Yesterday was Auditor General Report Day, and there were three on offer—the replacement for the Phoenix pay system, recruitment problems with the RCMP, and problems with the student visa system.

In short:

1. The Phoenix replacement, Dayforce, is taking lessons learned from the problems of Phoenix, but in terms of simplifying pay rules, there has been no progress with the unions (which is not a surprise).
2. The RCMP recruitment process is so bad partly because the RCMP hasn’t done enough workforce planning, their application process times keep getting longer, and they aren’t filling training classes. (Of course, the real problem is the force is horribly broken and needs to be dismantled and replaced).
3. The student visa issue has been beset by problems with anti-fraud controls, and there has been a lack of resources to investigate cases. Additionally, the planned reductions in visa numbers wound up being way worse than intended (but that’s hardly a surprise when they get the message that they’re not wanted).

The thing that gets me in particular about the student visa issue is that the provinces are getting off scot-free here. I know the AG has no mandate to investigate provinces, but so many of the problems with this programme started with the provinces, who have not been held accountable for them, whether it’s because they cut university funding, which made them reliant on the higher tuition of foreign students, or the fact that several provinces, most especially Ontario, let these fraudulent strip mall colleges flourish, which were in turn used to be a source of cheap labour, and the federal government, which doesn’t have the mandate or capacity to investigate these colleges, is left taking all of the blame. No, the department is not blameless, as the audit shows, but the wider problem is not addressed by this, and continues to go without any accountability.

PBO candidate

The nominee for the new Parliamentary Budget Officer, Annette Ryan, appeared at the finance committee, where the Conservatives outright declared that they will not vote for her because they claim that the interim PBO, Jason Jacques, was “silenced” for calling the government out, and that he should get the job. Except that he disqualified himself, and he was not fired, nor did he “expose” anything. He made an ass of himself on camera, but that’s what the Conservatives want, and they are now spreading lies to make that point. Just unbelievable.

This is pathetic.Jacques wasn't fired. He didn't "expose" anything. His term expired, and he disqualified himself from the permanent post because he decided he wanted to play for the cameras. But that's why Poilievre wants him on the job, because for him, Parliament is a clip factory.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-03-24T00:46:12.483Z

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-03-23T13:08:04.927Z

Ukraine Dispatch

President Zelenskyy is warning of an imminent “massive attack” against the country. He also says that he has “irrefutable proof” that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran.

Good reads:

• PMO says that they “mistakenly” replied to an Order Paper question that Carney didn’t raise rights issues with China, and they now say that he actually did.
• It’s starting to look like Carney is going to smother the Canadian Ombuds for Responsible Enterprise, as it has gone unfilled for ten months.
• Gary Anandasangaree says that more than 51,000 firearms have been registered for the gun buyback programme.
• Canadian military members at a UN peacekeeping camp on the Israel-Lebanon border are reported as safe after a missile was intercepted in the area.
• The CBC got a look at the contract between the federal government and Stellantis, which the government says that Stellantis is now in breach of.
• A Vancouver company was sanctioned by the US for ties to Hezbollah, however Canadian authorities haven’t (because we have poor sanctions enforcement).
• An Air Canada commuter plane collided with a fire truck on the runway of LaGuardia airport, killing both the pilot and co-pilot. Investigations are ongoing.
• The UN Human Rights Committee is sounding the alarm about Bill C-12 as will weaken the protection of refugees, and won’t comply with international obligations.
• Costa Rica’s trade minister says that they are looking to Canada to defend rules-based trade and human rights in the region. (But is that “pragmatic” for Carney?)
• Debate on the hate crimes legislation proceeded in the House of Commons, in spite of voluminous Conservative disinformation about it.
• The Commons public safety committee is planning an inquiry into the toxic work environment at CBSA (not that I expect it’ll actually do much good).
• The veterans affairs committee heard from the company contracted for veterans supports regarding results of an investigation from the Star into their practices.
• Alberta is looking to change their laws to allow lawsuits around sharing “deepfake” porn images (but good luck getting court time given provincial underfunding).

Odds and ends:

For National Magazine, I did a look ahead at this week’s marathon hearings at the Supreme Court of Canada on Quebec’s so-called “secularism” law.

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