The Commons government operations committee yesterday urged federal employers to set quotas to promote hiring of veterans. MPs faulted Veterans Affairs Canada for failing to honour an employment bill passed by Parliament four years ago: "There is a disconnect."
The Canada Revenue Agency yesterday estimated $26 billion a year in federal tax is never collected, a figure dubbed suspiciously low by critics. The Parliamentary Budget Office tomorrow will release its first independent analysis of unpaid taxes: "Why would we believe their low-ball numbers?"
The Senate last night fell in stunned silence after a Conservative senator disclosed administrators tried to access her personal email account in a covert operation. Senate Ethics Office Pierre Legault, a lawyer bound by a professional integrity code, was involved in the operation, the Senate was told: "We have a Senate Ethics Officer acting unethically."
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna used a car and chauffeur to attend a meeting to promote public transit, records show. McKenna sponsored a Commons motion to declare a national emergency on climate change that is “killing people”, she said: "It's not the flavour of the month."
More than 4 in 10 Canadians think criminal courts are unfair, according to Department of Justice research. Release of the findings follows complaints of political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. on fraud and bribery charges: "Canadians appear to be apprehensive."
Poverty rates for seniors are at historic lows with most pensioners better off than the rest of Canadians, says an Access To Information report by the Department of Employment. The memo follows data that retirees own more, and owe less, than Canadians under 35: "Those of us born in the 1950s won the lottery."
Coastal salmon farms continue to pose a risk to wild fish stock, the Commons fisheries committee was told yesterday. A British Columbia biologist citing Access To Information records said regulators appeared powerless to halt the spread of viruses from farmed fish: "The rules are unenforceable."
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale yesterday denied stalling a bill for independent oversight of the Canada Border Services Agency. Access To Information records indicate cabinet tried to shelve a Senate bill to have an Inspector General investigate public complaints: "It doesn't seem to wash."
A first-ever federal investigation of fake election news has come up empty. A byelection hoax traced by the Commissioner of Elections to a Tel Aviv software company saw Canadian investigators question the broker, an Israeli daily today reported: "The item was published in good faith and without malice."
The Canada Revenue Agency has gone to extraordinary lengths to deny legitimate claims for credits, say tax consultants. The Agency proposes to cap consultants’ fees in a move that would curb Tax Court challenges of its rulings, said advocates: “People had nothing, they will get nothing.”
Canada Post is again raising stamp rates by $8.8 million after winning cabinet approval for a $26 million increase last January 14. Management cited “challenging weather” in justifying its rates.
Health Canada will license the retail sale of cannabis edibles as early as December 17. The trade raises “fundamental concerns” about drug consumption in the workplace, employers earlier warned: "There are no obvious smells."
The Senate has passed a cabinet bill to appoint a Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. More than 60 Indigenous dialects are spoken nationwide, by official estimate: 'Five generations have brought us to where we are today.'
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Andrew Scheer faces a delicate task…”
Cabinet yesterday said it will never raise the 12¢-a litre carbon tax on gasoline though the Parliamentary Budget Office warned at least 23¢ is needed to meet emission targets. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna did not explain how targets will be met: "The price will not go up."
