Canadian steelmaker Essar Steel Algoma Inc. yesterday appealed to the Commons trade committee for help against U.S. duties. One factory owner told MPs' tariff hearings that all Canadians are now paying for cross-border taxes: "Food bills have increased significantly."
Taxpayers face nearly $100 billion in unreported costs for federal employees’ pensions, the Commons government operations committee was told yesterday. A typical government staffer will spend as many years in retirement as they do on the job, according to data from the Chief Actuary: "We are storing up trouble for the future."
Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand yesterday faulted regulators for targeting small business in enforcing a federal Chemicals Management Plan. Inspectors spent more time auditing dry cleaners than pulp mills, records show: 'We would have expected other priorities for enforcement.'
The Department of Public Works says it has not calculated the cost of compliance with a bill mandating barrier-free access at federally-regulated worksites. Expenses will be detailed later, Public Works Minister Carla Qualtrough told the Commons human resources committee: "You wouldn’t be suggesting that there’s a cost too high."
The Senate national finance committee yesterday approved a private Liberal bill compelling the Canada Revenue Agency to report on the value of unpaid taxes. The panel okayed the bill in eight minutes’ flat without debate: "What counts is really the long-term trend."
Cabinet yesterday cautioned a tentative free trade pact with the U.S. is not finalized, and has not resolved tariff disputes that have cost Canadian industry billions. “A word of caution: we’re not at the finish line,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters.
A retired Supreme Court justice last evening said federal agencies should stop hiring people who can’t speak French. Cabinet should also proclaim Ottawa an officially bilingual city, the Senate languages committee was told: "The Government of Canada is able to do that but I assume they don’t have the courage."
Cabinet yesterday bypassed ex-military in appointing a former policeman to a senior $112,000-a year Senate post. The appointment, traditionally reserved for combat veterans, came despite two Senate committee reports and a 2015 Act of Parliament that claimed to promote the hiring of medically-discharged soldiers, sailors and air crew: "These are men and women who have served our country with distinction."
Four in 10 federal employees say their workplace is mentally stressful, according to Treasury Board data. MPs described the finding as worrisome: "This rate is very high."
MPs yesterday expressed all-party support for a motion declaring a Filipino History Month. The House has debated more than dozen similar community tributes amid grumbling in the Senate: "Is there a committee that sits down?"
A federal prison guard who celebrated Halloween by getting drunk at work and passing out in a toilet was demoted but not fired by the Correctional Service. The incident was detailed in a labour board hearing: "Since it was Halloween everyone was excited."
Most federal employees think the public service is rife with cronyism, according to government research. Findings were based on 101,892 questionnaires compiled by the Public Service Commission: "To what extent do appointments for positions in your work units depend on who you know?"
Animal rights groups and environmentalists are to blame in part for high rates of anxiety among Canadian farmers, the Commons agriculture committee was told. “These anti-agriculture groups quite frankly are spreading lies,” said a University of Guelph researcher: "Farmers feel scrutinized."
The Commons has passed a private Liberal bill to compare Canadian drinking water quality to world standards. MPs and environmental groups repeatedly faulted Health Canada for failing to test tap water for dozens of pollutants: "The United States is still more proactive."
Bitcoiners face heavy paperwork under pending federal regulations. Access To Information records indicate distributors will be required to report transactions as small as one-third of a bitcoin: "There’s a balance between innovation and regulation."
