MPs demanded an explanation after New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh said “the seeds of genocide” were being sown in Gaza by Israeli Defence Forces. Legislators including Jewish MPs expressed alarm over Singh’s remark: ‘Yes or no, do you believe Israel is committing genocide?’
The House affairs committee tomorrow is expected to vote on hearings into how a Waffen SS member was presented to the Commons as a Canadian hero. The September 22 incident “brought shame on Parliament,” MPs were told yesterday: “Canadians deserve answers.”
Another top aide to the Prime Minister yesterday said he missed a 2021 warning that Chinese agents were targeting a Conservative MP. Mike MacDonald, former national security advisor, said an ongoing House affairs committee investigation should not be “about laying blame.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday bypassed all provincial consumer agencies in ordering that customer complaints against banks go to a single federal ombudsman. A similar attempt sought by bank lobbyists in 2016 was successfully defeated following an outcry in the Senate: “Certainly the banks will love this.”
Federal departments and agencies have filed so many legal challenges to block disclosure of public records the Office of the Information Commissioner has increased spending on lawyers, the Commons ethics committee was told yesterday. “Some government institutions now routinely violate this law on a daily basis,” testified Commissioner Caroline Maynard: “Canadians don’t trust governments.”
Complying with New Democrats’ demands for passage of a pharmacare bill in eight weeks “is going to be challenging,” Health Minister Mark Holland said yesterday. The estimated $11 billion annual cost raised questions of “fiscal reality,” Holland told reporters: “There’s not enough money?”
Inflation worries are driven in part by media, complains the Bank of Canada. The central bank yesterday in a consumer survey said Canadians who follow the news “have a worsening outlook on the economy.”
There is insufficient evidence to justify corruption charges against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the SNC-Lavalin Group scandal, says an RCMP memo. The Access To Information memo obtained by the group Democracy Watch concluded then-Attorney General Jody Wilson Raybould was undoubtedly pressured to quash a criminal prosecution of the federal contractor but that proof of criminality was lacking: “It should be emphasized the conclusions reached in this report do not translate to the absence of a criminal offence.”
Oil executives must acknowledge liability for costs of climate change, New Democrat MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay, Ont.) yesterday told the Commons natural resources committee. “You knew,” Angus told a visiting CEO from Suncor Energy: “Your industry knew increasing production and increasing the burning of fossil fuels is destabilizing the planet.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland again missed key forecasts in her own budget, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. Analysts warned the deficit is up this year, not down, and is now 16 percent higher than Freeland predicted: “Has the government lost control?”
The Department of Canadian Heritage seeks a bigger budget to monitor internet “disinformation.” Millions more are needed to keep up surveillance on internet users who promote incorrect “political beliefs,” it said.
Cabinet’s $191,000-a year “inclusion” advisor has avoided public events since October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists. Amira Elghawaby, Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, wrote in 2021 Toronto Star columns that MPs should “call out Israel’s actions, not only Hamas’ rockets” and dismissed Canadian history as “Judeo-Christian storytelling.”
Cabinet in scripted remarks at Rideau Hall expressed unequivocal support for Israeli victims of terrorist attacks. Governor General Mary Simon avoided all mention of Hamas, Gaza or Palestinians: “Our country supports you and stands firmly with you.”
Indigenous Canadians combined account for more economic output than three provinces, says Bank of Canada research. Findings were drawn despite data gaps like the fact Statistics Canada does not track the employment rate on First Nations reserves: “Official statistics may thus understate the extent of Indigenous economic activity.”
Canada will now “collaborate with provinces” after the Supreme Court struck down landmark 2019 federal regulations on impact assessments, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. Five provinces opposed regulations subsequently ruled unconstitutional: “Tell me, what will the power of a minister or federal cabinet be?”
