A federal buyback of prohibited firearms is delayed again this year under program details outlined yesterday by Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. Cabinet for three years has proposed to buy some 1,500 models of banned guns at an undisclosed cost: “It sounds like you’re still at the beginning.”
Taxpayers will only learn of terms of a $13 billion Volkswagen Canada subsidy once the money is spent, the Senate national finance committee was told yesterday. Managers with the Department of Industry refused to discuss the subsidy for a battery factory in St. Thomas, Ont.: “I am just trying to get an impact of what that $13 billion is going to be on the government’s deficit.”
The Canada Revenue Agency is mandating electronic payment of tax bills over $10,000. The Agency yesterday did not explain if it would refuse alternative payments or prosecute cheque users: “What if somebody doesn’t want to do that?”
Security advisors have no business recommending whether candidates for Parliament are suitable, a senior advisor to the Prime Minister said yesterday. The remarks came during House affairs committee debate over two-term Independent MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.): “That is not their role.”
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino yesterday said it’s a concern that courts have not imposed maximum sentences for gun running. Cabinet proposes to increase the maximum to 14 years but acknowledged the current 10-year sentence is not used: “Is it common at all? Has it happened quite a bit?”
A federal agency issued so many corporate subsidy cheques that staff complained of overwork, says a newly-released report. “Employees’ mental health” was challenged, said an in-house audit by the National Research Council: “Unexpected work was created.”
The Commons public accounts committee yesterday ordered hearings on the Trudeau Foundation. MPs by a unanimous 10-0 vote also requested that the Canada Revenue Agency scrutinize the fund: “It is in the public interest to see an investigation into its finances, donations and in particular any possible misdealing.”
Cabinet yesterday agreed to let MPs see terms of its multi-billion subsidy to Volkswagen Canada but under extraordinary secrecy. The Commons industry committee voted that all copies of the contract shown to MPs be immediately destroyed: “It’s about protecting the integrity of the contract.”
The Treasury Board yesterday said it cannot afford to stop hiring consultants, a key demand of the striking Public Service Alliance of Canada. Suspending billions spent on consultants would “severely compromise” federal work, it said: “We have to find a balance.”
Pandemic lockdowns on non-essential travel cost VIA Rail a fortune in lost liquor sales, data show. The Crown railway sold millions’ worth of drinks out of its bar cars until the pandemic slowed traffic to a crawl: “Demand for travel may only return to or exceed the level seen in 2019 sometime in 2024.”
Air passenger compensation rules to take effect by year’s end will treat paid tickets like “a contract with a customer,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said yesterday. “The airlines are responsible for delivering that service,” he told reporters: “There is a significant imbalance in power here.”
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne today is under committee order to surrender a copy of documents regarding his agreement to pay Volkswagen Canada more than $13 billion to build a factory in St. Thomas, Ont. Champagne ignored an earlier demand from the Commons industry committee to detail all giveaways to VW: “It is a win for the world.”
Independent MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.) in a court filing admits to at least a dozen phone calls with Communist Chinese diplomats including Beijing’s Ambassador to Canada. Dong called it “common practice” for any MP: “They are not close friends.”
Airlines must answer passenger complaints within 30 days under an omnibus budget bill. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra today meets with reporters to detail stricter consumer protection rules for carriers: “We will take action.”
Few Indigenous people trust the Canada Revenue Agency and say auditors are “only out to get theirs,” according to in-house research. The Agency surveyed Indigenous communities to determine why people didn’t file tax returns even if it meant losing benefits: “I don’t get the sense they are looking out for people.”
