The Department of Foreign Affairs paid nearly $30,000 to internet fact checkers in Argentina. Asked why, a spokesperson replied: “We’ll get back to you.”
A Liberal MP compelled to apologize to the Commons for an ethics breach described the lapse as a paperwork error. “Do not dare question my ethics or my integrity,” said MP James Maloney (Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Ont.), chair of the Commons natural resources committee.
“I apologized and I apologize unconditionally,” Maloney told the Commons: “If somebody deserves to be punished for handing something in late, I am guilty.”
Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion on November 19 ordered the MP to apologize to the Commons for breach of the Conflict Of Interest Code. Maloney had failed to promptly disclose all personal assets despite being asked fifteen times. “A Member’s protracted breach of their disclosure obligations cannot be viewed as trivial,” wrote the Commissioner.
“Not only did he delay completing his disclosure well beyond a reasonable time, he also failed to respond to communications from the Office for months,” wrote Commissioner Dion. The demand for a public apology was the first by a federal ethics commissioner. Ex-Liberal MP Joe Peschisolido (Steveston-Richmond East, B.C.) on October 19 complied with a House order that he write a letter of apology for breaching the Conflict Of Interest Code involving dealings through his law firm.
“Members who sit behind the government front bench feel they do not need to follow the rules,” said Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville, Ont.). “The top-down example is a complete disregard for the ethical rules of this place. It sows into the national conversation, into the public discourse, a distrust in our democratic institutions.”
“Canadians are rightly concerned,” said MP Barrett: “Show respect for Canadians and follow the rules of this place.”
All MPs must file a Disclosure Statement on assets within sixty days of their election. MP Maloney was the last Member of the House of Commons to file his statement September 14.
Records indicate Maloney has extensive stock holdings in forty-four corporations including SNC-Lavalin, Bank of America, Canadian National Railways, Google, Cenovus Energy, Philip Morris International, Starbucks and Suncor Energy.
“The Conservatives virtually since day one have been consistently trying to focus the House of Commons on the issue of corruption,” said Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North), parliamentary secretary to the Government House Leader. “It does not matter what issues Canadians are facing. For them it is all about looking under every little rock.”
“They are more concerned about the personalities than the policy,” said Lamoureux. “That is fine. They are the official opposition. They can set their agenda and have their agenda all they want.”
By Staff 
The Commons health committee by an 11-0 vote has endorsed a private bill asking tax filers to volunteer as organ donors. Parliament since 1999 has seen repeated failure of bills to establish a national donor registry: “It is so simple.”
All four Atlantic provinces in a rare joint letter have petitioned the federal cabinet to disclose the true impact of a new climate change program, the Clean Fuel Standard. Energy ministers said regulations would impose punishing costs on households and industry: “Our economies are already struggling.”
There will be no amnesty for ineligible claimants who took $2,000 pandemic relief cheques, Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough said yesterday. Applicants who claimed to be jobless workers must repay their debt to the federal treasury, she said: “We put in place the CERB to help people who experienced job loss because of Covid.”
Cabinet yesterday introduced a bill to extend voting in any pandemic election. The bill also confirms powers to suspend balloting in Covid-19 hotspots in the name of public safety: “What would that look like practically speaking?”
The Senate yesterday by an 84-2 vote brushed aside protests cabinet has not targeted pandemic relief to the poor. Two Liberal-appointed senators attempted to highlight the appeal by challenging a budget bill: “Are we seeing hypocrisy here?”
The Parliamentary Press Gallery yesterday detailed a draft ethics code to counter misconduct that “could erode the professional relationship” in the “halls of power.” The Gallery has been named in Federal Court affidavits for blacklisting the Rebel News Network while granting membership to the Chinese Communist Party-funded Xinhua News Agency: ‘Members can directly question individuals who drive and shape public policy.’
The Department of Health yesterday said it will spend $200,000 researching the impact of social media food advertising targeting children. Cabinet since 2015 has promised to ban kids’ food ads worth nearly a billion a year, but has yet to introduce a bill: “Food and beverage companies have substantial online followings among teenagers.”
MPs last night expressed astonishment Canadian diplomats invited the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to attend training exercises in Ontario. Access To Information documents disclosed by the Rebel News Network say the Department of Foreign Affairs feared cancelling the 2019 event sent an “unhelpful” message to the Communist Party of China: “It can’t even say no to Chinese soldiers arriving on our territory.”
A Liberal-appointed Senator yesterday moved to block a budget bill on complaints cabinet ignored the poor. The Senate will vote as early as this afternoon on a motion by Senator Kim Pate (Ont.) that would effectively kill the bill, sending the minority Parliament into gridlock: “This is wrong.”
A federal agency yesterday said Canada is not considered “completely free of corruption.” The report followed a Senate uproar after a legislator called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a bribe-taker in dealings with We Charity: “He should have the chance to prove there was indeed nefarious activity.”
Health Minister Patricia Hajdu yesterday said her department will take delivery of first shipments of 35,000 doses of a newly-approved Covid vaccine by Saturday. Most Canadians will not have access to vaccination for several months: “I am not going to quibble about doses and when they are arriving.”
A federal out-of-court settlement with Volkswagen over polluting diesel cars shows Canada is “hesitant, weak and inadequate” in enforcing its own laws, the Commons environment committee was told yesterday. The Department of Environment settled with VW at a fraction of billions paid by the automaker in the United States: “This was a sophisticated illegal scheme.”
A federal agency yesterday confirmed it quietly put millions more into a money-losing, door-do-door sales company in Nairobi. Taxpayer spending at M-Kopa Holdings Ltd. of Kenya to date totals $15,400,000: ‘We are informed about M-Kopa’s business.’
