Liberal MPs yesterday by a 5 to 4 vote blocked Commons committee hearings into secretly negotiated toll concessions on the Gordie Howe International Bridge at Windsor, Ont. One MP expressed resentment that Canadians would think the Prime Minister lied to taxpayers over terms: "I am a little offended by the insinuations."
Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday said he decided months ago to repeal production fees on Netflix and other video streaming services though he voted for them in the Commons. Carney denied changing his mind under U.S. pressure: "No, not at all."
Clearing tent cities violates the Charter Of Rights, argues the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. The group in a submission to MPs recommended that Parliament “recognize residents of unhoused encampments as rights holders.”
Retirees, especially women in British Columbia and Québec, are most concerned about plastic pollution, says in-house demographic research by the Department of Environment. The findings followed psychosocial Statistics Canada data showing urban women over 65 were most upset by climate change: "Women are much more likely than men to feel plastic waste and pollution is an issue."
Newly-declassified 2001 records show then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien cautioned his cabinet against becoming “actively involved” with floor-crossers. Eight Conservative MPs defected to the Liberal Party in a five-year period: "It was agreed that cabinet ministers should not become actively involved in such activities."
Newly-declassified records show the federal cabinet months before 9/11 was told Canadian charities were being used for terrorist financing. “Most of the world’s terrorist organizations had supporters in Canada,” read minutes of one confidential meeting: "One Minister commented on the need to closely examine the use of charities."
Federal forecasters propose to change the way they talk about the weather, says a report. The Meteorological Service of Canada said it will simplify its current list of dozens of hazards, warnings and alerts: "Canada currently issues alerts for around 28 types of hazards."
A news website Press Progress in business since 2013 faces a “dire financial situation” over a defamation lawsuit, says a staffer. Press Progress is a key defendant in a $7.65 million libel claim that has seen numerous co-defendants settle for six figures: "The consequence is more accurately due to budget pressures."
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty’s department in a briefing note says it respects Indigenous “rights and title” to ancestral lands but remains in court over First Nation claims to Parliament Hill. Eastern Ontario Algonquin seek $5 billion in damages: "The intention of the litigation is not to dislodge private landowners."
Security expenses for the FIFA Men’s World Cup cost taxpayers a quarter billion, records show. “We made history,” Liberal MP Adam van Koeverden (Burlington North-Milton West, Ont.), Secretary of State for Sport, earlier told reporters.
Foreign Minister Anita Anand’s department billed taxpayers millions to give away free motorbikes in Ghana but failed to provide funding for parts or fuel. There were “several areas of relative weakness” in the $135 million program, said a consultants’ report released yesterday through Access To Information: 'Funding was unavailable to fuel our motorbikes.'
Canadians are eating less meat and skipping meals altogether due to rising food prices, says in-house research by the Department of Agriculture. Data follow figures showing the typical household is no longer able to meet the Canada Food Guide: "During the last six months, have you skipped meals?"
Immigration Minister Lena Diab’s department in an internal report questioned the point of a program that allowed thousands of jobless foreign actors, comedians and artists to enter Canada in the name of cultural enrichment. “The program’s purpose is ambiguous,” said the report: "Its intent remains unclear."
Parliament must maintain secret subsidies for the Toronto Star to “promote ethical governance,” its publisher has written MPs. Payroll rebates worth $29,750 per newsroom employee are set to roll back to pre-Covid rates of $13,750 this winter: "Priority should be given to maintaining the journalism labour tax credit at current rates."
Parliament would fund a permanent, keyword searchable database of every historic building nationwide under a Commons petition tabled yesterday by Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre). Parks Canada has threatened to delete its online record of 13,554 properties dating from 2004: 'Historic places deserve to be preserved.'
