ I t ’s a b o u t h a v i n g a minimum amount of money that ensures each Canadian has enough each year to l i ve o n ,” s a i d D r. A n n a Reid, association president. “With many welfare and aid programs, really the amount of money that people have to l ive on is inadequate to maintain health and get

e n o u g h f o o d , l e t a l o n e housing.”

The association report followed a series of cross-Canada consultations that identified poverty as a leading health issue. The study noted 40 percent of respondents earning $30,000 a year or less rate their health as good or

Industry Canada loans and grants to corporations have cost taxpayers billions though subsidy rates have declined since the 1980s, according to a think-tank report.

T h e F r a s e r I n s t i t u t e c a l c u l a t e d s u b s i d i e s t o business by a single federal agency, the Department of Industry, totaled $22.1 billion since 1961 on an inflation-adjusted basis, including $13.3 in loans and $8.8 billion in outright grants.

“This is a lousy way to spend tax dollars,” said Dr. Mark Milke, a Fraser Institute senior fellow and author of the report, Corporate Welfare at Industry Canada Since John Diefenbaker.

Milke noted the figure excluded subsidies from other levels of government and rival federal departments, like the $13.7 bailout of General Motors and Chrysler by the Department of Finance and Government of Ontario. Milke estimated the $22.1 billion estimate represented as little as one-tenth the total cost of corporate aid.

“Industry Canada has historically been the most active in handing out subsidies,” said Milke. “They are the go-to department for corporate welfare, and frankly they have the data; Industry Canada has electronic records going back to 1982, while other departments have not even kept records.”

Details of loans and grants were obtained through Access to Information records.

The institute calculated that corporate subsidies paid by the Department of Industry peaked under Liberal and Conservative governments in the 1980s, and have since declined. Disbursements by decade were $49.6 million in the 1960s; rising to $1.8 billion in the 1970s; then $9 billion in the 1980s; falling to $5.4 billion in the 1990s and $5.5 billion in the 2000s.

Corporate Welfare concluded the largest recipients of Industry Canada aid were defence contractors and a i rc ra f t m a n u f a c t u re r s , cautioning that its definitions

of subsidies did not include tax reductions, deductions, credits or exemptions under the Income Tax Act.

The top 10 recipients of aid as calculated by the Fraser Institute were Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. ($3.3 billion); Bombardier Inc. ($1.14 billion); De Havilland Inc. ($1.08 billion); CAE Inc. ($646 million); Canarie Inc. ($593 million); General Motors of Canada ($531 million); Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd. ($406 million); Groupe Mil Inc . ($391 mil l ion) ; Honeywell ASCa Inc. ($318 million); and CMC Electronics Inc. ($306 million).

By staff

Industry Dole Hits $22B: Study

Budget Hide ‘N Seek

Wealthy & Healthy?

Continues on Pg.7


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Tom Hyland Blacklock

A pioneer publisher and war correspondent, confidante of three prime ministers and 1922 president of the Ottawa Press Gallery, Tom Blacklock was mourned at his passing in 1934 as “a keen observer blessed with a sense of proportion.” Born in Halton County, Ont. in 1870, he became a frontier editor and first mayor of Weyburn, Sask. in 1903. Assigned to Parliament Hill by the Winnipeg Telegram in 1912 he remained a gallery man for life with columns published from Victoria to Halifax: “As Tom Blacklock used to say, ‘That ain’t the way I heard it.’”

Guest Commentary

Desmond MortonThe Senate’s Chosen

Voter anger and outrage at the Canadian Senate is not new. From the outset, prime

ministers used their power to appoint to the Red Chamber as a reward for party supporters and faithful allies in the Cabinet and caucus. It took years to legislate pensions for Canadian senators despite the obvious embarrassment of filling the House of so-called “sober second thought” with senescent octogenarians.

However, designing effective reforms is much easier said than done.

Yes, Canadian senators should have to seek election as do their counterparts in Australia or the United States. Would an elected Canadian Senate have more or less prestige than a House of Commons elected earlier or later than the current Upper House? Who would get elected?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s r e f o r m s , a l r e a d y e n d o r s e d b y Alberta, would have senators elected by all the eligible voters in a province. Imagine the cost of mounting a campaign from end to end of Alberta or Saskatchewan, not to mention Ontario

or Québec. Unless taxpayers want to be tapped for the cost of election signs, advertising and even leaflets for scores of candidates and millions of voters, we all know where the money will be found, and the rope-like strings attached.

Defenders of the Senate often use that phrase about “sober second thought”. It is no joke.

One of Blacklock’s own specialties has been pointing out how contradictory, silly and, above all, dangerous the features of the government’s infamous omnibus bills have often been. That is the fault of a lot of people, from cabinet ministers to the prime minister’s own inexperienced staffers. Above all, it is a failure of the Senate to perform a critical and demanding role in our government.

Senators should be chosen, not as beneficiaries of taxpayer largesse but because they have the brains and the practical experience to see the flaws in proposed laws.

(Editor’s note: the author is Hiram Mills Professor of History emeritus at McGill University).


The Auditor General is complying with a request by six MPs to investigate a grocers’ subsidy program that paid to transport Cheez Whiz to the Arctic.

Chief auditor Michael Ferguson confirmed in a letter his staff will conduct a performance audit of the Nutrit ion North Canada Program, which paid out $54,155,221 in federal subsidies to storekeepers and distributors who serve remove communities.

“I’m pleased we’re seeing an audit on this,” said MP Dennis Bevington, New Democrat cr i t ic for the Northern Economic Development Agency. “There is a crisis here in the cost of living.”

The program was launched in 2011 to replace a postal Food Mail plan that charged preferential rates of about 80¢/kg on groceries to the Arctic compared to commercial mail rates of $13/kg.

