Nov 9 2016 — Lee-Anne Goodman — Policy Options — Eight years ago, I was the Washington correspondent for The Canadian Press when Barack Obama won his historic election. That night in Washington, DC, it truly felt as though a new era of post-racial harmony was dawning in a country with a sorrowed history of slavery, segregation, systemic racism and violence. A joyous celebration erupted […]
Apr 2 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - Employment Minister Pierre Poilievre will not intervene to ensure a terminally ill Alberta man denied Canada Pension Plan disability benefits finally gets his payments.Peter McClure, 62, is suffering from lung and rectal cancer and has outlived his doctor's prognosis.McClure says he was told by Service Canada 18 months ago that his condition wasn't […]
Mar 24 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — OTTAWA - The Conservative government says Environment Canada is studying the dangers posed to wildlife and the environment by the plastic microbeads found in shower gels, toothpaste and facial scrubs.The findings of the study will determine a federal-provincial action plan on the tiny beads, said Colin Carrie, the parliamentary secretary to Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq."The […]
Mar 23 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - Ted Cruz's announcement that he's running for president has renewed questions about his Calgary birthplace and whether the Texas senator's Canadian roots leave him ineligible to make a bid for the Oval Office.They don't, American constitutional scholars say, because Cruz's mother was a U.S. citizen when he was born. His Cuban father became […]
Mar 23 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — Ted Cruz’s announcement that he’s running for president has renewed questions about his Calgary birthplace and whether the Texas senator’s Canadian roots leave him ineligible to make a bid for the Oval Office. They don’t, American constitutional scholars say, because Cruz’s mother was a U.S. citizen when he was born. His Cuban father became a […]
Mar 20 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — OTTAWA - Fifty containers of reeking Canadian garbage, including used adult diapers, have been languishing in the port of Manila for almost two years, sparking recent protests in the Philippines by environmental and public health activists.The protesters, among them a Catholic priest, say the containers hold toxic and hazardous waste, although a recent study by […]
Mar 4 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — OTTAWA - The cheques appear to be pouring in for disabled people who have spent years trying to get Canada Pension Plan disability benefits as the Conservative government's so-called spike unit even settles some "questionable" cases.With a federal election in the offing, advocates for the disabled say the unit's doctors, lawyers and medical adjudicators are […]
Mar 2 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives have set up a so-called spike unit consisting of government doctors, lawyers and medical adjudicators to tackle the massive backlog plaguing the social security tribunal — but it appears no one told the tribunal itself.The unit's members have experience dealing with Canada Pension Plan disability cases, says a spokesman for […]
Feb 26 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - The head of the federal government's backlogged social security tribunal has reached out to a terminally ill Alberta man who was denied Canada Pension Plan disability benefits to assure him that his appeal will be expedited.Peter McClure, 62, is suffering from lung and rectal cancer and has outlived his doctor's prognosis. He was […]
Feb 26 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — The federal government insists it’s on track to eliminate the massive backlog plaguing its social security tribunal. Employment Minister Pierre Poilievre says officials in his department are plowing through cases and will wipe out the 11,000-case backlog by this summer, as previously promised. During daily question period in the House of Commons, NDP MP Jinny […]
Feb 25 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - An Alberta man dying of lung and rectal cancer has been seeking Canada Pension Plan disability benefits for 18 months after being told by officials that he doesn't qualify because his condition isn't serious enough.Peter McClure, 62, is now caught up in the massive backlog plaguing the federal government's social security tribunal, and […]
Feb 25 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — The plight of some applicants seeking Canada Pension Plan disability benefits has apparently caught the eye of the country’s auditor general. Part of Michael Ferguson’s autumn report will delve into CPP disability. Disability benefits have been the biggest trouble spot for the federal government’s beleaguered social security tribunal as thousands of ailing or injured people […]
Feb 24 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - Two studies on tax-free savings accounts sound alarm bells about their long-term fiscal impact if the Conservative government keeps a 2011 campaign promise to allow people to park almost twice as much money in the popular savings vehicles.The report from the left-leaning Broadbent Institute says a pledge to up the TFSA contribution limit […]
Feb 24 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — The Canadian Press — A new study says the Conservative government’s plans to double contribution limits for tax-free savings accounts would cost billions in lost tax revenue and primarily line the pockets of wealthy Canadians. The report by the left-wing Broadbent Institute says most Canadians would not benefit from the plan to nearly double the TFSA contribution limit to […]
Feb 19 2015 — Lee-Anne Goodman — OTTAWA - Dozens of gravely ill or financially strapped Canadians denied Canada Pension Plan disability benefits were refused accelerated appeals in 2014 by Ottawa's badly backlogged social security tribunal.The backlog plaguing the tribunal has swelled dramatically since its launch almost two years ago, with thousands of injured or ailing Canadians now waiting as long as […]