Cabinet this fall for the first time will detail the true number of foreigners let into the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday. It follows a May 21 report by the Senate social affairs committee that complained actual counts were misrepresented in Parliament: "We are meeting the moment."
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday said cabinet is prepared for any retaliation from China in a looming tariff war. Freeland effective October 1 is imposing a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles and 25 percent on steel and aluminum: "Canada needs to be ready."
One of Canada’s most heavily-subsidized weeklies yesterday did not comment after publishing an article critical of Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre’s proposal to abolish subsidies. The Hill Times did not disclose its own six-figure funding or the fact the reporter who wrote the story had worked as a $750-a day federal consultant: 'He is challenging poor, underpaid local journalists.'
Parliament should pay Canadians over 65 to stay in their homes, say cabinet advisors. A National Seniors Council expert panel did not estimate the cost of its proposed Age At Home Benefit but said it should not be income tested: "The federal government should think about the economic cost of inaction."
Elections Canada says it cannot refute an affidavit by former two-term MP Leona Alleslev (Aurora-Oak Ridges, Ont.) stating it unwittingly hired Chinese Communist Party agents as poll workers in the 2021 campaign. Alleslev in a sworn statement said she received complaints from Chinese Canadian electors who said they were too frightened to vote: "Half the Chinese Canadian constituents she canvassed would tell Ms. Alleslev they were afraid to vote for her because they feared repercussions."
Federal executives at a confidential meeting last August 29 concluded foreign agents were using illegal methods to threaten Canadians. The meeting occurred only weeks after cabinet's Special Rapporteur downplayed foreign interference as “media allegations.”
Canada has not exported lethal weapons to Israel in six years, Department of Foreign Affairs documents show. Shipment records were compiled at the request of New Democrat MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona) who claimed Canadian weaponry “killed over 12,000 children” in Gaza.
The Jewish National Fund is asking a federal judge to review an August 10 ruling by the Canada Revenue Agency that stripped the longtime charity of its tax status. The Fund best known for its fundraising Negev Dinners attended by successive Conservative and Liberal cabinet members alike said it was singled out by auditors: "That is an egregious mistake."
The Canada Savings Bonds program, a fixture for 100 years, is now being targeted by scammers, says the Bank of Canada. The last bonds were issued seven years ago: 'If you called since February you may have been exposed to a scam.'
Poet W.N. Branson writes: “An Enigma. 12 years old, briefcase in hand, ready to be Prime Minister. Credits and debits yet to be counted. The sum of his parts…”
Canada has the richest cuisine of any northern country, though Canadians are so defensive on the point it once provoked official protest. In 1959 Ottawa publicly flailed the U.S. publisher Bantam over a cookbook that depicted Canada as a nation of spud-eating hillbillies.
“Canadians are exceedingly fond of potatoes and they eat enormous quantities of them prepared in countless ways,” reported the Complete Round-The-World Cookbook, a promotion for Pan-American Airways written by New York food editor Myra Waldo. “The basic items of Canadian diet are few and simple: potatoes, homemade bread and maple syrup.”
Gibberish, said Northern Affairs Minister Alvin Hamilton: “This is more than slightly out of date.” Was it ever in date? Canadian food heritage is Winnipeg goldeye, tourtière and partridgeberry jam, roast duck, strawberry soup and Indian pudding.
New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh last night expressed disgust after cabinet forced an end to a national rail lockout in 17 hours. Singh said he was prepared to dissolve Parliament rather than support action against 9,300 Teamsters. “Whether it’s a confidence motion or not, I don’t care,” he said.
Chinese Communist Party agents allegedly acted as Elections Canada poll workers in the 2021 campaign, according to documents submitted to a federal inquiry. Former Conservative MP Leona Alleslev (Aurora-Oak Ridges, Ont.) in a sworn affidavit said she was told by Chinese Canadian constituents they knew of foreign operatives working at polling stations: "Half the Chinese Canadian constituents she canvassed would tell Ms. Alleslev they were afraid to vote."
Canadians attending pro-Palestinian street protests face blacklisting and workplace reprisal, the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association says in a brief to the Commons justice committee. It follows complaints by a cabinet advisor that employers won’t hire activists: 'There is persistent misconduct by co-workers.'
The Canada Border Services Agency is spending millions a year monitoring contraband without any evidence it’s curtailed cross-border gun smuggling, says an internal audit. It follows 2023 reports confirming seizures were few and far between: "When data was available it was often incomplete, under-reported or mis-reported."