However, documents tabled in the Commons last October revealed Nutrition North had

yet to complete “any research or evaluations” of its program; that managers could not determine the “effectiveness or shortcomings o f the p r o g r a m” ; a n d t h a t a n advisory board had not been able to complete its first annual report.

“Has this program met expectations?” said Bevington, MP for Western Arct ic , Northwest Territories; “Is it helping the right consumers? Does it encourage healthy food consumption?”

B e v i n g t o n s a i d i n a n interview he is conducting his own analysis on living costs in remote settlements, where milk sells for $4 a litre; potatoes at $6 a kilogram; and apples at $15 a bag.

“The idea that Tuktoyaktuk pays 200 percent more for food than Edmonton, even with subsidies, is of concern,” he said. “There are people in isolated communities who cannot afford to feed their children properly.”

The launch of Nutrition

North followed a 2010 McGill University report that 70 percent of Inuit preschoolers l ived in homes without adequate nutrition.

Parliamentary documents indicate almost two-thirds of subsidies have been paid to ship fruit and vegetables ($15.5 million); meat, poultry and fish ($9.3 million) and milk ($8 million). Lesser s u b s i d i e s a r e p a i d f o r i tems l ike Cheez Whiz , flour, cookies, ice cream, bacon, margarine and salad dressing under an official list completed in 2012.

The program identified 84 communities where grocers are eligible for full aid in Labrador, northern Québec, Ontario, Manitoba, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon, with subsidies ranging from $1.20/kg to a high of $16/kg.

T h e l a rg e s t re c i p i e n t of subsidies is Grise Ford on Ellesmere Island, where $ 5 5 5, 0 6 2 i n t a x p a ye r s ’ aid was spent to transport 36,277 kilograms of food to 130 residents – a per capita subsidy of $4,270, documents show.

MPs to request an audit o f Nu t r i t i o n No r t h , t o b e c o m p l e t e d i n 2 0 14, included Bevington and fellow New Democrat MPs Jonathan Genest-Jourdain ( M a n i c o u a g a n , Q u e . ) ; Christine Moore (Abitibi-T é m i s c a m i n g u e, Q u e . ) ; Romeo Saganash (Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, Que.); Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, O n t . ) ; a n d Ni k i A s h t o n (Churchill, Man.).

By staff

Auditors To Probe Grocer Subsidies

A judge has dismissed a challenge to one of the most famous trademarks in the nation. Federal Court gave a final “no” to a six-year campaign by an Ontario man to sell Asian food under the registered name “McDimSum.”

M c D o n a l d ’ s C a n a d a opposed the bid, which dated back to a 2007 trademark

application by Tong Cheah, a Toronto businessman. Court agreed with McDonald’s that MacDimSum fell afoul of the Trademarks Act, which forbids the registration of similar names for similar products likely to confuse the public.

McDonald’s Canada did not take Blacklock’s questions. “We don’t traditionally comment

on these,” an official said. The corporation earlier fended off a restaurateur’s 2008 bid to trademark McNoodle, and a 1996 attempt by Coffee Hut Stories to register McBean.

D o c u m e n t s a t t h e Tra d e m a r k s O p p o s i t i o n Board indicate Cheah never actually used McDimSum, but contemplated opening a restaurant or food court stall under the name. In testimony Cheah said he saw no grounds for confusion with the burger chain since “McDonald’s does not own ‘MAC’ or sell dim sum.”

However, the corporation revealed sales figures to document the range of foods it sells using the Scottish prefix and its derivatives. McDonald’s national marketing director testified the company’s 1,419 restaurants across Canada sell $140 million worth of Big

Macs each year; $120 million i n C h i c ke n Mc Nu g g e t s ; $100 million a year in Egg McMuffins; $75 million worth of McChicken sandwiches; and an additional $65 million in yearly combined sales of McGriddles, McFlurry drinks, McDonaldland cookies and Chicken McGrills.

Federal Court Justice Roger Hughes noted that, in a 2008 letter to McDonald’s counsel, Cheah had suggested: “We can perhaps explore the poss ibi l i t ies of a g lobal MACDIMSUM partnership.”

Justice Hughes ordered Cheah to pay $6,000 in costs in dismissing his appeal.

McDonald’s has operated in Canada since 1967.

By staff

McTried, McFailed


An advocacy group claims widespread opposition to new legislation giving cabinet authority to direct union contracts at Crown corporations.

The group Fr iends of C a n a d i a n B r o a d c a s t i n g cited its own commissioned poll indicating most people surveyed oppose the measure, and likened the provision of Bill C-60 to “the kind of thing you would associate with Russia.”

“Only twelve percent, 1 in 8 voters, agree that the government should control t h e wa g e s a n d wo r k i n g c o n d i t i o n s o f C a n a d i a n Broadcasting Corporation employees,” said Ian Morrison, a Friends spokesperson.

Under Sec . 229 of the omnibus C-60, cabinet may “direct a Crown corporation to have its negotiating mandate approved by the Treasury Board for the purpose of the crown corporation entering into a collective agreement with a bargaining agent for a bargaining unit.” The bill was signed into law June 26.

“It’s a step to gradually transform the CBC from a n i n d e p e n d e n t p u b l i c broadcaster into something that is approaching a state broadcaster, the kind of thing you would associate with Russia, with China, with Cuba, with many countries in the African continent,” said Morrison.

The Friends published f indings of a Nanos poll o f 1 , 0 0 0 r e s p o n d e n t s , conducted between June 16 and 19 as Bill C-60 passed the Senate, that asked: “The Harper government has proposed legislation to take direct control of the wages and working condi t ions o f a l l C B C e m p l o y e e s , including journalists, on-air personalities, editors and others who produce news and current affairs programs. A t t h e s a m e t i m e t h e Broadcasting Act guarantees the independence of the CBC. Which of the following statements i s c losest to your point of view?” Twelve percent agreed with the s ta tement , ‘The Harper government should take direct control of employees”; 8 1 p e r c e n t a g r e e d t h a t “the CBC should remain independent.” Seven percent of respondents said they were unsure.

