Their lawyers want to be allowed to be present physically during the hearing, issue an opening statement, as well as intervene and object to certain questions.
Canada’s Corrupt Liberal Government
Liberals are Very Late Releasing 2021 Budget – Not a Good Sign for Fiscal Conservatives
Canadians can usually expect the federal government to present in February or early March each year, especially after a government has been in power since 2015, but the Liberals are taking their sweet time with the 2021 federal budget.
The next fiscal year starts on April 1 and MPs have been given no indication of what the budget is going to look like, outside of the fact that everyone at this point expects a Liberal government to run a massive deficit, and the longer the time it takes to present the budget the less fiscal restraint is to be expected.
Trudeau Liberals ‘double down on fake investment,’ say Conservatives
Conservative Party MPs released a statement accusing the Trudeau Liberals of “doubling down” on a fake investment of $30 million to a Nova Scotia PPE manufacturer.
“The simple fact is that no investment exists,” wrote Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Services and Procurement, and Chris d’Entremont, Conservative MP for West Nova.
The statement calls on the Liberals to stop their campaign of “misleading Canadians on their fake investments.”
It’s Just Money
There is plenty to printed or taxed:
Tax write-offs cost more than $3.3 billion last year, an increase of millions over 2019, according to an internal Canada Revenue Agency audit. The report disclosed the Agency typically “stockpiled” unrecoverable taxes for write-downs: “An uncollectible amount can be written off at any time.”
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A bill to expand carbon tax exemptions for farmers is crucial as cabinet hikes rates every year until 2030, the Commons agriculture committee was told yesterday. “Farmers are struggling now,” said Conservative MP Philip Lawrence (Northumberland-Peterborough South, Ont.), sponsor of the bill.
To be filed under “Justin Trudeau Is An Arrogant Piece of Crap“:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday would not set any date for a federal budget, the first since 2019. Trudeau told reporters pandemic management was a greater priority: “Of all the money invested in helping Canadians get through this pandemic, eight or nine of every ten dollars has come from the federal government.”
Jody Wilson-Raybould to Write a Book on SNC-Lavalin Affair
Former Liberal cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould is set to publish a political memoir that’s promising to shed new light on her final controversial days in the Trudeau government.
HarperCollins Canada says it has acquired the rights to the former Liberal justice minister’s book, titled “‘Indian’ in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power.”
OUCH: Poll Shows Liberals Trusted Over Conservatives On Canada’s Finances
Removing one of the Conservative Party’s most effective communicators – Pierre Poilievre – from the Finance Critic post doesn’t seem to be working out well.
Trudeau Liberals’ agency approve $3 BILLION in loans to China
Data obtained through an Access to Information Act request revealed that the bank provided $3,209,673,392 in loan guarantees and various forms of insurance in 2020, one year after the bank adopted a policy ensuring that the organization aligns “with the United Nations Guiding Principles On Business And Human Rights and provides essential clarity to our customers and partners on where we stand on human rights.”
Guilbeault tries to dismiss social media censorship rumours
During a House of Commons committee meeting on Monday, Liberal Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault claimed that his government had no plans to censor Canadians online despite seeking to introduce sweeping social media regulations.
MPs vote to issue summons for Kielburger brothers to testify at ethics committee
Members of the House of Commons ethics committee have unanimously voted to summon WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger to testify.
Last week, they declined requests to do so, a fact that MPs from all parties expressed concerns about on Monday.
A summons from a Commons committee has legal force, and the motion gives the brothers until Friday to appear.
Canadians Get the Government They Deserve
Support for the federal Liberals looks to be on the rise as new shipments of the highly coveted COVID-19 vaccine arrive, according to a new poll.
Ipsos polling done exclusively for Global News found that should an federal election be held, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s Liberals would receive 35 per cent of the popular vote — up two percentage points from last month — while the Conservatives would receive 28 per cent, down from 30 per cent.
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Canada has had a miserable time coping with COVID-19, according to new research that seeks to take the broadest possible measure of the country’s pandemic response, accounting for everything from mortality rates to economic malaise.
Ethics Committee to Summon Kielburger Brothers to Testify
This should be under oath with penalties for perjury:
Members of the House of Commons ethics committee have unanimously voted to summon WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger to testify.
Last week, they declined requests to do so, a fact that MPs from all parties expressed concerns about on Monday.
A summons from a Commons committee has legal force, and the motion gives the brothers until Friday to appear.
The Commons ethics committee wants to hear from the Kielburger brothers as part of ongoing scrutiny of a federal agreement to have WE manage a now-cancelled student services grant program.
But the charity had noted that New Democrat MP Charlie Angus has requested that the RCMP and the Canada Revenue Agency investigate WE’s operations.
The charity said it would be unfair to subject it to what it called a partisan committee investigation at the same time.
It’s Just Money
Cases in point:
A federal climate bureau spent more than $600 million last year, says an internal audit. Spending did not include $800,000 in annual staff time to manage newly-detailed carbon offset regulations: “Doing nothing is not an option.”
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The $675 million Public Health Agency “lacked everything” despite assuring legislators it was prepared for the pandemic, a Liberal-appointed lawmaker told the Senate national finance committee. “I was told twice, not just once but twice, you had enough resources on hand to deal with the pandemic,” said Senator Éric Forest (Que.): ‘There was a huge gap between the perception and the reality.’
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The Liberal government will not release a budget in March as it takes more time to assess the impact of the pandemic, meaning that more than two years will have passed since the last federal budget was released.
Singh says he has ‘serious concerns’ about Sajjan, Trudeau amid Vance allegations
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says the Liberal government’s handling of allegations against former chief of defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance has eroded Canadians’ trust, calling for further measures to ensure victims of sexual misconduct can safely come forward.
What Could Go Wrong?
It’s like giving the keys of a jet to a drunk monkey:
Cabinet will consider subsidizing any green project, “anything really” that appears feasible, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said yesterday. His remarks followed federal auditors’ complaints of difficulty in tracking actual costs and benefits of green subsidies: “We’re willing to look at anything really, you know, if it seems like it’s a good idea.”
Article: “Here’s what can happen if the Kielburger brothers refuse to testify before parliament “
The ethics and the procedure and House affairs committees have both requested that Craig and Marc Kielburger come forward and testify. They declined. In a March 3 statement, WE Charity referenced Feb. 28 comments by NDP MP Charlie Angus, who said he wrote to the Canada Revenue Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police requesting an investigation into the charity.
“Accordingly, WE Charity and its leadership are declining the additional requests to testify from the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics and also the Procedure and House Affairs Committee,” said a WE Charity press statement.
The statement said the charity has already testified at various “highly partisan” committee meetings, and that it would continue to work with Dion’s investigation.
At this point, the committees could issue a summons, compelling the Kielburgers to attend. If they continue to refuse, according to the House of Commons Procedure and Practice, the committee can report it to the House of Commons, and the House “then may order the witness to appear” and they will be “called to the Bar” — a literal brass bar across the House of Commons — to explain themselves.
The House has the power, similar to a court, to compel someone’s presence.
“If the witness disobeys the order, the witness may be declared guilty of contempt,” the House manual says.