Canadians give cabinet little credit for fighting food inflation, says in-house Privy Council research. Participants in federal focus groups described initiatives as “reactive,” “insufficient” and “late.”
A CBC-TV pundit who commented on legal affairs while drawing thousands in consulting fees from the Privy Council Office yesterday was appointed a judge. Carissima Mathen, a University of Ottawa law professor, earlier denied any conflict: “I wish Justice Mathen every success.”
The post office must “struggle to keep it all going” unless it adopts significant changes, management has written MPs. The remarks come ahead of new loss figures described by one executive as grave: “Canada Post is now at a critical juncture.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is hiking the national debt ceiling for the second time in three years to a record $2.1 trillion. “Our government is at your service,” Freeland yesterday told reporters.
Cabinet will soon legislate a mandatory registry of foreign agents, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said yesterday. The pledge comes ahead of Friday’s first report of the Commission on Foreign Interference that documented Chinese subterfuge in Canada: “It’s very exciting.”
Federal authorities now admit they waited too long to act against two scientists fired as Chinese spies at the National Microbiology Laboratory. A security investigation took more than two years: “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out.”
Liberal MP Parm Bains (Steveston-Richmond East, B.C.) yesterday sat silently at the Commons ethics committee as a former opponent seated metres away called him a “willing participant” in Chinese subterfuge. Bains did not reply to reporters’ questions: “Let me introduce my former opponent.”
Public support for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s proposed withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan depends on the math, says in-house federal research. New data coincided yesterday with a private Commons bill to block any Alberta pension pull-out: ‘If the 53% figure is correct the province would be justified.’
Cabinet does not know how much plastic pollution there is in Canada despite budgeting millions to eliminate it, a federal report said yesterday. It follows in-house research showing few Canadians rate plastic waste a serious problem: “Few are concerned.”
Federal insiders are “using the system” to reward favoured contractors, Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic said yesterday. “I think there needs to be significant rethinking as to how federal procurement is done,” Jeglic testified at the Commons government operations committee: “People are using the system.”
Cabinet only days after the October 7 terrorist attacks polled Arab Canadians on whether “more could be done to reach out and collaborate with Arab cultural organizations.” Privy Council focus groups did not discuss the killing and kidnapping of Jews in Israel: ‘It was felt more could be done to expand Arabic language accessibility for services.’
Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks yesterday said cabinet was still considering an appeal from British Columbia to curb disorder from public use of cocaine and other narcotics. A current experiment with drug decriminalization in B.C. was to run until January 31, 2026: “What does that say to you about the policy?”
Cabinet effective today is repealing a regulation that allowed 982,880 foreign students to work full-time hours in Canada. Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s department has not commented on data suggesting it cost Canadians jobs: “The policy expires today and it won’t be renewed.”
Few young Canadians are enthusiastic about joining the army, navy or air force, says in-house research by the Department of National Defence. Data follow figures showing the Canadian Armed Forces are far below target strength: “A highly competitive job market has posed significant challenges.”
Liberal and New Democrat MPs yesterday rejected committee investigations of the hiring of foreign workers by taxpayer-subsidized electric vehicle battery plants. One union petitioned cabinet to force automakers that receive federal aid to hire Canadians: “Release the information. Prove me wrong. I dare you.”
