Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd says a single lawsuit over a Liberal fundraiser threatens the viability of her entire agency. Shepherd yesterday pleaded with the Commons ethics committee for special funding to hire counsel: ‘If the office does not have the financial capacity to meet the legal challenge, future enforcement of the Lobbying Act is in jeopardy.’
A Crown lender is blaming oil prices for a 12 percent rise in loan defaults. The Business Development Bank said Prairie borrowers accounted for most credit losses: “This has a domino effect.”
MPs have amended a Pacific oil tanker ban to limit cabinet’s powers to quietly issue confidential waivers to individual shipowners. Transport Minister Marc Garneau had pledged there was nothing “sneaky” in the original bill: “It is so they’re not operating in secrecy.”
Members of the Commons ethics committee yesterday approved extra funding to clear a backlog of thousands of Access To Information Act complaints. Even more requests for help are expected under a cabinet rewrite of the Act: “There is an appetite among Canadians for having more information from their government.”
The Senate yesterday opened debate on a tax evasion bill with criticism of the Canada Revenue Agency as ineffectual and untrustworthy. One Senator complained an Agency employee called his office posing as a concerned citizen to obtain a copy of the legislation: “Canadians can’t trust them.”
The Canada Revenue Agency says promised improvements to dysfunctional call centres will not be made in time for the next tax season. Managers yesterday told the Senate national finance committee they don’t want to “make the situation worse” by updating systems this winter: “Agents are torn between answering a lot of questions.”
Cybercrime has grown 58 percent since 2014, says new Statistics Canada data. The agency yesterday said 23,996 incidents were reported to police nationwide last year, mostly involving fraud. Just 15,184 incidents were reported three years ago.
The operators of one of the nation’s most profitable toll roads have won a federal tax appeal. The government must pay $1.3 million in GST rebates to Ontario’s 407 ETR Concession Company: ‘They’ll get a nice rebate cheque in the mail.’
The Commons environment committee yesterday killed a Conservative bill that promised tax credits for owners of heritage properties. Credits for spending on restoration would have cost up to $67 million a year, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office: “We are losing heritage buildings at an alarming rate.”
The Department of Public Works has drafted an ethics test for clothing suppliers to the federal government. It follows complaints over working conditions at garment factories overseas: “The federal government is concerned about ethically responsible practices in the manufacturing of apparel.”
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly yesterday said she is saddened by the latest collapse of Canadian dailies, but proposed no new initiatives to aid publishers. Closures include an Ontario daily that predates Confederation: “I’m sad.”
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says travelers whose privacy rights are breached at border crossings can always sue for damages. Goodale yesterday told the Senate national security committee that searches of cellphones, laptops and electronic tablets by Customs agents are commonplace: “Officers have that power right now.”
The Competition Bureau is in Federal Court against makers of the AbTronic X2 for alleged false or misleading TV claims. Investigators disclosed in an affidavit the AbTronic was under investigation for two years. A consumers’ advocate questioned the Bureau’s priorities: “There are dozens of issues that matter more to consumers.”
The Commons heritage committee yesterday took just 36 minutes to debate and approve a bill proclaiming Charlottetown as the birthplace of Confederation. MPs noted neither women nor Indigenous people were invited to the 1864 Charlottetown Conference that led to union of the colonies: “The 150th anniversary of Confederation has been a little bit whitewashed.”
The Commons today will vote to repeal a 1923 ban on recreational marijuana. The bill must still clear the Senate. Cabinet said final passage is urgently required to meet a July 1, 2018 deadline: “What happens when the kids go to school stoned?”
