Most Canadians now get their news from government-paid press, the chief lobbyist for subsidized dailies yesterday told the Commons finance committee. Subsidized media were “foundational,” testified Paul Deegan, CEO of News Media Canada: “The Government of Canada, I have to say, has been terrific.”
Rail and port workers would lose the right to strike under a proposal yesterday by the Senate transport committee. “The status quo is not a viable option,” wrote the Liberal-dominated panel.
Cabinet confirms a lengthy backlog of labour complaints against Canadian companies operating abroad. The position of Ombudsman to investigate allegations of exploitation and forced labour has been vacant for more than a year: “A decision regarding the future of the Ombudsman for Responsible Enterprise and the position of the Ombudsman will be taken in due course.”
Social media posts deemed to undermine “social stability” would be subject to blocking orders by a federal censor under a cabinet bill introduced yesterday. “The law applies as soon as it comes into force,” said Heritage Minister Marc Miller.
More than 19,000 new Covid ventilators, all purchased through sole-sourced contracts, were sold as scrap at pennies a pound, new documents show. The 19,000 figure detailed in a Public Health Agency memo is the highest yet on confirmed waste under the $1.1 billion pandemic ventilator program: “Consider an audit.”
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem yesterday acknowledged missing another forecast, this time on the likelihood of a 2026 recession. “We’ve seen a lot of volatility,” he said.
The defence department proposes to auction dozens of buildings and nearly 1,500 acres of Crown land to meet its quota of savings under a federal budget review, says a report. The largest federal landlord, the Department of Public Works, has calculated about half of all federal buildings could be sold without affecting services: “The department will reduce its real property footprint.”
Parliament should create a Canadian version of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency to handle wildfires, the Senate agriculture and forestry committee said yesterday. The current hodgepodge of jurisdictional overlap was inadequate, said a report: “No single entity is responsible.”
Specialty drugs lost in a mysterious mishap at a federal warehouse included $20 million in medicines needed to counter a “biological threat,” says a Public Health Agency memo. MPs on the Commons health committee were briefed on the incident behind closed doors last February 10: “I can confirm there was loss of a quantity of treatment for a biological threat.”
Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner yesterday said Canadians deserve a judiciary free of politics, but would not discuss his own criticism of the Freedom Convoy. Wagner declined to recuse himself from sitting in judgment on protestors he described as anarchists and hostage takers, though none were charged with either offence: “Can you explain why you will not recuse yourself?”
Cabinet today for the third time in five years will table legislation to regulate legal internet content. Attorney General Sean Fraser has said cabinet would not revive terms of previous bills that lapsed on complaints of censorship and federal over-reach: “What’s the urgency?”
Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York, Ont.) yesterday in a farewell speech to the House likened his political career to “pushing a boulder up a hill.” The former housing minister is to resign with the Commons’ adjournment for summer recess, expected June 19: “I’ve had some roles.”
Cabinet yesterday again extended an amnesty for various “assault style” firearms pending a final Supreme Court judgment. The amnesty was deferred to an unspecified date in 2027: “The government is providing certainty.”
A defence industry start-up whose chief lobbyist is the brother of Deputy Defence Minister Christiane Fox won a private audience with the Prime Minister to discuss drone technology, records show. The Privy Council yesterday had no comment: “Can you assure Parliament and Canadians that you won’t be using your office as a public office holder to further the interests of private individuals?”
It will take 1,000 years at current construction rates to fully restore housing affordability for the poorest Canadians, says Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle. The cabinet advisor in her annual report to Parliament said new supply of public and co-op housing was critical: “The current pace of building deeply affordable homes is so slow it would take over 1,000 years.”
