Thousands of recession-era jobs are riding on whether cabinet bans single use plastics, an industry lobbyist told the Commons industry committee. Regulations are expected in 2021.: ‘Surely you’re not saying a plastic bag has a significant positive contribution to our economy.’
The Public Health Agency yesterday quietly erased China data from its pandemic reports as unreliable. Health Minister Patricia Hajdu earlier ridiculed questions over the plausibility of figures from the People’s Republic as an internet conspiracy: “We can confirm China was removed.”
Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna yesterday invoked “privacy and security reasons” for refusing to disclose locations of subsidized public works to the Parliamentary Budget Office. Analysts have tried for months to find proof of 52,000 projects claimed by McKenna: ‘They are mysterious.’
Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson yesterday said she has nightmares that cabinet will cut immigration quotas. Clarkson, 81, in a wide-ranging podcast also blamed France in part for racial turmoil in the U.S., and said women are smarter than men “ninety percent of the time”.
The Canada Revenue Agency has resumed taxpayers’ audits after a brief suspension. The Parliamentary Budget Office yesterday estimated auditors were assigned at ninety percent of their workload: “They anticipate a ten to fifteen percent reduction in audit activities.”
A Liberal-appointed senator is reviving a proposed ban on parental rights to use force to correct children’s behaviour. Pandemic stay-home orders put kids at greater risk of spanking, the Senate social affairs committee was told: “It is not okay for parents to have that kind of permission.”
Health Minister Patricia Hajdu yesterday said cabinet will be better prepared for the next pandemic, but did not comment on mismanagement of a national stockpile of medical supplies that cost $1.8 billion. MPs have demanded answers from a key official with the Public Health Agency responsible for maintaining the stockpile: “We’re talking about money.”
Cabinet has buried a whistleblower law passed by Parliament to protect bank employees who document illegal sales practices. It is the only major clause of a consumer rights’ bill that has yet to be enforced though MPs and senators voted for it two years ago: “It didn’t matter.”
Internet users are spreading “malicious falsehoods” about the pandemic, a Liberal MP yesterday told the Commons. Cabinet advisors have proposed a first-ever federal registry of Canadian digital publishers bound by a government code of conduct: “We must be mindful of the importance of sharing reliable, trustworthy information.”
Attorney General David Lametti says he fears unchecked foreign takeovers of Canadian companies amid the pandemic. Lametti drafted legislation extending investigations of corporate buy-ups “injurious to our national security”, but did not identify China by name: “There will be real consequences for all Canadians unless Parliament takes action.”
Only four percent of newly-hired federal executives strongly agree they can finish their work on time, says a public service study. Less than a third, 29 percent, felt “well-equipped” to handle their job: “I doubt the significance of my work.”
Newscasters cannot make sarcastic remarks about federal regulations, a national broadcast regulator ruled yesterday. The decision came in the case of a radio announcer who ridiculed rules under the Broadcasting Act: “That’s just Dave being Dave.”
Federal failure to stock up on pandemic supplies will cost taxpayers $1.8 billion, budget documents disclosed yesterday. The expense reflects pandemic price markups of three to nine times the regular rates charged by Chinese suppliers after the Public Health Agency ignored successive warnings to stock up: “We would have saved a lot of money.”
A temporary pandemic relief program for the jobless should be retooled as a permanent guaranteed basic income plan, says a Toronto Liberal MP. The $60 billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit is set to expire in October: “There is a real opportunity here.”
Cabinet yesterday said it is “working very hard” to save airports from catastrophic revenue declines, but detailed no specific aid. One MP said a previously-announced waiver of airport rents was no help at all since payments would have fallen anyway: “Those deferrals are meaningless.”
