Attorney General David Lametti sought to quash a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., MP Jody Wilson-Raybould hints in a March 26 letter released by the Commons justice committee. Lametti has refused comment on the claim he was prepared to issue an unprecedented order to save the company from trial on fraud and bribery charges: "I simply won't go there."
The $50 per tonne federal carbon tax would have to double to meet emissions targets without new regulatory curbs on polluters, says an environmental group. The current tax to take effect today nationwide will add an extra 12¢ to the cost of a litre of gasoline by 2022, as well 14¢ more for diesel, 13¢ for aviation fuel, 10¢ per cubic metre of natural gas and 8¢ a litre for propane: "The federal government may change the pricing system."
More than $40 million in federal fee increases on industry took effect at midnight under a 2017 Act mandating perpetual hikes. The cost of charges for everything from patents to marijuana licenses went up 2.2 percent: "There will be no incentive to try to keep the costs down."
A federal review of controversial views by historic figures will exempt Tommy Douglas, founding leader of the New Democratic Party. Douglas was an early supporter of eugenics, and in the 1930s advocated the sterilization of women he deemed subnormal: "He later changed his views on this topic."
Federal investigators are drilling down into WestJet Airlines Inc. practices in a probe of alleged predatory pricing, according to Court documents. The Competition Bureau seeks to question a second WestJet executive: 'The Commissioner seeks information on the intent behind ticket pricing.'
The Commons agriculture committee tomorrow opens hearings on a growing billion-dollar trade dispute with China. MPs feared a Beijing boycott of canola seed will spill over to other sectors: "All of them are scared."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Prime Minister Andrew Scheer pulls no punches persuading his Attorney General to drop charges against SNC-Lavalin…”
On March 22, 2013 hours before that year’s budget was tabled in Parliament, two newspapers reported the Department of Finance was about to cut tariffs on hockey equipment. “Cheaper Hockey Gear An Assist To Parents”, read the Globe & Mail headline. “This Year’s Shiny Object: Cheaper Hockey Gear”, read the National Post.
Readers could only conclude both newspapers in a simultaneous burst of enterprise reporting had uncovered a budget secret through fearless digging. In fact, both were fed the line by department staff. This was not news-gathering; it was propaganda.
The dailies did not mention cabinet attempted to raise tariffs on hockey equipment three months before the budget, and Bauer Hockey Corp. replied with a confidential letter threatening to move all production out of Canada. Blacklock’s had that story all to itself.
Environment Canada in Access To Information memos calculates its national carbon tax to take effect April 1 will cost billions, with a marginal impact on greenhouse gas emissions in at least one province studied. The department calculated impacts on Saskatchewan, the first province to defy the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act: 'Emissions would be reduced by about 0.6 percent.'
The Commons justice committee is asking every MP and Senator for input including copies of Facebook attacks for a national study on hate speech. The committee also proposes cross-country hearings in a pre-election probe of “enticement of hate” online: 'It's to stem the propagation of hateful acts.'
The Commissioner of Official Languages has cited Parks Canada for breach of the Official Languages Act. The agency issued polling data tables in French only. It earlier failed a 2012 audit for “shortcomings in the bilingual delivery” of service: "There was a technical glitch."
Canadians typically face miles-long delays at border crossings, says a former Canadian ambassador to Ireland. The claim is contradicted by data from the Canada Border Services Agency and its U.S. counterpart. The remarks were made to an Irish newspaper: "You could be there for hours."
The Canadian Tourism Commission is paying U.S. publicists up to $320 an hour to pitch travel-friendly features to American media, accounts show. The total budget surpassed the $100,000 spent by VIA Rail in 2014 to offer free train trips to U.S. travel writers: "We will be speaking to our lawyer."
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is ending its work in Federal Court. Lawyers filed an application with a federal judge considered so damaging, the Department of Justice immediately sought to have the record concealed from the public: 'It remains concerned about confidential information.'
The Crown prosecutor at the heart of the SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. political scandal is being honoured by a global lawyers’ group. Director of Public Prosecutions Kathleen Roussel yesterday served notice she was named a part-time director of the International Association of Prosecutors: 'Unless the Attorney General intervenes, the final decisions are mine.'
