Confidential 1995 cabinet records declassified yesterday indicate then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien threatened the President of France not to act if Québec voted for independence. France would “find itself isolated in the United Nations,” Chretien said. READ MORE
A cabinet bill to penalize taxpayers slow to comply with Canada Revenue Agency demands for documents is needlessly harsh and likely unconstitutional, tax experts have told the Commons finance committee. One group, Tax Executives Institute Inc. of Toronto, said under Bill C-31 a single parent in a $750 tax dispute with auditors could be charged $1,500 in penalties: 'It is grossly disproportionate.' READ MORE
Benefits for seniors and children will cost more than $140 billion annually by 2030, the equivalent of a quarter of the current federal budget, data show. The Budget Office yesterday calculated payouts of children’s benefits grew 16 percent in the past three years: "This is all tied to debt growth." READ MORE
A federal agency responsible for airport security proposes to introduce face and fingerprint scanners for passengers by 2031, according to a report tabled in Parliament. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority yesterday did not comment: "The Authority will implement biometric deployments at pre-board screening to improve efficiency." READ MORE
A Whitehorse judge in a rare order has jailed two businessmen in a civil dispute with municipal authorities. Operators of a local trucking company never said they were sorry for defying an order to stop operating in a City quarry and ignoring a $7,500 fine, said the Yukon Supreme Court: "Once our laws are flouted and orders of our Court are treated with contempt, the whole fabric of our freedom is destroyed." READ MORE
Security at the Canada Border Services Agency is so haphazard a team of auditors posing as passersby was able to wander through high-risk facilities pulling confidential documents out of filing cabinets and accessing employees’ passport numbers, says an internal report. It was the second failed security audit at the Agency in two years: "Failure to adequately protect and ensure physical security can result in serious consequences." READ MORE
Conservatives have identified $150 billion in savings in the federal budget, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said yesterday. MPs were “scouring budget information” ahead of Monday’s resumption of Parliament following a 13-week summer recess, he said: "Our number one priority when we get back to the House, number one priority, is to save you money." READ MORE
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was “a wild show,” he wrote. He listed a half dozen close calls. A university friend was killed by a sniper while they were shaking hands. An enemy shell made a direct hit on the post he had just turned over to a new officer and “blew him to pieces.” Another shell landed six feet away and failed to explode: “If it had exploded we would be going yet.” Percy traded in his uniform and returned to Ottawa where he lived out his life serving God and the Presbyterian Church.
