One of the key figures in the case of the misleading Guelph robocalls has made an immunity deal with Elections Canada in order to give his testimony. Andrew Prescott, whose account was used in connection with the calls, has previously denied wrongdoing, and Michael Sona remains the only person charged to date, and he too maintains his innocence.
Jason Kenney is sounding like there may be some flexibility in the Canada Job Grant programme after all – but it would still mean no new funding, just that the provincial matching component would come from the federal government instead. That would mean fewer grants available overall, and the provinces would still lose that $300 million in funding annually. Kenney also announced that they are harmonizing apprenticeship programmes across the Atlantic provinces.
Transport minister Lisa Raitt is livid after an incident where a man carrying a pipe bomb in the Edmonton airport was allowed on his flight after the bomb was confiscated, and that the RCMP weren’t notified for another four weeks – after CATSA tried to return it to him. CATSA says that corrective action has been taken.
A Conservative Private Member’s Bill would require current and future officers of parliament to declare any partisan activity they’ve engaged in over the past decade. And the definition of partisan activity is vague. Because apparently they’re all just Liberal stooges out to get the Conservatives?
The Supreme Court heard the reference case around Justice Nadon, and predictably reserved judgement. And no, there’s no indication of how they’ll rule. Andrew Coyne still finds Nadon’s appointment to be something of a head-scratcher and wonders what reason that Harper could have had for choosing him.
National Defence is looking to implement a system of colour-coded and serial numbered USB drives as a way of better tracking them and preventing security and data breaches.
The Canada Revenue Agency’s tip line for those who are hiding money in offshore accounts – part of a programme where informants can be rewarded with a portion of the recovered offshore tax funds – has finally been launched.
The Privacy Commissioner has smacked Google on the wrists because of their ads tracking users who visited sites for medical information and then tried to sell them related medical devices.
The CEO of TransCanada pipelines says there’s no Plan B with regards to the Keystone XL pipeline because the market forces are simply too big to ignore, and that excess oil will need to get out somehow and the Gulf Coast refineries are the best place for it to go.
Large cracks in Arctic ice are creating a kind of churning motion that is pulling mercury down from higher up in the atmosphere, where it collects and contaminates the ecosystem. As well, melting sea ice is releasing other persistent organic pollutants that had become trapped in it.
The legalisation of marijuana was adopted as Liberal party policy during their last policy convention, and this time, a resolution about legalising prostitution so that women can run a “safe and successful business” are one of the priority resolutions being advanced by the party’s BC wing for their upcoming convention. Predictably, Peter MacKay came out with a statement denouncing that Liberals apparently want to increase the access of the sex trade to children. Seriously?
The Liberals’ guide to their nomination process includes a thirty-person committee responsible for communicating with potential nominees, and a list of criteria including restrictions around campaign debt – which could be a barrier to a couple of former leadership candidates – but the ultimate veto remains in the leader’s hands. The party membership voted to leave that power in his hands, though Trudeau has insisted that nominations will be open.
Global requested an Access to Information document, and found that the overview and first word were blacked out for reasons that could be injurious to international affairs. A single word that is easily guessable. And while they wondered if it might have been by mistake, they were told that no, it was deliberate. Odd.
Energy economist Andrew Leach worries that the oxygen being sucked up by the Neil Young/PMO slap-and-hair-pull will distract from the larger issues, which are the glaring problems identified by the Joint Review Panel of the Jackpine Mine in Fort McMurray. There are big problems identified in that review, but they are being lost in the hyperbolic rhetoric by both sides of the public spat.
On the eve of his “affordability tour,” Thomas Mulcair says that he’s likely to vote in favour of Michael Chong’s bill, and that the NDP really aren’t anti-development.
Mark Kennedy looks at the origins of Stephen Harper’s support for Israel, and traces it back to his father’s influence. Harper is set to become the first Canadian political leader to address Israel’s parliament.
Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant is fundraising on a promise to overturn the ban on incandescent light bulbs – err, except that it was her government that brought it in. Even more curious is the fact that the donations are being funnelled to the Conservative riding association in Timmins-James Bay.
The RCMP have located the backup copies of Senator Pamela Wallin’s original calendars as part of their investigation into possible charges of fraud and breach of trust relating to her expenses.
And suspended Senator Patrick Brazeau has been dumped by Frank magazine after a single column – his sole rant offered nothing new, and he was unreliable and would drop off the face of the planet for a day or two at a time, even standing up his editor on a radio appearance. But really – does this surprise anyone?