The day after a major terror bust in Canada, it was a question as to how this would play out in the Grand Inquest of the Nation. And so, when QP got underway, Thomas Mulcair began by reading off a congratulations to the RCMP and the members of the Muslim community who tipped them off. Harper got up to similarly offer his thanks and congratulations for those who helped to foil the plot. Mulcair then moved onto the testimony of the Bank of Canada at committee, where they were told that there was little else they could do to stimulate the economy, and the warnings about household debt. Harper responded by saying that they have been urging caution on debt levels and to try take what measures they can. Peggy Nash was up next, and asked a rambling question that ended up on the topic of the possible border fee the Americans are considering charging, to which Maxime Bernier assured her that they were going to vigorously oppose it. Nash was back up and returned to another rambling question that ended up on the increases in tariffs. Jim Flaherty was up to respond, and while he got sidetracked by heckles a couple of times, and pointed to the many tax hikes the NDP supported. Justin Trudeau was up next for the Liberals, and asked about the decline in youth summer employment. Harper responded that the Liberals voted against their plans to help them. And yes, Trudeau was still half-reading his questions, but could ad lib a little.
Tag Archives: Terrorism
Roundup: Security and intelligence day
Apparently it was security and intelligence day yesterday. An anti-terrorism bill being debated, shuffling the Director of CSIS, appointing a new member of the Security and Intelligence Review Committee (which the NDP are opposing), and oh yeah – a foiled terror plot on Canadian soil. So yeah – busy day. And in case you’re wondering, no, there was no prior knowledge of the terror charges before today, so it was nothing more than a coincidence that they were made on the day that the government set aside to deal with the anti-terrorism bill.
Roundup: Your Conservative Earth Day present
In order to mark Earth Day this year, the Conservatives will be launching their public access portal to oilsands monitoring data. It won’t be entirely populated with data, mind you, and last I checked, the governance structure still hadn’t been entirely decided (which is kind of a big thing), but hey, they’re actually putting it out there, right? Meanwhile, the National Energy Board is putting out stronger pipeline regulations going forward.
Vic Toews says that lessons can be learned from the Boston bombings as far as Canadian security and law enforcement is concerned, and he’s sure that our police forces are re-examining their own plans to see what best practices they can employ. And hey, they’re pushing ahead with the anti-terrorism bill, so that means something – right?
Roundup: Tariff confusion reigns
The iPod tariff/tax debate has heated up into a convoluted partisan war, not only between parties but media outlets. And the answer is that, well, there is no real answer to whether or not the tariff applies given the measures currently in place as they are being interpreted differently by CBSA and Canada Post, and the exemption cited by Jim Flaherty’s office may not actually apply because iPods don’t plug into computers on a continual basis, which leaves this as an unresolved mess.
The Toronto Star catches up with the third radicalised Canadian, who is currently in prison in Mauritania on terrorism related charges, where he refused Amnesty International’s aid.
Roundup: Tariff changes and iPod taxes
It was a game of partisan back-and-forth yesterday as Mike Moffatt of the Richard Ivey School of Business noticed that one of the tariff changes in the budget might mean an increase five percent increase in the cost of MP3 players and iPods. Might. But the NDP were immediately gleeful that the government that lambasted them with the notion of an “iPod tax” (after they wanted a levy on the very same MP3 players for the sake of content creators) might have egg on their face, and sent out press releases quoting Moffatt, which is not without irony considering how often Moffatt calls the NDP out on their economic illiteracy. And Flaherty wasn’t having any of it either, noting a general tariff exemption on devices that you plug into a computer – which would include an iPod. But the tariff tables are maddeningly complex, Moffatt points out, and it was likely an accident that nobody caught.
Roundup: Robocall charges laid
Former Guelph Conservative campaign worker Michael Sona has been charged in connection to the misleading robocall affair in the last election. Sona continues to insist he is innocent – without the access or means to pull it off – but one former Elections Canada lawyer suspects that they may be hoping he’ll take a deal and provide more information in exchange for a lesser charge or to have the charges dropped.
In its annual report on plans and priorities, HRSDC notes the likelihood of another incident of loss of personal data because of the proliferation of mobile storage devices, as well as retiring employees who don’t necessarily tell their successors where they’ve left everything. (And as someone who has dealt with records management in federal departments before, let me say that upon retirement, some employees simply shove everything into a box and leave it in a basement for years – not cool).