Union leaders have expressed support for legislation limiting their right to strike, claims Labour Minister Patty Hajdu. She did not identify any by name: "I don’t think all labour is upset. I’ve spoken with labour unions that are not upset."
Canada is on the brink of “a new golden age” in railroading, VIA Rail says in a report to Parliament. The Crown railway acknowledged its operating deficits will average nearly $400 million a year to the end of the decade: "VIA Rail is ready to lead a new golden age in passenger rail service."
Cabinet in 1996 considered forcing taxpayers to post a bond before transferring capital gains out of the country in what it called the “toughest regime worldwide” on tax avoidance, newly-declassified records show. The suggestion was prompted by one case involving a family trust: "If you or I owed $100 to Revenue Canada it would hound us to our graves."
Poet W.N. Branson writes: “There are those that understand the value of work, the word, a life, know how to spin a tale, especially their own. An economist runs the numbers…”
When 167 members of the Canadian Staff Band of the Salvation Army perished at sea in the 1914 sinking of the Empress Of Ireland, mass public observances were held. A prominent memorial was built in Toronto. The Royal family donated $132,000 to a victims’ fund. Canadian newspapers for 40 years afterward marked the anniversary date with annual features.
When 329 people, mostly Canadians, perished at sea in the 1985 Air India bombing, there was no fund, no mass public mourning. For years, the only memorial was in County Cork, Ireland, near the spot where Flight 182 took whole families to their death. Few Canadians recall the year this mass murder occurred.
The victims were modest people of ordinary means and little public profile. Would it have been different if 329 bankers died, or 329 tennis players? Remembering Air India answers.
Finance department executives would be shielded from legal liability for costly errors, incompetence or negligence under a clause inserted in Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s latest budget bill, the Senate banking committee was told yesterday. Senators expressed alarm: "At what point does this legislation place the civil servants above the law?"
Newly-declassified records show cabinet in 1996 agreed to buy four used diesel submarines after Defence Minister David Collenette said the United Kingdom cut its price 4 percent in what he called “a very good” deal for Canada. Subsequent maintenance and refits cost taxpayers more than $3 billion and kept most vessels out of regular service.
Cabinet’s $90 billion regional high speed rail venture will never be built, a Conservative MP yesterday told the Commons. MP Roman Baber (North York, Ont.) said based on staggering cost overruns in municipal rail projects, it would “cost a trillion” to run an electrified commuter rail service from Toronto to Québec City: "Ninety billion? Are you kidding me?"
Federal regulators yesterday fined four credit unions in two provinces a total $816,750 for breach of the Proceeds Of Crime And Terrorist Financing Act. Breaches ranged from paperwork errors to conducting business with a suspected criminal: "We will take firm action when it is required."
Canadians under 35 typically have yet to recover from high pandemic-era inflation, the Bank of Canada said yesterday. Worries over a permanent increase in the cost of living were “valid and reflect an important reality,” said a Bank report: "Many Canadians still feel affordability pressures even after inflation has slowed."
Cabinet last year sent nearly twice as much foreign aid to Palestine as it sent to Ukraine, totaling nearly a quarter billion. New figures were tabled in Parliament as Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged another $100 million in aid: "I am speaking for Canada now."
Toronto members of one of the nation’s largest unions are petitioning to abolish the phrase “public servant.” The reference is a painful reminder of servitude and African slavery, said the Toronto Racialized Members Committee of the Public Service Alliance of Canada: "The term ‘servant’ carries significant historical trauma."
The Crown corporation attempting to build a $90 billion regional high speed railway yesterday would not comment on why it hired the chairman of the board’s law firm as legal counsel. Chair Robert Prichard is also chair of Torys LLP, a Toronto firm awarded an “open ended contract” by Alto Corporation: 'Work includes engagement with over 40 Indigenous communities.'
Air passenger advocates last night urged senators to kill a cabinet proposal to send legitimate complaints over poor service to private, binding arbitration. The clause inserted in an omnibus budget bill was prompted by a backlog of some 97,000 complaints at the Canadian Transportation Agency: "The bill does not resolve the backlog, it relocates it."
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne yesterday said a bill restricting the right to strike is needed for the sake of “stability” in the economy. Federal data show the number of private sector strikes fell by 33 percent last year: "We want to avoid this kind of conflict."