Morrison said he considered the poll question objective and unbiased: “It’s not in our interest to ask loaded questions”; “The poll speaks for itself.”

Treasury Board President To n y C l e m e n t s a i d i n

a s t a t e m e n t t h e b i l l ’s provisions “do not impact the independence of Crown corporations,” and earlier told MPs that cabinet was entitled to supervise terms of collective bargaining at federal agencies.

“There is only one taxpayer,” said Clement; “We are not going to have a situation with Crown corporations who ultimately come to the government if their bills exceed their ability to pay them. They come to government. We are not going to allow them to have a situation where they have collective bargaining which is over and above what is fair and reasonable for taxpayers to pay.”

Cabinet since 1936 has appointed the president and directors of the CBC, and written appropriation bills fixing the broadcaster’s annual parliamentary grant, now $1.13 billion.

Under the Broadcasting Act, no financial provision “shall be interpreted or applied so as to limit the freedom of expression or the journalistic, creative or programming independence enjoyed by the Corporation” (Sec. 52).

By staff

CBC Sovietized?

A confidential report for the Department of Public Safety contemplates federal regulation of the internet, likening computer networks to “the American Wild West”.

M o r e t h a n a d e c a d e a f t e r f e d e r a l t e l e c o m commissioners gave up any bid to draft internet rules, re s e a rc h c o m m i s s i o n e d by Public Safety Canada concluded that cyberspace – l i k e a v i a t i o n a n d pharmaceuticals – might “benefit from such regulation”.

N o p u b l i c o f f i c i a l commented on the report, e n t i t l e d Id e n t i f y i n g a n d

Effectively Communicating Cyber- Security Risks . Its l e a d a u t h o r, P r o f e s s o r Kevin Quigley of Dalhousie University’s School of Public Administration, could not be reached for comment.

The 94-page report dated M a r c h 3 1 a n d r e l e a s e d t h r o u g h t h e A c c e s s t o Information Act identified no specific deficiency with unregulated internet use: “Our comments here are constrained somewhat due to the fact that rel iable information related to cyber-warfare and cyber-terrorism is not easily available.”

However, the Public Safety study concluded internet regulation is necessary.

“ I t m i g h t b e m o r e appropriate to th ink of cyber-space as the American Wild West – a place of little regulation and considerable opportunity and risk,” the study reported. “All of our critical assets depend on the successful functioning of the internet: supply chains depend on it; children play on it; adults shop on it. Still, unlike any other critical system upon which society depends, it exists largely without safeguards.”

The study continued, “In the same way that regulation in aviat ion or medic ine enhances its value to the community, cyber-space m i g h t a l s o (u l t i m a t e l y ) benefit from such regulation

Internet “Wild West” That Needs Regulation, Says Federal Report

Continues on Pg.7


and education. It will require a p u b l i c t h a t i s b e t t e r informed of the risks and opportunities of the internet. A strong education program that engages the public might in the long term lead to the behaviour change required to ensure that the benefits of cyber-space are maximized and its dangers reduced. This strategy will enhance personal responsibility, but will also care out an appropriate role for government in protecting critical infrastructure and vulnerable populations.”

The report followed the Department of Public Safety’s introduction of Bill C-30, An Act To Enact The Investigating

An d Pre v e n t i n g Cr i m i n a l Electronic Communications Act , that would empower police and Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents to obtain names, email addresses and other personal data of internet service subscribers under threat of $250,000 fines.

T h e b i l l l a p s e d a m i d p r i v a c y c o n c e r n s t h a t authorities would “go fishing in somebody’s emails,” as Calgary Police Chief Rick Hansen told the Commons public safety committee.

Industry Canada originally contemplated regulating the internet in a 1995 Final Report of the Information Superhighway Advisory Council . Chaired by now-Governor General

David Johnston, the council recommended the internet by regulated to ensure it complied with bilingualism requirements and Canadian c o n t e n t r e g u l a t i o n s : “For the Government of Canada, there is no choice but to be involved; its first responsibility being that of establishing the ground rules and then ensuring that there are appropriate enforcement mechanisms.”

In 1999, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecom Commission concluded it had no role or ability to regulate the internet.

By tom KorsKi

Federal authorities reject nearly a quarter of Canadian employers’ applications for one of the most popular categories of foreign workers – nannies.

Newly-released records of the Department of Human Resources indicate in a single year officials received 47,969 applications from Canadian parents to hire live-in caregivers; 24 percent were rejected. Documents did not detail specific causes for dismissing applications, but noted typical issues were inadequate shelter for foreign workers in the home, or employers’ inability to pay salaries and benefits.

“Live-in caregivers must be offered wages that are equal to or higher than those offered to Canadian live-in caregivers in their region,” staff noted in a July 25, 2012 manual; “This requirement is in place to ensure that it is not more attractive to hire a foreign live-in caregiver and that it will not put downward pressure on Canadian wages.”

However, officials noted

that nannies’ benefits vary widely by province, and that the federal government “has no authority to intervene” in contract disputes between foreign hires and employers.

Wages for nannies range from $9.90 an hour in Québec to $10 in Prince Edward Island; $10.11 in Alberta; $10.25/hour in British Columbia; $10.29 in Manitoba; $10.30 in Yukon; $10.51 in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan a n d N e w f o u n d l a n d & Labrador; $10.67 in Northwest Territories; $10.77 in Ontario; and $11.56/hour in Nunavut.

