Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday appealed to MPs to stop questioning cabinet’s credibility on debt management. Freeland promised to update budget figures next Monday, a day before Parliament is scheduled to adjourn for a five-week Christmas recess: "It is very important not to cast any doubt on Canada’s financial credibility."
A GST holiday will cost 80 percent more than claimed by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the Budget Office said yesterday. Analysts said Freeland failed to account for mandatory compensation owed provinces that harmonized their own sales tax collections with the GST: "Would you agree with that number?"
MPs yesterday by a 180 to 152 vote rejected a non-confidence motion that quoted New Democrat Jagmeet Singh as calling cabinet weak and selfish. Singh himself voted against it: "What has this administration promised the NDP to get them to vote against their leader’s own words?"
The Green Party yesterday blamed inexperienced staff for illegal campaign spending by MP Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, Ont.). The Party won the riding in 2021 after overspending by thousands of dollars, said the Elections Commissioner: "Our first-time official agent made a few small mistakes."
Deputy Finance Minister Chris Forbes yesterday refused to say who at his department agreed to hire a Brazilian contractor to mismanage a pandemic relief program. Auditors found widespread irregularities including padded timesheets and rates charged at up to $750 per hour: "They really did fail."
Foreign interference by China is “mostly aimed at improving bilateral relations,” says a Liberal Senate appointee. Senator Yuen Pau Woo (B.C.) in a sworn affidavit said he personally overheard a Chinese diplomat advise a Canadian audience on how to vote, but considered it harmless: "While such actions may offend Canadian sensibilities because of antipathy towards China they do not amount to foreign interference."
Liberal MP Chandra Arya (Nepean) in an extraordinary protest said a member of his own caucus “threatened that I would be f—d up” over a vote he cast in the House. Arya named the MP: "I should be able to express my opinion."
A retired federal IT consultant has lost a bid for thousands in damages after spotting a “caution wet floor” sign in a government building. English-only warnings cause him “loss of enjoyment of life,” Michel Thibodeau of Ottawa wrote the Federal Court: "My identity as a francophone was threatened and I felt like a second-class citizen."
Canada should adopt a code of practice on media disinformation, says a Commons ethics committee report. Liberal MP Iqra Khalid (Mississauga-Erin Mills, Ont.), a committee member, called it among “the biggest issues of our time.”
Vancouver’s port and international airport should be on a critical list of federally regulated public works most susceptible to climate change, says a Senate committee report. Senators noted 2021 rainstorms forced a halt to cargo traffic at the Port of Vancouver, largest in the nation: "It is projected the sea level will rise more than one metre."
Poet W.N. Branson writes: “Mount Robson broods as the fog gains the hand and the shadows lay gently upon the passengers…”
One path to happiness is figuring out how the world works. Some Canadians are irritated that Catholics have their own school boards and Jonquiere road signs are in French. There is deep-rooted justification for this, upheld by the Supreme Court many, many times. Mention the fact and you’ll draw a last cry of exasperation – “Well I still don’t like it!” – and the first glimmer of awareness that for everything there is a reason.
So authors Greg Poelzer and Ken Coates of the University of Saskatchewan observe that First Nations have rights rooted in law, and the sooner Canadians recognize the fact the better off we will be. From Treaty Peoples To Treaty Nation is a careful, concise account of the “Indian problem” written primarily for non-Indigenous readers. Anybody is better for reading it.
Attorney General Arif Virani’s department last night said it will not prosecute reporters who disclose federal secrets. The Department of Justice dismissed an internal memo that detailed circumstances in which reporters could face charges for publishing government documents without permission: 'All hypothetical.'
Cabinet’s GST holiday will save the typical Canadian $4.51, the Senate national finance committee was told yesterday. Senators endorsed the measure while commenting it appeared pointless: "I think we all understand it is a political measure."
Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault (Edmonton Centre) yesterday said it is “deeply harmful” when white people claim Indigenous ancestry. Boissonnault told the Commons Indigenous committee he is not Indigenous though he once called himself Strong Eagle Man: "How can anyone believe anything you say?"
