Cabinet’s parliamentary secretary for finance last night called income inequality a plague in Canada. The Liberal MP appeared to express support for a federal inheritance tax abolished by Parliament forty-eight years ago: “We will not be afraid.”
More than 21,000 health care workers have been infected with the coronavirus and at least sixteen have died, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions said yesterday. Nurses blamed the “preventable failure” in part on the Public Health Agency’s refusal to stockpile pandemic masks and other supplies: “They weren’t ready.”
Canada’s former ambassador to China retweeted a jibe pondering the death of U.S. President Donald Trump. The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday did not comment: “China’s great.”
Canada accounts for about four-tenths of one percent of ocean plastic pollution worldwide, a federal report said yesterday: “Canadian shores are not a major global source of marine plastic litter.”
A private bill to lower the voting age has been reintroduced in Parliament for the fourth time in five years. A Senate sponsor said allowing 16-year olds to vote would create a “high-functioning Canada”.
Homeownership rates for young people have not declined, and the typical Canadian under 34 is more likely to own a home than young people in other G7 countries, says a Department of Finance report. The 2019 Access To Information memo contradicts CMHC claims: “Youth homeownership rates are relatively high.”
The Privy Council Office is hiring a $96,000-a year “storyteller”, according to a job posting read out in the Commons by an MP. Test questions for applicants include: “If you could only have one super power, what would it be?”
The CBC breached its federal license by cancelling local suppertime TV newscasts nationwide, regulators admit. The network on March 18 blacked out 6 pm newscasts for the first time since 1952, blaming Covid-19: “There is very little the CRTC can do.”
New $2,000-a month pandemic benefits for jobless workers will be paid by October 19 after the Senate approved a $51.2 billion relief bill. Senators questioned the Prime Minister’s assurance that Parliament took on debt so Canadians didn’t have to: “What does that even mean?”
Taxpayers cannot be sure of risks in a quarter-trillion in pandemic loans backed by Crown corporations, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. Even MPs are unable to get details of public exposure to bad loans, said analysts: “Canadians need better information.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday said it “would not be prudent” to guess this year’s deficit. Senators questioned whether the budget shortfall would surpass $400 billion: “I understand the importance of brake and gas pedals.”
Conservative senators seek hearings on declining audience numbers for the CBC. As few as 232,000 Canadians watch the network’s flagship 6 pm local newscasts: ‘The number of viewers is declining despite increased funding with taxpayer dollars.’
Cabinet yesterday launched a new mandate for the Canada Infrastructure Bank just months ahead of a federal audit. The initiative follows the abrupt resignation of the Bank’s CEO and chair of the board: “Stay tuned.”
A Liberal-appointed senator has introduced a private bill to restrict children’s access to pornography websites. The initiative is the first since MPs held 2017 hearings on the social impacts of obscene material: “Something must be done.”
The Canada Revenue Agency yesterday named a longtime Liberal appointee as $145,000-a year Taxpayers’ Ombudsman. MPs have questioned the usefulness of the office: “The ombudsman is not on the taxpayer’s side.”
