Liberal MPs yesterday rejected a motion to recover $34 million in federal grants wrongfully paid to ineligible applicants by a scandal-ridden federal agency. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly earlier told Parliament it was “not in the public interest.” READ MORE
The Budget Office that has already warned of 25 percent cost overruns on cabinet’s regional high-speed rail venture yesterday said it is investigating ridership claims. Promoters predicted 24 million Canadians a year would take the train: "There are 40 million people in Canada." READ MORE
A fifth of food bank users in Toronto spend 100 percent of their income on rent, the Commons agriculture committee was told yesterday. Others have disposable income of less than $9 a day after paying for shelter and utilities, said the CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank: "Here is the math." READ MORE
Providing safe drinking water to First Nations by a fixed deadline “is not a yes or no question,” Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said yesterday. Cabinet earlier skipped its 2021 deadline to eliminate all boiled water advisories despite spending $3.6 billion: "It’s not a yes or no question." READ MORE
The Supreme Court yesterday served formal notice it will hear a last appeal from cabinet over the legality of emergency measures it used against peaceful Freedom Convoy protestors in 2022. Two lower courts determined cabinet’s actions including the freezing of demonstrators’ bank accounts were unlawful: "It captured people who simply wanted to join in the protest by standing on Parliament Hill carrying a placard." READ MORE
Health Minister Marjorie Michel yesterday waived repayment of nearly a half billion owed taxpayers from people who falsely claimed free dentistry under a federal program. The Department of Health to date has yet to explain steep cost overruns in the Canada Dental Care Plan: "Costs associated with pursuing and managing recovery may be disproportionate." READ MORE
Retaliatory tariffs imposed by cabinet September 8 are costing Canadian consumers $100 million a week, an economist and former federal consultant yesterday told the Commons foreign affairs committee. Cabinet said the point of retaliation was to punish Republican voters in the United States: "These are taxes and they are paid by Canadians." READ MORE
I have served in the legislature, provincial cabinet and House of Commons but none are as maligned as the Senate. Many Canadians do not understand or appreciate what the Senate does or why, or the importance of its work. The scandals don’t help. Yes, the Senate has made mistakes. Canadians are questioning why the Senate is even necessary. There’s no question Canadians have lost confidence in the accountability of Senators.
