Cabinet does not have “oceans of money” to shield Canadians from the cost of living, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said yesterday. Freeland’s remarks to the Commons finance committee followed a 56 percent hike in the federal debt ceiling: "We cannot fully compensate every single Canadian family and every single Canadian business for the higher cost of inflation."
Federal departments are spending billions on consultants with little oversight, the Commons government operations committee was told yesterday. MPs expressed amazement over amounts of money given to large private firms: "Who is going to step up to protect taxpayers?"
Canadians sympathize with Ukraine but do not want to see our our troops or air crew in combat, says in-house federal research. “Few felt the conflict would end soon with many reiterating concerns regarding the potential escalation into a larger conflict and the possible deployment of nuclear weapons by Russia,” said a Privy Council Office report: 'This could put Canadian lives at risk.'
Cabinet began repealing Covid mandates within weeks of being warned in a pollsters’ report the measures were unpopular and divisive, records show. “Some felt they had lost their sense of trust in the federal government,” said an internal report: "Participants were of the view vaccine requirements had been largely harmful."
Canadians in internal federal polling say they resent police treatment of the Freedom Convoy. Even opponents of the protest said freezing bank accounts would never have been necessary if cabinet had done its job: "It was felt use of the Act represented significant overreach by the federal government."
Parliament should take over regulation of payday lenders from the provinces, says the Consumers Council of Canada. The submission to the Commons finance committee comes ahead of a review of federal usury law for the first time since 1978: "Companies will find workarounds and loopholes to continue to charge excessively high rates."
Canadian travelers had a duty to swear off “hedonistic pleasure” during Covid lockdowns, says Ontario Divisional Court. A justice of the peace upheld $4,500 in fines for a woman he called “cavalier and selfish” for taking a Mexican holiday: "Some did not heed the government."
Pandemic lockdowns and school closures took a toll on Canadian children, witnesses testified at the Commons health committee. Loss of outdoor play, organized sports and classroom activities left a “psychosocial hidden burden,” MPs were told: "Their development – physical, emotional, social, spiritual – has been impacted severely."
Parliament Hill police mistakenly feared Freedom Convoy truckers were armed and would try to break into federal buildings. Legislators last night questioned why MPs and senators were permitted to walk freely among protesters if the convoy was considered violent: "I don’t recall every seeing anything come out that would make me fearful."
An expected October interest rate hike could send average home prices down as much as a fifth this year, the Parliamentary Budget Office said yesterday. “Average income households across the country are stretching their finances,” wrote analysts: "Households that recently purchased a home have become more financially vulnerable."
Canadians should not blame “this government’s mismanagement” for the rising cost of living, cabinet’s representative in the Senate said yesterday. “The struggles Canadians are experiencing are real,” said Senator Marc Gold (Que.). “They are not the function of this government’s mismanagement.”
The Department of Immigration yesterday said it will investigate whether foreigners were treated unfairly by racist managers. It follows a 2021 report that found executives made crude remarks about lazy Mexicans and immigrants from “dirty” African countries: "Within our department these problems do exist."
A cabinet bill to permit negotiated sentences for drunk drivers sends a terrible message, say Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The bill would abolish mandatory minimum sentences for dozens of crimes: "We do feel it’s important in terms of denunciation that a message be sent to the public."
A grocers’ lobbyist yesterday denied allegations of profiteering. Profit margins in the retail food trade average three percent, the Commons finance committee was told: "That is a lower rate than just about any other industry, certainly lower than food manufacturers and big agriculture."
Homeowners who paid down mortgages and built up equity should “demonstrate allegiance” by paying more tax, says a CMHC consultant. The remark in a confidential email by Professor Paul Kershaw of the University of British Columbia was obtained by homeowners’ advocates through the Freedom Of Information Act: "You must be joking, buddy."
