Canadian penny retires

The Royal Canadian Mint officially stopped distributing the penny on Feb. 4, almost a year after Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty announced the penny’s discontinuation in the federal budget of March 2012. According to CBC News, one penny cost the government 1.6 cents to produce, and a plausible reason for its withdrawal was a drop in its purchasing power. The government expects to save approximately $11 million annually due to the penny’s discontinuation.

Price rounding, which takes place after taxes have been added to a purchase, started the same day as the penny’s demise. Shelly Glover, the parliamentary secretary to the Flaherty, stated that businesses have the final say on whether or not they accept the coin. According to the CBC, “the government recommends rounding the total bill to the nearest $0.05 or $0.10.”

Despite being the smallest denomination of the Canadian currency, the penny has remained in demand in artistic circles. Renee Gruszecki, owner of a jewellery business based in Halifax, has spent the last year saving pennies and turning them into different accessories and designs.

“The maple leaf is synonymous with everything Canadian,” she told the Canadian Press. “We [Canadians] all identify with it.”

Air Canada appeals to court over Aveos facilities

Last Monday, the Quebec Superior Court sided with Quebec’s former Liberal government in a lawsuit against Air Canada. The ruling obligates the airline company to keep their maintenance facilities in Montreal open, following debate on changes to Air Canada’s business model.

In March 2012, Air Canada subcontractor Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. went out of business and announced plans to liquidate the company’s assets. Following this, Air Canada began to eliminate specialized jobs in Canada and replaced them with similar jobs abroad. Quebec’s former government argued that a federal law passed in 1988 requires that the airline keep these jobs in Canada, and that significant changes to Air Canada’s business model can only come about through legislative change.

Air Canada, however, has pointed to contrary legal advice that the company received from the federal Ministry of Justice. The company also argues that it followed the 1988 federal law. They cite a ruling in the Ontario Superior Court, which concluded that Air Canada had respected the law by having its own maintenance operations and overhaul facilities in Canada. According to a spokesperson for Air Canada, the company plans to appeal the Quebec ruling.

Canada scores a ‘B’ in social report card

Canada received an overall “B” grade for economics and public policy in the Conference Board of Canada’s annual social report card. This put Canada in 7th place out of 17 developed countries that the Conference Board assessed. The Board is a non-profit independent organization that focuses on national “economic trends, public policy, and organizational performance,” according to their website.

Although the report found Canada to be successful in areas such as  serious crime and tolerance of diversity, its grade was lowered due to high poverty rates for both children and working-age adults, where it obtained a “D” grade. Growing concentration of wealth in the hands of fewer people and the wage disparity between men and women also played a part in Canada’s results. The study notes that “since 1990, the richest Canadians have increased their share of total national income, while the poorest and middle income groups lost share.”

President and CEO of the Conference Board of Canada Daniel Muzyka stated that a large gap in income levels and high rates of poverty can “mean a weakening in labour force attachment and social cohesion.” Brenda Lafleur, program director at the Board, expressed more optimism, noting that the indicators where Canada has been falling behind could be fixed “through public and political will.”

Government of Canada launches intitiative to improve mental health in the work place

Last week, the federal government announced the introduction of a national standard to help businesses improve their employees’ mental health. This move came in response to a 2011 federal study, which determined that 800,000 workers in Canada are prevented from working by mental health barriers.

With the new standard, the federal government aims to create a healthier workforce and work environment, while also improving productivity. Furthermore, this initiative could potentially reduce the estimated $50 billion spent annually on mental health.

The 2011 study, conducted by Risk Analytica for the Mental Health Commission of Canada, revealed that Canadian businesses lost $6 billion each year in absenteeism (when a worker is regularly away from work without good reason) and presenteeism (when a worker is physically present but unproductive due to health barriers). Deadlines and workloads are contributing factors to an unhealthy and high-stress environment, as stated by researchers at the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction.

Federal government to appeal Métis and non-status Indians court case

The Government of Canada announced last Wednesday that it will file an appeal to a higher court following a federal court decision stating that Canada’s Métis and non-status Indians are considered “Indians” under the Canadian Constitution, and therefore fall under federal jurisdiction. The original federal court decision, made in January, follows over 13 years of legal debate on the topic, and affects approximately 200,000 Métis and 400,000 non-status Indians.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan explained that the government has sent the decision to a higher court because “the decision raises complex legal issues.”

He said it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that it is fiscally sustainable to continue programs and support for Aboriginal people. Betty Ann Lavallee, national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal People, which represents off-reserve Aboriginals, said she was disappointed by the government’s choice.

“This decision comes at the expense of Métis and non-status Indians, who for far too long have been the ‘Forgotten Peoples’ of Canada, struggling for recognition of their constitutional rights, equality, dignity, self-worth and fairness,” she said in a public statement.