Liberal MP Omar Alghabra (Mississauga Centre Ont.), newly-appointed transport minister, yesterday had no comment on a bailout of the airline sector as exasperated unions appealed for quick aid. A cabinet panel a month ago warned of an “urgent need of targeted assistance to avoid collapse.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in a report to Parliament predicts “uncertainty with regards to government spending” in 2021. Cabinet has borrowed at the rate of a billion dollars a day: ‘I propose to increase the borrowing limit.’
A law mandating disclosure of federal records “could soon be beyond repair,” Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard said yesterday in a report to MPs. Maynard accused cabinet of weak leadership in complying with the Access To Information Act that dates from 1983: “Canadians are fed up.”
Canadian media coverage of the pandemic is unsatisfactory, says the Chinese embassy. Diplomats said they were unhappy with reporters and commentators who are “not so friendly.”
Money managers should prepare for a flood of climate lawsuits, the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said yesterday. Canadian courts to date have dismissed liability claims by environmental groups: “Hard to predict.”
The labour department says a proposal to mandate free sanitary products for women employees at federally regulated job sites is contentious. “Not providing these products in a private manner could be discriminatory towards gender diverse employees,” wrote staff.
Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson for the first time acknowledges climate change programs will see Canadians pay higher net costs for fuel. Wilkinson also called the carbon tax a “carbon tax,” a phrase never used by his department: “Politicians have an obligation to the public to tell them the straight goods.”
Taxpayers have paid pandemic relief to five banks operating in Canada including branches of the state-run Bank of China Ltd. The Prime Minister’s Office did not comment: “It’s not good news for anyone if local businesses have to close shop.”
The Department of Environment in an educational program for schoolchildren recommends kids avoid party balloons as pollutants. Cabinet proposes to list plastic as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act: “You are never too young or too old to start taking climate action.”
An all-white, female RCMP civilian board says cabinet should appoint an Indigenous member and “consider” appointing a Black person in the aftermath of Black Lives Matters protests. The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission made its recommendation to the Commons public safety committee: “The only way the public complaint process works is if people trust the system.”
Immigrants are more likely to apply for citizenship to vote rather than to seek a Canadian passport, says in-house research by the Department of Citizenship. Foreigners said they prized the country’s freedom of speech: ‘It was for my children.’
Governor General Julie Payette yesterday in a YouTube address to the nation appealed to Canadians to follow her example of self-sacrifice and “stay home except for necessities and essential work.” Payette made no mention of a cross-country, business class flight by her secretary last August: “I appeal to your sense of duty.”
The Privy Council Office at the height of Black Lives Matter protests confidentially polled Canadians on whether to take guns from police. Research was conducted after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knelt at a demonstration on Parliament Hill: “The Privy Council Office wanted to assess the perceptions of Canadians on government priorities.”
The Department of Agriculture yesterday defended a sole-sourced training contract to a company led by a former cabinet minister’s brother. Staff said they hired Victor Tootoo’s firm after Googling websites of his competitors: ‘It appeared to be a good fit.’
The national archives refuse to declassify cabinet records from Pierre Trudeau’s last tumultuous term as prime minister though secret files were to be unsealed years ago. The agency gave no reason: “They are first evaluated against privacy considerations.”
