Cabinet’s nominee to manage a registry of foreign agents yesterday promised quick results. Anton Boegman, former Chief Electoral Officer for British Columbia, told the House affairs committee he saw no excuse for further delays: "It is essential to start enforcing the rules promptly." READ MORE
Construction of regional high speed rail is a $90 billion catastrophe for taxpayers, says an MP whose constituency is on the route. Conservative MP Scott Reid (Lanark-Frontenac, Ont.) yesterday warned of "ruined lives" and wasted billions as the Commons passed the High Speed Rail Network Act: 'Why on earth should people in British Columbia, Alberta or Newfoundland pay for this?' READ MORE
Analysis of millions of credit reports shows heavy use of credit cards is a two-year “early warning signal” of mortgage defaults, Bank of Canada researchers said yesterday. Findings were drawn from nine years’ worth of TransUnion Canada data: "Monitoring early signs of financial stress among mortgage borrowers is crucial." READ MORE
Subsidies for private sector newsrooms cost taxpayers $170 million last year, the Department of Finance reported yesterday. Publishers successfully lobbied for taxpayers’ aid seven years ago on a promise that subsidies would be transitional and temporary: "There does need to be a deadline." READ MORE
Cabinet is looking for a third Budget Officer in six months. Interim Officer Jason Jacques yesterday said he had no word on reappointment with four days remaining in his term: "Things were partisan 20 years ago; they are certainly more partisan now." READ MORE
Fraud in Canada’s refugee system is difficult to gauge but may be significant, says Immigration Minister Lena Diab’s department. A “meaningful proportion of claims” from illegal immigrants and other refugee claimants are ineligible, it said: "Indicators provide a broader picture of integrity pressures." READ MORE
The Commons yesterday by a 198 to 134 vote rejected a Conservative motion to suspend free medical benefits for illegal immigrants. The vote followed pointed debate: "It is disgusting." READ MORE
In small-town Saskatchewan in those days if your parents didn’t own a farm or a business where you might work there were few choices, actually. One was to join the RCMP. Another was to join the military. The third option was to get a job in a bank, so that’s what I did. I started off as a ledger keeper and finally got promoted as teller. Banking was very different then. You basically took people’s money, looked after it, and if you did lend it was only to customers with a huge amount of collateral.
