Morris Rosenberg, former CEO of the Trudeau Foundation, yesterday testified he never questioned mailing a $140,000 Canadian charity tax receipt to the Beijing address of a TV production company affiliated with the Communist Youth League. “The money actually came with no strings attached,” Rosenberg told the Commons ethics committee: “Isn’t that unusual sir?”
Commons Speaker Anthony Rota yesterday rejected an emergency debate on Chinese intimidation of an MP and threatened to eject the Leader of the Opposition from the House. Rota in a raucous exchange was jeered by Conservative benches: “It is outrageous.”
The CRTC yesterday said it will define newsroom ethics under a cabinet bill on internet revenue sharing. “I have met with newspaper publishers,” Scott Shortliffe, executive director of broadcasting policy, told Senators: “It puts frankly a bit of an onus on us to define that.”
MPs could spend a hundred hours dissecting cabinet’s latest omnibus budget bill, members of the Commons finance committee complained yesterday. Conservative MP Marty Morantz (Charleswood-St. James, Man.) noted Liberals in opposition had condemned catch-all budget bills as undemocratic: “Anyone? Anyone here can answer that?”
Parents are more likely now than before the pandemic to question their children’s vaccination, says Department of Health research. “Immunization rates have declined since Covid-19,” said an in-house report: “Key concerns included side effects.”
Conservative MP Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, Ont.) yesterday said he was astounded the Canadian Security Intelligence Service never told him it secretly suspected a Chinese diplomat was targeting his family. Many émigrés face similar intimidation, said Chong: “At minimum I would have expected my government had a duty of care to inform me.”
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson yesterday said he was one of the few MPs still alive who personally knew Tommy Douglas. Record show Douglas left Saskatchewan years before Wilkinson was born. Staff clarified Wilkinson’s claim: “Minister Wilkinson met Mr. Douglas a couple of times.”
The Public Service Alliance of Canada yesterday urged 120,000 members to ratify a Treasury Board contract that met many of its key demands in a 12-day strike. “This agreement delivers important gains for our members and will set the bar for all workers in Canada,” said Chris Aylward, national president.
Dozens of organized crime groups have “influence” in the public sector, says a federal report. “Infiltration in public sector agencies is not necessary to support organized crime operations,” wrote police: “Corrupt activities in government processes can increase project costs by up to 50 percent.”
Universities should mandate anti-Black racism training and fund an “Award for Black Excellence,” says a federal report. “A wider range of topics may be explored to understand the implications of Blackness,” wrote advisors to the $1.2 billion Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council: “We must be relentless in our pursuit of equity.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s brother has been summoned to testify Wednesday at the Commons ethics committee over his role at the Trudeau Foundation. Alexandre Trudeau was a senior director when the Foundation falsified reports to conceal Chinese donations, says a former CEO. The Income Tax Act requires that all charities truthfully account for donations under threat of 125 percent penalties and loss of charitable status: “A Chinese Association was communicating with employees of the Foundation. They were giving clear direction on what needed to appear on receipts.”
Today marks the last tax deadline that sees the Canada Revenue Agency accept cheques for all payments under a practice dating back 106 years. The Agency said it will detail new rules on electronic transfers for large payments to take effect in 2024: ‘We will communicate details in due course.’
Uncollected customs duties still run to millions despite a 2017 report that recommended an immediate crackdown on tax evasion, says an internal Canada Border Services Agency audit. Inspectors complained of “significant non-compliance” by importers dodging tariffs: “Challenges were encountered.”
Cabinet was warned Canadians were upset with ineffective gun laws just seven weeks before it abandoned plans to restrict hunting rifles. Internal Privy Council polling showed Canadians complained gun crimes went unresolved while cabinet chased pointless legislation: ‘Their impression is crimes involving firearms had largely continued unabated.’
A third of Canadians with high skill jobs have a Grade 12 certificate or are high school dropouts, says federal research. Conversely more than a third of low skill jobs are held by Canadians with a postsecondary education: “The correlation between educational attainment and holding a lower or higher skilled job was not as high as one might expect.”
