Dr. Mona Nemer, cabinet’s Chief Science Advisor, was caught trying to bill taxpayers for a personal holiday in Paris, Access To Information records showed yesterday. Her staff withdrew thousands in expenses after the Department of Industry challenged the charge: "We have a situation." READ MORE
The Mounties last year disciplined 45 civilian employees for wrongdoing from illegal drug use to “being dishonest,” says a new report. Commissioner Michael Duheme said the public deserved better: "Canadians expect the highest standards from us." READ MORE
Cabinet says the Bank of Canada didn’t mean to act unlawfully when it hired replacement workers in breach of the Canada Labour Code. “The Bank respects the law,” cabinet wrote in response to a Commons petition censuring management for misconduct in a lengthy strike with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. READ MORE
A million Canadians a year are now using free clinics to file their annual tax returns, according to Revenue Agency figures. The latest data follow remarks by a former Minister of Revenue that most taxpayers were functionally illiterate: "When these people receive documents, they are not able to understand what is written there." READ MORE
The Department of Transport yesterday commissioned a $100,000 study on anticipated benefits and job losses resulting from widespread use of robot cars. In-house research earlier showed Canadians are typically wary of automated vehicles and don’t trust the software: "Canadians are considerably more likely to be apprehensive about these technologies than to be welcoming of them." READ MORE
Cabinet withheld public disclosure of a damning audit of the Canadian Soccer Association until after FIFA World Men’s Cup matches in Vancouver and Toronto, records show. Independent auditors faulted soccer managers for high salaries and sloppy bookkeeping after receiving millions in taxpayer grants: "We made history." READ MORE
Cabinet is extending the annual April 30 tax deadline by two weeks to save time and money spent by tax filers in submitting late receipts and tax slips, says Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. It marks the first change in the federal deadline since the Second World War: "In terms of tax simplification, I am just getting started." READ MORE
My grandfather worked as a school custodian for decades in the Toronto District School Board, a man who swept and mopped the floors, who kept the classrooms tidy and locked up at the end of the night so that children had a place to learn and teachers had a place to work. I carry his story with me. When I was 15 years old, I failed the Ontario literacy test. At the age of 30, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. As long as I am honoured to call myself a Member of Parliament, I hope I can be a walking, talking reminder that people should never give up.
