The Department of Transport turns an average eight percent profit on mandatory security fees for air travelers, records show. Net profits over a five year period totaled a third of a billion: “It has become a cash cow, not a fee for service.”
Judges have ordered a fresh trial in Canada’s longest-running bribery case. Executives with an Ontario software firm are accused of plotting large cash payoffs to win an Air India contract. The investigation dates from 2007: “A fair trial is a trial which satisfies the public interest in getting at the truth.”
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault yesterday said his agency will strictly enforce any local mask requirements on Election Day, September 20. Maskless voters will be ejected from polling stations if they defy local health orders, he said: “I think electors have a responsibility.”
Facebook Canada yesterday named the CBC as an election campaign fact checker. The Crown broadcaster’s French-language service Radio Canada will monitor other media’s news stories to ensure accuracy, though the network has acknowledged multiple errors in its own news coverage: “We are committed to doing our part.”
Cabinet yesterday gave banks until 2022 to comply with new federal consumer protection laws. Regulations follow 2017 hearings of the Commons finance committee that detailed unethical practices: “Sales goals were an insidious thing for all branch employees.”
Federally regulated private sector companies should be subject to Québec language regulations, Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole said yesterday. O’Toole said any Conservative cabinet within 100 days of taking office would “work with Québec to apply Bill 101 to federally regulated businesses.”
Taping a Chuck Norris poster to the side of a police van does not amount to misconduct, Québec’s Police Ethics Tribunal has ruled. The decision followed complaints by demonstrators who spotted the poster during 2018 street rallies against the G7 Summit: “It was a running gag.”
Taxpayers oppose amnesty for undeserving Canadians who claimed $2,000 pandemic relief cheques they weren’t entitled to, says in-house research by the Canada Revenue Agency. Authorities have yet to explain why the Canada Emergency Response Benefit program went 200 percent over budget: “If ineligible recipients were not asked to repay benefits it would be unfair.”
The CRTC yesterday cautioned broadcasters to play fair in campaign news coverage. Guidelines for TV and radio stations followed a 2016 investigation that found coverage of one Conservative MP was so one-sided it breached the Broadcasting Act: ‘It asked listeners to vote for a candidate who wears a turban.’
The Ethics Commissioner yesterday fined a political aide in Foreign Minister Marc Garneau’s office, Sara Amash, for breach of the Conflict Of Interest Act. Opposition MPs have sought an increase in the current $500 maximum fine for scofflaws: “Retaining public trust remains an ongoing challenge for institutions in Canada.”
The Covid economic crash sent more Canadians to the bank to withdraw large bills, $50s and $100s, data show. The Bank of Canada reported an extraordinary increase in the amount of cash withdrawn by Canadians from the outbreak of the pandemic: “A sharp spike in withdrawals of banknotes occurred.”
People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier yesterday opened his national campaign with a pledge not to promise any new programs. The Party polled 294,092 votes in the 2019 campaign but did not elect an MP: “All the other parties play this vote-buying game.”
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s department commissioned confidential research on whether to defund police. Data showed the largest number of Canadians surveyed said police should get more money, not less: “Which would you choose?”
The Conservative Party yesterday said it will repeal a half billion in federal subsidies for the press if elected September 20. Leader Erin O’Toole also pledged to review $1.2 billion in annual funding for CBC-TV’s English language service: “Government funding of ‘approved’ media undermines press freedom.”
Air quality has markedly improved since 2006, says a Department of Environment report. The data contradicted claims by then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna that worsening pollution was fatal: “Air quality in the country has generally improved over time.”
