Dean Beeby
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canada
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Past articles by Dean:
Off, up and away: Ottawa gives astronauts extra holiday time, perks in new contract
A day off in space? Canada's astronauts often spend them reading, watching films or phoning family members. Canada's newest space traveller, David Saint-Jacques, has Christmas Day off - one of a number of new workplace benefits approved by the Liberal cabinet just five days before he blasted off. → Read More
Environment minister's staff signed off on tweet praising Syria for joining Paris accord
A tone-deaf tweet last year in praise of Syria was quickly deleted by Environment Canada after a social media outcry. CBC News has obtained documents showing that the controversial tweet was pre-approved by the minister's office less than an hour before it was posted. → Read More
More than a dozen federal departments flunked a credit card security test
There are 34 federal departments and agencies that allow citizens and others to pay for services with credit and debit cards. An internal briefing note, obtained by CBC News, shows that half of those institutions have flunked a global test designed to help ensure that personal information is not breached by hackers. → Read More
Federal workers cited 3,075 times for lapses in document security
Public Services and Procurement Canada instituted a tough new policy to ensure its office workers keep sensitive documents secure. But a new audit, obtained by CBC News under access to information law, found more than 3,000 violations of the policy last year, suggesting the measures are having limited impact. → Read More
Trade disputes, lawsuits driving up Ottawa's legal bills
The Trudeau government's spending on outside law firms has risen sharply in the last year, topping $26 million for the first time since numbers have been proactively posted. The federal Justice Department refuses to release details, but legal costs are clearly being driven by trade disputes and veterans' lawsuits. → Read More
Liberal government revives decade-old project to move embassy in Moscow
Canada has spent some $26 million over the last decade to rent and maintain an empty building in Moscow. It's supposed to be the new home of Canada's embassy, but the move has been dogged by delays. The government recently revived the project, though sour relations with the Kremlin may be a problem. → Read More
Parks Canada revives effort to protect 'heritage' wrecks
Capt. Paul Bender has been waging a five-year campaign to protect ocean war graves in Canadian waters. It appears his efforts may be paying off. CBC News has learned that Parks Canada is reviving a moribund plan to regulate heritage wrecks, protecting them from looters and souvenir hunters. → Read More
Border agency, Transport Canada clash over gun rules
Transport Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency are in the fourth year of a prickly dispute about whether border officers should be allowed to carry handguns at major airports. Internal documents obtained by CBC News reveal the long-running clash has drawn in the Privy Council Office to mediate. → Read More
Tax dodgers and others stampeded to beat amnesty deadline in March
The Canada Revenue Agency tightened a tax-amnesty program on March 1, but many Canadians managed to sneak in under that deadline, allowing them access to its more generous terms. Tax practitioners say the new program has been stripped of so many incentives that few tax dodgers will be coming forward any more. → Read More
Nudge resistant: Canadians seem to ignore taxman's environmental message
The Canada Revenue Agency ran an experiment last year to see whether it could encourage more Canadians to file taxes online by using friendly letters. An internal analysis obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act shows the initiative had only a small impact — Canadians paid little heed to environmental messaging. → Read More
CRA loses court challenge to its political-activity audits of charities
Justice Edward Morgan of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has dealt a blow to the CRA's political-activity audits of charities, ruling that part of the Income Tax Act infringes on the constitutional right to freedom of expression. The ruling is a victory for a small Ottawa charity that had been facing deregistration and for the sector. → Read More
CBC privacy breach was bigger, broader than 1st announced
A mass email to CBC employees warning them their private information was at risk was issued May 16, at least nine days after the corporation knew about a major privacy breach, internal documents show. The incident followed six privacy breaches the year before, including the loss of a USB key. → Read More
Five per cent of digital consumers say they always access content illegally, says survey
A $95,000 survey for the federal government found that about one in 10 Canadians who consume content digitally said they had received a notice of alleged copyright infringement from their internet service provider. One-quarter said they then abandoned their digital piracy - while another quarter said they ignored the notice. → Read More
A whodunnit Down Under: Who smashed Canada's Inuit sculptures?
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould planned to give Inuit art as gifts to New Zealand's prime minister and attorney general during her official visit there. But the plan fell apart when someone vandalized the sculptures, smashing them to bits. The incident remains a mystery. → Read More
Rush order for 31,000 smartphones signals return of 'March Madness' budget rush
It's a well-known practice in government circles: 'March Madness' - public servants rushing to spend every last dollar in their budgets before the fiscal year ends. A massive order for 31,000 smartphones last month suggests the spending tactic has returned, after the previous Conservative government banned it. → Read More
'Greening' project could end use of fossil fuel for Centennial Flame
The popular Centennial Flame monument on Parliament Hill has been drawing on natural gas from Western Canada for half a century. But Public Services and Procurement Canada wants a more eco-friendly fuel, and has launched a study to look at alternatives, including electricity and LEDs. → Read More
80-year extension on access-to-info request appears to be a record
Delays in responses are a growing problem in the federal access-to-info system, but this one is a doozy: a minimum of 80 years to deliver documents related to an RCMP money-laundering investigation. The requester, Michael Dagg, 70, says he'll narrow the request so he can receive something in his lifetime. → Read More
National Gallery of Canada puts Chagall masterpiece on the auction block
A sublime oil painting by Marc Chagall, owned by the people of Canada since 1956, is going up for auction in New York next month as the National Gallery of Canada rejigs its art-retention policies. The proceeds - perhaps as much as US$9 million - will go to buy more art. One art critic calls a move a "monumental stupidity." → Read More
Health Canada rejects claim that new radon gas standards put Canadians at risk
Late last year, Ottawa published for the first time a guidance document on how to rid homes of dangerous radon gas. CBC News has learned the document was published over the strenuous objections of the Canadian Home Builders' Association, which said the mitigation measures might themselves pose health risks to Canadians. Health Canada disagrees. → Read More
U.S., EU intercept thousands of counterfeit goods shipments, while Canada seizes just dozens
Canada passed a law, effective 2015, designed to intercept counterfeit goods at the border. Three years later, internal statistics suggest the legislation is a paper tiger, with just 16 shipments seized each year - most of them released soon after. The weak results come as the White House continues to press for action. → Read More