The Canadian Association of Broadcasters yesterday claimed as many as 200 private radio stations will close without federal aid. The industry reported a pre-tax profit of $210.7 million last year: "If the government is going to support one industry, then we feel they should support others."
Barbecue enthusiasts are entitled to enjoy outdoor cooking without being sued by the neighbours, a British Columbia tribunal has ruled. “Subjective” complaints of excess smoke do not merit damages, said the province’s small claims court: "Live and let live."
The Department of Public Works paid more than a quarter-billion dollars to buy pandemic ventilators from a former Québec Liberal MP’s company, officials said yesterday. Frank Baylis, one-term MP for Pierrefonds-Dollard, Que., did not comment: "Baylis is our subcontractor."
Paid pandemic leave for federal employees who are neither sick nor working from home has now cost $828 million and counting, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. Analysts calculated more than a quarter-million employees have taken paid leave since the pandemic was declared March 11: "They are not working."
Chinese prison labour was assigned to work at a Canadian-owned mask factory in Shanghai, according to the Communist Party press. The Department of Public Works has said it does not know if it purchased slave-made goods: "We do the job not for a reward but driven by our inner eagerness."
Ex-finance minister Bill Morneau charged taxpayers more than $80,000 for pre-pandemic travel prior to abruptly resigning cabinet for accepting free trips from a federal contractor. Access To Information records yesterday disclosed by Conservative MP Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard) showed Morneau’s expenses included a $583-a night hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 'It features discreet attentive service along with magical surroundings.'
China is a “predatory country” unfit to join any free trade pact with Canada, Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole yesterday told reporters. O’Toole has proposed Parliament pass legislation mandating disclosure of all lobbyists' ties to the People’s Republic: "Push back against the bad actions of the Chinese Communist Party."
Parliament’s legalization of cannabis normalized marijuana use, says Department of Health research. The 2018 bill made Canada only the second country after Uruguay to permit recreational use of cannabis: 'The smell of cannabis is now more prevalent than cigarette smoke.'
MPs will seek immediate resumption of Commons committee investigations of federal contracting, We Charity and China subterfuge in Canada, MP Erin O’Toole (Durham, Ont.) yesterday said on his first day as Leader of the Opposition. All hearings were suspended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau until September 23: "Mr. O’Toole spoke with Prime Minister Trudeau over the phone."
Cabinet yesterday claimed labour shortages in waiving a requirement that jobless migrants leave the country before reapplying for work here. Any migrant worker with a legitimate job offer may stay, said Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino: "We have heard from employers who continue to face challenges."
The Department of Agriculture yesterday paid more than a million dollars to distribute surplus seafood to Nova Scotia food banks. The initiative to help processors get rid of unsold stock follows Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s appeal to Canadians to aid the industry by eating more lobster: "Not only will it taste great but it will help people."
New federal data show a ban on contact hockey for players under 13 did reduce brain injuries. Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros earlier told a Commons committee that curbs on body-checking should be extended to older players: "Why are we starting to hit when not everyone has gone through puberty?"
Decriminalizing heroin and cocaine is “something worth deliberating”, says Health Minister Patricia Hajdu. A private Liberal bill pending in the Commons would repeal a federal law that criminalizes simple possession of street drugs: "I hear the calls across the country."
Volunteer groups warned the We Charity program was misguided and badly drafted, according to internal Department of Employment memos. One organization refused a $100,000 fee from We Charity in protest over the program's design: "They indicated there was a fee."
Federal auditors have cited a Crown corporation, the National Arts Centre, for sloppy budgeting. Directors failed to set aside funds for necessary maintenance and repairs even after charging taxpayers a quarter-billion for renovations. Cost overruns at the concert hall once prompted two parliamentary investigations: 'It doesn't match London or Paris.'
