Cabinet’s Google tax appears doubtful after U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday called it an anti-American trade barrier. First payments under the multi-billion dollar tax were due this summer: "Only America should be allowed to tax American firms."
A taxpayer-funded Court Challenges Program subsidized liberal causes 96 percent of the time, an Ottawa think tank said yesterday. The Macdonald-Laurier Institute said its analysis, the first of its kind, could not find a single instance where the Program financed Charter challenges on conservative themes like property rights: "Time to shut it down."
Federal observance of Canada Day is evolving to “adapt to emerging needs and social expectations,” says a Department of Canadian Heritage report. Managers of a program that awards grants to community projects noted with approval that some communities cancelled traditional July 1 activities to reflect “the history of colonialism in Canada.”
Most young Canadians rate the internet a happy, informative and entertaining pastime, says a Department of Public Safety report. The data contradicted claims by Attorney General Arif Virani of “unchecked dangers and horrific content” that justified censorship of lawful speech: "Youth continue to report mostly positive experiences with online social activities."
Federal regulators yesterday fined an Ontario securities dealer $66,000 for paperwork errors in complying with the Proceeds Of Crime And Terrorist Financing Act. The agency in past years was cited in Federal Court for issuing arbitrary penalties in cases of minor technical breaches of the law: "Why? We have no idea."
A former Canadian Human Rights Commission appointee in a crowdfunding appeal says he will end “bullying” by critics. “I need your help to hold them accountable,” wrote Birju Dattani of Toronto Metropolitan University: "Every little bit helps!"
Parks Canada yesterday designated the Kamloops, B.C. Indian Residential School a national historic site but omitted all reference to alleged graves in a nearby orchard. Claims in 2021 by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation that it discovered 215 children’s graves on the schoolgrounds prompted an international outcry. No remains were ever recovered: "The possibility of unmarked burials is not a determining factor for designation."
Managers at Manitoba's International Peace Garden say they have received angry emails from Canadians threatening boycotts over cross-border politics. Hurtful comments were “hard to read,” said the North Dakota-based CEO of the Garden dedicated 93 years ago to eternal friendship: "I have never seen anything quite like this."
Cabinet yesterday granted border agents new powers to cancel temporary visas for suspicious foreigners considered likely to remain in Canada illegally. It follows a 2024 admission by the Department of Immigration that it had lost track of as many as half a million foreigners here: "Travelers may be turned back at the airport."
Employees who suffer layoffs due to "climate" disasters like wildfires will qualify for improved jobless benefits under a pilot project detailed yesterday by the federal Employment Insurance Commission. The three-year experiment will cost $4.3 million: "With climate change, natural disasters are expected to become a new reality."
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc yesterday in an ethics filing promised to avoid all discussions benefiting J.D. Irving Ltd., one of the largest private employers in his home province and operator of the biggest oil refinery in the country. Federal judges have ruled so-called “conflict of interest screens” are legal: "The Ethics Commissioner and I have agreed."
Cabinet aides conducted 2024 focus group research over a proposal by then-Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to ban corporate ownership of single family residences, records show. Canadians partially blamed speculators for high housing prices, said the Privy Council report: "A number were of the opinion that investor speculation in residential real estate had been a major contributing factor."
Climate change may open Canada’s most northerly deepwater port to export markets 300 days a year, says a federal briefing note. The Port of Churchill initially built for wheat exports to the United Kingdom is currently icebound eight months out of twelve: 'With a certain level of icebreaking, year-round shipping to and from Churchill is technically already possible.'
Calgary, Windsor and Saint John will take the heaviest initial hits in a U.S. trade war, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce warned yesterday. Analysts calculated the share of municipal GDP tied to U.S. exports in the 41 largest cities nationwide: "For some of Canada’s cities the threat is far more local and personal."
A 60-day GST holiday passed by Parliament at a $2.7 billion cost was not worth the trouble, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said yesterday. A majority of storekeepers impacted by the tax break said it had no real impact on sales: "The government’s GST holiday was a flop."
