Advocates have made a last appeal for passage of a bill proclaiming November 11 a legal federal holiday. The Commons heritage committee yesterday adjourned consideration of the bill till March: “Show them that the government really does care.”
The Commons fisheries committee yesterday endorsed a bill promoting seal products amid condemnation of animal rights groups. MPs described activists as hypocritical: ‘They go through the drive-thru at McDonald’s to chew on a cow carcass.’
A federal grocers’ subsidy intended to lower Arctic food costs has failed despite millions in additional funding, says a former Liberal fisheries minister. Cabinet has pledged to fix the Nutrition North program this year: ‘It is just not working.’
Cabinet needs “a lot more research” on the impact of legalizing cannabis, says Health Minister Dr. Jane Philpott. Her remarks followed a 2016 report by Public Safety Canada that warned regulators do not know the economic impact, effects on school performance, insurance claims or other data: “Unfortunately there’s insufficient research.”
Exasperated legislators are demanding the Department of Agriculture correct the unlawful collection of fees under a 1949 Act of Parliament. Regulators have known of the problem for ten years: “How did this happen?”
A $25 million federal tax credit failed to stem a decline in the number of Canadians giving to charities, new Statistics Canada data confirm. Nearly 50,000 fewer charitable claims were made, though the Department of Finance had predicted the number would climb by more than half-a-million: “There is still a decline.”
Women are more likely than men to report a stressful transition to civilian life after serving in the army, navy and air force, says in-house research by the Department of National Defence. The military has noted it will not meet its 2017 targets in attracting female recruits: “Women report being worse off.”
Taxpayers’ advocates are relying less on media, and more on Access To Information records, for facts and figures on government misspending. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation yesterday detailed its annual Government Waste Awards on Parliament Hill: “We’re going to call you out if you’re wasting money.”
A bill to designate November 11 a federal legal holiday is again in jeopardy in the Commons. Conservative MPs and the Royal Canadian Legion yesterday said the measure was merely symbolic and detracts from poignant remembrance of war dead: “When can this quit?”
Employee tattoos are okay in federally-regulated airports so long as they are tasteful, says an Access To Information memo. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority lifted a ban on visible tattoos following appeals from officers: “Maintain a professional and conservative image while in uniform.”
A federal anti-terror watchdog will not identify a single tax prosecution that resulted from nearly 24 million financial reports it processed last year. The new data follow criticism of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre as costly and ineffectual: “It’s not good news.”
The Department of Indigenous Affairs last year spent more than $100,000 on art for its Québec head office, say Access To Information records. Spending included $32,600 for three inkjet photographic prints: ‘It represents our collective identity.’
The Canada Border Services Agency last year intercepted millions’ worth of narcotics from Mexico, say newly-released records. Cabinet last year lifted a requirement that Mexican nationals apply for a visa when traveling to Canada: “It’s a red flag all the way.”
The Bank of Canada approved $7 million in suspicious payments from dormant accounts it was supposed to safeguard for depositors, says a forensic audit. The full scope of payments isn’t known since the Bank destroyed records. Managers face questioning by the Commons finance committee: “Where did that money go?”
Cabinet has quietly passed regulations approving the sale of radiation-treated meat. The Canadian Cattleman’s Association since 1998 has lobbied for amendments to Food And Drug Regulations to sell hamburger irradiated to kill bacteria and parasites: “They are treating the symptoms instead of the cause.”
