Cabinet yesterday abruptly agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that it renegotiate a 2019 trade pact while Ontario publicly apologized for attempting a 25 percent surcharge on hydroelectricity exports to Great Lakes states. The concessions came hours after Trump threatened “a financial price so big that it will be read about in history books.”
The RCMP in an internal report predict more “stalking and harassment” of politicians this election year due to anti-Israel street demonstrations. “Flash protests present a significant challenge,” said a police report: “The number and complexity of threats and violence targeting protected persons in Canada has continually increased.”
Cabinet will attempt to cancel a 19 percent hike in the carbon tax due April 1, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. It was unclear whether Parliament must be recalled to pass legislation, he said: “What are the options? I don’t have the answers for you.”
Urban crime is so alarming householders may start to arm themselves, says pre-election Privy Council research. Federal focus groups targeted crime fears in the Greater Toronto Area where Liberals elected 49 MPs in the last campaign: “A number reported no longer traveling to certain parts of the GTA that they viewed as being dangerous.”
Tax Court has censured the Canada Revenue Agency for making a “stupid mistake” with T4 slips. However a judge ruled he was powerless to correct the error since a tax filer did not report it in time: “There is nothing the Court can do.”
A federal election call is imminent, Public Works Minister Jean-Yves Duclos yesterday told reporters. Leaders of all opposition parties said they were ready: “Let’s go.”
Blanket surcharges on Canadian energy exports to the U.S. would see Americans “lose their minds,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said yesterday. He made the remark as Ontario began collecting a 25 percent surcharge on hydroelectricity exports to Great Lakes ratepayers: “We will not back down.”
Cabinet should introduce more awareness of “Arab cultures” in schools, says Privy Council in-house research. Cabinet aides in pre-election polling targeted focus groups in cities with the largest Arab Canadian communities: “Many felt more needed to be done by the federal government.”
The CBC is “politically inconvenient” for the Conservative Party, says a senior Liberal MP. Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre) in a pre-election report to constituents depicted the CBC’s $1.4 billion annual subsidy as a campaign issue: “It is a necessity.”
Thirty-four years after the GST was introduced amid a public outcry the federal sales tax remains complicated and stressful for small businesses that collect it, says in-house Canada Revenue Agency research. The vast majority of businesspeople surveyed said acting as federal tax collectors was so complicated they had to hire accountants to manage the paperwork: “Descriptions included words like ‘complicated,’ ‘stressful,’ ‘painful,’ ‘frustrating’ and ‘overwhelming.’”
Liberal leader Mark Carney last night appealed to supporters to prepare for a make-or-break general election campaign. “We have to win this election,” Carney told a Party leadership convention in Ottawa: “I will need a lot of help.”
Cabinet should consider an energy export tax to hit the U.S. “where it really hurts,” former prime minister Jean Chretien said last night. It was up to premiers to agree, he added: “Governments altogether can consider going further and hitting the Americans where it really hurts.”
Federal leadership candidates should be required to meet the minimum ethics requirements of ordinary public office holders by disclosing assets, debts and income, says Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre. The proposal would require amendments to the Conflict Of Interest Act to close what Poilievre called a “Carney loophole.”
Cabinet is prepared to allow illegal immigrants to remain in Canada providing they work in construction, says Immigration Minister Marc Miller. The proposal expands a temporary program targeting home builders in the Greater Toronto Area: “These undocumented migrants are already living and working in Canada.”
Advocacy groups and lobbyists have a constitutional right to inform and persuade voters with pre-election advertising, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. Judges in a 5-4 decision struck an Ontario law that limited ad spending by unions, corporations and advocacy groups for a full year prior to an election campaign: “Political debate dominated by any one actor including political parties threatens balance in the political discourse.”
