Health Canada yesterday proposed to restrict alcohol in flavoured canned drinks following the death of a Québec schoolgirl. The Commons health committee urged reforms in a June 19 report: ‘It represents a significant health problem.’
Rising oil prices tend to hike the cost of housing in cities nationwide, says a Bank of Canada report. Economists did not speculate on whether falling oil prices had the opposite effect: ‘We find this even in cities such as Québec City or Winnipeg where oil production is virtually non-existent.”
Corporate claims for a contentious federal tax credit fell 11 percent after the previous Conservative cabinet cut benefits, records show. The Canada Revenue Agency had described the program as so generous it was akin to an open bar for lobbyists: “It is one of the most generous systems in the world for supporting business.”
A federal report says low pay for guards may contribute to graft in the prison system. The Correctional Service acknowledged it has little data on the extent of contraband smuggling by its own employees: ‘Remarkably little research has been conducted.’
Federal cannabis ads were pulled by Google and YouTube for breaching corporate rules on narcotics, says Health Canada. One website operator, TripAdvisor, rejected all marijuana public service announcements: “The advertisements were not approved.”
Transport Canada yesterday acknowledged it won’t meet its own deadline to enforce an air passenger rights code by year’s end. Enforcement is delayed at least six months though Parliament last May 23 passed a bill mandating automatic compensation for poor service: “We’re almost there.”
The Department of Immigration suspects hundreds of cases of abuse of migrant workers occur annually. It proposed first-ever regulations allowing Temporary Foreign Workers to quit their job without facing expulsion from Canada: ‘The power imbalance favours the employer.’
The Senate’s $114 million-a year administration should be subject to federal disclosure laws, says cabinet’s leader in the chamber. The remark follows one Manitoba senator’s unsuccessful year-long attempt to find out how much Senate managers spent on legal fees and out-of-court settlements in staff harassment claims: “I certainly believe sunlight kills germs.”
The Privy Council Office in an Access To Information memo defends millions spent advertising with Facebook and Google. Newspaper publishers have called the policy a Canadian job killer: “Those ad dollars are being sent offshore.”
The national carbon tax will cost the army, navy and air force millions, according to cabinet. Staff would not detail actual increases for the military, one of the largest fuel buyers in the country: “It’s hard paying a carbon tax.”
He will ask us,
“Why did you not save
the planet I gave you?”
And we will reply,
“We did not know
the end was near.
We could not see it coming.”
And He will say,
“Did you not witness
the flooding in New Brunswick?
“Have you not seen
the rage of Hurricane Maria
in Puerto Rico?
“Were you not presented
with images of melting glaciers
in Greenland?
“Have you closed your eyes
to the rising sea level
in the Maldives?
“Did you turn your back
on the wildfires
burning California?
“Have you not been given scientists
to warn you
in every language?”
And there will be silence.
Will we stand there,
searching for answers,
as the gates of Heaven
close?
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)
A group of senators propose to spend $30,000 on a kitchen museum inaccessible to taxpayers. The Senate committee on internal economy yesterday postponed a vote indefinitely after members questioned the project as pointless and irritating: “This is a place that won’t be visited.”
Cabinet’s representative in the Senate yesterday said he’d determine whether the Toronto Star lobbied the Prime Minister’s Office for a lucrative contract. The $355,950 deal was cancelled December 5 by the Procurement Ombudsman following a formal complaint from Blacklock’s.
“Can you tell me whether John Honderich or any other Torstar executive approached the Prime Minister or anyone in his office to solicit this contract?” asked Senator David Tkachuk (Conservative-Sask.). “I will make inquiries,” replied Senator Peter Harder (Ont.), Government Representative in the Senate.
A small federal agency, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, contracted a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation called iPolitics INTEL to have reporters attend public meetings of two parliamentary committees, Senate banking and Commons finance. “iPolitics INTEL is the only supplier the Superintendent is aware of that can provide on-demand, subscription-based parliamentary committee monitoring services,” wrote staff.
Parliamentary committee hearings are open to Canadians. Clerks publish free transcripts of all testimony. Forty-three other news organizations are accredited to cover Parliament Hill committees.
