The Governor General yesterday signed into a law an Act repealing criminal blasphemy last used to prosecute distributors of a 1979 Monty Python film. One MP ridiculed cabinet’s priorities: “They dealt with blasphemy, finally.”
Lawmakers yesterday ended 97 years of debate in the old House of Commons with one last piece of unfinished business on the Order Paper, a Conservative MP’s motion to honour immigrants including his own parents. The House closed at 4:59 pm for renovations expected to take 10 to 20 years. “What a privilege to be here, to live in this country.”
Cabinet has voted to raise stamp prices by $26 million but deferred the increase until after Christmas. Canada Post warns more hikes are likely after estimating it lost $110 million in a series of rotating strikes by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers: “The revenue generated from the proposed rates would contribute significantly.”
A Public Service Commission audit says 1 in 5 federal employers surveyed failed to give hiring preference to medically-released veterans though it is a legal requirement. Parliament passed the law in 2015: “Another qualified candidate was appointed ahead of an eligible veteran.”
The Great Lakes drowning of two schoolchildren yesterday prompted cabinet to mandate new liability rules for commercial passenger boat operators. Regulations took 18 years to finalize after the sinking of the Truth North II: “It has taken some time.”
Broadcasters are saving about $8 million a year under a 1997 law that caps royalties for playing Canadian music, the Commons industry committee was told yesterday. Radio stations have lobbied to retain the cap that fixes royalties at as little as $100 a year: “No other country has a similar subsidy.”
Conservative MPs yesterday took up a Liberal Senate bill to track unpaid taxes through the Canada Revenue Agency. The Senate passed the bill November 27 on criticism of the Agency as untrustworthy: “This is a common sense bill.”
The Liberal chair of the Commons finance committee yesterday said Canadians have been driven to tears by mistreatment at the hands of the Canada Revenue Agency. MPs cited an audit confirming the Agency breached its own Taxpayer Bill Of Rights: “They’re treated like a criminal.”
MPs on the Commons House affairs committee yesterday cautioned taxpayers to brace for cost overruns and skipped construction deadlines on mammoth Parliament Hill renovations. The Department of Public Works acknowledged it’s not sure how long the project will take, or how much it will cost.
“Is the budget fixed?” asked New Democrat MP David Christopherson (Hamilton Centre, Ont.). “No, at this point, the baseline budget or schedule has not been firmly established,” replied Rob Wright, assistant deputy minister of public works.
“I would like to hear from you what year we will really move back into Centre Block,” asked Liberal MP David Graham (Laurentides-Labelle, Que.). “As soon as possible,” replied Wright: “I would say we’re at too much of a preliminary phase to speak to the scope, which then flows into creating a budget and a schedule.”
Parliament’s iconic 1920-era Centre Block is to close by January 31. Cabinet in 2007 approved a Long-Term Vision Plan that suggested renovations would take 10 years. Public Works sources indicate the closure is more likely to take from 13 to 20 years.
Total costs of Hill renovations were put at $1.4 billion by then-Auditor General Denis Desautels in 1998. Costs were revised to $1.5 billion by a federal advisory committee in 2001, and estimated at $5 billion by Auditor General Sheila Fraser in 2011. “I can foresee an outraged Canadian public looking at the total bill for this,” said Conservative MP Scott Reid (Lanark-Frontenac, Ont.).
Assistant Deputy Minister Wright said more will be known once the building is emptied and surveyed. “The next year will really be about establishing, through the functional programming exercise and the full assessment of the condition of the building, the scope which will drive the schedule and the budget,” he said.
“What I’m understanding is the budget has not been fully fleshed out, nor are the plans ready,” said Liberal MP Linda Lapointe (Riviere-des-Mille-Iles, Que.): “Before we begin renovations we always know what we should be expecting to have at the end, and what the idea behind it is. So, I’m a little surprised by your answers. In principle, when we’re dealing with taxpayers’ money, we need to know where we’re headed.”
Rumours Of Botched Job
MPs yesterday noted Public Works renovations to Parliament’s West Block were late and over-budget. Refits were originally budgeted at $460 million in 1992, and later revised to $769 million. It is currently estimated at $975 million including tax, double the original price.
The West Block closed in 2011. “I was told it would be back in 2014, possibly 2015,” said MP Graham. The Department of Public Works then proposed to reopen the building in time for Canada 150 observances in 2017. It remains closed, and is now scheduled to reopen in 2019.
“I’ve heard numerous rumours about an elevator built in West Block that didn’t go down far enough, resulting in a million dollars’ worth of spare parts that can’t be used because they are custom made,” said Graham: “Can you confirm or deny this? Is there any truth to this?”
“There’s no truth that I am aware of to that, no,” replied Assistant Deputy Minister Wright.
The department in an internal 2018 audit Evaluation Of The Real Property Services Program estimated its projects run late and over-budget about 40 percent of the time. “There are areas of concern such as the costs and timeliness of projects,” wrote staff: “Results indicate there is a potential for improvements.”
By Staff 
Business groups yesterday protested a new statutory holiday for Indigenous people could be costly. A private New Democrat bill under study by the Commons heritage committee would fix a holiday in June to honour First Nations, Métis and Inuit: “What is your plan for reconciliation?”
Farmers cannot survive if they have to pay the 12¢-a litre national carbon tax, says the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The Senate agriculture committee yesterday said farmers already exempt from some fuel taxes deserve more waivers: “We can’t be paying extra taxes.”
A federal ban on noisy airport night flights would be a job-killer, an Air Canada executive yesterday told the Commons transport committee. Airport managers acknowledge receiving thousands of noise complaints: ‘My riding is under a flight path.’
Six federal agencies continue to bill taxpayers for sports tickets, though at a fraction of costs seen in 2015 when the previous Conservative cabinet banned the practice. One Crown corporation, the Royal Canadian Mint, said it never saw the directive: “Please feel free to clarify.”
The Canada Revenue Agency yesterday acknowledged it breached the Taxpayer Bill Of Rights. Members of the Commons public accounts committee expressed anger after the Agency failed its third consecutive audit on minimum service standards: “It’s really bad.”
Cabinet has drafted rules to “reconsider” old designations of the federal Historic Sites & Monuments Board, according to Access To Information records. The office of Catherine McKenna, Minister responsible for the Board, yesterday declined to release the guidelines: ‘They are principles on whether existing designations should or might be changed.’