A l l j u r i s d i c t i o n s p a i d nannies overtime at 1.5 times the hourly wage, typically a f t e r a 4 4 - h o u r w e e k . However, deductions for room and board varied widely from no permissible charges in Québec to a maximum employers ’ deduction of $420 a month in Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Most nannies to receive p e r m i t s a s Te m p o r a r y Foreign Workers are from the Philippines; and all can apply for permanent residence in

Canada after working here for two years.

The federal government has run a work permit program for foreign caregivers since 1955, when cabinet implemented a Caribbean Domestics Scheme Program to al low single women from Jamaica and Barbados to work in Canada as live-in maids.

By tom KorsKi[PHOTO LIBRARY & ARCHIvES CANADA/MICHEL LAM-

BETH #1985-071 NPC]

A Job For A Temporary Foreign Worker

“Healthy?” from Pg.2

“Internet” from Pg.6

excellent, compared to 70% of respondents with twice the earnings.

The report did not detail the costs o f a nat iona l guaranteed income plan.

Dr. Reid cited the results of an earlier pilot project, conducted in Dauphin, Man. in 1974 in which some 1,000 families were provided fixed monthly subsidies, resulting in reduced mental health complaints, better school attendance and more at-home parenting.

“The economic situation is different in Canada now,” said Reid. “This was done in a farming community in one set area; I’m not sure what kind of extrapolation you could make in a downtown, urban setting, but this bears re-studying.”

T h e b u d g e t f o r t h e Dauphin project, originally forecast at $500,000, totalled $17 million over five years; expenses were cost-shared by the provincial and federal governments.

The Medical Association report also cited an Ontario study, the Hamilton Spectator/McMaster University Code Red project that examined health outcomes based on residents’ income, education and neighbourhoods, and found “staggering disparities” including a 21-year gap in life expectancies between wealthy and poorer districts.

“We’ve been using these numbers to inform a lot of our policy and advocacy work,” Reid said. “These are the arguments we make when we talk about addressing income disparity – Code Red put it right out there.”

Other recommendations f r o m d o c t o r s i n c l u d e d adoption of national policies on housing, food security, childcare and pharmacare.

By dale smith


A plan to restore St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario water levels to a more natural pattern may reverse 1957 management practices that resulted in lost wildlife and recreation.

The International Joint Commission served notice of hearings to end its decades-old practice of controlling water levels from Cornwall, Ont. to Massena, N.Y., a practice that aided commercial shippers but has been blamed for environmental damage.

“There is an estimated 64,000 acres of what would have been meadow marsh wetlands that have essentially been choked off,” said Lee Willbanks, executive director of the group Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper; “As our environment slowly degrades the economy along the river begins to suffer.”

Since the controls, the Upper St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario have seen

declines in populations of northern pike, common tern and muskrat, which biologists note has allowed the expansion of invasive species such as ground goby.

“We have fewer anglers, fewer birders,” said Willbanks. “Our recreational boating season is shorter now because of the way of the International Joint Commission controls it, and all that ripples through.”

Researchers said control of flows in the waterway to maintain predictable levels skewed the ecology of the system.

“When you have very stable water levels, that only provides habitat for one set of species that tend to dominate, whereas diversity comes from fluctuating water levels,” said Dr. Jeffery Ridal, executive director of the St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Science. “There are other things you have to balance: navigation, flood reduction, shorelines, recreational boating. Who

wants to go out to their dock and see their boat sitting on the river bottom?”

“It’s impossible to please everyone,” said Ridal.

Commercial users of the waterway, like the Port of Montreal, said predictive water levels are crucial for loading and shipping of large vessels.

“In the past there was a large amount of uncertainty, and therefore a lot of tonnage was left behind,” said Daniel Dagenais, the port’s director of operations. “Companies are risk averse; forecasting was very spotty and not very precise.”

D a g e n a i s c o m m e n d e d t h e International Joint Commission for “absorbing the feedback” on water levels. The commission proposes to modify levels based on factors like ice levels or dry conditions.

“There are high and low trigger points that will allow the board to take extraordinary measures to mitigate damage,” said Prof. Bill Taylor, Canadian co-chair of the commission’s Great Lakes Science Advisory Board; “There is the issue of balancing the upstream folks with the downstream folks.”

The commission accepted comments till last week.

By Kaven BaKer-voaKes

The Department of Health says it isSigns of recovery in U.S. home construction are credited with better sales for Canada’s lumber industry.

Annual sales rose by double-digits in the sector’s best performance since the 2008 crash of the American subprime mortgage market, according to new federal data.

“It is definitely better,” said Wayne Guthrie, senior vice president of sales and marketing with lumber giant Canfor Corp. “We went through the worst downturn in the history of our industry with the U.S. housing collapse.”

Sales of Canadian wood products totaled $22.7 billion in the eleventh-month period ending this past May 31, a 20 percent increase over the year before.

Guthrie noted that “most of us in the industry and our customers are still quite cautiously optimistic” of continued growth.

“We see reports of a slowdown in the Chinese economy,” said Guthrie. “In the U.S. housing is up substantially but there

is a shortage of labour, tight credit and relatively modest job creation.”

Guthrie continued, “We do believe next year will be better, and 2015 will be better than 2014, but there will be speed bumps along the way.”

American housing starts for the period jumped 29 percent, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Cross-border exports of Canadian manufactured wood products increased 37 percent.

“The wood product industry is going to cash in on the recovery in housing markets,” said Lin Ai, economist with the Conference Board of Canada. “There is a strong correlation between Canadian wood product exports and U.S. housing starts.”

Federal figures show wood products account for 4 percent of the nation’s manufacturing, with British Columbia accounting for the largest share of sales (33 percent), followed by Québec ( 26%); Alberta (16%) and Ontario (15 percent).

