A police commander testifying at the Freedom Convoy inquiry said emergency powers were never needed to tow vehicles outside Parliament. The sworn testimony directly contradicted claims by Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino: “Did the police in Ottawa end up needing the Emergencies Act to tow vehicles?” “No.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs ought to be ashamed of itself for making ex-military wait years to review disability benefit claims, the Commons public accounts committee was told. Auditors said two-year waits are commonplace with some claims spending a decade under review: “Do you not have some shame?”
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says he had no idea his department paid $133,822 to an anti-Semite who fantasized on Twitter about shooting Jews. Rodriguez testified at the Commons heritage committee he was also unaware department staff spent weeks reviewing complaints over the funding: “Are you telling us then all of this took place in your ministry without you being aware of it?”
New “clean fuel” regulations will cost Canadian workers more than $1,200 a year on average, says research commissioned by the advocacy group Canadians for Affordable Energy. The Clean Fuel Standard mandates greater use of ethanol: “It is simply another tax grab that will only make life more unaffordable.”
A federal ban on legal handgun sales will not reduce gun crime, police have told the Commons public safety committee. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked a cabinet order to outlaw sales effective November 9: “We can expect those wanting to acquire guns will find alternatives including increased incidences of smuggling.”
A Liberal committee majority last night voted to conceal records detailing federal action against the Freedom Convoy. MPs and Liberal-appointed senators on the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency voted 6 to 5 to block the release of uncensored documents: “We’re talking about a lot of documents.”
GoFundMe denies seizing Freedom Convoy donations. Lawyers in a submission to the Public Order Emergency Commission said rumours the crowdfunding site failed to promptly refund contributions were a misunderstanding: “GoFundMe employees experienced a flood of violent and threatening messages including death threats.”
The Commons government operations committee yesterday voted unanimously to examine all contracts for the ArriveCan app. The vote came moments after parliamentary secretary Pam Damoff told the Commons she resented any suggestion the $54 million app was a boondoggle: “Who got rich?”
Inflation is now almost entirely made in Canada, Mark Carney yesterday told the Senate banking committee. The former Bank of Canada governor, now a Liberal fundraiser, said the rising cost of living is “principally a domestic story.”
Fisheries groups yesterday complained to the Senate that Atlantic seals eat too many fish. The Department of Fisheries has rejected a seal cull as unjustified: “Evidence has been published about needing a 65 percent reduction in the seal herd.”
Commons Speaker Anthony Rota was so alarmed by the Freedom Convoy he had armed Parliament Hill police stand guard outside his Ottawa residence at night while he slept, records show. Rota’s office yesterday did not comment: “For security reasons detailed information about operational security is not shared publicly.”
The Freedom Convoy outside Parliament had to be dismantled not as a safety risk but a public symbol of the “spiritual source of the protest movement,” said Michael Keenan, deputy transport minister. His remarks in a teleconference with police contradicted cabinet claims the Wellington Street blockade was a danger to the public: ‘It is obviously less tactically important but has a greater impact from a visibility and communication angle.’
The Commons yesterday by a 208 to 115 vote rejected a bill mandating value for money audits at the Bank of Canada. Three Liberal and Green MPs joined Conservatives in voting for tighter scrutiny of the central bank: “That’s what this bill is all about.”
Ex-senator Don Meredith would be the first in Canadian history to be stripped of his “honourable” title under a Senate motion. Senators described Meredith as a national disgrace: “This is an extraordinary process that has never been attempted since this Parliament was established in 1867.”
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan yesterday opened year-long consultations on a proposal to ban replacement workers in the federally regulated private sector including airlines, banks, marine shippers and railways. Legislation must be introduced by December 31, 2023 under a pact with New Democrats: “It’s going to be a change.”
