More than 29,000 foreign fugitives are at large nationwide, says the Canada Border Services Agency. Management in a report to MPs called it their “wanted inventory” including foreigners convicted of crimes: "I don’t quite understand why we would tolerate this."
The House affairs committee yesterday dropped further public discussion into how a Waffen SS member was given a hero’s welcome on Parliament Hill. “Cover-up,” said one MP who pressed for public hearings: "What we have is the cover-up coalition at work yet again."
A former deputy minister of public safety yesterday testified it was “not my job” to warn a Conservative MP he was targeted by Chinese agents. Rob Stewart told the House affairs committee that foreign agents target “many people in Canada" that he never warned: "It was not my job to inform them."
The size of the federal government’s payroll is worrisome, Budget Officer Yves Giroux said yesterday. The number of employees has increased 26 percent since 2015, by official estimate: "But we haven’t seen similar improvements when it comes to service."
The Commons ethics committee last night voted to summon Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne for questioning in an investigation of suspected “green-washing” involving federal subsidies. However the committee by a 7 to 4 vote rejected a Conservative request for all records concerning Sustainable Development Technology Canada: "There is a basic question of trust here."
Cabinet’s two billion trees program will not plant two billion trees, says the Department of Natural Resources “So why is it called the two billion trees program?” asked Conservative MP Michael Kram (Regina-Wascana): "Why not rename it the billion-and-a-half tree program?"
The Department of Environment acknowledges it did not count Canadians’ different rates of fuel use in calculating average costs of new climate change regulations. Conservative MP Dan Mazier (Dauphin-Swan River, Man.) said estimates ignored distinctions like urban versus rural fuel consumption: "There was no disputing they were advised these regulations would increase the cost of fuel."
Cabinet will fight Alberta’s claim to more than half the Canada Pension Plan, ministers said yesterday. Warning of a drawn out pension fight followed a protest letter from the Prime Minister to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith: "I don’t buy the math."
A federal labour board will hear the case of a Muslim employee denied a religious exemption from 2021 vaccine mandates. The Department of Indigenous Services denied the waiver after noting vaccines “do not contain any gelatin, pork derivatives or human particles.”
Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs yesterday demanded the CBC explain a reversal of its decades-old practice of referring to the listed terrorist group Hamas as terrorists. A management directive banning the “terrorist” reference was obvious censorship, MPs said: "Newsrooms must be shielded from all political influence and all ideological influence."
MPs demanded an explanation after New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh said “the seeds of genocide” were being sown in Gaza by Israeli Defence Forces. Legislators including Jewish MPs expressed alarm over Singh’s remark: 'Yes or no, do you believe Israel is committing genocide?'
The House affairs committee tomorrow is expected to vote on hearings into how a Waffen SS member was presented to the Commons as a Canadian hero. The September 22 incident “brought shame on Parliament,” MPs were told yesterday: "Canadians deserve answers."
Another top aide to the Prime Minister yesterday said he missed a 2021 warning that Chinese agents were targeting a Conservative MP. Mike MacDonald, former national security advisor, said an ongoing House affairs committee investigation should not be “about laying blame.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday bypassed all provincial consumer agencies in ordering that customer complaints against banks go to a single federal ombudsman. A similar attempt sought by bank lobbyists in 2016 was successfully defeated following an outcry in the Senate: "Certainly the banks will love this."
Federal departments and agencies have filed so many legal challenges to block disclosure of public records the Office of the Information Commissioner has increased spending on lawyers, the Commons ethics committee was told yesterday. “Some government institutions now routinely violate this law on a daily basis,” testified Commissioner Caroline Maynard: "Canadians don’t trust governments."
