A backlog of veterans’ applications for disability benefits numbers just under 11,000, a rate that is “okay but it’s not good enough,” Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay said yesterday. A staff memo in MacAulay’s department said the pandemic appeared to help ease the backlog: “It was at 23,000 and now it’s around 11,000 and that’s okay.”
Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier yesterday dismissed as “twisted” allegations of corrupt practices at the Canada Revenue Agency. MPs in the Commons demanded answers on whistleblower accusations a former assistant revenue commissioner helped a corporate lobbyist save millions: “Internal Canada Revenue Agency emails raise concerns around corruption.”
The Department of Finance last night disclosed it never verified whether all account freezes under a Freedom Convoy order were justified. The department relied on banks to act in good faith, it said: “You are certain of that? Why are you certain of that?”
Senator Frances Lankin (Ont.) yesterday questioned whether lawmakers were misled by cabinet in passing back to work legislation against striking Montréal longshoremen. Access To Information records contradict cabinet claims the strike was “a matter of life and death.”
The taxpayer-owned Canada Infrastructure Bank should be disbanded, says the Commons transport committee. MPs in a report recommended that cabinet abolish the Bank as a costly failure: “This was supposed to be a marquee institution.”
Recent reductions in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions were a Covid anomaly, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said yesterday. Guilbeault added he didn’t know what portion of reductions was due to his climate change program or the recession: “What was a result of the economic slowdown?”
Parliament should regulate telecom companies’ collection and sale of cellphone customers’ mobility data, say MPs. Recommendations of the Commons ethics committee followed disclosures the Public Health Agency bought data on millions of telecom clients in the name of monitoring pandemic lockdowns: “I had not seen anything on this scale.”
The Opposition yesterday called for Commons finance committee hearings into management of the Canada Revenue Agency. Ted Gallivan, a former assistant commissioner, is named by whistleblowers in allegations he approved a “secretive tax deal” for a wealthy corporate lobbyist: “Ted wants this done.”
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly last night said she had no idea why Canada was the first NATO country to abruptly close its embassy in Kabul. The closure stranded thousands of Canadians and Afghan allies desperate to flee the Taliban: ““I was not privy to that information.”
It makes no sense to lift federal mask mandates for air travelers, Dr. Theresa Tam said yesterday. The Department of Transport called the mandate the “least cumbersome” pandemic precautions: “At the height of a sixth wave? No I don’t think we should be lifting mask recommendations.”
Marijuana users are now a “major contributor” to fatal road accidents, says a Department of Public Safety report. Data show police charges for drug-impaired driving jumped 43 percent with legalization of cannabis: “Drug-impaired driving is a major contributor to fatal road crashes.”
Bitcoin owners in Canada are typically young, affluent speculators who score poorly in financial literacy, says Bank of Canada research. The central bank that monopolizes the printing of banknotes in Canada has to date rejected any direct involvement in cryptocurrency: “The size of this market is not big enough to pose significant risks to the financial system. However this may change quickly.”
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says it is determined to “slow the pace of global warming” but did not explain its million-dollar investment in an Indonesian coal mine. Cabinet has promised to withdraw all federal investments in coal, oil and natural gas: “We do believe climate change is happening.”
The Commons health committee by unanimous vote has endorsed Taiwan’s bid for membership in the World Health Organization. MPs passed the motion without notice or debate and quietly tabled it in the Commons: “I’m seeking the unanimous consent.”
An Alberta MP’s “I love Canada” button prompted formal protest in the Commons. Conservative MP Martin Shields (Bow River) expressed dismay that the slogan would cause offence: “If people in the House disregard their love for Canada I have a problem with that.”
