Housing Minister Gregor Robertson’s department transferred millions out of a program to aid homeless veterans after claiming it couldn’t find any ex-military in need. The transfer was done confidentially since it was “likely to generate negative stakeholder reactions,” said an Access To Information memo.
Cabinet spent more than $700,000 opening Canada’s first embassy in Fiji despite a pledge to “cut waste,” records disclosed yesterday. The mission was officially opened January 16 by visiting Liberal MP Randeep Sarai (Surrey Centre, B.C.), secretary of state for international development: “Understandably the establishment of a new diplomatic presence does incur costs.”
The cost of living has made tax evasion commonplace, a Liberal-appointed senator said yesterday. Senator Toni Varone (Ont.), a former contractor, told the Senate banking committee the black market is “affecting everything we do.”
Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald yesterday expanded property rights for plant breeders with an initiative opposed by organic farmers. Only those with “longstanding ideological views” would deny patent holders more protection, said MacDonald’s department: “Property rights provide incentives for investment and innovation.”
Rates of home ownership for young families are at a postwar low, Statistics Canada figures showed yesterday. New data follow finance department research indicating nearly 40 percent of Canadians believe the nation’s best years are behind us: “Many had low expectations of the government.”
A federal judge yesterday approved an $8.7 million class action settlement over the 2020 hacking of thousands of Canadians’ tax and benefits accounts. Individual compensation ranges from $80 to $5,000: “Did these attacks not demonstrate there was a total failure?”
The Department of Canadian Heritage yesterday acknowledged it has continued to fund anti-Israel social commentators. “I thought we learned our lesson,” Conservative MP Kevin Waugh (Saskatoon South) told the Commons heritage committee.
Parks Canada is undertaking more proactive fire prevention measures in the aftermath of Alberta’s Jasper National Park disaster, the agency’s interim CEO said yesterday. Previous managers left thousands of acres of dead pine standing prior to a 2024 fire, then blamed climate change when a third of the town burned: “We are doing a large amount of prescriptive work.”
A Commons bill would strip cabinet of powers to pull “physical currency” from circulation without Parliament’s approval. Conservative MP Ted Falk (Provencher, Man.), sponsor of the bill, said Canadians must “retain control over their own finances.”
Governor General Louise Arbour, 79, yesterday became the oldest appointee in the history of Rideau Hall. Her oldest predecessor, First World War hero Georges Vanier, died in office at 78: “I am very mindful of the legacy I am stepping into.”
Cabinet granted Chinese state-backed automakers unprecedented access to the Canadian market because “they are very popular across the country,” Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said yesterday. Joly would not answer directly when asked if they used slave labour: “We’re all in favour of affordability.”
Immigration Minister Lena Diab yesterday said she was unsure what became of 800 foreign students identified as fraudsters in a federal audit weeks ago. MPs on the Commons immigration committee protested the slow response: “You don’t know?”
Statistics Canada sold a confidential copy of a hate crimes report to Heritage Minister Marc Miller’s department for “feedback” but denies there was any political interference. The report downplayed anti-Semitism though Jews are the leading target of hate crimes in Canada: “The purpose of this peer review will be for Canadian Heritage to provide feedback in terms of fact or presentation.”
The Privy Council commissioned federal focus groups on cuts to funding for the CBC, Canada Post and other Crown corporations, records show. A pollsters’ report disclosed yesterday found public support for CBC cutbacks: “Asked to identify areas where they felt the federal government could find cost savings, participants suggested a range of actions.”
Federal agencies are late in completing a keyword-searchable database allowing homebuyers to check flood risks on property, the Commissioner of Environment said yesterday. The Department of Public Safety had promised to launch the free service by December 31: “That would be very helpful.”
