Federal revenue from marijuana taxes has plateaued at under a quarter billion a year, says a Department of Finance memo. Cabinet had predicted revenues of up to a billion a year when it legalized cannabis in 2018: "How much?"
Cabinet imposed sanctions on Russia without ensuring they'd be enforced, says a federal report. Then-Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland had announced sanctions in tribute to “the remarkably brave people of Ukraine.”
Cabinet should mandate that a fifth of new housing starts be set aside for low-income families, says a report to Housing Minister Gregor Robertson. The advice contradicts a 2024 CMHC study that cautioned focusing on low-cost rentals was "not optimal."
Pursuit of self-improvement is not a write-off, says Tax Court. The ruling came in the case of a part-time shampoo salesman who claimed thousands in losses while pursuing goals set out in self-help books like Think And Grow Rich: "It was not a source of income."
The Department of Health scrapped half the costly Covid ventilators it bought under $1.1 billion contracts with sole-sourced suppliers, Access To Information records show. Then-Minister Jean-Yves Duclos approved the sale of brand new medical devices as scrap metal in a 2022 memo never disclosed to Parliament: "Lessons learned."
Elections Canada declined to count more than 43,000 mail-in ballots it says it received past a deadline of 6 pm Eastern on April 28. The agency did not detail where the “late” ballots were cast in a general election that saw four ridings go to judicial recounts: "There are no tracking mechanisms in the field that allow us to determine how many special ballot voting kits left Elections Canada offices on any given day."
Cabinet's reversal on electric vehicle mandates comes three months after government caucus members boasted Canada was “at the head of the pack” on climate change. The mandate was to take effect with 2026 model vehicles: "This is about my children, my grandchildren, everybody’s children."
Prime Minister Mark Carney is promising millions more in biofuel subsidies on warnings the industry is struggling. Canadian producers could not supply ethanol and biodiesel needed to meet climate regulations, according to a federal briefing note: 'Many projects have been paused or cancelled.'
National search and rescue programs have left many volunteers uninsured despite obvious hazards, says a Department of Public Safety report. It recommended a federal remedy to support thousands of volunteers credited with daring rescues: "Insurance is critical."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “The Speech from the Throne is read. Money for tax cuts, health care, infrastructure…”
There was a casual brutality to the old RCMP Security Service. Mounties for decades kept Canadians under surveillance, confusing dissent with subversion, compiling mountains of neatly typed files. To read declassified reports today is to be struck by the numbing bureaucracy of the exercise. Surveillance reports were blandly passed from desk to desk, like the Department of Fisheries counting salmon stocks.
Why would they spy on Alberta publisher Mel Hurtig, or the president of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation? Nobody asked. Why watch La Presse editor Jean-Louise Gagnon or Manitoba premier Howard Pawley, who fell under surveillance as president of the Winnipeg’s 1961 Fair Play for Cuba Committee?
Cabinet will make “adjustments” to the 440,000-employee federal payroll this fall, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said yesterday. He would not discuss the scope of any layoffs: "There are tough choices ahead."
This year's federal deficit is likely more than $80 billion, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said yesterday. Cabinet’s original forecast of $42.2 billion appeared unrealistic following excess spending, he said: "It’s all a show."
Federal agencies are considering mandatory "quick response codes" on consumer products so Canadians can gauge the climate impact of purchases, according to a Privy Council report. No budget was disclosed: 'Our goal was to better understand how we can help Canadians access environmental information.'
Approval of Indigenous groups is not in fact mandatory in the selection of “nation building” projects, says Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin. The Minister in a letter clarified an August 7 claim by the Prime Minister that projects “must advance the interests of Indigenous peoples.”
