Cabinet yesterday without notice said it will more than double Nexus permit fees at a $23 million annual cost for frequent cross-border travelers. New rates take effect October 1: “No consultations.”
Cabinet is reviewing millions in funding for a Black charity whose directors are accused of inside dealing, says a Department of Social Development memo. Grants for the Black Business and Professional Association totaled $5,217,345 in the past three years: ‘Should the government determine funds were used inappropriately it will respond.’
Climate tax credits will cost billions more than claimed by cabinet, the Budget Office said yesterday. Analysts uncovered the error in calculating actual expenses of credits intended to meet 2050 targets that are “not likely possible,” according to one of Canada’s largest utilities: “Budget Office estimates are $10 billion higher.”
A British Columbia lobby yesterday would not release a complete recording of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks to a “private town hall” with home equity tax advocates. Reporters and the public were barred from attending the hour-long meeting June 25, according to the University of B.C. host Generation Squeeze: “Wrong idea at the wrong time in the wrong country. Maybe try Denmark.”
Government spokespeople must “correct” Canadians’ thinking, says a report by Treasury Board President Anita Anand’s department. The Board yesterday did not comment on its claim 4,600 federal spokespeople were defenders of “the heart of our democracy.”
Canadian employers won’t hire outspoken Muslim advocates of “Palestinian human rights,” says cabinet’s Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia. Alleged hiring bans followed Hamas’ October 7 killing and kidnapping of Jews in Israel including eight Canadians, said the report to Parliament: ‘An anti-Arab backlash has led to loss of income.’
Numbers of serious adverse drug reactions have skyrocketed since hospitals were required to report all incidents, figures show. Parliament in 2014 mandated reporting under Vanessa’s Law named for an Ontario schoolgirl who died after taking ordinary prescription medication: “No Big Pharma executive has ever gone to jail.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly’s department will not tell MPs which consultant it hired to run security at Canadian embassies abroad. It followed protests by the Commons government operations committee after managers hired a state-controlled Chinese contractor: “The name of the supplier ultimately selected cannot be provided.”
Home prices are unsustainable and have normalized a “massive increase in value” for retirees, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He made the remarks at a private seminar with Canada’s leading advocates of a home equity tax: ‘It’s not like your grandparents saying, ‘Ah, bread used to cost me a nickel.’
The Department of Public Works in an internal document acknowledges it knew within months its $700 million pandemic ventilator program was a waste of money. The memo contradicts testimony by then-Public Works Minister Anita Anand that cash was paid to favoured contractors “prior to the information coming forward.”
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board put more than $600 million in China’s electric vehicle sector accused by cabinet of unfair trade practices. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland blamed Chinese industry for job-killing schemes, telling Canadian workers: “We are going to protect you.”
The Department of Immigration is granting itself new powers to name and shame colleges and universities that abuse the foreign student program. Administrators caught in “unethical behaviour” face year-long suspensions and public blacklisting: “That is totally unacceptable.”
Conflict Of Interest Act investigations at a federal agency dubbed the “green slush fund” will be made public by month’s end, says the Office of the Ethics Commissioner. It follows complaints against Liberal-appointed directors of Sustainable Development Technology Canada: “The Office is still working towards the August 1 deadline.”
Blacklock’s pauses for the 157th anniversary of Confederation to wish all friends and subscribers a happy Canada Day. We’re back tomorrow — The Editor
Went downtown this Canada Day
to join the celebration.
A girl wrapped in red-and-white sold three flags
for two dollars, five for three.
She wanted my money.
A street performer had his open guitar case
in front of him.
He wanted my money.
A juggler approached the crowd,
holding his hat.
He, too, wanted my money.
By the pub, a sign invited me to all-I-can-eat-wings
for six dollars.
They only wanted my money.
At the lemonade stand,
four dollars could get me a small cup, mostly ice.
They really wanted my money.
Tired of the assault on my wallet,
I waived a taxi to go back home.
The driver nodded, reaching for the metre.
By Shai Ben-Shalom
