Cabinet will again raise the national debt ceiling for the third time in four years. The Department of Finance in a budget notice said it would hike its borrowing limit by 20 percent to an unprecedented $2.54 trillion: “The current government is the most expensive in Canadian history.”
A Crown bank, Farm Credit Canada of Regina, faces new federal scrutiny of its loan portfolio. Cabinet in a notice said it would review lending to Black, LGBTQ and women farmers, noting agriculture currently is “predominantly older white men.”
The lone Conservative MP in Nova Scotia defected to the Liberal caucus from fear of the voters, a former colleague said yesterday. MP Chris d’Entremont (Acadie-Annapolis) denied he was offered any patronage appointment to cross the floor: “I have been sort of re-looking at what my career is bringing.”
The Commons yesterday by a 177 to 163 vote passed a cabinet bill granting citizenship to the grandchildren of Canadians abroad. It followed debate that saw MPs clash over Canadian identity: “Without national identity, integration is impossible and the collapse of our country is inevitable.”
Cabinet is proceeding with a digital identification system for claimants of federal benefits including Employment Insurance and Old Age Security, says a budget note. The Department of Employment has repeatedly promised it will not be mandatory: ‘Cohorts of society may already be somewhat distrustful of public institutions.’
Immigration Minister Lena Diab today is expected to table an updated Immigration Levels Plan proposing a 43 percent cut in new temporary permits on foreign students and migrant labour. Cabinet in its budget document depicted the current system as unmanageable: “We are taking back control over the immigration system.”
Room and board for illegal immigrants is costing taxpayers $195 per day on average, a $29 saving from last year, new data show. The Department of Immigration gave no explanation for trimming costs on hotel rooms, meals, medical care and expenses: “Claimants are treated with compassion.”
The only Conservative MP elected in Nova Scotia April 28 last night was challenged to test the voters after crossing the floor to join the Liberal caucus. The defection of MP Chris d’Entremont (Acadie-Annapolis) followed his failed bid to become Commons Speaker: “Run in a byelection. Let’s see what your community thinks.”
Cabinet’s frequent quashing of legal strikes has poisoned labour relations, union executives testified yesterday. Cabinet in 18 months issued eight strike bans under a previously little-used clause of the Canada Labour Code: “We have been alarmed.”
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne today is repealing a luxury tax on boats and personal aircraft. A separate tax on foreign-owned vacant property is also ending but was never collected in the first place: “Congratulations!”
Cabinet yesterday confirmed it will end its failed Two Billion Trees Program after six years, $267.7 million and the work of 50 federal employees. Then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced the plan in 2019 as a “huge asset.”
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne projects the 2025 deficit will be 192 percent higher than forecast but advised Canadians to sleep well tonight. The deficit, originally targeted at $26.8 billion, is now closer to $78.3 billion: “Tonight people will go to bed and say, ‘We’re going to be okay.’
The Department of Industry yesterday said it will not release terms of any job guarantees by heavily-subsidized Stellantis without permission of the automaker. Conservative MP Raquel Dancho (Kildonan-St. Paul, Man.) questioned whether the guarantees exist: “The problem is 3,000 people were laid off and your government committed millions and billions of taxpayers’ dollars and we’re trying to understand.”
Border agents recovered contraband from a total five rail cars last year, new figures show. Nearly two million train cars entered the country. The data followed warnings from the Customs and Immigration Union that smugglers shipping guns or drugs by rail had “almost a zero percent chance” of getting caught: “We don’t really have rail examination.”
Electric cars reduce medicare costs, says the Department of Environment. Authorities yesterday made the claim at the Commons environment committee but would not put a cash value on specific savings: “Electric vehicles bring health benefits and cost savings.”
