Federal agencies continue to make late payments to small contractors despite policies promising prompt settlement of accounts, says Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic. A review found cases where contractors waited months to be paid what they were owed: "We had men in tears here talking about this problem."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “This morning, along Rockliffe Parkway, everyone drives the speed limit. The red pickup truck, the blue Hyundai…”
Most everyone has a place that inspires reflection and contentment: a Paris café, a salmon run on the Miramichi River, your grandmother’s kitchen table. Roberta Laurie is an Alberta Rotarian who finds her place at a Malawian school for girls. The result is intriguing and joyful. Weaving A Malawi Sunrise never patronizes. Laurie is a delightful writer whose reportage is so skillful it draws readers who have no interest whatsoever in Malawi or the minutiae of public education.
A Liberal lobbyist Elly Alboim who asked political aides to consider a federal contract for his son also lobbied the Prime Minister’s Office for a corporate client but never reported the fact. Lobbying for contracts must be disclosed under federal law: "I was not lobbying."
Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna yesterday pledged a Crown-owned Infrastructure Bank will finance more and better projects, though nothing has been completed to date. Parliament launched the Bank in 2017 with $35 billion: "Zero cannot be more."
Auditor General Karen Hogan yesterday defended her ties to a Liberal lobbyist. Hogan awarded sole-sourced contracts to a lobbying firm and fed them confidential copies of her audits months before they were available to MPs and senators: "We try to have varied points of view."
Small business owners who survived pandemic lockdowns borrowed an estimated $135 billion, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said yesterday. Covid debts for storekeepers, restaurateurs, contractors and others averaged $169,992: "Economic damage we’ve seen so far is a tiny, tiny portion of what we’ll be seeing in the days ahead."
A bill to legalize bookmaking would create 2,000 jobs, Unifor yesterday told the Commons justice committee. Betting on single sporting events in Canada has been illegal since 1892: "If we’re not going to spend it in Canada, we are going to spend it abroad."
The Commons public accounts committee yesterday said the public is owed regular updates on the number of foreign fugitives in Canada. The recommendation followed evidence federal agents lost track of as many as 2,800 criminals due to be deported: "Criminal cases are very important."
Public Works Minister Anita Anand’s chief of staff personally vouched for a Liberal lobbyist seeking a federal contract for his son, internal emails show. The exchange was never reported to the Commissioner of Lobbying though federal law restricts undisclosed favour-seeking under threat of six months’ jail: "I vouch for Elly here."
A bill to grant farmers a quarter-billion carbon tax break last night survived a Commons vote by 177-145. Cabinet opposed the private bill: "“I have numerous invoices that show that the carbon tax was $10,000 to $20,000."
Sun holidayers who claimed $1,000 pandemic benefits will have to pay the money back. Cabinet yesterday served notice it will introduce a bill retroactively voiding claims by returning travelers under quarantine: "“A lot of mistakes were made."
The Commons by a 295-32 vote yesterday rejected a New Democrat bill on pharmacare. Cabinet in a Throne Speech last September 23 said it was “exactly the right moment” for more publicly-funded drug insurance: "We had our doubts when they said that."
The Department of Public Works justified a sole-sourced contract to Amazon Canada on claims the company is Canadian. It’s not. Staff confusion detailed in internal emails was prompted by ridicule from a Conservative MP: "Could the Minister advise the House when Jeff Bezos took out Canadian citizenship?"
Federal agencies were so embarrassed by pandemic mask rationing they downplayed donations from South Korea, internal emails show. Seoul diplomats donated 35,000 masks to aged Canadian combat veterans of the Korean War but were asked to keep it quiet: "We don't want to have unnecessary controversy."
