Tomato products linked to forced labour; Proactive LTC inspections reinstated: CBC's Marketplace Cheat Sheet
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Canada's grocery chains stocked with tomato products connected to Chinese forced labour
Have you ever stopped to think about where the tomato products on our store shelves come from?
Our latest investigation is raising some troubling questions about popular tomato products like pastes, sauces and ketchup — revealing links to forced labour in China.
Marketplace, in collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Project Italy — a non-profit media association — and The Guardian found some of the world's biggest grocers, including some here in Canada, are stocked with tomato products that are tied to suppliers using forced labour in Xinjiang, a remote area of western China where Uyghurs are subjected to mass detention, surveillance and torture by the Chinese government, in what many countries have labelled a genocide. Read more
Ontario bringing back proactive long-term care inspections — a year after Marketplace revealed it quietly cut them before the pandemic
The Ontario government says it will spend $20 million this year to hire 193 new inspection staffers and launch a proactive inspections program of long-term care homes.
The news follows a 2020 Marketplace investigation that found that only nine out of 626 homes in the province received so-called "resident quality inspections" in 2019.
Inspections in long-term care homes fall primarily into two categories: complaint and critical incident inspections, which are reactive, and resident quality inspections, which are broader and proactive. For the former, homes usually know in advance that they will come under scrutiny.
The long-term care sector was devastated by COVID-19, with a military report revealing major problems in facilities meant to care for some of the province's most vulnerable residents.
Ontario says this new spending will double the number of its long-term care inspectors by the fall of 2022, with a ratio of one for every two homes. Read more
He was charged over $3,000 for damage to his rental car he didn't cause. But after Go Public got involved, the charge disappeared
Did you know that you can be charged for damage that occurs to your rental car after you've dropped it off?
That's what Samuel Wardlaw found out when Enterprise Rent-A-Car added more than $3,300 to his bill.
He'd only used the truck for five hours. But a week later, an unexpected email from the rental giant said he was responsible for damage that occurred on the Enterprise lot after hours.
Enterprise said later that, after Wardlaw parked the truck and put the keys in a secure drop box, as instructed by an employee, someone stole its catalytic converter, a part of the exhaust system that contains valuable metals.
The company pointed to a clause in its rental contract that says drivers who drop off a vehicle after hours are responsible for any damage or theft until it's checked in by an employee.
"It's their truck, their lot, their catalytic converter. Everything about it is within Enterprise's control," said Wardlaw. "For them to say it's my liability is pretty ridiculous."
But after Go Public got involved, Enterprise said in an email it had "decided not to pursue the claim." Read more
What else is going on?
Ottawa facing mounting pressure to nix pricey PCR test for travellers
A PCR test is required for all travellers entering Canada, including the fully-vaccinated.
2 B.C. doctors linked to website selling bogus mask and vaccine exemption 'certificates'
Document obtained by CBC allegedly signed by Dr. Stephen Malthouse, produced through Kelowna business.
Car2Go settles class-action lawsuit over 'driver protection fee' for $1 million
Settlement unlikely to result in significant payout for individual users.
Goodfood brand onions recalled over Salmonella
Stop using the recalled products.
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