Imports of pandemic supplies with English-only labels represent a Trojan horse on French language rights, a Bloc Québécois MP said yesterday. Parliament has mandated bilingual labeling for forty-six years: "Is the government going to apologize?"
Cabinet may declare a national disaster for farmers, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau last night told the Commons industry committee. The declaration would see Parliament pay 60¢ of every dollar in claims by farmers on a cost-shared basis with provinces: "Yes, that is something we are considering seriously right now."
The collapse of tourism will continue through the summer with at least a seventy percent decline in revenues, says Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly. “If you have ideas for a plan, please feel free,” Joly last night told the Commons industry committee.
A billion-dollar federal program targeted to aid 100,000 homebuyers has seen fewer than 750 applications a month, records show. The equity loan plan was launched in 2019 in what a former federal budget officer called an “interesting experiment”.
The Commons last night passed a $9 billion pandemic aid bill for students amid warnings over the rising federal deficit. “We all know $200 billion deficits mean future tax increases,” said one Conservative MP.
Jobless youth should be sent to work on farms instead of receiving grants to sit at home, a Conservative MP yesterday told the Commons. One Liberal MP complained young staff have told employers that wages can't beat federal benefits: "They are making more money staying home doing nothing."
Parliament has now guaranteed some $16 billion worth of interest-free loans for small business, according to the Department of Finance. MPs said small operators disqualified on technicalities are becoming desperate as competitors reap a windfall: "There are so many holes in these programs."
The Public Health Agency yesterday acknowledged it underestimated deaths from Covid-19 in Canada. The Commons health committee earlier heard testimony that actual infection rates will be five times Agency estimates: "It’s kind of hard to look at predictions."
Cabinet has announced so many pandemic relief programs known by acronym – CEBA, CECRA, CERB, CESB, CEWS – only the Opposition yesterday found it improbable when a Liberal MP unveiled a new multi-billion dollar CEAB program on his Twitter account. The lawmaker later apologized for fake news: "There is no announcement."
Full-time pandemic relief work for military reservists will cost taxpayers nearly half a billion dollars, the Parliamentary Budget Office said yesterday. Expenses are double the cost of the navy’s last aircraft carrier: "The front line is everywhere."
Federal executives billed thousands in commercial flights for routine business even after the Department of Health advised Canadians to stay home where possible. Records show managers booked unnecessary travel the very day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked the public to “figure out how to stay home from work and work from home”.
The CFL season is questionable for the first time in 101 years despite intense lobbying by the league. Health Minister Patricia Hajdu yesterday cited the risk of “spit and all kinds of stuff” in football.
Mismanagement of the national emergency stockpile of pandemic supplies was folly, Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer yesterday told reporters. Federal buyers have overpaid more than $500 million for medical supplies that could have been purchased at a fraction of the cost: "Prices are increasing rapidly."
Federal employers are giving themselves a poor rating on workplace accessibility a year after Parliament passed a bill to remove all jobsite barriers nationwide. A management survey of staff with partial blindness, deafness, use of wheelchairs and other conditions found widespread complaints of grudging treatment on accommodation requests: "I was bullied and betrayed."
Federal failure to stock up on vital medical supplies has cost taxpayers some half-billion dollars, according to figures submitted to the Commons government operations committee. The Department of Public Works said it's now forced to pay a 380 percent pandemic price mark-up for masks needed by doctors, nurses and paramedics: "If the stockpile had been stocked up we would have saved a lot of money."
