Chinese automakers have gained access to about half the battery electric car market in Canada, federal data show. Concessions by Prime Minister Mark Carney followed Department of Finance complaints of predatory practices by Chinese industry: 'The government is allowing vehicles from a country that won’t allow our vehicles to go there, so they could displace vehicles that are built here.'
The CBC Ombudsman has faulted the network’s Parliament Hill bureau for identifying MPs as Jews in news copy. A 2023 story by reporter John Tasker breached the CBC Journalistic Standards And Practices Guide, the Ombudsman said.
Housing starts despite modest gains last year remain below half the rate needed to restore affordability, CMHC figures show. The latest data follow Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pledge to “build bigger and faster.”
“Canada: The Last Best West!” was his slogan. Clifford Sifton, an interior minister, crafted immigration policies with far-reaching effects that are still with us. The Ottawa house he lived in for 25 years is not.
Copyright law has been around for 300 years and follows the Ten Commandments, yet many including government agencies barely comprehend intellectual property rights. There are no copyright police or courts, and even public agencies steal others’ work. It is no exaggeration that copyright owners enjoy less protection from theft than the night manager eyeing shoplifters at a Quickie Mart.
“Studying copyright, especially if you’re not a lawyer, is akin to stepping into a madhouse where things barely adhere to any internal logic,” writes Professor Blayne Haggart in Copyfight.
Liberal appointee Senator Yuen Pau Woo (B.C.) yesterday said the Prime Minister has to “watch his back” in promoting friendship with the Chinese Communist Party. The Senator said unnamed "China haters" sought to sabotage close relations with Beijing: "Fifty-first state thinking is deeply embedded in Canada as is Sinophobia."
Federal managers have issued new guidelines for concealing records effective January 26 including permanent deletion of chat posts within 15 days. The policy follows Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election pledge that Access To Information was “quite important.”
Canadians most likely to trust TV news are over 65, says in-house CRTC research. Canadians under 34 were least likely to rate mainstream media as factual and unbiased: "Although traditional television still exists, its long term future is uncertain."
Canadians are wary of data portability like “open banking,” the Competition Bureau said yesterday. It predicted consumer skepticism will limit the take-up of proposals like an “open banking” concept studied by the Department of Finance since 2019: "Switching network operators, banks or insurance companies can take time and be confusing."
Canadians who qualify for the Canada Dental Care Plan may also draw provincial benefits at the same time, says the Department of Health. Rules did not permit double dipping but rather complementary coverage of varying fees: "The Government of Canada strongly encourages provinces and territories to maintain their existing dental programs."
The Canada Revenue Agency yesterday disclosed its own employees filed hundreds of complaints of in-house fraud and “integrity lapses” including suspected wrongdoing by managers. The disclosure followed allegations filed in Federal Court regarding inside dealing with corporate lobbyists: "Internal fraud and integrity lapses pose a serious threat."
Foreign Minister Anita Anand yesterday announced Canada has “a new foreign policy” that encourages Canadians to get to know the People’s Republic of China. The announcement came almost five years to the day after MPs voted unanimously to condemn China for crimes against humanity: "This is a new government with a new Prime Minister, a new foreign policy."
Canadians are despondent over housing shortages with a majority predicting federal planning will do little good, says internal polling by Housing Minister Gregor Robertson’s department. Robertson has cautioned cabinet will need at least a decade to meet its affordability targets: "We can only work with the facts we have in front of us."
Canada faces a hotel shortage, lobbyists tell the Commons industry committee. The Hotel Association of Canada predicted the country will be short tens of thousands of rooms by the end of the decade without immediate tax breaks: "By 2030 Canada is expected to face a shortfall of nearly 20,000 hotel rooms."
Heritage Minister Marc Miller’s department in a briefing note said it is worried some Canadians appear disengaged from government messaging. Federal managers are relying on the CBC to promote “social cohesion,” it said: "Certain segments of the population remain disengaged."
