Subsidies on VIA Rail’s transcontinental service now average more than $1,000 per passenger, a record, documents show. Management in a report to Parliament said The Canadian tourist train that runs between Vancouver and Toronto is so frequently late “the delays are at times unacceptable.”
A national agency acted unlawfully in straying from its mandate, a federal court has ruled. The decision came on a petition by a drug company that complained regulators breached the Patent Act in the name of consumer protection: 'Ensure a firm and unwavering obedience to legality and the rule of law.'
MPs yesterday demanded names of who in the finance department approved the hiring of a Brazilian contractor to mismanage a pandemic relief program that cost taxpayers billions. “Covid is not an excuse for ignoring the rules,” Conservative MP Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West) told the Commons public accounts committee: "They are hiding something."
The Department of Veterans Affairs yesterday said it had nothing to do with a botched war memorial unveiled by MPs in 2022. The monument to “heroic Canadian Armed Forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice” includes names of non-combatants and ex-military who died of old age or are still alive: "How is it possible?"
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland last night said it was “really hard to decide” what to tax or not under a GST holiday bill. Members of the Senate national finance committee questioned the logic of taxing children’s ice skates and musical instruments but making video games and Pepsi tax free: "You are right, it was really hard to decide."
Cabinet yesterday acknowledged stiff opposition to its proposal to regulate legal internet content. Attorney General Arif Virani said a censor bill will be split to focus on issues that “should be a priority for everybody.”
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon yesterday said Canada Post management and workers were “highly disrespectful” of customers as a strike passed its 19th day. This week is traditionally the busiest of the year with Christmas mailings: "That is in my view, among other things, highly disrespectful."
Canadians in federal focus groups are worried over the national debt, says in-house Privy Council research. Taxpayers rated annual deficits a symptom of poor economic management: "A greater focus needed to be placed on maintaining balanced budgets."
Cabinet yesterday confirmed Donald Trump suggested Canada become the 51st U.S. state if it is unable to enforce border security and balance trade with America. Trump “was teasing us,” said one cabinet member who attended a banquet last Saturday at Trump’s Florida estate: "The President was teasing us."
Parts of Canada’s Muslim and Arab communities are responsible for “a crisis of Jew hatred in this country,” says an executive with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. The blunt testimony opened hearings on anti-Semitism by the Senate human rights committee: "There is a crisis of Jew hatred in this country."
MPs have agreed to drop a proposed change to the next fixed election date that would have guaranteed pensions for Liberal and New Democrat two-termers. Members of the House affairs committee yesterday said they would delete the clause in an elections bill: 'This was cynical.'
The public is owed more transparency by the Bank of Canada, the Senate banking committee said yesterday. Senators in a report said broad reforms “should be considered" after 90 years at the central bank: "Find answers to three main questions."
A Brazilian contractor hired to manage a federal pandemic relief program billed taxpayers up to $750 an hour, auditors disclosed yesterday. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s department was blamed for poor oversight of the scheme that wasted billions: "They really did fail in their responsibilities."
Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change yesterday said she likes to travel by air because “it makes more sense” than taking the train or attending meetings by videoconference. Catherine Stewart would not discuss her carbon footprint after billing $254,089 in travel expenses her first two years on the job: "I speak about the devastating impacts of climate change."
There is no evidence the Canada Summer Jobs program creates jobs though it cost more than a quarter billion last year, says a federal audit. The Department of Employment that runs the program did not determine whether 50 percent wage grants created new jobs or merely subsidized existing positions: "It is like free money."
