Cabinet in a Canadian first is suing Parliament to conceal records over top security clearance given Chinese scientists at a federal lab. One MP last night likened the legal showdown to Watergate: "Shame on you."
Internet publishers, bloggers, Facebook and Twitter users face house arrest or $70,000 fines under an unprecedented censorship bill introduced yesterday by cabinet. “Self-regulation is not enough,” said Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault. One civil liberties group called provisions of Bill C-36 an “astounding proposal” that curbs free and legal speech: "Criminal conduct in this case is speech in which no actual harm to any specific person needs to be proven."
Cabinet polled for popular catchphrases to find the most agreeable pandemic-era slogan, records disclose. The title of a September 23 Throne Speech, “A More Resilient Canada,” polled poorly and was not mentioned again: "Participants were most critical of the phrase ‘We need a green new deal.'"
Cabinet would have to impose a $261 per tonne carbon tax, the equivalent of an extra 62¢ per litre of gasoline, to meet its climate change targets, the Parliamentary Budget Office said yesterday. Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has promised there will be no further increases in fuel charges: "No, we do not intend to accelerate the price."
The federal Competition Bureau in affidavits accuses a Canadian company of charging the jobless an eight percent commission to process Canada Emergency Response Benefit cheques. Lawyers for Canada Tax Reviews Inc. of Thornhill, Ont. yesterday did not comment: "We will apply for you."
The Senate tomorrow takes up Bill C-10 debate on warnings of a floor fight over the first legislation in Canada to regulate legal internet content. “Your bad planning is not my emergency,” Senator Scott Tannas (Alta.) yesterday told the Senate leadership.
An MP censured for nepotism yesterday likened herself to a soaring eagle that will “fly high” after being ejected from the Liberal caucus. MP Yasmin Ratansi (Don Valley East, Ont.) vowed she would not bow to “slander” and hurtful comments: "Let us be like eagles and fly high."
The Senate last night passed into law a multi-million dollar tax break for farmers, fishers and small business owners on the sale of properties to family members. The private bill survived a late bid by cabinet to defeat the measure: "The government makes mistakes and this is one of them."
The Senate yesterday by a 57-20 vote legalized bookmaking in Canada. The passage of a private bill overturns a ban on single event sport betting that dates from 1892: "It’s not about sports. It’s about gambling."
A federal agency blames the pandemic for wiping out fourteen percent of its savings in three weeks. The taxpayer-funded Canadian Race Relations Foundation was so rattled by stock losses it cashed out millions in equity investments, according to records: "This is not a corporation or a profit-taking venture where shareholders are able to pass judgment on their performance. This is a charity."
Canadians should be wary of politicians who enjoy Chinese hospitality and parrot Communist Party lines, the Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations was told last night. “This is part of the pattern,” said New Brunswick Education Minister Dominic Cardy. “You start off with the soft sell.”
MPs yesterday demanded that a warrant be issued for confidential files that would explain why the Public Health Agency granted security clearance to Chinese scientists at a federal lab. Agency president Iain Stewart yesterday appeared in the Commons for a public shaming over his refusal to release the records: "If this House doesn’t respect its own orders, who will?"
The Department of Environment in what it calls the “first comprehensive assessment” of the federal carbon tax admits the original $50 per tonne charge would not meet emissions targets. Then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna repeatedly promised prior to the 2019 election the $50 rate would never increase: "The price will not go up."
Mass photocopying of Canadian books by schools and universities has driven writers’ average net income to a fraction of the minimum wage, the Commons heritage committee was told yesterday. The Supreme Court is expected to rule this year on whether unregulated free photocopying is lawful under the Copyright Act: "It boggles my mind how it’s legal."
Air travelers’ mandatory assignment to quarantine hotels is lawful, the Federal Court has ruled. Chief Justice Paul Crampton said cabinet had a legal right to introduce even stricter regulations as in “times of war.”
