More than a quarter-century of litigation by lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber has ended in an Edmonton courtroom. The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench dismissed Schreiber’s last appeal in long-running Charter challenges in the Airbus case: “Courts have repeatedly dealt with Mr. Schreiber’s Charter claims.”
Hundreds and possibly thousands of Canadian citizens and local supporters remain trapped in Afghanistan after the military ended a rescue airlift, federal officials said yesterday. The Department of Foreign Affairs recommended they go into hiding: “Use your judgment.”
The Liberal Party yesterday had no comment on one of its candidates who questioned the Prime Minister’s “lack of judgment” on ethics. Candidate Martin Francoeur is running in Trois-Rivière, Que., a riding the Liberals last won 37 years ago: “Therein lies the problem with Justin Trudeau.”
Legal internet content, even the offensive kind, cannot be censored since the web is “not subject to the same controls that exist in traditional media,” a Québec judge has ruled. The decision came in the case of a Facebook user falsely accused of harassment: “It would have the effect of granting everyone the power to censor the comments of others on the sole basis that this content could be considered disagreeable.”
Canadians’ support for trade with China fell by more than a tenth from the outbreak of the pandemic, says in-house research by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Reliance on China contractors for medical supplies also prompted Canadians to worry about “pandemic planning” in trade policy: ‘It should ensure preparedness to a great extent.’
More than a hundred thousand student votes are in doubt after Elections Canada cancelled special campus polls at 109 universities and colleges nationwide. One students’ group said the decision would have a clear impact: “We are purely non-partisan.”
Minister for Gender Equality Maryam Monsef yesterday attempted to explain remarks to “our brothers, the Taliban” in scripted comments at a press briefing. Monsef said the collegial greeting reflected her interpretation of Muslim culture: “There are a lot of Muslims who are aghast with the Minister’s remarks.”
Cabinet confidentially reviewed the prospect of vaccine passports while publicly opposing the idea as extreme, according to internal records. The Prime Minister for the first time August 15 endorsed compulsory proof of vaccination for federal employees and air passengers: “Not everyone agrees.”
Cabinet yesterday proposed $2.5 billion a year in new taxes on the largest banks and insurers. The Liberal Party would increase the corporate tax rate on financial institutions with earnings over $1 billion annually from 15 to 18 percent: “Why wait for an election to come up with this?”
A news agency operating as an election campaign fact checker received nearly $2 million in federal funding over the past year, records show. The Canadian Press yesterday did not comment: “Cash flow is tightening.”
The Liberal Party yesterday would not comment on a Vancouver candidate who broke the party’s proposed rules on real estate speculation. Taleeb Noormohamed, a longtime Liberal organizer, admitted to buying and selling numerous properties for profit in a practice the Prime Minister now calls predatory: “We’ll crack down on predatory speculators competing with families trying to buy their first home.”
A senior manager with the Department of Immigration abruptly resigned while under investigation for misappropriation of funds in sweetheart contracting. The disclosure follows a warning from a former crime-busting prosecutor that Parliament must monitor sole-source contracting: “As a taxpayer I have to wonder.”
The Department of Health failed to place a single order for masks and other pandemic supplies months after telling Canadians to prepare for Covid, according to internal emails. Documents from the Prime Minister’s Office contradicted public reassurances by Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer: “Be vigilant and be prepared.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday pledged a re-elected Liberal cabinet will ban all new foreign purchases of Canadian residential real estate for at least two years. Trudeau and his cabinet voted against a similar Conservative motion in the Commons June 9: “The deck seems stacked.”
Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole yesterday said a Conservative cabinet would rewrite federal law to grant preference to pensioners in bankruptcy court settlements. A similar Bloc Québécois bill lapsed in the last Parliament despite endorsement by the Canadian Labour Congress: “This needs to change.”
