Federal managers have unwittingly hired fake nurses, engineers and architects, say auditors. The Public Service Commission reviewed scrutiny of job-seekers’ résumés after one national health care administrator was found to have bought her Master’s Degree from a Texas diploma mill: “The federal public service is not immune to such fraud.”
Fewer than one in five Canadians, 19 percent, rate the environment as the top issue for cabinet, says internal polling by the Privy Council Office. Findings were drawn from questionnaires completed before the pandemic and recession: “We still have another crisis. It’s called climate change.”
Elections Canada yesterday placed rush orders for millions of ballot pencils in anticipation of a snap vote. The order came a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he didn’t seek another election less than a year since the last one: “We should all have tremendous confidence in Elections Canada.”
Ninety percent of Canadians claim they voted in the last election, according to a federal questionnaire. Parliament has never seen ninety percent turnout in any election: “It is socially acceptable to be seen to vote.”
Federal regulators yesterday warned radio stations to reconsider threatened pandemic layoffs and closures. The CRTC expressed unease with a broadcasters’ demand for waivers from licensing requirements, saying it could have “significant potential impact”.
The pandemic is causing “psychological stress” to prisoners, says the Chief Justice of Nunavut’s territorial court. The Iqaluit judge cited Covid-19 in sentencing a repeat violent offender to eighty days in jail: “Should jail sentences generally be shorter because of Covid?”
Cabinet will march in lockstep with the European Union on climate change regulations, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said yesterday. One E.U. directive commits to double the rate of renewable energy use seen in Canada: “There’s a whole range of things.”
Cabinet cannot cut spending without risking an economic depression, says Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos. This year’s deficit is near $400 billion: “Doesn’t that mean there is no ceiling then on the spending?”
Media smears against the Communist Party of China have misinformed Canadians, says Ambassador Cong Peiwu. The envoy in webinar remarks to a Beijing-friendly group in Ottawa complained of poor press coverage: “Speak out.”
Cabinet yesterday approved another pandemic relief measure for Canada Student Loan borrowers. Students forced to take temporary leave of their studies due to illness or parenting are granted a reprieve from payments: “More students may experience illnesses including mental health challenges.”
Local authorities cannot name and shame neighbours they suspect of breaking pandemic rules, says Newfoundland & Labrador’s privacy commissioner. The warning came in the case of a small town mayor who took to social media to name residents he claimed breached the Quarantine Act: “Keep the village idiots off the streets!”
The Department of Foreign Affairs is building a multi-million dollar monument to itself. Managers yesterday detailed plans for a mammoth sculpture as a “lasting tribute” to their work: ‘Difficult realities of foreign postings can temper enjoyment of opportunities.’
Canada cannot risk another general shutdown of the economy even with Covid-19 infections on the rise, Health Minister Patricia Hajdu said yesterday. The infection rate since September 1 has jumped twenty percent to the highest number of new weekly cases since June, a total 4,502 a week: “It doesn’t have to mean that everybody has to stay home.”
Cabinet yesterday claimed a truce in an ongoing aluminum tariff war with the United States. Canada did not ask for a refund on millions paid in U.S. tariffs since August 16, said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland: “How much is that?”
Top amateur athletes including Olympic contenders make a little better than minimum wage and typically rely on government grants and family loans to get by, says federal research. Data show athletes’ average incomes have remained unchanged since 2013 while costs rose dramatically: “Athletes are operating in the red.”
