The Bank of Montreal has been fined $200,000 for breach of federal consumer protection regulations. It is the first scofflaw to be publicly identified under a 2018 Act of Parliament to name and shame violators: “That introduces an element of accountability that did not exist before.”
Access To Information records indicate public agencies awarded nearly $800,000 in subsidies to a private radio station to serve Edmonton’s French-speaking community, population 27,000. The city already has a French-language CBC Radio service: ‘Prairie residents are less enthusiastic about Canadian linguistic duality.’
Cabinet is amending its own budget bill to stipulate Canadians’ “right to adequate housing”. Advocates said it removes any ambiguity in the National Housing Strategy Act: “It is an historic moment.”
Human rights advocates have asked the Commons justice committee to revive a federal law repealed by Parliament six years ago as an infringement on free speech. Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act prohibited internet speech deemed likely to expose a person to “hatred or contempt”.
The CBC is a “beacon for truth” that does not require big viewership, its CEO yesterday told the Commons heritage committee. The network audience for local suppertime TV newscasts has declined 27 percent in two years: “Competitiveness: We don’t think of ourselves in those terms.”
The Senate administration is accused of contract splitting to evade fair procurement rules. Managers yesterday told the Senate budget committee they spent $95,000 to hire doormen and ushers without senators’ approval: “Rules were definitely bent if not broken.”
A sugar tax of as little as 20 or 30¢ on a litre of soda would encourage Canadians to curb consumption, says new University of Waterloo research. Data follow a 2016 Senate report Obesity In Canada that endorsed a sugar tax with consumption averaging 151 pounds a year per capita in Canada: “There is a price consideration.”
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board yesterday told the Commons finance committee it will no longer speculate in farmland. The Board’s earlier purchase of thousands of acres in Saskatchewan prompted a change in provincial law: “It seemed, theoretically, to be a very good idea.”
Cabinet yesterday said promised carbon tax rebates to small business will be detailed in June. Owners and operators will not receive simple refunds for higher fuel charges, said Environment Minister Catherine McKenna: “Too little, too late.”
The Commons by a 150 to 134 vote has rejected a private Liberal bill to publish a yearly blacklist of convicted tax cheats and account for the value of unpaid taxes. The bill passed the Senate unanimously last November 27: “The net is still wide open.”
The Privy Council Office yesterday disclosed it conducted confidential polling related to an out-of-court settlement with SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. months before Liberal aides sought a deal with the company. The issue polled badly: ‘There were doubts about the fairness of the justice system when dealing with the rich and powerful.’
Cabinet yesterday ordered $686.6 million in old banknotes out of circulation including the iconic dollar bill. Owners of banned bills can only exchange them at the Bank of Canada after January 1, 2021: “Banknotes are widely used by criminals.”
Cabinet’s $595 million newspaper bailout opens reporters to suspicion their coverage is bought and paid for, a former Toronto Star editor told the Senate national finance committee. Subsidies include a 25 percent payroll tax credit worth up to $13,750 per newsroom employee at government-approved media: “This constitutes one of the gravest threats to freedom of the press that I have seen in this country.”
Migrants in Canada may apply for open work permits in specific circumstances effective June 4, the Department of Immigration said yesterday. The change follows an assurance from Labour Minister Patricia Hajdu that cabinet won’t open “the flood gates to temporary foreign workers”.
Tweets by a former Nova Scotia professor prompted the loss of a $50,000 payment by his former employer, Acadia University. A labour arbitrator ruled Prof. Rick Mehta breached confidential terms of settlement on his Twitter feed: “Settlements in labour law are sacrosanct.”
