The Department of National Defence polled Canadians on whether they consider the U.S. or its president as security threats, records show. Donald Trump was rated a bigger threat to the nation than North Korea or natural disasters: ‘It’s to understand the views, perceptions and opinions of Canadians.’
Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould yesterday said cabinet does not plan legislative changes to the jury system despite an appeal by the Commons justice committee. Witnesses told MPs low pay, lack of support and one provision of the Criminal Code compromise jurors who attend gruesome criminal trials: “I had no way to fully comprehend how bad it would be.”
The Senate social affairs committee yesterday demanded a federal apology to unwed mothers pressured into surrendering infants for adoption in postwar years. Senators stopped short of advocating compensation: “That’s not something we got into.”
Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor yesterday rejected a parliamentary proposal to appoint a federal advisor on the perils of antimicrobial resistance. The health department has no data on the number of Canadians who die from superbug infections that cannot be treated with antibiotics: “There is significantly more work to be done.”
A federal judge has ruled Health Canada breached its own drug safety law. A former Conservative MP who sponsored the 2014 legislation yesterday described the department’s misconduct as shameful: “They were in Federal Court fighting against transparency; they still don’t get it at Health Canada.”
The Department of Public Safety in an Access To Information memo says it has a critical need for data on organized crime in Canada. The Prime Minister yesterday appointed a new Minister Responsible for Organized Crime Reduction, former Toronto police chief Bill Blair: “There is no higher responsibility for a government.”
The Parliamentary Budget Office yesterday forecast interest charges on the national debt will eat 16¢ of every $1 collected in income tax by 2024. Parliament has not balanced a budget in eleven years, and has fixed no deadline to bring in a surplus: “Debt charges for the federal government will increase.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs unfairly dismissed a widow’s appeal for benefits based on inaccurate assumptions, a federal judge has ruled. The decision followed six years of appeals: “In my view this is an unsatisfactory situation.”
Canada’s 60,000 federally-registered charities may engage in non-partisan political activities under a sweeping Ontario Superior Court ruling. A judge yesterday struck down Canada Revenue Agency guidelines on advocacy as an illegal curb on free speech: “The impact of this case is huge.”
A chartered accountants’ survey warns of spreading gloom over Canada’s economic prospects in the face of taxes and U.S. trade battles. A majority of executives, 68 percent, said the nation is now less competitive than it was a year ago: “This matters.”
A misfired climate change gag written by federal staff to “make us cool” prompted a flood of public complaints, according to Access To Information records. The Privy Council think tank Policy Horizons Canada received so many protests it hasn’t published anything since: “I had an idea to make us look cool on the internet.”
Health Canada interviewed children as young as 5 in devising standard labels for use on legal cannabis, according to records. A research study made no mention of similarities between the red marijuana leaf symbol and Team Canada’s hockey logo worn at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics: “The red background was attention-grabbing.”
A former manager found innocent of wrongdoing at Library & Archives Canada says he was ruined by prosecutors. The longtime executive was acquitted at trial June 11. Prosecutors are not appealing the verdict: “I’ve lost four years of my life.”
The Commons immigration committee yesterday ordered rare summer hearings on illegal immigration. MPs accused cabinet of skewing data to downplay a sharp rise in border crossings: “We’re concerned about the safety of our border.”
About a third of homeless people, 29 percent, do not file yearly tax returns though they could earn thousands in benefits, says the Canada Revenue Agency. The study followed 2017 research that found the poor are so intimidated by the Agency they would forego a federal cheque: “Individuals did not realize they stood to benefit.”
