Air Canada holidayers who spent five hours on the tarmac have no claim the airline breached regulations, says the Canadian Transportation Agency. Rules state passengers must be allowed to get off stranded aircraft after ninety minutes, with exceptions for the weather: "The cabin was kept warm."
Voter turnout at advanced polls jumped forty percent or more in thirty-two ridings across the country, according to Elections Canada data. In Calgary nearly 200,000 voters rushed to polls in advance of today’s general election. “Turnout in some ridings was remarkable,” an official said.
Cabinet in a rushed executive order granted a Liberal appointee indefinite paid leave. Michèle Gagné, a Québec City consultant, did not take questions. Cabinet authorized the benefit even as ministers campaigned for re-election: "We cannot provide any comment."
A federal labour board has upheld the firing of a whistleblower who leaked Department of Employment files to a reporter. The Employment Insurance claims investigator alleged managers were offered $50,000 bonuses for disqualifying legitimate applications for benefits: "I did so as a matter of conscience."
The advocacy group Democracy Watch has lost a bid to intervene in a constitutional challenge of political fundraising limits by TV celebrity Kevin O’Leary. Ontario Superior Court ruled broad arguments of fairness under the Elections Act did not require comment by the group: "Money flowing from individuals to political parties risks negatively affecting public confidence."
An Ottawa lawyer was paid nearly a quarter million dollars for seven months’ work at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Redacted billings are detailed in Access To Information records from the Privy Council Office: "Can anything be done more efficiently?"
A Montréal think tank yesterday warned of “significant economic consequences” if Parliament repeals a 12¢-a litre carbon tax on gasoline. The Ecofiscal Commission did not disclose its ties to Environment Minister Catherine McKenna’s office, and did not take questions: "It's lose-lose."
A federal anti-trust probe of Canada’s second-busiest airport yesterday collapsed after a five-year investigation. The Competition Tribunal ruled there was no evidence the Vancouver Airport Authority breached the Competition Act in its handling of in-flight catering contracts: "What happened? Who did what? How was it done? Why?"
Human rights tribunals cannot police the press, an Ontario adjudicator has ruled. The decision came in the case of a man who complained of discrimination after media published his mug shot: "It is plain and obvious."
The Department of Public Works in Access To Information records details thousands of pages of construction defects in the costly refit of Parliament Hill, from doors that wouldn’t open to window blinds that didn’t close. Renovations have cost taxpayers $3.04 billion to date with billions more in unknown costs: "I can foresee an outraged Canadian public looking at the total bill for this."
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna yesterday distributed new campaign signs deleting all mention of “Team Trudeau”, and said Liberals could lose the October 21 election. McKenna's campaign said the remarks were prompted by late polling: "I do think it is a ploy."
A non-union contractor blacklisted from municipal works for breach of a Fair Wage Policy has successfully challenged the sanction in Ontario Superior Court. Cabinet proposed similar blacklisting of federal contractors but shelved the idea in July: "A decision that was arrived at unfairly cannot be upheld."
The Conservative Party yesterday proposed a forty-fold increase in fines on public office holders found in breach of the Conflict Of Interest Act. Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion earlier advocated a similar rewrite of the Act with “serious consequences” for scofflaws: "This would help to build trust with the Canadian public."
The Department of Public Works says it can find few legitimate incidents of cronyism is federal contracting, just eight cases in two years. Cabinet earlier rejected a Commons committee proposal to grant whistleblower protection to contractors who report wrongdoing: "It’s deny, delay and eventual destruction of the whistleblower, and I’ve lived it.”
Elections Canada last night said nearly five million ballots were cast in advanced polls Thanksgiving weekend, the highest number in Canadian history. Turnout increased but was below percentage gains seen in 2011 and 2015: "This is the way of the future."