By Kaven BaKer-voaKes[IMAGE LIBRARY & ARCHIvES CANADA PA-011632]

Where The River Runs Dry

Thanks, America


Spending on research and development by the nation’s post-secondary institutions has barely kept pace with inflation, new figures show.

“Canada should aspire to join the ranks of the world’s top five economies,” said Howard Alper, chair of the Science, Technology and

Innovation Council. Instead, Canada ranks ninth among industrialized countries on scientific investment as a share of production.

“ C a n a d a ’ s r e l a t i v e position as a share of GDP is deteriorating,” Alper said.

To t a l p o s t - s e c o n d a r y investment in research and development was $378 million in 2011, the most recent data available. The figure, adjusted for inflation, represented a 0.2 percent increase over the previous year, according to Statistics Canada.

G ov e r n m e n t f a re d n o better, with federal research and development spending averaging a 0. 1 percent gain annually. Provincial investment rose 1.5 percent. Nationwide, Ontario and Québec accounted for two-thirds of post-secondary funding for research and development. All provinces but Saskatchewan and Prince

Edward Island saw annual increases in funding.

An industry group, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, earlier estimated Canada had dropped to 17th in a global ranking of research and development incentives. The report followed a reduction in the federal Scientif ic Research & Experimental Development tax credit from 20 to 15 percent; elimination of capital expenditures from eligibility for credits; and the lowering of the rate used to calculate wages as a credited expense from 65 percent to 55 percent – all measures estimated to save Ottawa $500 million a year, according to the Department of Finance.

Canada Revenue calculates 18,000 claimants a year apply for SR&ED credits, 75 percent of them small businesses.

By dale smith

Science, Schmience


Anti-Trust Probe Clears Visa, MasterCard A federal anti-trust agency has

dismissed complaints of unfair trade practices by credit card companies.

The Competition Tribunal ruled that Visa and MasterCard did not violate the Competition Act in their treatment of retailers. The finding follows a three-year probe.

Storekeepers and the Competition Bureau accused the two companies of “numerous anti-competitive restraints”, including random increases in acceptance fees; rules that oblige retailers to accept all cards by contracted issuers including high-fee rewards cards; and a “no-surcharge rule” that prevents merchants from levying Visa or MasterCard customers a transaction fee to recoup service charges.

“We’re disappointed,” said Tricia Anderson, president and CEO of the Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association; “The big losers are the merchants.”

T h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n f o l l o w e d complaints by retailers in 2009 over the $5 billion collected each year by Visa and MasterCard, which account for 90 percent of credit card purchases, by federal estimate.

An industry group, the Canadian Convenience Stores Association, said the ruling left retailers with no choice but to appeal to legislators for controls on credit card practices.

“Our hands are bound,” said Alex

Scholten, association president. “We have to rely on regulatory intervention. There is an issue here and it should be addressed by regulation.”

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty issued a statement that he was “carefully reviewing ” the ant i - trust rul ing, but stopped short of advocating new regulations. Flaherty in 2010 issued a “code of conduct” for credit card issuers that called for 90 days’ notice of acceptance fee increases; plain disclosure of all contract terms and conditions; and authority for merchants to cancel contracts without penalty, and offer discounts to customers who use alternative payments.

“The code isn’t cutting it,” said MP Glenn Thibeault , New Democrat consumer affairs critic; “It’s a voluntary code so it is toothless.”

Thibeault said the Official Opposition will introduce a private bill once the Commons resumes sitting Sept. 16 to regulate credit practices.

“This is eating into profit margins for small and medium-sized enterprises,” said Thibeault, MP for Sudbury, Ont.; “The tr ibunal has c learly placed responsibility for fixing this problem on the government.”

A private Liberal bill introduced in the Senate, S-215 An Act To Amend The Payment Card Networks Act, would cap acceptance fees paid by retailers that process Visa

and MasterCard sales to a maximum 0.5 percent for private business; 0.3 percent for public institutions; and zero for charities.

The unregulated fees currently range from 1 to 3 percent or more.

Visa and MasterCard have declined Blacklock’s questions in the past, but defended their corporate practices in federal filings.

“Merchants have the ability to decide whether or not they wish to participate in the Visa system,” Visa Canada Corp. wrote in a 2011 filing with the Competition Tribunal; “Merchants can, and do, advertise and charge different prices depending on the method of payment.”

MasterCard International Inc. in a similar filing dismissed complaints of its practices as “misconceived both as a matter of law and as a matter of e c o n o m i c s ,” s u b m i t t i n g t h a t i t s regulations were drafted “so consumers can have confidence their MasterCard card will be honoured.”

Credit cards remain the most popular form of purchase in Canada accounting for 28 percent of sales, followed by cash (25 percent); pre-authorized debit cards (18%); Interac payments (18%); and cheque payments (5%).

Visa first issued cards in Canada in 1968, MasterCard in 1973.

By tom KorsKi

The Department of National Defence is being sued for allegedly misleading a recruit with inflated promises of pay and benefits.

An army captain, Erwin Ort iz-Osterroth, has filed a Federal Court application asking that a judge review circumstances of his enlistment in Montreal in 2008.

“It has been a really bad experience,” said Ortiz-Osterroth; “I would like a judicial review of this.”

The Chief of Defence Staff, who is named in the lawsuit, would not take Blacklock’s questions.

Ortiz-Osterroth said on joining the military with a master’s degree in engineering design, he was assured a pay rate some $600 more a month than he later received. And he said he was promised expenses to cover the cost of

relocating his family from the U.K. – a benefit that was never paid.

“I was told once I finished basic training I would receive a higher rate of pay,” Ortiz-Osterroth said. “Unfortunately, it was a surprise to learn the pay rate I was promised did not exist.”

Ortiz-Osterroth filed a grievance with the army, which dismissed the complaint after noting his post-graduate education and experience “is not required at the entry level by the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering branch,” according to court documents.

