The $26 billion buyout of two of Canada’s four largest telecom companies will impact consumers, federal anti-trust lawyers yesterday told the Commons industry committee. Rogers Communications’ proposed purchase of Shaw Communications of Calgary has passed all regulatory hurdles to date: “Just say no.”
A national scientific panel yesterday blamed media misinformation in part on the “journalistic norm” of presenting two sides to every story. Publicizing alternative viewpoints on issues like carbon taxes creates a “false balance of perspectives,” said the Council of Canadian Academies: “People perceive lower levels of consensus.”
Workplace vaccine mandates may have been “personally devastating” for some employees but remained lawful, a New Brunswick labour arbitrator has ruled. The decision came in the case of six utility workers suspended five months without pay after declining to show proof they were immunized: “They were faced with a difficult choice.”
The Department of Infrastructure admits it misinformed Parliament and taxpayers under then-Minister Catherine McKenna. Budget reports tabled in the Commons and published online misrepresented hundreds of millions in spending: “How many times did the government put out misinformation?”
Newspapers have cut so many jobs that subsidies contingent on numbers of newsroom employees are 43 percent under budget. Taxpayers’ payroll rebates of $13,750 per staffer could not avert layoffs, data show: “The loss of even just one job is a tragedy.”
Federal departments and agencies paid thousands to a Liberal-affiliated think tank chaired by Mark Carney, records show. The former central bank governor last May 26 was appointed chair of Canada 2020 to promote “ambitious progressive public policy solutions.”
Emergency pandemic measures like vaccine mandates must not continue without lawful orders, says a privacy commissioner. The ruling came in the case of the Saskatoon Public Library that insisted employees continue to submit personal medical data long after mandates were lifted: “You are expecting me to comply with an invasion of my privacy.”
Social Development Minister Karina Gould yesterday rejected any compensation for travelers left out of pocket due to extraordinary delays at passport offices. Gould to date has not explained why passport managers ignored 2021 warnings to prepare for a flood of new applications for travel documents: “What recourse do they have?”
Food inflation is so persistent it threatens to reverse gains in the national poverty rate, says the Department of Social Development. The average 11 percent annual increase in checkout prices “could impact poverty rates” for years to come, said a department memo: “Food will be reflected in Canada’s poverty rates.”
Fewer than half of Canadians have a high degree of trust that federal institutions tell the truth, say Privy Council researchers. A majority put more faith in family, friends and social media than government agencies, said a report: “Why?”
A British Columbia judge has faulted a lender for waiting years to collect on a loan in default while interest accumulated at 45 percent. The latest judgment follows a cabinet pledge to rewrite Canada’s usury law: “It seems inconsistent to permit such interest to be payable where little was done.”
A Canada Revenue Agency office accused of corrupt practices is committed to full transparency, managers wrote in a report to Parliament. MPs have yet to investigate whistleblower complaints senior auditors manipulated sweetheart tax settlements for offshore corporations: “What did (they) get out of this Prestige? A feeling of power? Influence? Future favours? 10M in a Swiss account?”
The Canada Border Services Agency is targeting a 219 percent increase in deportations this year. Past rates were not good enough, said an Agency memo: “Removals are prioritized based on a risk.”
New federal gun controls “may reduce the number of firearms some hunters use,” admits a federal briefing note to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. Hunters will have to find alternatives, it said: “People feel hoodwinked.”
More than 8,000 undocumented foreign health care workers and their families were permitted to remain in Canada under a temporary amnesty program, according to Department of Immigration figures. The “guardian angels” program was a pandemic necessity, officials said: “We need to bring more people into our workforce.”
