Economy
MPs yesterday took a step to censuring Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault’s business partner for contempt of Parliament. Stephen Anderson, an Edmonton importer, ignored an ethics committee order that he identify a mysterious executive named “Randy.”
“Witnesses must answer all questions which the committee puts to them,” the committee wrote in its Twelfth Report tabled in the Commons. “Refusal to answer questions or failure to reply truthfully may give rise to a charge of contempt of the House.”
“Your committee feels it is their duty to place these
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Read MoreA total 344 federal employees have been fired as CERB cheats, the highest figure disclosed to date, cabinet confirmed yesterday. The count is expected to rise with ongoing investigations.
“This review process is ongoing,” the Canada Revenue Agency wrote in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons. “This number may continue to increase.” The figures were disclosed at the request of Conservative MP Adam Chambers (Simcoe North, Ont.) who asked, “How many government employees were found to have made fraudulent claims for the CERB?”
A total 289 Revenue Agency employees were fired for fal
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Read MoreThe Alberta government provided its most recent update on Calgary’s Green Line LRT project on Monday night.
The announcement, which aimed to “set the record straight,” was delivered by Alberta’s Minister of Transportation, Devin Dreeshen, in a five-minute monologue posted to X.
He explained that the Green Line was introduced in 2015 by former mayor and current Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi. The project initially promised to be a 46-kilometre line with 29 stations, costing
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Read MoreThe federal government just announced what it is calling the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades to unlock home ownership for more Canadians.” Unfortunately, there are good reasons to be skeptical that the proposed measures will help anyone buy a first home.
The government is implementing two new measures: increasing the $1-million price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5-million and expanding the eligibility for 30-year amortizations to all first-time homebuyers and all buyers of new builds.
The first is meant to address the fact tha
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Read MoreBoeing is suspending the jobs of tens of thousands of staff in the US in response to a strike that has shut down production of some of its airplanes.
The aerospace giant said US-based executives, managers and staff would be asked to take one week of furlough every four weeks as long as the stand-off lasts.
More than 30,000 factory workers in the northwest of the US went on strike on Friday over pay and retirement packages.
Government officials are now helping to mediate talks between the two sides.
The work stoppage threatens to cost Boeing billions of dollars, deepening the crisis at a
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Read MoreSome members of the Bank of Canada’s governing council are growing concerned that high interest rates may bring down inflation by more than necessary.
The central bank’s summary of deliberations released Wednesday offers a glimpse into the council’s discussions in the lead-up to the Sept. 4 interest rate cut.
Some members took the view that the risks were balanced, with strength in shelter and services price inflation offsetting the downward pressure from excess supply, the summary says.
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Read MoreAmazon is ordering staff back to the office five days a week as it ends its hybrid work policy.
The change will come into force from January, Amazon’s chief executive Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff.
“We’ve decided that we’re going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of Covid,” he said, adding that it would help staff be “better set u
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Read MoreFor many years the federal government’s approach to government finances has relied on spending-driven deficits and a growing debt burden, causing a deterioration in the state of federal finances.
While deficits can sometimes be justified in certain circumstances, perpetual spending-driven deficits have become the norm rather than a temporary exception for the federal government. The $39.8 billion deficit expected in 2024/25 is the 17th consecutive annual deficit, and deficits are expected to continue into the foreseeable future.
Deficits have helped drive federal gross debt from 53.0% of the economy ($1.1 trillion) in 2014/15 up to an expected 69.8% ($2.1 trillion) in 2024/25.
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Read MoreChina slapped new export controls on a batch of minerals such as antimony – vital for the U.S. defense industry as a flame-retardant component used in machine bearings – in a move that could send prices in the defense sector soaring.
The little-known metal antimony is used in ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles, as well as batteries and photovoltaic equipment. China produced nearly half of the world’s antimony last year.
The limits, which kicked in on Sunday, apply to six antimony-related products, including antimony ore, antimony metals and antimony oxide.
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Read MoreMichelle Garner-Rempel (author) is the Conservative MP for Calgary Nose Hill.
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he would be appointing uber-elitist and longtime carbon tax supporter Mark Carney as his key economic policy czar. Mr. Trudeau structured Mr. Carney’s appointment — with his myriad of board appointments, private interests, and investments — so that it would not be subject to any conflict of interest rules for public office holders.
Today, the reason for this may have become more apparent.
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