New Democrats yesterday warned cabinet to take no action against Teamsters in a threatened national rail shutdown. A 2022 dispute with Teamsters lasted 60 hours after New Democrats similarly vowed they would never support back-to-work legislation: “Maintain a neutral stance.”
Cabinet mismanaged a housing crisis in the one jurisdiction where it has complete oversight, First Nations reserves, says a federal audit. Housing Minister Sean Fraser has promised to solve the housing crisis for the entire nation by 2031: “Demands of housing far exceeds the funds available.”
Cabinet is seen as uncaring by a middle class now weary and stressed, says in-house research by the Privy Council. Canadians said the “quality of life for the middle class had changed in their lifetimes.”
A British Columbia lieutenant-governor is among a handful of historic figures to have plaques removed by a federal agency. Edgar Dewdney was named and shamed by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board for approving the hanging of Louis Riel in 1885: “No new plaque will be prepared.”
The Canadian Transportation Agency has avoided Court scrutiny over a website notice that discouraged travelers from lawfully claiming billions in compensation for Covid-cancelled flights. The consumer group Air Passenger Rights had asked the Federal Court of Appeal to review the notice as inappropriate: “This was a period of air travel chaos.”
The interim leader of Canada’s newest federal party yesterday advocated the biggest revision of the Income Tax Act in 60 years. “I promise we are going to be courageous,” said Dominic Cardy, former New Brunswick education minister: “We can be very clear about our principles.”
At least a quarter of Department of National Defence buildings and other infrastructure dates from the 1970s and requires “significant maintenance,” says an internal audit. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had proposed to recycle federal property for housing: “We will be reviving the dream of home ownership.”
The Commons public safety committee yesterday agreed to summon cabinet members for questioning over suspected failures in immigration security checks. MPs questioned how two men arrested on terror charges could enter Canada after Parliament spent millions on fingerprinting and other screening: “Canadians deserve answers.”
The 2012 Conservative cabinet is to blame for a suspected terror plot foiled three weeks ago, Liberal MP Jennifer O’Connell (Pickering-Uxbridge, Ont.) yesterday told the Commons public safety committee. Then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper compromised national security, she said: “Cuts have consequences.”
Cabinet is investigating ways to federalize firefighting, says Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan. A Canadian version of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is being considered, he said: “Down the road, yes, I do see a federal response capability.”
All-cash deals are illegal contracts unenforceable in court, a British Columbia judge has ruled. Avoiding paper trails to evade the GST is unlawful and “nefarious,” he said: “The scale of this fraudulent scheme is significant.”
Ex-Canadian Human Rights Commissioner Birju Dattani says he regrets delivering a 2014 lecture in which he called terrorism a “well-calculated strategy” for Muslims. Dattani told federal interviewers he has since changed his views and concluded terrorism is wrong: “Mr. Dattani was asked about the poster for the event.”
The American author of an anti-Catholic blacklist distributed by the taxpayer-subsidized Canadian Anti-Hate Network is a former participant in Anarchist Youth protests, records show. Spencer Sunshine said he was not an anarchist per se but yesterday would not take reporters’ questions: “I am not an anarchist in the anti-statist sense.”
Liberal-appointed senators billed taxpayers thousands for media advice from a former iPolitics editor, records show. “Journalism was never stable employment,” James Baxter earlier testified at a Commons committee hearing: “I’m not here asking for a handout.”
English-speaking Québecers resent “being made to feel like they don’t belong,” says in-house research by Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages. The finding follows federal data showing nearly 900,000 English speakers have left the province since the 1960s: “Forcing people to learn a language is not a solution.”
