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.”
Industry Minister Navdeep Bains yesterday promised to release confidential business plans by subsidized technology centres that claim to create 50,000 jobs. The claim was questioned yesterday at the Commons industry committee: “What is the name of the study that gives these results?”
A cabinet advisory panel yesterday recommended Parliament ban the Canadian manufacture of gas and diesel-powered cars by 2040. The proposal echoed Green Party policy: “There is a need to send a clear regulatory signal.”
Hate crime provisions of the Criminal Code should be used against animal rights activists that target farmers, the Commons agriculture committee said yesterday. MPs proposed amendments to prohibit “any form of intimidation or cyberbullying targeted at any group of Canadians based on their occupation or place of residence.”
School boards should consider whether trustees can consume marijuana at public meetings, says a privacy commissioner. The warning follows a Saskatchewan case in which a trustee admitted to eating cannabis at board sessions: “He was responsible to his electors.”
Parliament should consider mandating earthquake coverage on homeowners, say insurance brokers. Data show 19 in 20 property owners in one of Canada’s largest seismic zones do not have coverage: “It’s clear there is a potential risk.”
A cabinet bill mandating lifetime background checks on gun buyers last evening was passed into law by a 55 to 33 Senate vote. Gun clubs and criminal defence lawyers opposed the bill as unnecessary: “It has nothing to do with gangs.”
The Commons finance committee yesterday approved terms of a media bailout amid protests the program is weighted with pro-government bias. “We have absolutely no faith whatsoever this will be non-partisan,” said Conservative MP Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard).
The Department of Industry in an Access To Information memo calls legalization of cannabis edibles an opportunity for small business. Edibles are to be legalized this October 17 under la bill passed by Parliament last year: “Opportunities exist.”
