The Department of Canadian Heritage refused a request for a courtesy video of Minister’s greetings to a group it deemed too “Anglo-focused”, according to Access To Information records. The department yesterday did not comment. Other requests for greetings to Francophone, Chinese, Hindu and Kurdish groups were approved: "Hold on this one."
Internal government polling shows a majority of Canadians support stricter gun laws. Data released through Access To Information do not include direct questioning of whether people would endorse an outright ban on handguns: "We’re prepared to take whatever measures will be effective."
An Ontario court yesterday ordered the Globe & Mail to face trial in a $125 million defamation lawsuit. Million-dollar defamation awards are rare but not unprecedented in Canada: 'This is a case that could go either way.'
The nation’s largest newspaper chain says it’s tightening editorial standards after publishing a fake news story about the Prime Minister’s Office. A press ombudsman, the National News Media Council, dismissed a reader’s complaint in the case: “This was obviously a fake.”
Statistics Canada is including the cost of recreational marijuana in its benchmark Consumer Price Index. Canada is the first country to add narcotics to the basket of goods used to calculate its official inflation rate: 'Cannabis is of relevance to Canadian households.'
Cabinet seeks to block Senate hearings including testimony by the Prime Minister on political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. “Let’s not try to get into the act and play junior league second-guessers,” said Senator Peter Harder (Ont.), Government Representative in the Senate.
A federal labour board has upheld a four-day suspension for a Yukon Customs officer caught smoking in the office. The woman explained it was too cold to duck outside for a cigarette. The daytime high was -26°: "It is a simple, straightforward rule."
A cabinet official yesterday dismissed disclosures the Prime Minister’s Office boasted of being able to “line up” newspaper editors and columnists to write Liberal-friendly commentaries. Cabinet in its March 19 budget has proposed to detail a half-billion subsidy program for media deemed reliable: “We would of course line up all kinds of people to write op-eds.”
Three provinces yesterday told the Senate energy committee Parliament must quickly amend an oil and gas bill or face costly consequences. Cabinet has sought passage of the bill with ten work weeks left before Parliament adjourns for an October 21 election campaign: "That simply is bad for business."
The Senate banking committee yesterday rated earthquakes a systemic risk to the nation’s financial sector. The Department of Finance is conducting an ongoing review of the impact of a catastrophic quake on insurers and banks: 'I gather the plan is to hope the government will bail it out.'
The Commons agriculture committee yesterday opened hearings on criticism of farmers by media and animal welfare groups. One Liberal complained of social pressure: 'These advocates are outside what one would consider as normal.'
A federal agency yesterday commissioned research on the impact of climate change on Ottawa. The city is the coldest G7 capital with an average annual temperature of 6.6°, according to Environment Canada: "Ottawa’s climate is predicted to continue to become warmer."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and nine other officials sought to quash a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. to save Liberal seats in Québec, MP Jody Wilson-Raybould yesterday told the Commons justice committee. “I am an MP in Québec,” the former attorney general quoted Trudeau as stating in a private meeting: "Political issues came up like the election in Québec."
Public Works Minister Carla Qualtrough yesterday told the Commons government operations committee she could not name a single federal contractor other than SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. to be offered a waiver from blacklisting. Cabinet approved the deal in 2015 even after a former company executive pleaded guilty to bribery in a Swiss court: "It's a relatively rare process."
Illegal immigrants now spend an average two years in Canada waiting to determine if they’ll be deported, a Department of Immigration official told the Senate national finance committee. The department complained of a severe backlog of cases: "Their cases last much longer."
