Blacklock's Reporter

Public Works Minister Anita Anand misled Canadians over confidential terms of a contract with Amazon to distribute pandemic supplies. Claims that Amazon is working without profit were less than half true, staff acknowledged. The admission came after Anand’s deputy minister blurted out terms of the contract at a Commons committee hearing: “No costs – I’m sorry, no profits for the first few months.”

Air travelers face fifty percent hikes in surcharges without further federal relief, says the Canadian Airports Council. The Council chair, testifying by videoconference from a vacant departure lounge in Halifax, told the Commons finance committee it will take “many years” for airports to recover from the Covid-19 crash: ‘The last thing we want to do is increase our fees.’

Federally-regulated employees have a right to refuse work without a mask if exposed to the coronavirus, says the labour department. MPs on the Commons human resources committee accused the department of being slow to enforce the order: “We would investigate.”

Employers are using offers of federal wage subsidies to roll back union benefits, a New Democrat MP told the Commons human resources committee. The labour department said it was unaware of any incidents: “They’re threatening the unions.”

Jobless students may apply for pandemic relief grants within two weeks, Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough told the Senate. A million students are expected to draw benefits, prompting senators to question the program as a giveaway: “I admit this is not a perfect system.”

Parliament in seven weeks has spent more than it did to fight the Second World War, new data show. The Parliamentary Budget Office yesterday blamed multi-billion dollar cost overruns on pandemic relief programs: “We cannot afford not to.”

Restrictions on pandemic loans to small business are intended to target mob fronts, the Commons finance committee was told yesterday. Legitimate operators have complained of being disqualified from federally-guaranteed loans over technical requirements: “It provides protection against abuse by organized crime.”

Twenty-nine unidentified publishers have applied for payroll subsidies under a $595 million federal media bailout, records show. The Canada Revenue Agency that manages the program refused to name all applicants, citing taxpayer privacy: “We are responding to the call of our newspapers.”

The Commons health committee yesterday issued a summons to question Canada’s man at the World Health Organization, epidemiologist Dr. Bruce Aylward, over the agency’s slow response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The summons has the legal weight of a courthouse subpoena though Parliament has not enforced such an order for 147 years: “The WHO ought to operate with transparency.”

Operators responsible for a 2017 tour boat accident did not have enough lifejackets aboard, the Transportation Safety Board said yesterday. The incident prompted a federal probe of the industry and a rare Federal Court challenge of safety inspections: “The master and crew were unaware.”

Imports of pandemic supplies with English-only labels represent a Trojan horse on French language rights, a Bloc Québécois MP said yesterday. Parliament has mandated bilingual labeling for forty-six years: “Is the government going to apologize?”

Cabinet may declare a national disaster for farmers, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau last night told the Commons industry committee. The declaration would see Parliament pay 60¢ of every dollar in claims by farmers on a cost-shared basis with provinces: “Yes, that is something we are considering seriously right now.”

The collapse of tourism will continue through the summer with at least a seventy percent decline in revenues, says Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly. “If you have ideas for a plan, please feel free,” Joly last night told the Commons industry committee.

A billion-dollar federal program targeted to aid 100,000 homebuyers has seen fewer than 750 applications a month, records show. The equity loan plan was launched in 2019 in what a former federal budget officer called an “interesting experiment”.

The Commons last night passed a $9 billion pandemic aid bill for students amid warnings over the rising federal deficit. “We all know $200 billion deficits mean future tax increases,” said one Conservative MP.