“What is more intriguing is the timing of the contract,” said Senator Tkachuk.
On September 20 Torstar Corporation bought iPolitics for $1.4 million and subsequently laid off five employees, including reporters.
On October 10 Torstar chair John Honderich published a Toronto Star commentary appealing for federal subsidies. Torstar suffered net operational losses of $106.6 million in the past two years. “There has been a lot of talk but no action,” wrote Honderich: “I think we’d prefer some real action on these files.”
On October 25 the Superintendent published legal notice of the sole-sourced contract to Torstar’s subsidiary worth $355,950 with options.
“Everyone here knows that parliamentary committee hearings are open to all and that the transcripts can be found on the web,” said Senator Tkachuk. “Can you tell us why this contract was awarded? Why does the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions need to pay a media outlet to cover public meetings?”
“The Office of the Superintendent is independent of government, but I am happy to raise this question directly with the Office and respond,” replied Senator Harder.
Under federal procurement guidelines, sole-sourced contracts are only to be issued in cases of a “pressing emergency”, national security, or where a single supplier possesses extraordinary scientific or technical skill.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez under December 6 questioning over the Torstar contract in the Commons defended federal aid for “bankrupt press”: “A bankrupt press is not a free press,” said Rodriguez. “A bankrupt press is not an independent press. A bankrupt press is not a press at all.”
Cabinet in 2019 will detail a $595 million, five-year program to subsidize chosen news media deemed to meet unspecified criteria for reliability. Blacklock’s neither solicits nor accepts government grants.
By Staff
A Senator yesterday issued a Christmas appeal to cabinet to redouble efforts to find destitute seniors entitled to federal benefits they never received. Cabinet says it knows of nearly 90,000 deserving pensioners who did not apply for the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
“This is serious,” said Senator Michael Duffy (Independent-P.E.I.). “These are the neediest Canadians, and they’re not claiming money that is due to them because somehow they have fallen through the cracks.”
MPs have cited elderly constituents owed benefits they never asked for in the mistaken belief they didn’t qualify, or were unaware of the program. The Guaranteed Income Supplement was introduced as a 1967 anti-poverty amendment to the Old Age Security Act.
“The Guaranteed Income Supplement is paid to those who earn less than $18,000 a year,” Duffy told the Senate. “The maximum benefit of $897 a month, for the seniors I know on Prince Edward Island, is essential to have even a subsistence existence.”
Pensioners were required to personally submit benefit claims. As late as 2015 the Department of Employment acknowledged it was pocketing $1.02 billion a year in unclaimed benefits including Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Canada Pension Plan.
Cabinet on January 1 introduced automatic enrollment for all Canadians turning 65 as determined by tax records, but made no similar provision for pensioners already past 65 who forgot to file a claim. Senator Duffy said he petitioned Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and regulators to “comb their records to ensure we reach those who are entitled”.
“This money rightly belongs to those forgotten Canadians, people who contributed to benefits programs as taxpayers and helped build Canada and made it the greatest country in the world,” said Duffy.
The Department of Social Development in a December 3 Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons said in the past two years it mailed 192,500 letters to seniors it suspected were entitled to cheques but didn’t apply. A total 88,500 never responded. Staff estimated about 9 percent of impoverished retirees who qualify for benefits do not ask for them.
“When nearly 90,000 people don’t reply to an offer of free money, we know we have a problem and extraordinary measures are required,” said Senator Duffy: “How do we reach out to the poorest of the poor to ensure they get the benefits to which they’re entitled?”
“As we count our blessings this holiday season, let us take time to remember these poor seniors, God bless them, every one,” said Duffy.
Canada’s Chief Actuary in a 2017 Actuarial Report On The Old Age Security Program forecast the number of pensioners will increase 61 percent by 2030, from 5.8 million to 9.3 million seniors, including retirees so poor they qualify for the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
By Staff
Parliament would ban all imported goods produced with child or forced labour under a private Liberal bill yesterday introduced in the Commons. The bill follows an Ethical Procurement Of Apparel guide introduced September 3 by the Department of Public Works: “Do you support supply chain slavery?”
