A federal economist is contradicting the Department of Finance in claiming Conservatives did in fact balance the budget their last year in office. The boast came in a newly-released promotional guide for investors: “This government doesn’t know what the hell it is doing.”
Canadians face higher electricity bills if cabinet is to meet its greenhouse gas emission targets, says a Senate energy committee report. Senators warned homeowners and business face profound changes under a federal climate change plan: “How much of our welfare are we willing to risk?”
Health Canada is accused of bending to public pressure in proposing to ban a common pesticide. Regulators yesterday denied the allegation at the Commons agriculture committee, but acknowledged receiving an unusually large number of submissions on the ban, 100,000 to date: “The decision was not political.”
Parliament must vote once and for all on whether to rewrite O Canada with gender-neutral lyrics, says a legislator. The Senate yesterday adjourned final debate on a bill to remove a reference to “sons” in the national anthem: “Let us take a decision.”
The federal tourism commission, citing a limited budget, is hiring a Chinese publicist to attract more visitors from the People’s Republic. Destination Canada said it has modest funding to place stories in Communist-licensed press: “Destination Canada is constrained.”
The Bank of Canada has commissioned research on an “early warning model” for a housing collapse, according to Access To Information records. The Bank would not disclose findings, censoring virtually its entire 26-page file: ‘A housing bust probability is elevated.’
MPs are accused of meddling in a Health Canada proposal to ban a common pesticide. Environmental groups complained they were put on the “B-list” to testify at the Commons agriculture committee: “The thing smacks of political interference.”
MPs are summoning a senior Transport Canada official to answer a critical audit on motor vehicle safety. The Commons public accounts committee twice cancelled hearings after Deputy Transport Minister Michael Keenan failed to attend for questioning on complaints the department is too close to auto lobbyists: “It’s a question of accountability.”
Health Canada should consider doubling the retail price of cigarettes under a plan to halve the number of smokers by 2035, says the Canadian Cancer Society. Cigarettes currently cost about $12 for a pack of 25: “We’re not even close to reaching the limit.”
A federal labour board has dismissed a complaint by a prison guard fired after allegedly smuggling drugs to inmates. The decision follows Parliament’s 2015 passage of a Drug-Free Prisons Act: “It is doubtful that there is a prison in the world that is drug-free.”
Cabinet would consider expanding a multi-million dollar ethanol fuel mandate, says an Environment Canada document. Staff did not comment. Critics have described the ethanol regulation as a farmers’ subsidy with little environmental benefit: “The policy has failed to deliver value to Canadian taxpayers.”
A marijuana-fueled property rights protest has been dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal. The judgment came in the case of a British Columbia trade school that objected to a licensed grower next door: “It is not for the courts to second-guess the policy choices made by Parliament.”
Cabinet has no count of dual Canadian citizens. The Department of Immigration in a Senate tabling said it has no estimate of how many residents carry two passports, or live abroad: “We want to make that information public.”
The Department of Natural Resources is commissioning an $85,000 survey of how many electric cars are on the road. Testimony at the Senate energy committee indicated Canada will not meet greenhouse gas emission targets even if sales quadrupled: “If there’s demand for plug-ins, there will be plug-ins.”
Commodity prices and not foreign speculators are the cause of rising farmland values, the Senate agriculture committee has been told. Legislators are reviewing whether to monitor foreign farm purchases nationwide: “The agriculture market as an industry became a lot sexier.”
