“Right-wing forces exist in Canada,” the Department of Canadian Heritage says in a report on multiculturalism: “There continues to be a need to address challenges associated with an increasingly diverse Canada including the rise of populism."
Federal websites are considered clumsy, difficult to find and feared to be a security risk, says in-house research by the Department of Industry. Findings were based on a survey of Canadian businesses, small and large, following the 2017 shutdown of two government websites: "Smaller businesses were more likely to report issues."
The Federal Court has blocked a bid to strike Waldorf-Astoria as a Canadian trademark. The company operates no hotels in Canada, prompting a federal registrar to revoke its trademark as dormant in 2014: "Would it be contrary to common sense?"
Cabinet was only days away from releasing the cost of federal subsidies to 15 of Canada’s largest corporations when Bombardier Inc. sued to block the disclosure, records show. Bombardier has sued five times in eight years to prevent release of figures it considers confidential: "There are issues."
Cabinet will decide by November 30 whether to repeal a requirement that federally-funded historical projects tell a “positive national story”. The Department of Canadian Heritage recommended repeal of a current policy that emphasizes "national pride".
CMHC in a report cites “tension” in providing housing aid for welfare recipients over minimum-wage workers. The comment comes as cabinet finalizes a bill on a promised National Housing Strategy: 'These are reflections of societal values and fairness.'
The Department of Agriculture is polling growers and food processors on Canadian labeling of genetically modified ingredients. The initiative follows the Commons’ 2017 defeat of a New Democrat bill to mandate GM labels: 'The Canadian government is feeling that push.'
A labour department report hints cabinet should use millions in Canadians' dormant savings accounts to finance loans and grants for charities. A similar U.K. program, the first of its kind, reported net losses in five of its first six years: "The private sector cannot solve all of society's problems."
Cabinet has given itself new powers to skirt public scrutiny in imposing regulations. A parliamentary committee complained the directive allows cabinet to spring new rules on the public without notice: "A citizen has nothing, zero; a small business has nothing. You’re on your own."
Cabinet for a third time has rejected parliamentary hearings on its $4.5 billion purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline. A Liberal majority on the Commons Indigenous and northern affairs committee voted 5 to 4 against summoning the finance minister for questions: "Who would not be frustrated?"
An appliance maker is taking Health Canada to Federal Court in a bid to block public disclosure of records concerning a 2016 washing machine recall. Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. claims a right to scrutinize government records before they’re released: "Health Canada refused."
The Canadian Armed Forces is giving preference to a Belgian sheepdog in buying new animals for its canine units. The Malinois is the same breed used by U.S. Navy Seals in the 2011 capture of Osama Bin Laden: "The dogs will not stop."
Three years after the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, it is not too soon for a frank analysis of what happened and what it meant. Officialdom’s immediate reaction to the murders of 12 people, including an editor and policeman, was to observe the rituals of mourning and free speech.
The Prime Minister read ghostwritten remarks calling press freedom a “cherished democratic principle”. TV networks mused over whether to broadcast Charlie cartoons: CBC French did, CBC English didn’t. The Parliamentary Press Gallery did not even mention Je suis Charlie at its first directors’ meeting after the shootings, instead debating how to hustle up corporate sponsors for its annual wine and cheese party.
Nobody asked if it could it happen here, because it already did.
The Department of Health predicts Canada will see a crowded market of nearly 2,000 cannabis growers, distributors and retailers once recreational marijuana is legalized October 17. Tax authorities earlier predicted a ten-fold increase in wholesalers alone by 2023: "Organized crime does not share its data with us."
The National Research Council has given a $140,000 grant to an online news publisher for “U.S. market support”, according to accounts. The award comes as the Department of Canadian Heritage reviews a proposed $10 million-a year fund to save jobs at daily newspapers: "I think you can see the reality."
