Senator Yuen Pau Woo (B.C.) predicts a McCarthyist witch hunt with Parliament’s passage of a bill mandating public disclosure of Canadians lobbying for foreign governments. Fellow Liberal appointees in the Senate ridiculed Woo’s claim: "What advice would you give to Chinese Canadians who want to build good ties with their motherland?"
Canada must spend billions more to meet its minimum NATO commitments, says the Commons national defence committee. The recommendation follows remarks by Defence Minister Bill Blair that it “is a challenge for Canada” to achieve the same funding targets as the U.S., United Kingdom and other allies: "Meet the Alliance’s two percent defence spending target."
Federal managers are still attempting to recover about $1.6 million worth of wages mistakenly paid to employees while they were on strike in 2023, records show. Management blamed paperwork errors: "What was the total amount mistakenly paid out?"
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she routinely shares password-protected news stories with friends. Freeland’s remarks followed a Federal Court ruling won by Department of Justice lawyers that permits password sharing, a Canadian first: “As you guys know I used to be a journalist.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault yesterday banned the sale of lightbulbs once touted by his department as climate-friendly energy savers. Compact fluorescent bulbs in fact contained toxic mercury blamed for poisoning the environment: "There are probably 100 million of these bulbs in Canada."
Liberal MPs will spend the summer talking to voters “about their hopes and dreams,” Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said yesterday. MacKinnon made the remarks to reporters as the Commons adjourned for a 13-week summer recess: "At what point is it time to change?"
Cabinet yesterday adopted an all-party recommendation of the Commons justice committee to blacklist the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group. It did not comment on a committee proposal to immediately “expel the estimated 700 Iranian agents operating in Canada.”
A University of Alberta economist who used his Twitter account to ridicule Conservatives as “idiots” and “sociopaths” received more than $68,000 in sole-sourced federal contracts, records show. Economist Andrew Leach yesterday said he made no secret of his work: "Are we governed by idiots beholden to sociopaths?"
China is “helping” fight climate change by manufacturing solar panels, says Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison. MPs expressed astonishment at his remarks, noting Chinese panels are made by slave labour and prohibited from being imported under Canadian trade law: "They are actually helping; Chinese production is helping countries around the world transition off dirty fuels."
More than 36,000 foreign students have claimed refugee protection in Canada, records show. The figures covering the period from 2018 identified five universities and colleges with the highest number of refugee claims: "That isn’t the sign of a healthy system."
The Senate has passed into law a first-ever federal ban on replacement workers in strikes and lockouts. Senator Frances Lankin (Ont.), a longtime union executive, called it the historic fulfillment of labour rights sought since Confederation: 'I hope you feel the weight of history.'
Federal hiring practices are buried in paperwork, says a Public Service Commission survey of government managers. Nine out of 10 rated it “burdensome.”
Doctors have “huge advantages under our tax system” and can afford to pay more, Health Minister Mark Holland said yesterday. His remarks followed a warning from the Canadian Medical Association that changes to capital gains tax rates would cost most doctors nationwide: "A nurse should not be paying a higher marginal tax rate than a multimillionaire."
Governor General Mary Simon had staff contact Attorney General Arif Virani’s deputy before holding a conference in support of a Liberal bill on internet censorship, records show. “The Governor General is a force for good in this country,” Virani wrote in denying partisan interference.
Interest rate hikes will make many mortgage holders poorer for years to come, a Bank of Canada report said yesterday. Researchers estimated by 2027 disposable incomes for borrowers will be lower on average: "Pressure on consumption from rate hikes could last longer than the rate hike cycle itself."
