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Joel Lightbound

Canada Post losing $10M each day, minister says

The federal minister responsible for Canada Post told a parliamentary committee the corporation is losing $10 million each day.

Joël Lightbound appeared before the Government Operations and Estimates Committee on Friday, and said Canada Post has accumulated approximately $5 billion in losses since 2018.

“In 2024 alone, it lost over $1.3 billion,” Lightbound said. “And in January of this year, they required a $1-billion injection.

“The fact of the matter is … Canada Post is effectively insolvent.”

The committee is investigating the current situation at Canada Post.

Lightbound told the committee he’s confident both Canada Post and CUPW are committed to finding a sustainable path forward.

“Canada Post provides an essential service to Canadians and in particular to rural, remote and Indigenous communities,” he said. “And Canadians rightfully want it saved.”

But the minister said more bailouts from the federal government just to maintain the status quo is not the answer.

“As minister responsible, I must ensure that the overall direction of Canada Post aligns with the government’s policies and objectives,” he said. “And that implies making responsible, but at times difficult decisions.”

Those decisions led to announced changes the government wanted Canada Post to implement, which led to postal workers walking off the job for the second time in less than a year.

Conservative MP Jeremy Patzer questioned the minister about the timing of those government recommendations.

“Why wait until they’re in the middle of job action?” Patzer asked. “It’s not like this year and last year was the first year is that they were losing hundreds of millions of dollars, right? I mean, it was pretty evident for years before COVID even hit, it was evident that this was the pathway that this that this was going down.”

Lightbound acknowledged it might have been better to implement changes 10 years ago.

“However, I would argue that given that for the first time the federal government had to invest or inject $1 billion just to keep the lights on at Canada Post … I think that warranted change and beginning the transformation of Canada Post,” he said.

The hearings will continue Tuesday, when CUPW representatives will testify.

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Sport Minister Says Hockey Canada Needs Fundamental Shift

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Hearings were held yesterday on Parliament Hill regarding Hockey Canada’s response to sexual assault claims against members of the 2018 World Junior team.

A federal committee is reviewing the response, and discussions were had on where the organization goes from here.

Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge says Hockey Canada needs to make a fundamental shift.

“Canadians expect Hockey Canada to behave differently, and it requires leadership capable of doing so. Hockey Canada, the whole country is watching,” St-Onge said.

Lawyer testifies:

A lawyer re-opening the investigation testified before the committee yesterday.

Danielle Robitaille was hired by Hockey Canada, and is scheduling interviews with players from the 2018 World Junior team.

She says her mandate is to discover the truth.

“And to learn what happened in London at that event, and to investigate the allegations that came through to Hockey Canada,” says Robitaille.

Robitaille says ten players were interviewed during the initial investigation, but nine would not take part until the criminal investigation was concluded.

Hockey Canada ended up settling the lawsuit.

The committee will hear from Hockey Canada representatives today.

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Hockey Canada Releases Action Plan Ahead Of Parliament Hearings

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A new action plan from Hockey Canada.

It comes as members are set to appear before a federal committee this week to discuss their handling of 2018 sexual assault allegations against several players.

In a release yesterday, the organization says they’re adopting a universal code of conduct to prevent and address maltreatment in sport, as well as a new reporting system for all complaints of abuse or harassment.

Hockey Canada says training on masculinity, consent and toxic behaviours will be implemented for players and staff, with more screening for all high-performance players.

The plan adds to an announcement two weeks ago that the organization will undergo a full, third party review of its structure.

Last week, more sexual assault allegations against some of Canada’s 2003 World Junior team were unveiled, prompting Halifax Regional Police to open an investigation.

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Bill To Ban Conversion Therapy Headed To The Senate

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The Liberal government’s bill to ban conversion therapy is on its way to the Senate after being fast-tracked through the House of Commons.

A motion by Fundy Royal Conservative MP Rob Moore of New Brunswick to pass Bill C-4 through all stages without amendment was unanimously adopted Wednesday.

Applause erupted in the Commons after the vote and several Liberal MPs crossed the floor to shake hands with their Conservative counterparts.

Justice Minister David Lametti thanked those in the Conservative caucus who “exercised a great deal of leadership on the issue” to make this happen.

“This is what we can accomplish when Parliament works together,” Lametti told reporters after Wednesday’s vote.

“If we can now work hard to get this through the Senate quickly, less Canadians are going to suffer, less Canadians are going to be tortured — I can’t put it any more simply than that.”

New Democrat MP Randall Garrison, who represents Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke in British Columbia, described it as a great day for the House of Commons.

“But there are still people who are being subjected to conversion therapy, there are still transgender people and non-binary people who are being subjected to what’s supposed to be therapy and trying to talk them out of who they are.”

Conversion therapy aims to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual, their gender identity to cisgender, or their gender expression to match the sex they were assigned at birth.

According to the Government of Canada, the practice can take various forms, including counselling and behavioural modification.

This is the third time the Liberals have tried to ban conversion therapy in recent years. Two previous versions of the bill died on the order paper.