“There is no engineering work; my career is at a halt,” said Ortiz-Osterroth, who is currently based at CFB Wainwright, Alta.

The Department of National Defence would not discuss the specifics of the case, but said in a statement that all recruitment officers must cite established pay scales and benefits guides when attracting volunteers.

However, the department noted more subjective al lowances “may apply to prospective Canadian Armed Forces members, depending on their qualifications”; and an official said benefits may include “moving costs when work requires that a member move geographically.”

Pay in the regular forces starts from a standard $2,806 per month for an army private to a basic salary of $4,163/month for dentists and physicians; $6,286/month for pilots; and $6,401/month for legal officers.

In his court application, Ortiz-Osterroth asked that a federal judge review circumstances of his recruitment and promised benefits: “The Crown is responsible for mistakes made by its employees.”

By staff

No Life Like It?


Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is being sued by a federal agency for concealing records that may confirm his department violated the Copyright Act.

T h e l a w s u i t f o l l o w s complaints from an Alberta resources company that O l i v e r ’ s d e p a r t m e n t distributed proprietary data, then invoked claims of privacy in refusing to divulge records that would prove the fact.

“It’s unbelievable to me this is going on in Canada,” said Paul Einarsson, Chair and COO of Geophysical Service Inc., the Calgary-based firm that originally filed a complaint with the Department of Natural Resources. “The government is supporting piracy over copyright law. They are destroying my business.”

O l i v e r d i d n o t t a k e Blacklock’s questions.

Einarsson’s company, the largest owner of marine seismic data in Canada, was required to submit copies of

its research to federal agencies as a condition of permits to map the ocean floor. However, Einarsson said he discovered that agencies subsequently distributed the data without his knowledge or permission in violation of the Copyright Act, in some cases providing it to competitors.

“This is millions of dollars’ worth of data we provide to clients under license,” Einarsson said. “We found a number of circumstances where we had competitors actually reselling our data.”

When Einarsson filed a June 7, 2010 Access to Information request that the department disclose all records of what it did with his company’s surveys, Natural Resources refused to divulge who was on its mailing list as “personal information”.

“This is brazen,” said Einarsson. “They are having us chase our tails; there are no police to call; and they have obstructed us every step of the way.”

“When they released our copyright information, there was no concept it was a trade secret provided to our customers under license,” Einarsson continued. “Yet when we tried to find out who is violating our copyright, they decided that was confidential.”

The Office of Information C o m m i s s i o n e r Su z a n n e Legault agreed, ruling that Einarsson’s complaint was “wel l -founded” and that Natural Resources misapplied the Access to Information Act in concealing its records from Einarsson.

In an application fi led i n O t t a w a c o u r t , t h e

commissioner asked that a f e d e ra l j u d g e c o m p e l O l i v e r ’s d e p a r t m e n t t o release the information to Einarsson. Legal counsel for the commissioner did not comment on details of the case.

I n s e p a r a t e a c t i o n s , Geophysical Service Inc. has filed legal claims against the National Energy Board, the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board and Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board for distributing its surveys without license or permission.

By staff

The Department of Public Works is under scrutiny as one of Canada’s largest accounting firms accuses it of unfair practice in awarding millions of dollars in contracts.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP claims Public Works officials violated free trade law in contracting for forensic audi ts on behal f o f the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Public Works Canada did not comment.

“If the result is allowed to stand, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers will be unfairly shut out,” the firm wrote in an of-ficial complaint; “The conse-quences of this are significant for PricewaterhouseCoopers, for the Government of Can-

ada and for the integrity of the bidding system.”

The complaint follows a Feb. 15 call by Public Works to eight pre-qualified accounting firms for bids on forensic auditing at the aboriginal affairs department. Three firms – Deloitte & Touche Canada, KPMG and Ernst & Young – won contracts on May 31 worth a total of some $17 million over five years, according to documents.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers bid was disqual i f ied for failing to meet “minimum” requirements; “This is a scoping exercise not a forensic audit report,” Public Works said of the firm’s submission.

D o c u m e n t s i n d i c a t e

over a two -week period authorities did not reply to numerous requests from PricewaterhouseCoopers to discuss the issue, finally sending a terse June 13 email: “The Crown maintains their position on this file.”

No official with accounting firm or its legal team would speak to Blacklock’s.

Howeve r, i n a f o r m a l complaint to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, PricewaterhouseCoopers claims its bid was improperly assessed; that Public Works did not properly define what “forensic audit” meant; and that the review of its submission was “unreasonably narrow.”

“PricewaterhouseCoopers’ bid did not receive the benefit of a full and proper evaluation, one of the most fundamental ob l igat ions imposed on procuring authorities under C a n a d a ’s p r o c u r e m e n t

treaties,” the firm claimed. “Had it been properly assessed, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ bid would certainly have placed among the top three.”

The accountants accused Public Works of violating the North American Free Trade Agreement Article 1015.4 that stipulates “awards shall be made in accordance with the criteria and essential requirements specified in the tender documentation; and Article XII.2 of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement that requires tender calls to contractors “contain al l information necessary to permit them to submit responsive tenders.”

The Trade Tribunal agreed to conduct a formal inquiry into the PricewaterhouseCoopers complaint.

By staff

A Complaint Of “Integrity”

Cabinet Sued In Copyright Case: “It’s Unbelievable”


Transport Canada is facing demands from the nation’s municipalities that it respond to safety recommendations from its own advisers in the aftermath of the Lac-Mégantic, Que. disaster.

T h e Fe d e r a t i o n o f C a n a d i a n Mu n i c i p a l i t i e s , a t a n i n a u g u ra l meeting of its Rail Safety Working Group, urged that cabinet “respond to safety recommendations made by the Transportation Safety Board and address previously identified safety deficiencies.”

