Former Senator André Pratte (Independent-Que.) yesterday released a confidential ethics report detailing a mild reprimand for an “apparent conflict of interest”. The Liberal appointee abruptly quit the Senate Monday: “This played no role at all in my decision to resign.”
Elections Canada yesterday said it has no idea how many foreigners were on voting lists in Monday’s general election. The agency in an Access To Information memo confirmed it was aware of dozens of cases of illegal balloting since 2015, but concluded prosecution was “not in the public interest”.
Shares in SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. yesterday jumped fourteen percent following opposition parties’ election defeat Monday. Critics had sought an independent investigation of Lavalin influence in the Prime Minister’s Office to avert a pending trial on fraud and bribery charges: “Canadians deserve to know the truth.”
A compensation fund intended to save taxpayers the cost of cleanup from a catastrophic rail oil spill totals just $44.1 million in its third year. Claims from the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster were nearly ten times as much, a total $409 million: “It was a matter of ensuring that we have something in place.”
The Liberal Party yesterday lost more than a million votes and 27 seats nationwide but clung to a minority in Parliament. Final returns in the 338-seat Commons were 157 Liberal MPs, 121 Conservatives, 32 Bloc Québécois, 24 New Democrats, three Green Party MPs and a lone independent. The government saw its share of the vote fall by 1,026,987 ballots from 2015 but polled heavily in Ontario. Eight former cabinet ministers, parliamentary secretaries and Liberal committee chairs were defeated.
The Privy Council Office in Access To Information records acknowledged public protests in cancelling an appearance by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a Regina Canadian Tire outlet last March. Ten pages of the 54-page file were redacted: “When you come to Canadian Tire…”
Condo boards may ban marijuana smoking in their buildings, a human rights panel has ruled. Property owners earlier predicted endless squabbles between condo owners and apartment renters when Parliament legalized marijuana in 2018: “This opens up the whole issue.”
Air Canada holidayers who spent five hours on the tarmac have no claim the airline breached regulations, says the Canadian Transportation Agency. Rules state passengers must be allowed to get off stranded aircraft after ninety minutes, with exceptions for the weather: “The cabin was kept warm.”
Voter turnout at advanced polls jumped forty percent or more in thirty-two ridings across the country, according to Elections Canada data. In Calgary nearly 200,000 voters rushed to polls in advance of today’s general election. “Turnout in some ridings was remarkable,” an official said.
Cabinet in a rushed executive order granted a Liberal appointee indefinite paid leave. Michèle Gagné, a Québec City consultant, did not take questions. Cabinet authorized the benefit even as ministers campaigned for re-election: “We cannot provide any comment.”
A federal labour board has upheld the firing of a whistleblower who leaked Department of Employment files to a reporter. The Employment Insurance claims investigator alleged managers were offered $50,000 bonuses for disqualifying legitimate applications for benefits: “I did so as a matter of conscience.”
The advocacy group Democracy Watch has lost a bid to intervene in a constitutional challenge of political fundraising limits by TV celebrity Kevin O’Leary. Ontario Superior Court ruled broad arguments of fairness under the Elections Act did not require comment by the group: “Money flowing from individuals to political parties risks negatively affecting public confidence.”
An Ottawa lawyer was paid nearly a quarter million dollars for seven months’ work at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Redacted billings are detailed in Access To Information records from the Privy Council Office: “Can anything be done more efficiently?”
A Montréal think tank yesterday warned of “significant economic consequences” if Parliament repeals a 12¢-a litre carbon tax on gasoline. The Ecofiscal Commission did not disclose its ties to Environment Minister Catherine McKenna’s office, and did not take questions: “It’s lose-lose.”
A federal anti-trust probe of Canada’s second-busiest airport yesterday collapsed after a five-year investigation. The Competition Tribunal ruled there was no evidence the Vancouver Airport Authority breached the Competition Act in its handling of in-flight catering contracts: “What happened? Who did what? How was it done? Why?”
