Federal staffers hired under the Employment Equity Act say their workplace is riddled with cronyism. The report by the Public Service Commission indicated Equity Act employees had a dimmer view of merit-based hiring than their coworkers: “I do want to talk about nepotism.”
The Department of Industry acknowledges its federal job creation claims are based purely on assumptions and estimates. The admission came in an audit of a program intended to create jobs through defence spending: “This was deemed not feasible.”
Cabinet will press ahead with new green fuel regulations, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said yesterday. The oil and gas industry had petitioned for a delay in the so-called Clean Fuel Standard due to recession job losses: “Canadians want their government to think about the future.”
First Nations people have no right to insist Indigenous judges hear their legal claims, says an Alberta court. The legal system would collapse if all judges were suspected of bias based on their ancestry, said a Provincial Court judge in Red Deer: “What would the result be?”
The Department of Natural Resources yesterday said it will permanently install seismographs within a 200-kilometre radius of seven cities considered hot zones for a major earthquake. Hundreds of sensors will be deployed as part of an early warning system: “There could be up to several hundred extended network stations.”
Cabinet will impose dollar for dollar retaliatory tariffs against American duties on aluminum, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne said yesterday. U.S. President Donald Trump on August 6 served notice of ten percent charges on Canadian aluminum deemed to “impair the security of the United States”.
Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault has drafted legislation to regulate legal internet content but will not release it to the public. Guilbeault’s department said anyone wanting to read a confidential discussion paper detailing the regulations should file a $5 Access To Information request: “It has not been shared publicly.”
The Supreme Court on September 22 and 23 will hear final arguments in a last legal stand for the federal carbon tax. Lower courts in three provinces issued contradictory rulings on whether the fuel charge is constitutional: “What is your Plan B if the Supreme Court rules against the government?”
A police investigation of an ex-MP charged with fraud was triggered by suspicious bank transactions, say RCMP. Former Liberal MP Raj Grewal (Brampton East, Ont.) had publicly complained of banking regulations as a member of the Commons finance committee: “There is a privacy concern.”
Young Canadians worry more about aging than oldtimers, says Department of Health research. A federal study said people who aren’t old seemed most preoccupied with it: “I’m sad about wrinkles.”
The Department of Transport says it seeks “real world evidence” on the effectiveness of school bus seatbelts after rejecting a mandatory measure as too costly. A pilot project will be carried out in two British Columbia school districts: “It’s mandatory for new coach buses to have seatbelts; why have school buses been left out?”
Attorney General David Lametti says his department seeks “legal remedies” for unregulated content on the internet. Lametti’s department in a private discussion paper sent to advocacy groups complained of the “double-edged nature of the internet”.
Commissioner of Elections Yves Côté yesterday would not explain why he took more than a year to complete a Canada Elections Act investigation implicating two cabinet ministers. The breach of law was documented in Twitter and Facebook posts: “You have to wonder what is going on in that office.”
Mortgage deferrals since March have grown at more than a billion per month and now pose a risk on defaults, CMHC said yesterday. The federal insurer estimated 760,000 homeowners have skipped or deferred payments: “Big banks are charging interest on interest.”
Each federal employee costs $115,000 a year on average, the Parliamentary Budget Office said yesterday. The Office in a report estimated federal labour costs had grown at almost double the rate of inflation for the past twelve years: “In 2019 the average federal compensation per full-time equivalent (employee) was about $115,000.”
