Made in Canada pandemic masks promised “within weeks” will not be available through an anticipated second wave of infections by Labour Day, says the Department of Industry. “The work is not done,” said Mitch Davies, senior assistant deputy minister: “Obviously this is important.”
The Canadian Press is demanding 100 percent taxpayer grants, the equivalent of $500,000 a week, to offset revenue losses to year’s end. The news agency that calls itself the nation’s “trusted news leader” already received $1.3 million in sole-sourced licensing fees from federal agencies last year: “It would be most efficient if under such a program the grant be allocated directly to Canadian Press.”
The Department of Employment has continued to approve labour permits for temporary foreign workers at the rate of more than 1,600 a week even as unemployment climbed to a postwar high. The department in a report sought by one MP said it will begin rejecting migrant permits in hotel, restaurant and retail trades: “We need to stay focused.”
A CBC executive says the Crown broadcaster is reviewing ethics guidelines that forbid reporters from expressing “personal views” in the news. The internal email by Brodie Fenlon, editor in chief, was obtained by Press Progress. The CBC did not comment: “We are a beacon for that truth.”
Thousands of recession-era jobs are riding on whether cabinet bans single use plastics, an industry lobbyist told the Commons industry committee. Regulations are expected in 2021.: ‘Surely you’re not saying a plastic bag has a significant positive contribution to our economy.’
The Public Health Agency yesterday quietly erased China data from its pandemic reports as unreliable. Health Minister Patricia Hajdu earlier ridiculed questions over the plausibility of figures from the People’s Republic as an internet conspiracy: “We can confirm China was removed.”
Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna yesterday invoked “privacy and security reasons” for refusing to disclose locations of subsidized public works to the Parliamentary Budget Office. Analysts have tried for months to find proof of 52,000 projects claimed by McKenna: ‘They are mysterious.’
Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson yesterday said she has nightmares that cabinet will cut immigration quotas. Clarkson, 81, in a wide-ranging podcast also blamed France in part for racial turmoil in the U.S., and said women are smarter than men “ninety percent of the time”.
The Canada Revenue Agency has resumed taxpayers’ audits after a brief suspension. The Parliamentary Budget Office yesterday estimated auditors were assigned at ninety percent of their workload: “They anticipate a ten to fifteen percent reduction in audit activities.”
A Liberal-appointed senator is reviving a proposed ban on parental rights to use force to correct children’s behaviour. Pandemic stay-home orders put kids at greater risk of spanking, the Senate social affairs committee was told: “It is not okay for parents to have that kind of permission.”
Health Minister Patricia Hajdu yesterday said cabinet will be better prepared for the next pandemic, but did not comment on mismanagement of a national stockpile of medical supplies that cost $1.8 billion. MPs have demanded answers from a key official with the Public Health Agency responsible for maintaining the stockpile: “We’re talking about money.”
Cabinet has buried a whistleblower law passed by Parliament to protect bank employees who document illegal sales practices. It is the only major clause of a consumer rights’ bill that has yet to be enforced though MPs and senators voted for it two years ago: “It didn’t matter.”
Internet users are spreading “malicious falsehoods” about the pandemic, a Liberal MP yesterday told the Commons. Cabinet advisors have proposed a first-ever federal registry of Canadian digital publishers bound by a government code of conduct: “We must be mindful of the importance of sharing reliable, trustworthy information.”
Attorney General David Lametti says he fears unchecked foreign takeovers of Canadian companies amid the pandemic. Lametti drafted legislation extending investigations of corporate buy-ups “injurious to our national security”, but did not identify China by name: “There will be real consequences for all Canadians unless Parliament takes action.”
Only four percent of newly-hired federal executives strongly agree they can finish their work on time, says a public service study. Less than a third, 29 percent, felt “well-equipped” to handle their job: “I doubt the significance of my work.”
