The Department of Fisheries yesterday pledged to save Canada’s tallest lighthouse, a 10-storey clifftop landmark at Gaspé, Que. built in 1858. It follows a federal audit that faulted the Government of Canada for allowing heritage structures to crumble into disrepair: “I mean, the government doesn’t look good.”
Chrystia Freeland says she considers herself a regular working mom and “the first woman finance minister in Canada.” She isn’t. Speaking to tax lobbyists in Vancouver, Freeland omitted all reference to the true record holder and mistakenly claimed no other finance minister knew “what it is like to pump your breast milk.”
Whistleblower leaks to reporters hurt democracy, says an Access To Information memo from the Department of Immigration. Managers told employees to send any grievance to an anonymous electronic suggestion box but acknowledged media were bound to hear about it anyway: ‘Disclosing privileged information to media erodes the very trust on which government depends.’
A federal program to provide emergency food and shelter to destitute veterans went 53 percent over budget last year, records show. Most applicants were homeless or suffered addiction or mental health issues, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs: “The shelters are full.”
Regulating minimum payments on credit cards may save some consumers interest charges but drives others to delinquency, says a Bank of Canada study. Researchers drew findings from the only province to introduce a minimum payment rule: “We find evidence the policy led to a reduction in credit access.”
A Commons petition submitted by an executive with the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies asks that Parliament proclaim a pets’ bill of rights in rental agreements. “Discriminating against renters with pets is unjust,” said the petition.
RCMP investigations into foreign interference have grown sixfold, says a briefing note for Commissioner Michael Duheme. Suspicious activity included alleged criminality by Chinese Communist Party agents targeting MPs: “The RCMP experienced an increase of 468 percent in its foreign actor interference related occurrences.”
New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh yesterday called the political climate “scary.” Asked by reporters for comment on the shooting of Donald Trump, Singh said he too has “worried about the safety of the people around me,” an apparent reference to a 2022 incident in Peterborough, Ont.: “We need to make sure people feel safe.”
Cabinet must acknowledge the high cost of living under its climate programs, says a federal advisory report. The warning follows data indicating as many as a fifth of Canadian households face “energy poverty.”
Shipping costs are up after transport networks were “disrupted by people,” says a Department of Foreign Affairs report. The document did not specifically cite a 2023 strike by the Longshore & Warehouse Union in British Columbia but complained of “many vulnerable choke points.”
Student loan write-offs are still running past $160 million a year despite interest waivers and generous repayment terms, says a federal report. Auditors blamed hard times: ‘Borrowers’ difficulties are the result of precarious and unstable financial situations.’
The Canada Revenue Agency says it has “no records” divulging who made an $8 billion mistake in mismanaging a pandemic relief program, according to Access To Information files. Revenue Commissioner Bob Hamilton had testified it was “a decision by the government” but would not name names: “It’s very difficult to know what will be left at the end of the day.”
Media, politicians and experts have concealed the failure of Canada’s “safe supply” drug policy, says Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre. He made the remarks in a kindergarten playground near Montréal’s first federally-subsidized injection site that opened April 15: “You guys repeat the same language you get from the radical Liberal-NDP activists and bureaucracy.”
Auditors disclose a federal “Equality Fund” launched with a $300 million taxpayer grant promptly lost a tenth of its value in poor investments. The money was supposed to help women in Third World countries: “Poor market conditions impacted the early returns on gender lens investments.”
An in-house investigation has disclosed unauthorized snooping through Department of Immigration files in one of the largest electronic databases held by the Government of Canada. Managers found an unnamed employee breached the Privacy Act: “Corrective measures are being taken.”
