Inflation and interest rates will remain above pre-pandemic rates for about two years, a deputy governor of the Bank of Canada said yesterday. Paul Beaudry told University of Waterloo students it was “too early” to say if interest rate hikes will choke the economy into recession: "You get worried."
Fighting inflation is “so important,” Government House Leader Mark Holland said yesterday. His remarks followed new figures showing grocery prices year over year are up nine percent for vegetables and 15 percent for bread: "Action against inflation, it's so important."
Pandemic restrictions on the size of outdoor gatherings were justified, Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench ruled yesterday. The decision came in the case of protesters fined $2,800 apiece for breaching a public health order limiting outdoor gatherings to ten people: "We can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all."
Electricity ratepayers or taxpayers or both must pay for greening of the power grid, a utilities’ lobbyist yesterday testified at the Commons environment committee. “There is no third pocket,” MPs were told: "It’s the ratepayer, the taxpayer, who’s paying for it. It’s not clear where all of these costs are ultimately going to fall."
A free children’s dental care program for uninsured households earning less than $70,000 will cost almost a billion a year, cabinet said yesterday. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said grants will be paid on the honour system subject to audit: "It is not a national dental program."
Cabinet commissioned confidential research on federal rent controls, records show. In-house polling by the Privy Council Office found most Canadians said Parliament must do something on housing affordability: "No participants were of the opinion that housing and rental prices should be solely left up to the free market."
Aides to Governor General Mary Simon face questioning on their return from the Queen’s funeral. The Commons government operations committee on Thursday will cross-examine witnesses over exorbitant catering bills at Rideau Hall: "The question is who’s responsible for this?"
The typical small business operator trusts the private sector over government while 25 percent prize “individualism” and “work ethic,” according to behavioural research by the Canada Revenue Agency. Management divided business owners into six personality profiles in a bid to boost tax compliance: "Tax administrations around the world have started using behavioural insights."
Say “Canada” and people in Vietnam think of maple trees and cold weather, says federal research. Questionnaires by the Department of Agriculture follow a series of studies on what foreigners think of Canadians: "When you think of Canada what is the first thing that comes to mind?"
A privacy investigation has ended without conclusion in the case of a Covid patient whose medical history was leaked to a Prince Edward Island blogger. The case is currently before the Island’s Supreme Court: "A privacy breach cannot be undone."
Federally-subsidized companies were given years to repay as little as ten cents on the taxpayers’ dollar borrowed from the Department of Industry, Access To Information records show. Confidential details of easy-term loans were disclosed by order of Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard: "Public funds are involved."
The passport office, now in its six month of public protests over processing delays, is ordering crowd control barriers. Managers in a notice to contractors said delivery of barriers was needed at its Montréal office where police were repeatedly called to calm crowds: "People are crying and freaking out."
Cabinet on Saturday gave notice it will raise the interest rate on student loans. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the last election campaign had promised to abolish students' interest charges altogether: "The government wants to make sure young people know they matter."
A federal tribunal has reinstated Employment Insurance benefits for a Toronto man fired for being unvaccinated. The judgment was the first successful appeal on behalf of Canadians denied jobless benefits over their medical status, said a lawyer in the case: "To my knowledge it is the first."
Cabinet is rejecting an all-party committee recommendation that it disband a Crown agency, the Canada Infrastructure Bank. A Commons transport committee report called the Bank a costly failure: "The government strongly disagrees with the recommendation."
