Cabinet will not allow disruptions to continue at West Coast ports, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday. On-and-off strike action since July 1 by the International Longshore & Warehouse Union was unacceptable, said Trudeau: “This strike could not continue.”
A federal report yesterday protested “political pressure” in electoral redistricting by an unidentified Edmonton MP. The New Democratic Party and MP Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach) did not respond to questions: ‘It appeared to be the result of a calculated effort led by a particular MP to maintain their stronghold.’
Toronto will lose an MP in the next election under the final report of a federal commission tabled yesterday. Hundreds of petitioners objected to the redistricting: “Acceding to the request would have significant consequences to the rest of the province.”
Cabinet hired pollsters to survey Vancouver’s Chinese-Canadian community on its “current relationship with China” but made no mention of alleged election fraud by foreign agents. The in-house research by the Privy Council Office was disclosed yesterday: “Many believed there needed to be greater representation of Chinese-Canadians at the federal level.”
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan today will detail federal action to end a British Columbia port strike. The dispute in its 14th day is the longest at Western ports since a 21-day shutdown that ended with back-to-work legislation in 1972: “We have been patient.”
A Senate committee yesterday recommended federal action to ban “Residential School denialism.” Senators did not define the term. Hate speech has been a Criminal Code offence in Canada since 1970: “Some individuals deny the negative effects on generations of Indigenous peoples.”
Pandemic mandates saw the tattletale firing of a public employee for questioning how to fake her vaccination status, according to evidence at a labour hearing. An Alberta clerk with a spotless 14-year record was fired after texting a co-worker: “We are looking for a nurse close to retirement that would be willing to sign off on the vax for us.”
Most Canadians have home air conditioners, Statistics Canada said yesterday in the first national survey of its kind. The research was prompted by worries over climate change, wrote analysts: “This study is the first to quantify air conditioning prevalence in Canada at the personal level.”
About 9 out of 10 companies in Canada are exempt from a federal bill mandating disclosure of ownership, says a Department of Industry briefing note. The vast majority of companies are registered in their home province or territory and not covered by the legislation: “Who is actually exercising control?”
Budget Officer Yves Giroux is demanding cabinet surrender terms of its multi-billion dollar subsidy agreements with Volkswagen and Stellantis by month’s end. “I am entitled to free and timely access,” he wrote: “Transparency and accountability are the Budget Office’s primary objectives.”
A petition opposing federal introduction of a public registry of foreign agents has closed with fewer than 2,500 signatures, a fraction of other petitions, records show. Liberal-appointed Senator Yuen Pau Woo had appealed to Canadians to rally behind it: “Sign the petition.”
There is “no limit” on the number of Ukrainian war refugees allowed into Canada, says a Department of Immigration memo. A total 1.1 million Ukrainians applied for free flights prior to a deadline that expired last Saturday: “I know all Canadians are inspired by the remarkably brave people of Ukraine.”
Parks Canada has trademarked a new beaver logo at an undisclosed cost. The old beaver’s crisscross tail (left) was eliminated on the new logo (right) and will look better on uniforms, the agency said: “Parks Canada has updated its beaver logo.”
Crude racism is so commonplace in the federal public service one Black manager says a co-worker taunted her with a stuffed monkey. The allegation was submitted in writing to a parliamentary committee investigating complaints of bigotry: “I left the office in tears.”
Tommy Douglas, founding leader of the federal New Democratic Party, is under review as a national historic figure due to “controversial beliefs and behaviour.” The Historic Sites and Monuments Board acknowledged Douglas was an early advocate of sterilizing unwed mothers: “He later changed his views.”
