Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “sovereign wealth fund” will cost taxpayers $750 million a year in debt interest charges, finance department figures show. The estimate yesterday followed criticism the $25 billion Canada Strong Fund was not a savings account: "It’s actually a debt fund." READ MORE
Labour department managers yesterday could not corroborate Minister Patty Hajdu's story that a medical emergency justified quashing a legal 2025 strike by Air Canada flight attendants. Hajdu denied making it up though Access To Information records showed Air Canada’s worry was over lost tourism fares, not life-saving organ transplants: "Was it actually true?" READ MORE
The equivalent of a tenth of Greater Toronto Area residents now eat at a food bank, the CEO of the city’s Daily Bread Food Bank yesterday testified at the Commons finance committee. Many recipients work full time, he said: "Staggering." READ MORE
Being a “good person” does not excuse a taxpayer from a justifiable audit, says a Tax Court judge. The remarks came in the latest appeals by participants in what the Canada Revenue called one of the largest tax shelter schemes in the country: "They simply made the same stale arguments." READ MORE
Shoplifting has become a flashpoint for public disorder and organized crime that is costing consumers billions, Conservative MP Chak Au (Richmond Centre-Marpole, B.C.) yesterday told the Commons public safety committee. “Shoplifting has become a national crisis,” he said. READ MORE
The Senate concealed hundreds of thousands of postcards mailed by Canadians opposed to a cabinet bill, the chair of the budget committee confirmed yesterday. Senator Tony Loffreda (Que.), a Liberal appointee, denied any trickery: "This decision was not made to silence anyone." READ MORE
A live microphone caught Prime Minister Mark Carney scolding a cabinet minister for acting stupidly. Carney attempted to laugh off the incident when questioned yesterday, then declined comment: "My answer is my answer, thank you." READ MORE
I remember one oldtimer telling me, “You don’t have to be smart or know all the answers to work hard. You can compensate for a lot with hard work.” I never forgot that miner’s advice. On completing high school I landed my first industrial job as a hard-rock miner for Copperline Mines Ltd. in Parsons, B.C. My mother Angeline had raised us at our home in Trail. My father Vincent worked at the Cominco smelter. Dad didn’t want me working there. Sickness robbed him of a happy retirement. So, I worked.
