Federal regulators have drafted a secret list of projects subject to new environmental reviews, the Senate energy committee was told yesterday. The list is so secret even the Manitoba cabinet can’t see it, said the province’s Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen: “Surely to goodness between governments we can share this.”
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters yesterday protested federal payroll subsidies for local newspapers are unfair to private TV and radio newsrooms. Cabinet proposes to spend up to $95 million a year on direct grants to dailies deemed reliable by a government-appointed panel: “Who is to say that print is more important?”
Conservative MPs on the Commons government operations committee seek a hearing on a 2018 federal contract to pay the Toronto Star to cover parliamentary committees. The contract was cancelled after the Procurement Ombudsman intervened.
“Much like the National Post is supportive of the Conservative Party, the Toronto Star is a known mouthpiece for the Liberal Party,” said Conservative MP Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West): “It plays into the controversy of the government putting aside $595 million of taxpayers’ money towards a media bailout.”
A federal agency, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, last October 25 approved a sole-sourced contract to pay a Torstar Corporation subsidiary iPolitics INTEL to attend public meetings of the Senate banking and Commons finance committees. Staff said only the Star was “capable of performing the work” though 43 other news organizations are accredited to cover Parliament Hill committees. Hearings are open to the public.
“Government should not be sole-sourcing contracts without a specific reason, and there are legit reasons – something like Microsoft,” said MP McCauley. “The product’s not available from anyone else, there’s only one company to do the business, etcetera.”
The contract was cancelled December 5 following Blacklock’s complaint to the Procurement Ombudsman. Cabinet in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons said the contract was worth $71,190 and not $355,950 as originally reported, and acknowledged a total 80 employees already monitor parliamentary committees on behalf of 21 federal departments and agencies.
“What was the original purpose of the contract?” said MP McCauley. “Which minister initially approved the contract? Does the government have enough employees to monitor parliamentary committees without hiring the Toronto Star?”; “I have to wonder why we would sole-source the Toronto Star to do this work when there are private media people out there who could have easily done that,” said McCauley.
Notice of the contract was issued fifteen days after Torstar Corporation chair John Honderich published a commentary appealing for federal subsidies. “I think we’d prefer some real action on these files,” wrote Honderich. Torstar Corporation lost $31.5 million last year, according to public filings.
The Commons committee adjourned without voting on McCauley’s motion to investigate circumstances surrounding the contract. Liberal MPs indicated they would not support it.
Cabinet in its March 19 budget proposed a $595 million, five-year newspaper bailout including payroll subsidies for dailies deemed to meet unspecified journalistic standards. Criteria were not detailed.
By Staff 
The Senate yesterday gave Second Reading to a cabinet bill on accessibility, and referred it to hearings of its social affairs committee. The Commons passed the bill unanimously last November 27 though MPs noted it will not take effect for years even if it becomes law: “No one group should have to fight to enjoy the full rights of citizenship.”
A growing minority of Canadians complain the country is letting in too many immigrants, says in-house research by the Department of Immigration. More than a third of Canadians surveyed, 37 percent, said too many immigrants are coming to Canada. The rate was 26 percent in a 2014 department poll: ‘Attitudes are very important.’
The Commons last night by a vote of 211 to 87 passed a bill to proclaim a new legal federal holiday called First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples Day. The bill now proceeds to the Senate: “We got this done.”
Health Canada yesterday rolled back provisions of its own drug safety law following years of lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry. Parliament passed the Act in 2014, prompted by the death of a former MP’s daughter: “It is shameful.”
Federal agencies spent nearly $160,000 to send employees on a January weekend junket to Las Vegas, according to accounts. Vegas temperatures averaged 18° at the time compared to -17 in Ottawa: ‘It is the most cost-effective method to gather technical information.’
The Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee yesterday vetoed numerous curbs on disclosure of public records sought by cabinet. Senators rewrote key amendments to the Access To Information Act after complaining the system is dysfunctional: ‘It is so broken in Canada.’
RCMP in an internal audit say they are not sure whether a $23.8 million border crime-fighting program actually reduced crime. The so-called Shiprider program introduced in 2012 allowed U.S. agents to operate in Canadian waters: ‘A key limitation was lack of data.’
The Commons justice committee yesterday voted to end hearings on the SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. political scandal without calling seven witnesses accused of attempting to quash a prosecution of the company on fraud and bribery charges. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau questioned whether voters cared: “A lot of people will raise an eyebrow on that.”
Cabinet yesterday promised pre-election relief for first-time homebuyers including small equity loans from the federal insurer Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation. The initiatives come two years after CMHC vowed to “remove the punch bowl” from borrowers: “Is this going to work?”
Even the smallest businesses in Canada contact regulators at least once a week for mandatory compliance with rules and tax filings, says Statistics Canada. The agency yesterday counted 60,759,228 mandatory filings a year by businesses nationwide: “Results are intended to help measure the impact of efficiency measures.”
The labour department is now conducting 2,200 spot inspections a year under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the Commons human resources committee was told yesterday. The department did not do any surprise inspections prior to a critical audit two years ago: “It was incredibly mismanaged.”
Cabinet yesterday revived a proposal to offer electric car-buyers a federal rebate of $5,000. The subsidy followed lobbying by industry and a recommendation from a Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy panel shelved two years ago: “How much is that going to cost us?”
