A Conservative cabinet would repeal electric car mandates as a tax on the poor, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre yesterday said in a radio interview. Poilievre made his remarks ahead of cabinet’s publication today of a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement on the cost of requiring drivers to buy electrics: "They have no idea how people are going to pay for it."
The private sector has raised Canadians’ expectations of faster, better service, says a Department of Employment report. Managers said the private sector “evolved rapidly through ever-advancing technologies” while the department struggles with months-long backlogs for benefits like Canada Pension Plan cheques: "Clients increasingly expect the delivery of government services to keep pace."
A registered charity had members hector a newspaper editor over coverage deemed insufficiently pro-Palestinian, records show. Canada Revenue Agency rules restrict political activity by taxpayer-supported charities: "The Income Tax Act requires a charity to be constituted and operated exclusively for charitable purposes and all the charity’s resources must be devoted to charitable activities."
Jewish advocates yesterday appealed for volunteer plaintiffs in civil court actions against anti-Semites at Canadian universities. It follows a demand by the Commons justice committee for immediate action to protect religious freedoms: "Shameful acts have one goal, to terrorize Canadians."
The Department of Environment yesterday confirmed a five-figure fine against a Québec contractor for operating equipment in the habitat of the rare Western Chorus Frog. Protection orders for the endangered frog earlier halted a $22 million subdivision in La Prairie, Que.: "It is a secretive species."
Canadian National Railway has lost millions and suffered “irreparable harm” due to anti-Israel protests on its freight lines, say courts in three provinces. Cabinet in 2022 invoked emergency powers against the Freedom Convoy on unsubstantiated fears of identical rail blockades: "Individuals are calling upon others across Canada to join in their efforts and take actions including blockades of CN Railway lines in an effort to impact the economy and specifically companies which they associate with being economically tied to Israel."
CBC television ad revenues fell 16 percent in the first half of the year, records show. Catherine Tait, the network’s $497,00-a year CEO, made no mention of the disastrous figures in November 2 testimony at the Commons heritage committee: 'There is an adverse revenue outlook for the next three years.'
Cabinet yesterday named former Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman and an ex-Ontario Liberal legislator to the bench. The latest judicial appointments follow a long list of rewards for Liberal Party friends and donors: "Should that or does that disqualify them from being appointed to the bench?"
Operating losses at VIA Rail will climb 14 percent this year and keep climbing through 2024. The taxpayer-owned railway complained of “difficult operating and financial environments.”
More than a third of Canadians say they lack confidence in the youth criminal justice system, says in-house research by the Department of Justice. The findings were “cause for concern,” wrote researchers: "Thirty-nine percent reported not being confident."
Canada faces “increased perceptions of corruption,” says a Department of Public Safety report. The document cited no specific cases but noted “establishing a strong ethical tone at the top may be a useful tactic.”
China hold more Canadian citizens in prison than any other foreign country outside the United States, records show. The Department of Foreign Affairs invoked the Privacy Act in declining to discuss individual cases: "It shouldn’t take a crisis for people to get basic information."
Canada’s record on climate change is “so shoddy,” says Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco. Testifying at the Senate energy committee, the Commissioner dismissed cabinet claims Canada is a climate leader: "The list of failures grows longer."
New Democrat MP Taylor Bachrach (Skeena-Bulkley Valley, B.C.) yesterday took the transcontinental train 4,500 kilometres home for Christmas to promote his bill for better VIA Rail service. “It’s six days from Toronto to Smithers,” Bachrach told reporters: "We’re going to talk about passenger rail on the way."
A federal investigation into bread price fixing is entering its ninth year without any conclusion in sight. “I understand people are concerned,” said Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell: "It’s a significant endeavour."
