Blacklock's Reporter

Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer yesterday proposed to cut 27 percent of yearly “corporate welfare handouts” but would not comment if he’d leave a $595 million media bailout untouched. Scheer has yet to detail a promised plan for newspapers: “Hard-working Canadians are rightly offended.”

The Parliamentary Budget Office yesterday said free dental care for low-income families would cost nearly $2 billion next year under a New Democrat plan. The Party estimated 4.3 million Canadians would benefit from the program similar to aid for First Nations and Inuit: "It's time."

Cabinet yesterday issued an order threatening large fines or jail for anyone caught harming a subspecies of the iconic Atlantic salmon. One utility protested the order: 'Many rivers no longer have any salmon.'

An arbitrator has upheld a human rights complaint over the sale of a used car on Kijiji. Testy emails by a St. John's auto dealer were found to breach the Human Rights Act: "Read the friggin ad."

Nearly 300,000 names have been removed from the national voters’ list including dead people and foreigners, Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault said yesterday. Perrault promised to “clean up the list” by October 21 balloting, but would not commit to investigating how many illegal votes were cast in the 2015 campaign: "It's not a no or a yes."

Statistics Canada yesterday predicted Alberta will eclipse British Columbia as the third largest province, and Québec will shrink to 20 percent of the national population within a generation. New figures contradict data used to justify an earlier constitutional proposal to guarantee Québec 25 percent of seats in Parliament in perpetuity: "We opposed it and were called hysterical."

The Parliamentary Budget Office yesterday said a Conservative Party proposal to increase federal grants for children’s education would cost more than $600 million a year but encourage private savings. The Department of Employment in 2018 complained millions of children are not enrolled in the federal program that offers cash grants to pay for college or university: "It still pays to start saving early."

A federal judge has dismissed a consumer advocate’s bid to challenge compensation orders for poor airline service. Only people with a “real stake” in claims can represent passengers, said the Federal Court: "I am not persuaded."

The Department of Labour commissioned secret interviews with non-union workers at federally-regulated job sites for unreported breaches of the Canada Labour Code, according to Access To Information records. The research is to conclude by September 28: "The final report will not be shared with the public."

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."