The Public Health Agency in internal memos disclosed it was so unprepared for the pandemic it shipped date-expired medical items to provinces, and relied on donations from Home Depot. The documents confirmed managers had scant supplies in a national stockpile after throwing away millions of masks in 2019: 'Did they warn the cabinet?'
A federal agency, the Canada Energy Regulator, is paying $150,000 to fly trainers to Calgary for workshops on “contemplative dialogue”. Staff will attend four-day seminars on "awareness and the human person" and how to conduct smoother meetings: "Where do you go to learn that?"
TV tycoon Kevin O’Leary is named in a $13 million federal lawsuit under the Marine Liability Act. Lawyers representing families of two victims killed in a 2019 boating accident filed the Federal Court claim against O’Leary, his wife and the driver of a second power boat that collided after dusk: "He failed to keep a proper lookout."
Schoolchildren over age ten should wear masks in class, says the Public Health Agency of Canada. The Agency in a directive also recommended school boards do “risk assessments” on choir practice, and be wary of music classes where wind or brass instruments are shared: "The fall period is a bit of a challenge."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “A burial site uncovered during excavations in Ottawa. The Ontario government asks those who might be related to early Bytown residents to come forward…”
A Québec company that won a lucrative ten-year federal contract for pandemic masks repeatedly lobbied Industry Minister Navdeep Bains and his staff, records show. Bains’ department contacted AMD Medicom Inc. within hours of the World Health Organization declaring a global pandemic: 'The government out of the blue reached to Medicom.'
MPs on the Commons finance committee yesterday questioned the scope of a federal grant that would have paid We Charity the equivalent of two-thirds of its annual revenue. Marc and Craig Kielburger, the $125,173-a year co-founders of We Charity, had testified they would not have made any gains on the agreement: "Does that seem to be a bit odd to you?"
Canadians are naïve in thinking “China is our friend”, a former career diplomat yesterday told MPs. "This isn't just an Ottawa problem," said the retired ambassador to Beijing.
John McCallum, former Canadian ambassador to China, yesterday was ordered to testify at a Commons committee after he refused to appear voluntarily. The order followed disclosures McCallum worked as a consultant in China after he was fired by the Prime Minister in 2019: "This China assignment is the perfect job for me."
MPs yesterday joined the United Steelworkers union in demanding immediate Canadian retaliation against U.S. tariffs on aluminum imports. The Commons trade committee condemned earlier tariffs as unlawful: "Is there hurt out there? Yes there is."
The Department of Public Works yesterday would not say if it has taken any promised rush deliveries from a Québec company awarded an exclusive ten-year contract to supply pandemic masks. Public Works Minister Anita Anand had justified the sole-sourced contract on a promise Canadian-made masks would be on their way to doctors and nurses “toward the end of July”.
The Commons finance committee meeting behind closed doors has voted to grant immunity to witnesses at We Charity hearings. MPs adopted a New Democrat motion to ensure “there will be no consequences or retribution” for whistleblowers: "There have been a number of We Charity employees who have indicated they want to testify."
Cabinet yesterday approved millions in pandemic relief to marijuana dealers. The Department of Health deferred payment of annual licensing fees, though cannabis stores showed the sharpest year over year sales increase of any class of retailer: "Sales are very positive."
A Titanic farewell note dubbed a national treasure is now preserved by the Public Archives of Nova Scotia after a federal agency blocked the artifact’s sale to a foreign buyer. The Department of Canadian Heritage subsidized the archives' purchase with a federal grant: "I just got on board. She will sail in a few minutes."
Auditors fault the Department of Public Safety for lackadaisical security including “limited controls” on confidential records stored on USB keys. The latest investigation follows a series of audits that found weak security in other federal agencies including one incident that cost $17.5 million: "There is no formal tracking of IT security incidents."
