There is “not a thing that we need” from Canada, U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday. His remarks came as a Canadian cabinet delegation met with the U.S. Department of Commerce in a bid to avert a tariff-driven recession: “We don’t need anything that they give.”
The Treasury Board is hiring private tutors to coach Black federal employees on how to learn French, records show. Too few Black staff are passing bilingual proficiency tests required for promotion as executives, it said: “Language training has been identified as a barrier for Black employees’ advancement.”
The Federal Court has dismissed penalties against a construction company that paid foreign labour less than a posted rate. The judge cautioned the decision was narrowly based on facts in the case and must not be seen as “undermining strong worker protections.”
Bitcoin ownership in Canada is double pre-pandemic levels but remains low, Bank of Canada researchers said yesterday. Typical buyers were speculators under 34: “The primary reason for selling their holdings was cashing out for a profit.”
Worrying in-house Bank of Canada research points to a collapse in Canadians’ confidence in the economy, Governor Tiff Macklem said yesterday. A tariff war was entirely to blame, he told reporters as the Bank further reduced its key interest rate on interbank loans from 3 to 2.75 percent: “It could well mean layoffs.”
Cabinet yesterday confirmed it accepts U.S. President Donald Trump’s terms that Canada reopen a 2019 trade pact to resolve American grievances. A cabinet delegation is in Washington, D.C. today to show “Canada is ready,” said Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc: “The conversation will be around lowering the temperature.”
The Department of Health yesterday approved millions in regulatory relief for the cannabis industry amid rising insolvencies and tax defaults. The red tape reduction measures solely for marijuana distributers, wholesalers and retailers take effect April 1: “The cannabis industry is facing economic difficulties.”
Cabinet is searching for new investors to save a heavily subsidized Québec electric auto battery plant, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said yesterday. Northvolt, the original owner, filed for bankruptcy in its native Sweden: “What’s important is we managed to get Québec into the automobile industry.”
A federal cap on oil and gas emissions will cost many more thousands of jobs than originally feared, Budget Office data showed yesterday. The latest figures followed the release of in-house federal research indicating Canadians are divided over climate policies: “Costs are assumed to be borne by Canadians.”
Cabinet yesterday abruptly agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that it renegotiate a 2019 trade pact while Ontario publicly apologized for attempting a 25 percent surcharge on hydroelectricity exports to Great Lakes states. The concessions came hours after Trump threatened “a financial price so big that it will be read about in history books.”
The RCMP in an internal report predict more “stalking and harassment” of politicians this election year due to anti-Israel street demonstrations. “Flash protests present a significant challenge,” said a police report: “The number and complexity of threats and violence targeting protected persons in Canada has continually increased.”
Cabinet will attempt to cancel a 19 percent hike in the carbon tax due April 1, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. It was unclear whether Parliament must be recalled to pass legislation, he said: “What are the options? I don’t have the answers for you.”
Urban crime is so alarming householders may start to arm themselves, says pre-election Privy Council research. Federal focus groups targeted crime fears in the Greater Toronto Area where Liberals elected 49 MPs in the last campaign: “A number reported no longer traveling to certain parts of the GTA that they viewed as being dangerous.”
Tax Court has censured the Canada Revenue Agency for making a “stupid mistake” with T4 slips. However a judge ruled he was powerless to correct the error since a tax filer did not report it in time: “There is nothing the Court can do.”
A federal election call is imminent, Public Works Minister Jean-Yves Duclos yesterday told reporters. Leaders of all opposition parties said they were ready: “Let’s go.”
