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.”
Legislators yesterday for the first time rejected cabinet’s demand for quick passage of a pandemic relief bill into law. The protest followed complaints billions have been borrowed without full scrutiny: “The money has to be paid back.”
The Treasury Board in an internal report lists environmental protestors as federal security threats. The Board yesterday did not comment on the document that listed peaceful demonstrations alongside a 2014 gun attack on Parliament as proof the country is “not immune to security threats”.
RCMP recruitment is so sloppy managers accepted cadets with criminal records, says an internal audit. A report said the Mounties appeared to stress “the quantity of applicants with less focus on the quality.”
Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion yesterday dismissed complaints a senior federal manager intervened to win a promotion for a friend. The Conflict Of Interest Act does not define friendship: “It’s sort of embarrassing.”
The Privy Council Office and Department of Foreign Affairs last night would not comment on claims they undermined a bid for a Geneva appointment by the only Canadian applying for it. “Is it because I am a woman, a racialized woman at that?” asked Senator Salma Ataullahjan (Ont.).
The federal debt will reach an unprecedented $1.45 trillion this year and eclipse $1.6 trillion by 2023, the Parliamentary Budget Office said yesterday. Analysts cautioned the record debt does not include pension liabilities, Crown corporation borrowing or new spending proposed since September 1: “What will the pain for Canadians be after this?”
Canadian banks that benefited from federal aid are not pulling their weight, the Liberal chair of the Commons finance committee said yesterday. MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.) called for tighter federal scrutiny of mortgage deferrals that saw banks compound interest on borrowers: “Taxpayers have basically backed the big banks.”
The cost of home heating would rise an average sixty percent under new green fuel regulations, says research by an advocacy group. Cabinet has said it will detail its Clean Fuel Standard within weeks: “This is bad policy.”
