MPs on the Commons government operations committee yesterday were unable to identify who awarded a sweetheart contract to an ArriveCan consultant. They asked 32 times. “Nobody wants to take responsibility,” said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.): “While everything is broken nobody ever takes responsibility.”
Cabinet yesterday reneged on a 2022 vote pact with New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh. A written promise to pass pharmacare legislation by December 31 will not be met, said ministers: “Well, yes, I don’t think we’re going to get it passed by the end of this year.”
Cabinet should adjust tax credits and benefit programs to encourage wage earners willing to remain in the workforce past 65, says a Canadian Federation of Independent Business report. It follows a July 24 appeal by the Minister of Industry to “support retirees” who choose to stay on the job: “Canada’s economy is being crippled by labour shortages.”
Parliament must protect Canadian Jews from hatemongers, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet said yesterday. Blanchet introduced a bill to tighten existing hate propaganda provisions of the Criminal Code: “It is high time for someone to take action.”
The House affairs committee yesterday rejected an investigation of Liberal Party records concerning Independent MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.). The MP quit the Liberal caucus after admitting to repeated contacts with Chinese authorities: “Did you ask if the Prime Minister knew?”
Cabinet yesterday in a Ways And Means Motion said it will introduce a new federal agency, the Canada Water Agency, first promised four years ago. Delays in the Canada Water Agency Act allowed mass dumping of raw sewage into waterways by Ontario and Québec municipalities: “We urge you to move quickly.”
Liberal MPs on the Commons government operations committee yesterday opposed public disclosure of federal contracts with electric auto battery manufacturers. The Opposition has asked to check whether taxpayers are subsidizing foreign workers: “If they’re so sure this is a good deal for Canadians, they’re certainly not acting like it.”
Cabinet should consider directly paying individual reporters up to $45,000 a year in the name of diversity, says a Department of Canadian Heritage report. Direct cash payments would be in addition to rebates of $29,750 per employee at cabinet-approved newsrooms: “A paradigm shift is needed in the way traditional news media share the stories of Indigenous, racialized and religious minority communities.”
The Commons Speaker yesterday censured Conservative MP Jake Stewart (Miramichi-Grand Lake, N.B.) for calling New Democrats “Hamas supporters.” The ruling followed complaints of a double standard that excused insulting remarks by cabinet: “Unnecessarily provocative statements will no longer be tolerated.”
The CBC kept a $75,000-a year executive chauffeur on the payroll, Access To Information records show. The position was cut in 2020 as a pandemic austerity measure: “We invent ourselves every year to try to find new ways to do things because we have to offer more but with a smaller budget.”
Federally-subsidized B.C. Ferries concealed poor service by lowering on-time performance targets, says a Department of Transport audit. The Parliamentary Budget Office earlier noted federal departments similarly hide poor results by lowering service targets to levels they could meet: “They usually set the bar not too high so it doesn’t look too easy, but neither too low so it’s fairly easy to achieve most of the time.”
The government should provide a home to every person who cannot work, says Housing Minister Sean Fraser. Unemployed currently number 1,229,400 according to the latest Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada: “If you cannot work you should have a home too. Government should work together to provide it to you.”
CBC News’ refusal to report the killing and kidnapping of Jews as terrorism leaves “room for improvement,” says a network ombudsman. CBC managers justified the editorial policy as an attempt at impartiality in covering October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel: “When you have 40 babies who are beheaded? Whose side are you on?”
Attorney General Arif Virani has rejected a standalone registry of foreign agents despite repeated appeals by MPs from all parties. Virani would not say who opposes the public unmasking of lobbyists in the pay of China and other foreign states: “A registry is not a universal solution.”
The fate of tax-funded Sustainable Development Technology Canada is uncertain following an upheaval over inside dealing. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters he’d “reserve judgment” on whether the federal agency will continue after 22 years: “I am not satisfied with the current situation.”
