The Public Health Agency in an in-house memo says it introduced the $59.5 million ArriveCan app because it feared ordinary Customs forms were infected with Covid. The Agency’s own doctors at the time said there was no evidence paper spread the coronavirus: "We were told we could catch Covid from touching documents."
Tax write-offs jumped 55 percent last year to more than $4.3 billion, records show. The Canada Revenue Agency gave no reason for the surprising increase: "It really has the appearance of an Agency without accountability."
Cabinet sees “potential” in a Department of Employment scheme to build Canada’s biggest database using payroll information on 31 million tax filers. “Government departments and agencies could then access the information when they need it,” said a Briefing Binder: "It would impact every employer and every worker in Canada."
Loblaw Companies and its subsidiaries pocketed more than $10 million in federal subsidies since 2019, records show. New Democrat Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, Que.), the MP who requested the figures, protested that taxpayers who can’t afford to shop at Loblaw still have to pay for it: "Enough is enough."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “Boston’s transportation system. The Big Dig. Scheduled to complete in 1998 for $2.6 billion. Completed in 2007 for $14.6 billion…”
If hindsight is 20-20 it’s also two dimensional. The past is often depicted by amateur historians and skillful propagandists as a morality play with cardboard characters: good, bad, black hat, white hat. This is the screenplay of every John Wayne film you ever saw.
More Than Just Games asks, why did Canada support the 1936 Nazi Olympics? There were several reasons. Co-authors Richard Menkis of the University of British Columbia and Harold Troper of the University of Toronto are talented writers with a keen eye for detail.
Just Games is not merely honest, it is compelling. First, Menkis and Troper dispense with myths.
No, Hitler did not pointedly refuse to shake U.S. sprinter Jesse Owen’s hand after the black athlete won gold. Hitler had shaken so many hands earlier in the games the International Olympic Committee told the effusive Fuehrer he’d breached protocol: no more handshakes.
Cabinet aides yesterday confirmed they withheld spy documents requested by the China inquiry. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security advisor testified she did not know how many confidential memos were concealed: "It is impossible."
An executive with a federal agency disbanded over sweetheart subsidies yesterday described public criticism of the “green slush fund” as hurtful. Sheryl Urie, vice president of finance, said Sustainable Development Technology Canada benefited all Canadians beyond the 186 conflicts of interest by the board: 'It is difficult to hear.'
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc yesterday would not commit to naming Parliament Hill spies before the next election. LeBlanc earlier said he knew the identities of public office holders working for foreign embassies: "I asked a simple question; answer the question."
Senator Yuen Pau Woo (B.C.) predicts a McCarthyist witch hunt with Parliament’s passage of a bill mandating public disclosure of Canadians lobbying for foreign governments. Fellow Liberal appointees in the Senate ridiculed Woo’s claim: "What advice would you give to Chinese Canadians who want to build good ties with their motherland?"
Canada must spend billions more to meet its minimum NATO commitments, says the Commons national defence committee. The recommendation follows remarks by Defence Minister Bill Blair that it “is a challenge for Canada” to achieve the same funding targets as the U.S., United Kingdom and other allies: "Meet the Alliance’s two percent defence spending target."
Federal managers are still attempting to recover about $1.6 million worth of wages mistakenly paid to employees while they were on strike in 2023, records show. Management blamed paperwork errors: "What was the total amount mistakenly paid out?"
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she routinely shares password-protected news stories with friends. Freeland’s remarks followed a Federal Court ruling won by Department of Justice lawyers that permits password sharing, a Canadian first: “As you guys know I used to be a journalist.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault yesterday banned the sale of lightbulbs once touted by his department as climate-friendly energy savers. Compact fluorescent bulbs in fact contained toxic mercury blamed for poisoning the environment: "There are probably 100 million of these bulbs in Canada."
Liberal MPs will spend the summer talking to voters “about their hopes and dreams,” Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said yesterday. MacKinnon made the remarks to reporters as the Commons adjourned for a 13-week summer recess: "At what point is it time to change?"
