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Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse

Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse.

Local small business taking federal government to court

A1 Irrigation, a small business with nine employees in Brooks, is taking the federal government to court.
The company owners are upset over a new requirement to agree to something that is fundamentally in conflict with their religious beliefs and interpretation of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
Bill and Rhea Lynne Anderson’s application for one summer student under a federal program was deemed incomplete by Service Canada as of Feb. 10, 2018 because the “I attest” box was not checked.

 

Read more at Brooks Bulletin.

Trudeau government’s Davos trip cost taxpayers nearly $700,000: documents

The Trudeau government’s trip to this year’s exclusive gathering of global elites in Davos cost taxpayers almost $700,000, with tens of thousands of dollars for pricey accommodations in the swanky Swiss resort, newly released documents show.

The total cost of the three-day trip in January to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland was $678,000, most of that for hotels, office and room rentals and transportation, according to figures recently tabled in Parliament.

Read more at The Globe and Mail

Carson found guilty of influence peddling

OTTAWA — Canada’s highest court has upheld an influence peddling conviction against a one-time senior aide to former prime minister Stephen Harper.

Bruce Carson’s case will now be sent back to the trial judge for sentencing after an 8-1 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada that rejects his interpretation of the influence-peddling law.

He could face up to five years in prison.

Read more at Orangeville.com

Trudeau Liberals used government funds to pay $100,000 to Facebook data whistleblower Christopher Wylie

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals used government funds to pay $100,000 to the firm of Facebook data whistleblower Christopher Wylie, a party official said on Wednesday.

“In early 2016, Mr. Wylie’s company Eunoia Technologies ran a pilot project for the Liberal Caucus Research Bureau,” said Melissa Cotton, director of the party’s research bureau in a statement sent to media outlets. “The total fees for services was $100,000 and was done in accordance with the House of Commons procurement rules.”

Read more at National Observer

EXCLUSIVE $1.1B class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of former ‘Indian hospital’ patients

Two Canadian law firms have filed a $1.1-billion class-action lawsuit on behalf of former patients of government-run “Indian hospitals,” which comprised a decades-long segregated health care system now marred by allegations of widespread mistreatment and abuse, CBC News has learned.

The lawsuit focuses on 29 segregated hospitals operated across the country by the federal government between 1945 and the early 1980s. Researchers say thousands of Indigenous patients may have been admitted to the institutions during that four-decade span.

Read more at CBC News

Court orders PayPal to give business account details to CRA

The Federal Court of Canada has ordered U.S.-based PayPal to hand over details about its business account customers to Canadian tax authorities.

The court order, obtained by the Canada Revenue Agency, forces the U.S.-based payment processing firm to release information about Canadians with PayPal business accounts who processed transactions between the start of 2014 and last Friday.

Read more at CBC News

In Canada, the concept of ‘tax fairness’ is meaningless: Neil Macdonald

If I had Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s money, I’d buy a first-class ticket to Paris, then find the nearest Porsche dealership, acquire a loaded Carrera, drive straight to that villa in Provence he owns through a shell company, and send a note back to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian public tendering my resignation and wishing everyone the very best in the years to come. Canadians would never hear from me again.

Read more at CBC News

Liberals To Warn About Health Hazards Of Legalized Pot With $36.4M Campaign

OTTAWA — The federal Liberal government on Tuesday rolled out the latest phase of its legalized-pot plans: a five-year, $36.4-million campaign to help teach Canadians — especially the younger ones — about the health and safety risks associated with using marijuana.

The money is coming out of a $526-million envelope for marijuana legalization announced in last week’s fall economic update, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and Toronto MP Bill Blair, the government’s point man on legalizing pot, told a news conference outside the House of Commons.

Read more at Huffington Post

‘Tax me if you can’ is not a national prosperity strategy

There have been many column inches dedicated to the current proposals for the federal tax code pertaining to small businesses. The governing Liberals have expended vast political capital in the name of fairness for the “middle class.” Doctors, lawyers, farmers, technology entrepreneurs, chambers of commerce and the opposition Conservatives have pushed back, essentially alleging that the government is engaging in demagoguery.

Read more at CBC News