The Commons justice committee yesterday agreed to summon testimony from ex-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould in a widening corruption probe. The concession came as cabinet opposed a full judicial inquiry of dealings between the Prime Minister's Office and a federal contractor: "You don't think there's something going on?"
Minister of Democrat Institutions Karina Gould yesterday suggested MP consider federal regulation of social media. “The government is taking this issue seriously,” Gould told the House affairs committee. “We’re looking at it from both a hard and soft angle.”
Canadian regulators enforce so many rules there is no national count of how many there are, the Commons industry committee was told yesterday. Federal agencies alone enforce some 30,000 rules, by official estimate: "Do you actually have an assessment of how many regulations we have in Canada?"
MPs yesterday expressed astonishment over the volume of defects in newly-renovated Parliament buildings. The Department of Public Works earlier told Blacklock’s records on deficiencies in construction, engineering, design and architecture of West Block and a new Senate chamber run to more than 100,000 pages: "There have been construction deficiencies."
More than 1 in 5 employees at a beleaguered federal payroll agency say they’ve witnessed workplace bullying among co-workers. The Public Service Pay Centre in Miramichi, N.B. runs the failed Phoenix Pay System that’s garbled pay for 62 percent of employees: "This is not about blame whatsoever."
The Commons justice committee will vote today on whether to quash or call testimony from a second official to resign over allegations of political interference in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. The Prime Minister’s principal secretary Gerald Butts abruptly resigned yesterday, six days after ex-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould quit cabinet: "Life is full of uncertainties."
Transport Canada yesterday said it is reviewing "impairment policies" including random workplace drug testing. The review follows the repeal of a 95-year ban on recreational marijuana last October 17: 'It will consider the prevalence and risk of impairment from drugs including cannabis.'
A federal panel cautions gender-neutral language may provoke “complaints, jokes or refusals” in government polling. Agencies are struggling with terminology for Canadians who identify as neither male nor female: "For example, individuals who are non-binary, a-gender or two-spirited."
Quota-protected farmers should brace for an urban backlash over costs of federal aid, members of the Senate agriculture committee said yesterday. Cabinet has promised $4.3 billion in compensation to egg, poultry and dairy producers affected by trade pacts: "We've given them some ammunition."
A labour board has upheld the firing of a federal employee accused of secretly recording a supervisors’ meeting. The case unraveled when a manager spotted a tape recorder atop a six-foot filing cabinet: "It is not government policy to record employees."
Labour Minister Patricia Hajdu in a confidential 2018 order waived penalties against major corporations that illegally hired migrant workers, according to Access To Information records. Staff urged Hajdu to keep it “low profile”.
The chair of the Senate human rights committee says she has encountered anti-Black bigotry on Parliament Hill, aboard commercial airline flights and in “countless” other circumstances. “I am feeling emotional just telling you this,” said Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard (Independent-N.S.): “It’s like a thousand little cuts.”
A locomotive engineer fired by Canadian Pacific for drinking rye on duty has been ordered reinstated by a labour board. An arbitrator ruled alcoholism is a disability under the Canadian Human Rights Act: "The duty to accommodate does not excuse the conduct."
A charity cited for poor bookkeeping and unexplained consulting fees to a director has lost a bid to keep its license. The Federal Court of Appeal noted the same man was involved with the Humane Society of Canada Foundation that was also stripped of its charitable status: "It is difficult for a charity to reverse a decision of the Canada Revenue Agency."
A Tax Court judge has delved into the inner workings of casinos where staff pocket lucrative tips worth as much as $1,000 a week. Details came in the case of a minimum-wage slot attendant with a Master’s degree who failed to pay tax on tips worth 112 percent of his income: "So, are these amounts taxable or not?"
