A federal labour board has upheld the firing of a Department of Employment manager for nepotism. No investigation of family hiring in the federal public service government-wide has ever been conducted, though a 2018 survey of employees found it a common practice: ‘It raises the timeless question: Was the culprit sorry for his or her misdeeds, or for having been caught?’
A grocery store worker fired for “stealing” $1.80 worth of bread at a self-checkout scanner has been ordered reinstated. A Saskatchewan labour arbitrator ruled scanner price codes were so complicated it was not obvious how any customer could figure them out: “The self-checkout process is anything but straightforward.”
The Public Health Agency breached federal rules in paying out more than $600 million in cash advances to contractors for rush orders on pandemic supplies, auditors disclosed yesterday. The value of money lost on goods never delivered was not revealed: “These contracts are considered riskier.”
The Commons government operations committee yesterday by a 6-5 vote ordered disclosure of confidential emails regarding a sole-sourced federal contract to the Prime Minister’s half-brother. Kyle Kemper, an Ottawa bitcoin developer, was paid to attend a Swiss conference as a “champion speaker” on behalf of the Government of Canada: “What is the suspicion here?”
The Royal Canadian Mint yesterday deleted Nobel Laureate Frederick Banting from a coin commemorating the discovery of insulin, but honoured James “Skookum Jim” Mason of the Tagish First Nation in a separate coin marking discovery of gold in the Yukon. The decision follows a 2019 cabinet policy to address “colonialism, patriarchy and racism” in historical observances: “This contributes to the ongoing process of truth-telling and reconciliation.”
The future of a proposed $750 million St. Lawrence River container terminal is in doubt after cabinet yesterday banned any work threatening the habitat of a rare fish, the Copper Redhorse. An environmental group threatened to sue if the Port of Montréal expansion proceeds: “It is a wonderful fish.”
Cabinet must eliminate long delays in enforcing a Pay Equity Act passed into law three years ago, an all-party committee of MPs yesterday told Parliament. Enforcement could take until 2026 or later: “This cannot be done overnight.”
VIA Rail blames First Nations blockades as well as the pandemic for a record operating loss last year, $415.8 million. “We faced two crises, the blockades and the pandemic,” wrote VIA’s $401,000-a year CEO: “My empathy extends to our passengers.”
The war on drugs has failed, a Liberal Senate appointee last night told the chamber. Senator Gwen Boniface (Ont.), a former Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner, said simple possession of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs should be decriminalized: “We must consider an alternative.”
The Commons industry committee yesterday dismissed a bid to speed a rewrite of federal bankruptcy law. MPs on May 12 gave Second Reading by a 189-139 vote to a private bill granting priority treatment to pensioners in bankruptcy settlements: “I am not elected by banks.”
Canada has so many drones it needs a drone air traffic control system, says the Department of Transport. Staff counted 53,000 registered drones nationwide compared to 37,000 licensed aircraft: ‘It requires a re-think of how our airspace is managed.’
A Conservative MP yesterday was threatened with expulsion from the Commons for wearing a pro-oil button. House rules forbid props: “Remove that button.”
The Privy Council Office is concealing hundreds of thousands of records on pandemic mismanagement, the Commons health committee was told. Disclosure of a few records to date detail favouritism in contracting and attempts to hide supply shortages: “Who in government is responsible?”
The Department of Health receives an average 100 reports a day of opioids lost or stolen from pharmacies nationwide, says an internal audit. The department had a backlog of 20,000 reports it failed to track, and no idea of the volume of drugs diverted to the black market: “I’m dumbfounded the system could allow that much loss and not do anything about it.”
Pandemic stay-home orders and lockdowns were so widespread it cost the federal treasury more than two-third of a billion in lost gas taxes, according to finance department accounts. Fuel tax revenue will remain “well below expected GDP growth” for years to come, wrote staff: “Revenues are projected to fall by 12 percent.”
