The cost of keeping federal prisoners in a maximum security penitentiary now averages almost a quarter million a year, new documents show. The Correctional Service blamed fixed costs in what is one of the world’s most expensive prison systems: ‘The staff-to-inmate ratio is one to one.’
Cabinet must establish a federal task force to protect religious freedoms, the Commons justice committee yesterday wrote in a report to Parliament. Canadians should be free to attend a Hebrew school or menorah lighting without harassment, said one MP: ‘Without freedom of religion, there actually is no freedom.’
Calling the Prime Minister a liar yesterday saw Conservative MP Damien Kurek (Battle River-Crowfoot, Alta.) ejected from the Commons for unparliamentary language. “He lied,” Kurek said after leaving the chamber: “The Prime Minister lied. His minions continue to lie.”
Cabinet has no plan to solve the housing crisis, the CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said yesterday. “There is not a plan,” Bowers testified at the Senate national finance committee: “I just need an answer; is there a plan yet?”
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault’s department misrepresented inspection claims under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, records show. Of 2,139 “inspections” on migrant labour it reported last year fewer than a tenth were actual random, in-person checks in the workplace: “We are building awareness.”
The Commons today is expected to order a committee investigation of Speaker Greg Fergus. A total 149 Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs have already demanded that Fergus resign for overt partisanship: “The head referee is in the tank.”
Automakers and the Government of Alberta yesterday petitioned MPs for a federal ban on port strikes by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Such a move would be unconstitutional, the Union president warned the Commons trade committee: “That is something that can never happen.”
The Senate banking committee yesterday questioned bankers’ sale of mortgages dubbed a “payment shock” for borrowers. An estimated $246 billion worth of mortgages were sold at variable rates with fixed payments: “They are at risk of suffering a significant payment shock.”
The Department of Public Works yesterday for the first time acknowledged it “took a risk” in subsidizing a vaccine factory in Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ riding. Taxpayers lost $150 million: “There was a lot of risk at the time.”
Commons Speaker Greg Fergus faces censure only nine weeks on the job. Fergus admitted to participating in a Liberal Party function in breach of a rule that he remain impartial while holding the $287,400-a year speakership: “Boy did we have fun; we had a lot of fun together through the Ottawa South Liberal Association, through Liberal Party politics.”
Independent MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.) says allegations have made him “the face of Chinese foreign interference” in federal elections, according to the Commission on Foreign Interference. Dong yesterday was granted standing at the China inquiry: “He is also uniquely situated to provide first-hand information about relevant events.”
Canadians are resigned to ever-rising energy costs, says in-house research by the Department of Natural Resources. Expenses for fuel averaged $4,500 a year at pre-inflation prices: “By 2030 do you expect your energy costs will be larger, smaller or the same proportion of your household budget?”
A climate program to phase out diesel generators in Arctic Canada is nowhere near reaching targets despite millions in subsidies, documents show. The Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations blamed the pandemic and inflation: “Is it a realistic target to start with?”
Canadians are wary of a federal proposal to build the biggest electronic database of personal information in the nation’s history. In-house Canada Revenue Agency research shows fewer than half of tax filers surveyed trust the Agency to keep the data secure: “Negatives that came to mind most often for participants had to do with data security.”
Attorney General Arif Virani says he is studying “international best practices” in censoring legal content on the internet. Virani gave no examples to follow when questioned by reporters: “We are looking at international best practices.”
