Sep 22 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — The NDP caucus is opposing a new arrangement that allows Members of Parliament to skip long public lines and obtain a COVID-19 test from a private clinic. The private clinic option surfaced last week after Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s office said the leader used it on Thursday “after waiting for hours in line” at an […]
Sep 3 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — The federal government is not releasing its cost estimates for a potential COVID-19 vaccine – nor saying how much it is offering pharmaceutical companies to secure a supply – even as the U.S. makes public the financial details of a “warp speed” effort to launch a successful vaccine by January. Many countries are announcing pre-orders […]
Aug 26 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — In an internal letter, Parliament’s independent law clerk says the thousands of pages of government documents released to MPs on the WE Charity controversy were excessively redacted by government officials. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Aug. 18 that the documents would be released, while also announcing that he was proroguing Parliament until Sept. 23. […]
Aug 21 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — The federal lobbying commissioner is reviewing a report that Rob Silver, the spouse of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, contacted senior Liberal staff on behalf of his employer’s efforts to seek changes to the federal wage subsidy program. In an e-mail to The Globe and Mail on Friday, spokesperson Manon Dion […]
Aug 20 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — Bill Morneau walked into Justin Trudeau’s home Monday to resign as finance minister, after a recent direct appeal to the Prime Minister to stop leaks about him failed to end the stream of negative stories he believed were orchestrated by top officials in the Prime Minister’s Office. According to this account by a senior government […]
Jul 21 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — The federal government’s top public servant pledged to release all relevant documents for a committee investigation into Ottawa’s decision to outsource the management of a $912-million student volunteer program to WE Charity. Privy Council Clerk Ian Shugart also prompted questions from opposition MPs by stating that both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill […]
Jul 2 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — WE Charity is offering 450 online student-volunteer placements at its own organization as part of a $900-million federal grant program it is managing, raising questions about who decides which organizations will receive taxpayer-funded help this summer. The Canada Student Service Grant program is facing criticism from some in the voluntary sector who say it is […]
Jun 24 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — Fitch Ratings has downgraded Canada’s triple-A credit rating to AA+ in light of “much expanded” 2020 deficits due to billions in emergency spending during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The decision reflects growing public debt at both the federal and provincial levels. The downgrade of Canada’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating is the first change […]
Jun 11 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected Conservative calls for a return to normal House of Commons sittings Thursday and blamed a Parliamentary defeat this week on “political games” by opposition parties. Speaking to reporters for nearly an hour Thursday morning after touring a printing shop in Ottawa, Mr. Trudeau singled out the Official Opposition Conservatives in […]
Jun 9 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — Since the House of Commons broke for summer last year on June 22, 2019, there have been only 38 regular sitting days over that nearly 12-month period, because of cancellations related to the fall federal election and this year’s pandemic. Wednesday afternoon will be the 39th as MPs have been recalled during the current COVID-19 […]
Jun 9 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — The federal government is planning to legislate fines and jail time for people who submit fraudulent claims under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, a $60-billion program that provides income support to workers affected by the pandemic. The changes are in a draft bill obtained by The Globe and Mail that has not yet been introduced […]
May 30 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — Parliament’s spending watchdog told MPs it is “unfortunate to say the least” that a government motion approved this week to suspend regular House of Commons sittings will limit a review of billions in COVID-19 spending to no more than four hours. “It comes up as a very expensive four hours, potentially, for Canadian taxpayers,” Parliamentary […]
May 4 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is weighing whether it should release a 2020 budget in light of the rapidly changing economic landscape because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Several provinces are now easing some of the restrictions on economic activity this week and the federal government must decide when it can shift from […]
Apr 29 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — The federal government will introduce legislation on Wednesday to adopt a proposed $9-billion package to support post-secondary students, but it is not immediately clear whether the Liberals have enough votes to approve the bill. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday that negotiations with opposition parties continue even as the government prepares to introduce the bill […]
Apr 27 2020 — Bill Curry — Globe and Mail — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says his party is pushing for legislative changes to the federal government’s $9-billion support package for post-secondary students so that it includes incentives for them to accept available jobs. Over the weekend, opposition parties received confidential copies of draft legislation to implement the package, which was announced last week. The bill […]