Liberal MP Bill Blair (Scarborough Southwest, Ont.), 71, yesterday was named High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. The appointment followed Blair’s dismissal from cabinet after a judicial inquiry found he “dropped the ball” on foreign interference.
Federal regulators yesterday disclosed the Bank of Montreal had paid $3.6 million in compensation after it was caught overcharging 101,091 depositors on discounted fees. Bank managers ignored hundreds of complaints from customers, said the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: 'They received over 500 complaints.'
The Federal Court of Appeal has ordered a new hearing into a WestJet employee who questioned women co-workers about breastfeeding and puberty. Judges overturned a labour board finding that the workplace comments were not sexual harassment though admittedly “outside the normal boundaries."
Health Minister Marjorie Michel’s department has sealed internal reports on vaccine and drug injuries for 15 years, records show. The documents run to “several million pages," it said.
Farm Credit Canada confirms its $458,000-a year CEO in a speech to staff praised Fidel Castro as an impressive and visionary leader. The Crown bank had no comment on remarks by Justine Hendricks, who also praised Communist Party management of Cuba: "It’s Fidel Castro. There’s all sorts of aspects of Fidel Castro."
A tenth of small businesses in Canada have vanished since the pandemic, new Department of Industry figures show. Data confirmed Canadian Federation of Independent Business research showing nationally, closures now outnumber start-ups: "We are bleeding businesses."
Defence Minister David McGuinty has vetoed a recommendation by MPs that he freeze rents on military housing. Money was required to upgrade accommodation on military bases that failed a 2025 audit, he said: "The Government of Canada disagrees with this."
A cabinet order blacklisting all plastic goods as toxic was “simply an enabling provision,” says the Federal Court of Appeal. Judges upheld the 2021 order by then-Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault but acknowledged more legal challenges are possible: "There was overwhelming scientific evidence."
The landmark was expropriated by the National Capital Commission in May 1965 and all tenants including MPs and a Supreme Court justice were evicted six months later. The building was demolished. “A disgrace,” one 89-year old tenant said of the destruction. “They are pulling down the only decent apartment building in the city.”
What do municipalities and First Nation reserves have in common? Both are used to being told what to do. It’s natural, then, that any review of Indigenous self-government would examine how these two get along at the most elemental level. A Quiet Evolution is the first research of its kind, and prompts the reader to wonder why nobody thought of this before.
It turns out relationships between cities and reserves can be petty or profound. Human, in other words. If Parliament ever settles outstanding land claims and accepts Indigenous property rights nationwide, it would look something like this.
“It would be easy to conclude that the Indigenous-Crown relationship is almost entirely adversarial and problematic,” authors write. “While this pessimism is certainly pervasive and somewhat justified, given Canada’s history of colonialism, a much different story seems to be unfolding at this local level.”
Heritage Minister Marc Miller in a letter to MPs says political organizers are using the internet to undermine Canadians’ trust in public institutions. He did not identify any by name: "The needs of protecting public interest journalism are urgent."
Records show federal managers hire more than 800 foreign students a year while lamenting high jobless rates for Canadian students. The Treasury Board noted federal employers were supposed to hire Canadians first: "The Public Service Employment Act gives preference to eligible veterans first, then Canadian citizens."
A senior Liberal MP yesterday complained cabinet is unable to pass most of its bills despite winning the 2025 general election. MP Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North), parliamentary secretary to the Government House Leader, blamed Conservatives: "We have a Prime Minister who was just elected."
Digital identification is a convenience that will never be mandatory in Canada, says cabinet. The Department of Employment overseeing digital ID development at a cost of billions said it had “no plans” to force Canadians to use the technology: "Using this online will be completely voluntary."
Cineplex Corporation, the nation’s largest theatre chain, has been ordered to pay $38,987,000 plus costs for breach of the Competition Act. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the penalty over a $1.50 online booking fee: "We are shocked."
