Conservative MPs yesterday challenged cabinet to detail legal analysis of a landmark bill that would allow police to search the mail. “This is something I know I am going to get mail about,” said MP Frank Caputo (Kamloops-Thompson, B.C.), a former Crown prosecutor: "Tell Canadians what its experts have said about whether this legislation is Charter compliant."
The Commons yesterday by unanimous vote passed a Bloc Québécois bill protecting dairy quotas in all future trade talks. An identical bill was gutted in the Senate last year: "From aluminum to forest products, from shrimp to beef and other food products, from services to technology, all of these other Canadian exports are potentially hampered by this bill."
The federal Competition Bureau yesterday cautioned businesses claiming to be “green” to check their facts. The advisory follows Parliament’s 2024 passage of a bill outlawing fake claims that products are environmentally friendly: "The Bureau’s advice is clear: When in doubt, spell it out."
All major banks have signed on to a federal program to offer basic $4 per month accounts effective December 1, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada said yesterday. It follows estimates that leading banks pocket billions a year in service fees: "All Canadians are eligible."
Opposition parties last evening granted Prime Minister Mark Carney a reprieve on a confidence vote 82 days into his term. MPs mustered enough votes to topple the Liberals but acknowledged Canadians “don’t want an election right now,” said one party leader.
Interest costs on the national debt will hit $70 billion by 2029, the Budget Office warned yesterday. It compares to a pre-pandemic debt servicing charge of $24.4 billion annually: "Debt charges will reach $69.9 billion by 2029."
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem yesterday expressed worry over creeping unemployment. Statistics Canada is due to release its latest Labour Force Survey tomorrow: "Businesses are generally telling us they plan to scale back hiring."
Tens of thousands of Canadians have unpaid federal fines that run to the millions, says the Public Prosecution Service. At current rates of collection it would take about six years to recover the money that is owed, according to figures detailed in a prosecutors' memo: "It’s as if justice exists only on paper."
Attorney General Sean Fraser yesterday apologized after saying First Nations don’t hold a veto over pipeline projects. Cabinet earlier defended Indigenous pipeline blockades as a democratic right: "Who asked you to apologize?”
Police would gain new powers to intercept mail in transit under a bill introduced yesterday by Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. The bill repeals privacy protections at the post office that date from Confederation: "Are you concerned at all about the civil liberties of Canadians?"
Liberal appointee Senator Kris Wells (Alta.) yesterday said a group of “interested senators” would like to see a third attempt at regulating the internet. The Prime Minister has favoured censorship of what he called “pollution that’s online.”
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon yesterday dismissed a surprise Commons vote that shamed cabinet for concealing federal finances. All Opposition parties approved the Conservative measure critical of cabinet’s delay of its 2025 budget: "You don’t care about that?"
Cabinet yesterday denied it lost track of millions of illegal immigrants but would not divulge its own figures. The comments followed one MP’s request for a comprehensive deportation plan: "How is the government to ensure they will leave?"
The RCMP and Crown prosecutors would enforce First Nations bylaws under private bills introduced yesterday in the Senate. It follows a Department of Justice report that noted “First Nations justice systems are distinct from one nation to another.”
All candidates for high office in Canada would undergo mandatory background security checks under a Commons petition sponsored by Liberal MP Robert Morrissey (Egmont, P.E.I.). The proposal follows the ejection of four ex-Liberal MPs in the past five months: "Recent events have raised legitimate concerns about foreign influence and potential security risk."
