A federal agency relied on a news release from a volunteer press group in assessing risks of violence at the Freedom Convoy, according to records. Evidence at a judicial inquiry and parliamentary hearings contradict claims the protest was armed and dangerous: "“I saw reports in the media."
Facebook messages of support for the Freedom Convoy don’t justify a conviction for mischief, the Ontario Court of Justice has ruled. Canadian courts do not jail people because of their opinions, said an Ottawa judge: "He is not to be convicted because of his political views."
The CBC awarded itself more than $156 million in pay raises and bonuses despite complaining of “severe” financial challenges. Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation detail seven years’ worth of payments amid steep declines in CBC ad revenue: "We simply can’t be in a position where we have to keep cutting."
The Canada Revenue Agency in internal polling questioned whether to publish a blacklist of people who cheat on taxes. Parliament three years ago rejected a private bill that advocated naming and shaming tax evaders: "35 percent strongly agree the Canada Revenue Agency should publish a list."
Federal departments are concealing records on contracting, says Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic. The Ombudsman cited unnamed departments for hiding documents he knew for a fact existed: "We have had to write to departments during the course of a review to remind them to provide documents we know exist."
The Public Health Agency levied quarantine fines on cross-border travelers at the rate of more than $61,000 a day, records show. Most travelers were fined $5,000 at a time for a total $14.9 million: "This is not a success story."
The Senate is hiring a climate change consultant to help lower its emissions. Senators log 5,000,000 kilometres a year in air travel, by official estimate: "Our house is on fire and something urgently needs to be done."
The Competition Bureau since 2019 has been investigating sales practices by one of the country’s biggest furniture dealers, Federal Court records disclose. Allegations target The Dufresne Group Inc. of Winnipeg: "The Commissioner has reason to believe the respondents engaged in deceptive marketing practices."
The Commons finance committee has cleared a private Conservative bill to save company pensions in cases of bankruptcy. MPs have tried and failed to pass similar amendments to bankruptcy law since 1975: "We know the history of all the companies – Eaton’s, Sears, Nortel."
The idea of provincehood for the Territories is like a magnitude 8 earthquake in the St. Lawrence River Valley. It’s inevitable and slightly terrifying for the unprepared. Mere thought of a fifth Western province at the table upsets every place setting contrived since 1867. Author Tony Penikett recalls when the Northwest Territories was pressured to comply with the Official Languages Act, the legislature sanctioned French, English – and nine aboriginal languages.
“Nowadays nobody believes that provincial status is on the horizon for Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut,” writes Penikett, former two-term Yukon premier. “For the foreseeable future, devolution of legislative jurisdiction over lands and resources may be all the northern territories can hope to get.”
Taxpayers stand to lose $2.4 billion under a pandemic loan relief program, records show. The multi-billion loss was projected though cabinet extended a payment holiday for business borrowers to December 31, 2023: "We’ve had your back from day one."
The Ottawa Police Service last night said its claim the Freedom Convoy had weapons referred not to firearms but tire irons and work tools. Patricia Ferguson, acting deputy chief of police, acknowledged officers did not find any guns in convoy vehicles: "We don’t know if there really were guns."
The Freedom Convoy was among the most successful private fundraisers in Canadian history raising nearly $25 million in a month, data show. Figures yesterday released by a judicial inquiry confirmed most contributions, 59 percent, were Canadian: "I believe they just wanted to support the cause."
Chinese Communists ran a propaganda campaign to steer votes from Conservative candidates in the last election, the House affairs committee was told yesterday. It was difficult to gauge the impact, witnesses testified: "It’s incredibly hard to measure the impact of these sorts of operations on election outcomes."
A Christmas recession is likely, the Department of Finance yesterday confirmed in a Fall Economic Statement. “Times feel tough,” said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland: "We cannot support every single Canadian in the way we did."
