Unwitting bank customers have been reported to an anti-terror watchdog for trivial and even biased reasons, a University of Waterloo researcher has told the Commons finance committee. Grounds to report suspicious activity included customers who wore hoodies or sunglasses, or appeared Muslim: ‘I’ve worn a hoodie. I can assure you I’ve never financed terror.’
Parliament must ban home marijuana cultivation or face a confusing patchwork of local regulations, building owners yesterday told the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee. Landlords forecast numerous problems with cannabis legalization in condo buildings and apartments: “This is misguided.”
Records show newly-reopened regional offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs see as few as 1 to 5 walk-in visitors a day, including people picking up brochures. Cabinet reopened the offices last year following protests over Conservative closures: “They want a brochure, they want to understand a certain program.”
The Commons yesterday opened debate on a private Conservative bill mandating disclosure of all corporate loans and guarantees approved by the Department of Industry. The sponsor called it “unfortunate to have to introduce a bill for more transparency.”
The dormant Library of Parliament oversight committee yesterday sprang to life with agreement to hold public hearings on federal spending. Meeting for the first time in three years, the committee voted to question a Parliamentary Budget Officer who’s criticized government secrecy: “It’s about time.”
MPs yesterday questioned the scope of a Senate bill to restrict junk food advertising to children, including sports sponsorship. The legislation inspired by a 1980 Québec law would be far-reaching, said its sponsor: “Nobody spends money advertising broccoli and carrots.”
The Canadian Medical Association yesterday appealed to senators to raise the minimum age for legal marijuana use to 21. Parliament should also restrict cannabis advertising, physicians said: “What are you going to advertise? It’s not good for them.”
Directing government ad spending from Facebook to independent Canadian newspapers would burden taxpayers, says Treasury Board President Scott Brison. Cabinet dismissed publishers’ warnings the federal policy has driven local media to ruin: “Either way, the one who is losing is Canada.”
The Commons health committee yesterday endorsed pharmacare in principle, but cautioned a program may take years to enact. MPs criticized the current hodgepodge of provincial and private prescription drug plans as a “poor job”.
Cabinet will rewrite anti-spam rules following business complaints that 2014 regulations are onerous, vague and ineffective in combating malicious emails. “The more explicit the legislation and its obligations are, the more effective the Act will be,” said Industry Minister Navdeep Bains.
Cabinet yesterday finalized regulations allowing companies to forego individual notices to customers whose personal information is hacked or stolen. The rules take effect November 1: “To protect consumers, we avoid notifying consumers. It’s bizarre.”
Canada Post is “very open-minded” on reviving retail banking services, the newly-appointed chair of the board yesterday told the Commons committee on government operations. Jessica McDonald said she will consider releasing a redacted 811-page analysis obtained by Blacklock’s in 2014 that rated postal banks a “win-win” for the corporation.
“Postal banking has been under a tremendous amount of discussion and continues to be,” said McDonald; “While postal banking is not a specific part of my mandate letter, I do think it’s important to note Canada Post does provide some financial services, and I think we need to be very open-minded.”
Canada Post currently has a money transfer service and sells a version of certified cheques. The post office for a century took retail deposits until the service was closed amid protests from banks and credit unions.
Public Services Minister Carla Qualtrough in a January 24 mandate letter urged the Canada Post board to consider “best practices and successful innovations in other countries”, but made no mention of reviving postal banks disbanded in 1968. Access To Information records indicated management studied retail banking from 2009 to 2013.
“This would be a win-win strategy,” read one report Banking: A Proven Diversification Strategy. The corporation has never released an uncensored copy of its banking files that cited average profits of 20.5 percent a year by online banks like ING, PC Financial Inc. and Canadian Tire Bank.
“The study Canada Post did on banking, when will that be made public?” asked MP Brian Masse (Windsor West, Ont.), New Democrat industry critic. “Why has it not been made public? Those are some of the potential solutions out there. We need to see if there is really some value there.”
“I have asked for that report to be looked at again,” replied Chair McDonald; “I have asked for new advice about the content of the report.”
“I do think it’s important in all of these conversations to be open and transparent,” said McDonald; “I would like to focus personally on new conversations about enhanced services.”
McDonald, a former CEO of British Columbia Hydro, was appointed chair of the post office last December 12. McDonald yesterday told the committee:
“We now have several years of positive financial results,” said McDonald. “This does give breathing space to the corporation to find the path to move forward.”
“Given that we do have positive financial results over the past few years, that trend is expected to continue,” said McDonald. “For how long?” asked Conservative MP Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West). McDonald did not reply.
Canada Post in 2016 reported a $55 million net pre-tax profit despite the $110 million cost of a threatened lock-out of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Previous profits were $63 million in 2015, and $194 million in 2014.
By Tom Korski 
Amendments to a marijuana bill will be considered following a flawed process that saw cabinet present Canadians with a fait accompli, says the deputy chair of the Senate aboriginal peoples committee. “The cake is baked,” said Senator Scott Tannas (Conservative-Alta.).
A national guaranteed income program would cost about $43.1 billion a year and benefit 7.7 million Canadians, the Parliamentary Budget Office yesterday calculated. The report followed a 2017 Senate vote urging that cabinet investigate such a plan: “It doesn’t cut to the key question of behavioural impact.”
Universities yesterday appealed to the Commons industry committee to uphold a “fair dealing” provision of the Copyright Act that allows free copying for research purposes. Skeptical MPs questioned claims that schools spend millions on materials while revenues decline for small Canadian publishers: “Where is the money going?”