“The federal government must work in close partnership with municipalities if it is going to effectively address rail safety,” said Claude Dauphin, president of the municipalities’ federation. Members of

the Rail Safety Working Group are Mayor Doug Reycraft of Middlesex, Ont.; Mayor Pauline Quinlan of Bromont, Que.; Mayor Don Atchison of Saskatoon; and other municipal representatives from New Brunswick, Québec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

The country’s largest railways say they have complied with Transport Canada’s latest safety orders.

“This tragedy is a sober reminder to the industry that safety must be an absolute priority,” said Claude Mongeau, CN president and CEO; “The safety of our operations and the communities through which we pass is of the utmost importance.”

Nationwide there are 18,500 train

crossings on highways and municipal roads, by federal estimate.

Both CN and Canadian Pacific Rail said they had adopted safety reforms, including cab lock-downs and two-person crews on all mainline freights, prior to the Lac-Mégantic wreck. An industry group, the Railway Association of Canada, said it offered authorities all assistance in their investigation.

“If new rules or regulations emerge from this tragic accident, our members will comply with them in both practice and spirit,” said Michael Bourque, association president.

By alex BinKley

More than a decade after calling the safety measure “unwarranted”, the Department of Transportation is now ordering all railways to lock unattended locomotives.

The order is contained in an emergency directive following the rail disaster at Lac-Mégantic, Que. Forty-seven townspeople perished in the July 5 derailment and explosion of an unattended Montreal Maine & Atlantic freight carrying crude oil.

Transport Canada ruled that effective immediately, all railways must ensure at least two qualified locomotive operators are assigned to any freight transporting dangerous goods on a main track or siding (the Lac-Mégantic freight had a single operator); that no locomotive transporting dangerous goods is left unattended on a main track; that all unattended locomotives on sidings are locked; that directional controls are removed from all unattended locomotives to prevent the engines from moving forward or backward; that locomotives left unattended for more than 60 minutes comply with company instructions on handbrakes; and that locomotives left

for more than an hour have automatic brakes in “full service” position with independent brakes fully applied.

“The safety of Canadians is Transport Canada’s top priority,” the department reported in its directive.

However, federal records indicate the department dismissed a 2002 recommendation to lock unattended locomotives following a rail accident in British Columbia.

In a 2002 wreck near Natal, B.C., a Canadian Pacific Rail train collided with a freight left unattended on a siding that moved onto the main line. The Natal collision led to a Transportation Safety Board advisory noting railways were not required to lock doors and windows of unattended locomotives: “Transport Canada responded that requiring all railways to secure operating locomotive cabs as a result of this occurrence was unwarranted at that time.”

Transport Minister Lisa Raitt did not take Blacklock’s questions. Raitt’s department also declined comment on why regulations were not changed at the time.

“It is our first duty as parliamentarians, as government, to make sure…the trains that come through our neighbourhoods are safe,” said MP Olivia Chow, New Democrat transport critic; “That’s why we have a government; we need regulation.”

Chow said Transport Canada “should not have given approval to operate these trains” with a single engineer.

“These recommendations are not new,”

said Chow, MP for Trinity-Spadina, Ont.; “I’m glad they have finally taken action.”

Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board determined the Lac-Mégantic freight was left unattended after a mysterious fire. In a timeline of the disaster, investigators reported that:• At 10:45 pm ET on July 5, the freight left Montreal bound for Saint John with five locomotives and 72 tank cars loaded with petroleum crude oil;• At 11 pm the lone operator stopped the train at a designated point near Nantes, Que. for a crew change, departing for the evening after leaving the locomotive unlocked and unattended on a mainline track at a grade of 1.2% descending into the town of Lac-Mégantic;• At 11:50 a nearby resident reported a fire broke out in the lead locomotive;• At 12 Midnight local volunteer fire-fighters put out the blaze, and the loco-motive was again left unattended;• At 1:00 am the train began to move downhill, gathering speed as it rolled 7.4 miles southeast towards Lac-Mégantic; 63 of 72 tank cars derailed and burst into flames; the locomotives separated from the train and came to a stop a half-mile east of the derailment.

Canada’s worst rail disaster occurred at St-Hilaire, Que. on June 29, 1864 when an overnight Grand Trunk express carrying 354 immigrants plunged over a swing bridge into the Richelieu River, killing 99 passengers.

By tom KorsKi

After A Disaster: “Respond”

11 Years Later, A Safety Rule Is Adopted


A federal judge has rebuked an Alberta taxpayer for a “reprehensible” scheme to claim a loss on a business that never existed.

“The victims in this case are Canadian taxpayers,” Justice Judith Woods wrote in the case of an Edmonton woman who claimed six-figure losses from a phantom enterprise.

“She did not carry on any business,” said Justice Woods; “This is not someone who was naïve.”

C o l l e e n M c L e o d , a n Edmonton Public Schools employee, asked that Tax Court order a review of $24,185 in penalties she received for falsifying her 2009 tax return.

McLeod earned $42,670 that year but claimed a net loss as a business agent of $157,196, and a non-capital loss of $116,359 for carryback to her 2006, 2007 and 2008 tax returns. McLeod testified she sent her return to a local tax preparer named Amed Solutions – short for “Amanda” and “Ed” – and signed the form without reading it.

Court heard submissions from McLeod’s lawyer that

she was “naïve” and “had little more than high school education.”

However, Justice Woods dismissed the woman’s appeal to reverse the penalt ies and ordered her to pay the government’s costs, citing an email sent by McLeod to her tax preparer in which she lamented that Canada Revenue was suspicious and she was “not sure what to tell them if they ask about my income.”

