The Department of National Defence yesterday said it had nothing to do with a federal notice that prompted rumours of “quarantine camps.” Enquiries from alarmed MPs were forwarded to the military, internal emails show: “This is the second time I’m seeing this topic come through an MP’s office.”
The Commons natural resources committee by a 6-5 decision blocked a vote to investigate the collapse of the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline project. Opposition MPs expressed anger after Liberal and New Democrat members adjourned debate with a snap vote: “We just did. We can and we did.”
Anticipated monthly vaccine deliveries are “estimates” only and are not included in confidential $4.6 billion contracts with manufacturers, says Public Works Minister Anita Anand. MPs on the Commons health committee said it is mathematically impossible for cabinet to meet its vaccination targets: “No one in their right mind believes in the math you are telling us.”
Promoters of a bill to legalize bookmaking in Canada accuse cabinet of slowing the repeal of a Criminal Code ban on single-event sports betting. Cabinet introduced its repeal bill three months ago then pushed it down the parliamentary calendar: “In fact if anything, it has slowed it down.”
Canadian drivers returning home from the U.S. may be asked to prove they’re Covid-free though they cannot be barred from entering the country, says Public Safety Minister Bill Blair. Cabinet will impose new regulations on travelers at land crossings but with plenty of advance warning, he said: ‘All Canadians have a constitutional right of entry.’
Ninety percent of immigrants to Atlantic Canada under a 2017 pilot program stayed in the region for love of the place and its people, says federal research. Eighty percent said they had no plans to ever leave: “More than half reported they liked their community.”
An Ontario company that emailed then-Industry Minister Navdeep Bain’s office for help with a multi-million dollar contract proposal yesterday said there was “no attempt to influence here whatsoever.” Email records show Bains directed staff to press the company’s case: “I was surprised to see these emails.”
Public Works Minister Anita Anand yesterday said she agreed to secrecy in approving $4.6 billion worth of contracts with vaccine manufacturers. MPs on the Commons industry committee questioned why Canada’s pandemic vaccination rate trails countries like Israel, Spain, Italy and Belgium: “It’s pretty clear Canada did a relatively poor job both in negotiations and in pandemic preparedness.”
The Royal Bank, largest in the nation, yesterday was fined $350,000 for breach of consumer protection regulations. “The problem was longstanding,” wrote Commissioner Judith Robertson of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: “The extent of harm for an individual cannot be readily estimated.”
Karen Jensen, a former corporate lawyer who spent years fighting equity claims by underpaid women, yesterday lamented the toll litigation takes on workers. Jensen is now Pay Equity Commissioner: “I saw personally the toll pay equity litigation took on all those involved.”
The Commons Indigenous affairs committee yesterday voted 10 to 1 for the Constitution. MPs rejected a Bloc Québécois proposal to delete reference to the supreme law from Canada’s citizenship oath: “They tried.”
The Office of the Auditor General “directed” a sole-sourced contract to a Liberal lobbyist by narrowly skirting rules on open bidding, records show. Terms of the lump-sum contract were so peculiar one employee called it “confusing.”
Ex-Industry Minister Navdeep Bains yesterday declined comment on whether he acted on behalf of campaign donors in “pressing” a company’s proposal to sell China-made masks to the government. The Conflict Of Interest Act forbids cabinet ministers from giving preferential treatment to acquaintances: “Ministers are in a position of power and have a responsibility to ensure this power is exercised fairly.”
The Commons yesterday agreed in principle to a private bill banning Canadian exports of plastic waste. Cabinet opposed the bill, predicting it would prevent contracted garbage shipments to U.S. landfills: “We are so far behind we think we are in first place.”
Canadians are troubled by Budget Office warnings of mounting federal deficits, says in-house research by the Privy Council Office. Government-commissioned focus groups feared children will suffer as future taxpayers: “Many were troubled by the heavy financial burden that was being placed on future generations.”
