Interim Budget Officer Jason Jacques last night likened federal spending to reckless driving on a narrow road. Testifying at the Senate national finance committee, Jacques said troubles facing taxpayers are unlike anything he’d seen in 30 years: "We are not sure what will happen."
Legal immigrants say Canada has let in too many immigrants, says in-house Privy Council research. Foreigners in focus groups rejected cabinet claims that record high immigration quotas were required to ease labour shortages: "Several felt differently."
Public Works Minister Joel Lightbound yesterday told Canada Post management to “cut the fat.” His remarks followed cabinet’s approval of deep service cuts to mail delivery: "Come back with savings, efficiencies."
An internal federal complaint line intended to stem whistleblower leaks to media drew few calls, Access To Information records show. The Department of Immigration was the first to encourage employees to raise anonymous grievances internally instead of contacting reporters: "Media are likely to learn of the new dissent channel."
The Senate yesterday unanimously passed a bill proclaiming each September Ukrainian Heritage Month. Senators called it a tribute to 1.3 million citizens of Ukrainian ancestry at home and kin at war abroad: "Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is check my WhatsApp to see if my family there has survived the night."
The Privy Council only days before Prime Minister Mark Carney called an election polled Canadians’ support for an energy boycott of the United States, records show. Focus group respondents said cabinet should do what it took to protect the nation's sovereignty: "They were presented with a list of actions that could potentially be taken by the Government of Canada."
The Mounties from 1955 kept a blacklist of Canadian addresses designated as “potential hideouts” for traveling Communists, declassified records show. The list included homes, cabins, motels, fishing lodges, farms and trailer parks in seven provinces, and was updated annually for years: 'We have noticed Communists visiting out of the way places to spend vacation.'
Labour Minister Patty Hajdu faces Commons human resources committee questioning over cabinet’s unprecedented use of the Canada Labour Code to quash lawful strikes, an issue currently before the Federal Court. One Liberal MP called hearings a political ploy to embarrass the government: "This is a hot issue right now and everybody is talking about it."
The Canada Border Services Agency for years at a time intercepted only a handful of stolen vehicles at the nation’s largest port, records show. Agency managers admitted they had no idea how many vehicles were exported by thieves: "There are areas for improvement."
Canadian companies that shift production to the United States to evade tariffs should face prosecution under a 40-year old law, says a Unifor petition to the Commons finance committee. The nation’s largest private sector union also proposed a federal ban on imports from border-crossing corporations: "You just don’t get to shift production south of the border without there being punishment or penalties."
Environmental groups are petitioning the Commons finance committee to launch a Youth Climate Corps at a billion a year. Cabinet promised a similar initiative in its election platform, but as a pilot project at a fraction of the cost: "The investment must go much further."
The president of an Ontario college listed among the heaviest users of foreign student permits says Canada lost “trust and credibility” in curbing applications. MPs on the Commons immigration committee expressed frustration with testimony by David Agnew, president of Toronto’s Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology: "You make over $450,000 a year."
Governor General Mary Simon yesterday praised public efforts in learning more about the Indigenous experience in Canada. Her scripted remarks for Truth and Reconciliation Day were in contrast to a 2023 speech in which the Governor General referenced hidden Residential School burials and media “denialism.”
The Canadian Space Agency will ask employees to self-identify sexual and gender preferences as “key to driving organizational success.” Census data show fewer than half of one percent of Canadians identify as transgender or non-binary: "We have updated our internal self-declaration forms to enable employees to self-declare as members of the two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual community."
The CRTC yesterday abolished the phone book as a condition of telecom licensing. One commissioner, the lone dissenter, called it a disservice for Canadians in country ridings who must still rely on landlines and telephone directories: "Should we not make an effort to hear from those most likely to depend on phone books?"
