Hard times have hit MPs’ free lunches. The House affairs committee yesterday adopted a proposal from Bloc Québécois MP Alain Therrien (La Prairie, Que.) to suspend all expense-paid meal trays at hearings. Therrien called it unseemly when millions are unemployed: “We are lucky to have a job, very lucky.”
Disabled veterans typically wait years for benefits the government claims to process in sixteen weeks, new data confirm. Figures follow an admission by Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay that “we’re behind the eight ball”.
Canadian high schoolers are more likely to try cannabis than smoke cigarettes, says a Public Health Agency study. New data follow health department research that concluded Parliament’s 2018 legalization of marijuana for adults normalized its use among minors: “It seems less harmful.”
Anyone who quits work to claim new pandemic relief cheques will be disqualified from the $2,000-a month Canada Recovery Benefit, says the Department of Employment. Auditors will also hunt for scofflaws who refuse work: “We believe this is sending a pretty strong message.”
Cabinet will pay $1,000 sick leave to any worker regardless of whether they have Covid-19. Terms of a Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit were broadened following negotiations with New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh. Workplace absenteeism rates could triple this winter, according to a federal forecast: “Do I go to work sick?”
Cabinet within weeks will introduce amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the first since 1991. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault would not say if he will press ahead with unprecedented regulation of internet news media as broadcasters: “Do we try and change everything under the sun?”
One of the country’s longest-running federal aid agencies still doesn’t do risk assessments on companies that apply for subsidies, says an audit. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency has awarded grants and loans to firms that went bankrupt: “The Agency has limited control.”
Canadian parents are resigned to children’s addiction to the internet, says a Department of Public Safety study. Researchers said parents are “fully conscious of the fact it is simply unrealistic to monitor everything their children do online”, noting wily teenagers commonly evade surveillance with dummy social media accounts: “It is impossible.”
Customs officers seized less than $50,000 worth of counterfeit imports last year, says a report tabled in Parliament. The Department of Public Safety has estimated the trade in pirated goods in Canada at as much as $30 billion a year: “This illegal trade is supporting organized crime and gang activity.”
Former Québec Liberal MP Frank Baylis’ company successfully applied for a six-figure contract with the Department of Industry while Baylis served on the Commons industry committee, records show. Baylis did not comment: “This is incomprehensible.”
Cabinet will “absolutely” cut spending once the pandemic runs its course, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday. Revised figures on the federal deficit, currently estimated near $400 billion, will be detailed next month: “Canadians are asking what the path is for our deficit.”
Cabinet yesterday introduced a bill approving more than $39 billion in promised new pandemic relief programs. Aid includes $2,000 a month for jobless self-employed who lose comparable benefits with the October 3 expiry of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit: “The urgency of this cannot be understated.”
Opposition MPs yesterday sought a citation of contempt of Parliament by federal staff over censorship of We Charity records. The Prime Minister’s Office and others redacted parts of 5,600 documents in breach of a committee order: “The government does not have the final say.”
The Canada Revenue Agency censored Access To Information records that were already public, according to the Federal Court of Appeal. Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier had pledged to “raise the bar” on openness: “These types of abuses and excesses happen every day.”
Internal auditors have been called to review mismanagement at Dr. Theresa Tam’s Public Health Agency, officials said yesterday. It follows disclosures the position of Chief Health Surveillance Officer specifically assigned to watch for pandemic outbreaks was “eliminated” three years ago: ‘Surveillance is to improve the health of Canadians.’
