Parliament should require all banks and telecom companies to publicly disclose accounts implicated in fraud and identity theft, says the Commons industry committee. MPs heard Covid-19 drove a sharp rise in calls by thieves posing as public health officers: “Government should prevent further harm to Canadians.”
Cabinet must set some deficit target in the name of “financial credibility”, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux yesterday told the Senate national finance committee. Senators expressed alarm over federal borrowing now seven times greater than the previous record deficit of $55.6 billion in 2010: “Where is the government headed?”
Attorney General David Lametti yesterday introduced a Vegas-style sports bet bill to decriminalize bookmaking though Liberals had opposed it as harmful. “What changed?” asked a reporter. “I would call it more of an evolution,” replied Lametti.
The pandemic has exposed a “stunning” divide in wage-earners’ wellbeing, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem yesterday told the Commons finance committee. Macklem said the country must get back to work: “The longer people are unemployed, their skills deteriorate, it’s harder to get back.”
Canadian writers earn a fraction of the minimum wage with net income below $10,000 a year on average, the Writers’ Union of Canada says in a submission to the Commons finance committee. Authors blamed mass photocopying of books without permission or payment by schools, colleges and universities: “Income for writers has dropped precipitously.”
An Ontario court will hear the country’s first Black Lives Matter defamation lawsuit. A shoe cleaning business sued for slander after an ex-employee published profane tweets calling owners “Caucasian people” unsympathetic to the protest movement: “The public has an interest in knowing about a company’s stance on matters of social and political importance.”
A federal agency spent nearly $13 million to create jobs in Kenya with subsidies for a Nairobi company that promptly laid off staff. FinDev Canada withheld Access To Information records on the transaction for a year, and censored thousands of pages of documents: “We performed our own due diligence.”
Taxpayers have paid more than $70 million to subsidize the purchase of California electric cars, data show. The Commons environment committee yesterday was told rebates are a subsidy for the rich: “What we’re doing is subsidizing a vehicle that a wealthy person is going to buy.”
Snowbirds and holidayers should stay home this winter, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said last night. Blair said cabinet can’t forbid Canadians from chasing the sun, but recommended they stock up on private health insurance: “We will continue to discourage it.”
Parliament must make up a $70 million-a year shortfall in the MPs’ pension plan, actuaries said yesterday. The plan currently pays an average $69,800 a year to retirees: “The number of deaths among pensioners was less than anticipated.”
The Department of Transport yesterday ordered that all aircraft including bush planes be equipped with digital emergency distress beacons. Scofflaws face $15,000 fines: “It is not just about costs.”
Former ambassador John McCallum last night said he had “not received a penny” from the People’s Republic of China, but added he is a paid consultant for Chinese companies. McCallum was fired as ambassador in 2019 after remarking it would be “great for Canada” if it didn’t have to extradite a Huawei Technologies executive wanted on U.S. bank fraud charges: “Right now I cannot divulge names of clients.”
The Canada Revenue Agency yesterday acknowledged “suspicious activity” in claims for $2,000 pandemic relief cheques, including applications by people who were clearly ineligible. MPs and the Department of Employment said they relied on the Agency to verify claims upfront: “That is a simple principle that an average person understands.”
The federal carbon tax would have to more than double if cabinet is to meet its long-term emissions targets, says a federal agency. The Canada Energy Regulator calculated the current $50 tax cap, equivalent to 12¢ a litre on the price of gasoline, is insufficient: “It is difficult to predict.”
The chief clerk of the federal public service last night refused to say how many We Charity records have been withheld from MPs. The Commons finance committee has sought to censure federal agencies for concealing documents: “What you’re indicating to us is disturbing.”
