Category: Canada federal government

Canadian Dental Association Releases Recommendations for Feds on Dental Care

The Canadian government’s approach to universal dental care should include preserving private dental insurance programs and using existing clinics should be part of the Canadian government’s approach to universal dental care, the Canadian Dental Association says. On Tuesday the association released a policy paper following consultations with federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, provincial and territorial…


Ottawa Appeals Court Ruling Directing Government to Help Repatriate Four Men in Syria

The federal government is appealing a judge’s declaration that four Canadian men being held in Syrian camps are entitled to Ottawa’s help to return home. In a filing today in the Federal Court of Appeal, the government asks that a ruling last month by Federal Court Justice Henry Brown be set aside—and be placed on…


Ottawa to Attempt Confiscating Russian Oligarch Assets, a First in Sanctions Regime

The federal government says it plans to target a Russian oligarch using a law to confiscate and divert assets held by people who have been sanctioned. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada will try to seize and forfeit US$26 million, or about C$36 million, from a firm owned by Roman Abramovich. Abramovich is close…


Auditor General Finds Aging Icebreakers, Aircraft Hamper Monitoring of Arctic Waters

More than a decade of delay and inaction has left the ships, planes and satellites that Canada relies on to monitor its rapidly opening Arctic on track to be retired before they can be replaced, the auditor general says. “The federal government has not taken the required action to address long-standing gaps affecting its surveillance…


Federal Government Posts $3.9B Surplus for April-to-August Period

The federal government posted a surplus of $3.9 billion for the first five months of its 2022-23 fiscal year. In its monthly fiscal monitor, the finance department says the result for the April-to-August period compared with a deficit of $57.2 billion for the same time last year. Government revenue for the period totalled $177.2 billion,…


Federal Deficit for Previous Fiscal Year Comes in Lower Than Anticipated in Budget

Annual financial statements show the federal deficit for the previous fiscal year was $23.6 billion lower than the projected in the spring budget. According to public accounts documents released Thursday, the federal deficit for the 2021-22 fiscal year was less than expected because of Canada’s strong economic recovery from the pandemic and the winding-down of pandemic supports. The federal deficit was $90.2 billion, while…


Federal Dental Care Benefit Gets Go-ahead From House of Commons

The Liberals dental–care benefit bill passed third reading Thursday in the House of Commons despite opposition from the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois. The bill passed 172 to 138, with Conservatives and the Bloc voting against it. It would give children with families who make less than $90,000 a year as much as $650 per child to care for their…


Ontario Premier Doug Ford No-show at Question Period, Avoids Emergency Act Questions

Ontario Premier Doug Ford did not show up for question period at the legislature Tuesday after it emerged that he’s challenging a summons to testify at the Emergencies Act inquiry in Ottawa. Ford and former solicitor general Sylvia Jones are fighting the call to appear at the Public Order Emergency Commission, with a government spokesman…


Trudeau Announces Money for Quebec Firm That Produces Minerals for Electric Cars

The federal government says it will invest $222 million to help a Quebec company increase production of critical minerals for goods such as electric cars and batteries. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement today after visiting the Rio Tinto Fer et Titane facility in Sorel-Tracy, Que., about 90 kilometres northeast of Montreal. Trudeau says…


Liberals on the Offensive Against New Tory Leader as Parliament Returns

As MPs head back to the House of Commons, Liberal House of Commons Leader Mark Holland went on the offensive against new Tory leader, Pierre Poilievre, warning against stoking political division. “This is not a time for parlour tricks. This is not a time for shell games. This is a time for real solutions,” said Holland…