The Liberal Party will not disclose independent costing of its campaign promises, the only major party to do so. Party headquarters yesterday would not take questions: "We are leaving it up to the parties."
Consumers are wary of a Department of Finance proposal to permit data mining by banks, says in-house research. The department since January 11 has reviewed the merits of what it calls open banking: "Almost all do not like it."
Cabinet has quietly rewritten terms of reference for a new corporate ethics ombudsman to prevent any future government from firing the officer. No reason was given for the change: "We are in what I call continuous improvement mode."
Environment Canada omitted 100 years’ worth of weather data from a federal website intended to illustrate climate change. Staff also used “modeling” instead of actual temperature readings to plot dramatic graphs, but said the result was not intended to be misleading: "It is simulated."
A pro-carbon tax group says it will not register with Elections Canada despite broadcasting YouTube ads ridiculing opponents. The Elections Act forbids unregulated advertising for or against any political issue during a campaign: "The provision does not apply to us."
A New Democrat candidate for the 43rd Parliament was twice cited for ethics breaches as a public office holder, according to records. “It was irresponsible and reckless,” wrote a City of Toronto Integrity Commissioner: "I just can't believe it."
A Conservative proposal to revive a “green” tax credit for transit users would cost $229 million next year, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. A similar credit was repealed in 2017 after both the Green Party and Department of Finance dubbed it a waste of money: "There was no chance in hell."
Newly-declassified files disclose the RCMP in 1970 deployed a Rock Festival Task Force to photograph hippies and the “younger radical element” at concerts from Vancouver to Manseau, Que. Undercover officers compiled hundreds of photos in a redacted 1,551-page file: "Each agent should be equipped with a camera and approximately four to six rolls of film."
Confirmed candidates for the 43rd Parliament include a minor hockey coach suspended for cheating at a tournament, and a former business manager fired for “unprofessionalism and incompetence”. Conservative and Green Party organizers yesterday did not comment on their nominees.
Two years after cabinet launched a $2 billion Low-Carbon Economy Fund, most Canadians say they don’t understand the term and are wary of the cost, according to in-house research by the Department of Natural Resources. “Many felt the government should explain to Canadians how the transition is not going to be an economic hardship,” said a report.
A Conservative Party offer of 15 percent tax credits for families drawing Employment Insurance parental benefits would cost $1 billion a year by 2021, the Parliamentary Budget Office said yesterday. The previous Liberal cabinet promised a 2020 increase in the current $24 billion tax-free Canada Child Benefit: "You're just getting by."
The Liberal Party yesterday defended two British Columbia candidates cited for misconduct. One failed to pay GST and was suspended from practicing law, another lied on a CMHC loan application: "I ought to have known."
A Canada Post lawyer who fought pay equity claims in court yesterday was named federal Pay Equity Commissioner. She is now to champion “gender equality”, said cabinet: "The system has failed."
A British Columbia judge has upheld a federal usury law on a pawnbroker found to charge “incredibly high” interest at five times the legal rate. Parliament in 1978 capped charges at sixty percent a year under the Criminal Code: "There's a lot more to be done."
Tax Court has cited one of the nation’s top securities lawyers for a “careless approach to recordkeeping” that included mystery deposits in his personal bank account. The Court found no evidence of gross negligence, ruling auditors failed to make their case: "He has not explained what they are."