“ M s . Mc L e o d w a s a n intelligent person who was quite capable of making decisions with respect to this matter,” wrote Justice Woods; “Even if I am wrong that Ms. McLeod knowingly claimed a false business loss, it is certainly a case of willful blindness.”

McLeod’s counsel did not take Blacklock’s questions.

Under the Income Tax Act, Sec. 163.2, anyone who files a false tax return knowingly or due to “gross negligence” is subject to penalties of up to 50 percent of their tax owing.

By staff

“Reprehensible” “Little To Hold To”

a poem by Shai Ben-Shalom

A paper-thin résumécould come in handyin politics.

Opponents may find it difficultto dig deep,Hunting for dirt.

(Editor’s note: the author, an Israeli-born biologist, recently published his first collection of poems, Martians Among Us with In/Words Press)

Best of Sheree

Asia Barsoski - Artist613-565-9831

asiabarsoskicreative.wordpress.com

T h e C a n a d i a n Transportation Agency has sided with a traveller who was offered and sold a bargain fare, only to have his tickets abruptly cancelled.

Glen Bedjanian, a Montréal-

area information technology consultant, complained to the agency after Jet Airways Inc. revoked its bargain fare without telling him.

“I was incredulous,” said Bedjanian. “I was never even notified.”

Agency documents indicate on Sept. 28, 2012 Bedjanian purchased three one-way tickets from Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Burma to Montréal on connector flights for the equivalent of $557 at an online travel agency eDreams.it: “I am a frequent flyer myself and a friend called to tell me of this fare.”

However, when Bedjanian

went to reserve his seats four weeks later he discovered Jet Airways had cancelled the tickets, claiming the i n e x p e n s i v e f a r e w a s “erroneously published”, and offering a refund.

I n h i s s u b m i s s i o n t o regulators, Bedjanian argued the cancellation “unjustly” amounted to a violation of contract, and that the Indian-based airline was obliged to honour the tickets it sold him.

The agency agreed.In its ruling, a federal

panel ordered Jet Airways to fly Bedjanian and his family between Canada and Burma for $557 as promised; and the

agency cited the airline for failing to post a notice advising consumers of its terms and conditions as required by Air Transport Regulations.

“I am st i l l wait ing for my re instatement ,” sa id Bedjanian. “I expect my tickets to be honoured.”

Jet Airways did not take Blacklock’s questions.

T h e c a r r i e r t o l d t h e Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n A g e n c y the discounted fare was a “processing error”, and that refunding Bedjanian’s tickets represented “necessary steps toward damage control.”

By staff

Around The World For $557

APPOINTMENTSBLACKLOCK’S REPORTER SEPT. 2, 2013NO. 43 15

Agostinho, Luis – of Toronto, reappointed a member, Immigration & Refugee Board, Toronto Office, effective Nov. 15

Archibald, Bruce – of Ottawa, appointed president, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, with a salary in the range of $216,900 to $255,100, Aug. 12

Biggs, Margaret – of Ottawa, appointed Senior Advisor, Privy Council Office, with a salary in the range of $216,900 to $255,100, July 8

Cunningham, Lynne – of Calgary, re-appointed a member, Immigration & Refu-gee Board, Calgary Office, Sept. 1

Ellis, Karen – of Ottawa, appointed president, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, with a sal-ary in the range of $188,600 to $221,800, Aug. 12

Gagnon, Yves – of Ottawa, appointed Ambassador to Cuba, with a salary ni the range of $131,200 to $154,300, August 12

Glover, Paul – of Ottawa, appointed Asso-ciate Deputy Minister of Health, with a sal-ary in the range of $188,600 to $221,800, July 8

George, Roland – of Calgary, reappointed a member, National Energy Board, effect-ive August 8

Glover, Paul – of Ottawa, appointed Asso-ciate Deputy Minister of Health, with a sal-ary in the range of $188,600 to $221,800, July 8

Hall, James – of Toronto, appointed a dir-ector, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Aug. 1

Hallman, Ron – of Ottawa, appointed president, Canadian Environmental As-sessment Agency, with a salary in the range of $192,600 to $225,500, July 8

Hart, James – of vernon, B.C., appointed a member, Parole Board of Canada, Pacific Region, July 2

Kowal, Harry – of Ottawa, appointed Prin-cipal, Royal Military College, with a salary in the range of $167,700 to $197,200, August 1

Lafleur, Annie – of Montreal, reappointed a member, Immigration & Refugee Board, Montreal office, effective Nov. 15

McKenzie, Guy – appointed president, Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, with a salary in the range of $216,900 to $255,100, July 1

Natynczyk, Gen. (Ret’d.) Walter – of Ot-tawa, appointed president, Canadian Space Agency, with a salary in the range of $216,900 to $255,100, August 6

O’Sullivan, Susan – of Ottawa, re-appointed Federal Ombudsman for victims of Crime, with a salary in the range of $121,700 to $143,100, August 16

Paradiso, David – of Ottawa, appointed interim chair, RCMP External Review Committee, with a salary in the range of $139,900 to $164,500, August 1

Paul, David – of Perth Andover, N.B., ap-pointed Deputy Chief Commissioner, First Nations Tax Commission, August 6

Saccomani, Bruno – of Ottawa, appointed Ambassador to Jordan, with a salary in the range of $131,200 to $154,300, August 30

Vreeswijk, Wilma – of Ottawa, appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Citizenship & Immigration, with a salary in the range of $188,600 to $221,800, Sept. 17

Zicherman, Doris – of Montreal, re-appointed a member, Immigration & Refu-gee Board, Montreal Office, effective Oct. 18

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Issue No. 43, MoNDAY, septeMber 2, 2013, 15 pgs. Feds ... · accountants, engineers, waitresses,...

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Transcript of Issue No. 43, MoNDAY, septeMber 2, 2013, 15 pgs. Feds ... · accountants, engineers, waitresses,...