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Pandemic Dominates Throne Speech

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Lots of talk about the pandemic in the Speech from the Throne.

Governor-General Mary Simon says the government is committed to continuing its COVID-19 recovery programs.

“To ensure no one is left behind, support will be extended or added to industries that continue to struggle.”

Simon adds the government is committed to providing help to other countries with COVID-19 vaccines.

“Around the world, Canada will continue working with its partners to ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines and other resources.”

In the Throne Speech, the government says it is also committed to helping out communities dealing with severe weather.

“The government will be there to build back in communities devastated by these events. This will include the development of Canada’s first-ever national adaptation strategy.”

The Throne Speech also talked about the importance of child care and programs to make housing more affordable.

Simon delivered the speech in French, English, and even for the first time Inuktitut.

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Justin Trudeau To Unveil His New Cabinet October 26th

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The prime minister will unveil his new cabinet before the end of the month.

Justin Trudeau is set to announce his roster of cabinet ministers on October 26th and recall Parliament on November 22nd.

The ministers will guide his government into a third mandate focused on the battle with COVID-19 and rebuilding the economy.

A news release confirms cabinet will remain gender-balanced.

Chrystia Freeland will continue to serve as the deputy prime minister and the minister of finance.

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NDP Calls For Paid Sick Leave For Canadians

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Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is withholding his party’s support of the Liberal minority government unless they provide all Canadians with paid sick leave.

Singh says they put forward a similar motion several weeks ago but it was shot down.

“And initially government voted against that motion, we are continuing to make it clear that we need a commitment that government is willing to provide paid sick leave for all Canadians,” Singh said.

Singh says they want to see action before agreeing to a motion put forward by the federal government to hold summer sittings of parliament and in-person special committee meetings.

The federal NDP leader says as businesses in Canada continue to reopen during a pandemic, workers need assurances the government has their back should they become ill.

“This is vital. We are in a pandemic, no Canadian should have to choose between going to work sick or staying at home and not knowing if they can pay their bills,” Singh said.

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Health Minister Thanks Frontline Workers During Historic Meeting Of Parliament

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For the first time ever in the history of federal government, MPs came together virtually.

This is a step they have taken in an effort to ensure physical distancing, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu says Canadians have really come together, “So many stories, so many acts of kindness. Canadians are finding many different ways all across the country, virtually and practically.”

She offered a heartfelt thanks to everyone working on the frontline in this pandemic.

“They are taking care of patients affected by COVID-19. They are taking care of senior citizens and other populations at a high risk of contracting COVID-19. It is hard and emotional work.”

Hajdu says there is still so much we don’t know about the virus, What I do know for certain, is the duration and severity of COVID-19, here is Canada depends on all of us, on our individual actions and how we rigorously follow public health directives.”

 

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Parliament Should Not Resume Monday: Trudeau

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Justin Trudeau is pushing for Parliament not to resume Monday, saying it would be “irresponsible”.

Parliament was suspended in mid-March and MPs are scheduled to come back April 20th. However, Trudeau says this isn’t the time to gather over 300 MPs and their staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister says the federal parties are trying to come to an agreement to cancel tomorrow’s meeting, which requires the consent of all parties.

The Liberal party is proposing Parliament meets two days per week, once in person and once virtually. Trudeau calls the plan “reasonable and acceptable to most parties,” claiming the plan is getting approval from all opposition parties except the federal Conservatives.

“I’m perfectly happy to be taking questions every day from media, and I’m looking forward to taking questions from opposition parties. But it has to be done in a responsible way, and right now the Conservatives are not taking a responsible approach,” Trudeau claims.

He adds he’s been informed it’s not possible to start virtual Parliament meetings this week, but is in favour of holding them to maintain physical distancing and let MPs who live farther from Ottawa participate without travelling.

Trudeau also touched on protecting Canadian businesses from being bought out by foreign investors. He says he’s following the lead of countries around the world that recognize businesses may be vulnerable to takeovers during the COVID-19 crisis.

“We will be strengthening our oversight, and paying close attention to foreign investment in this country to ensure there isn’t people taking advantage of this crisis,” Trudeau says.

The Prime Minister opened his daily briefing on the coronavirus by saying his thoughts are with those affected by Sunday morning’s shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia.

Nationwide, Canada has over 33,900 cases and 1,506 deaths from COVID-19.

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Parliament To Resume For More COVID-19 Legislation

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The Prime Minister says Parliament will resume in a reduced state in the coming days to pass critical COVID-19 legislation.

Justin Trudeau says they also need to look into convening parliament virtually.

“Parliamentarians from across the country who were elected to do their jobs of representing their citizens in normal times and in times of crisis can make themselves heard. It can’t be just about folks who have proximity to Parliament or the ability to get here,” Trudeau said.

The Conservatives are pushing for a smaller selection of MPs to oversee government decisions.

Trudeau also faced questions about whether shipments of personal protective equipment are being stopped at the Canadian border by US government officials. Trudeau said talks are continuing between the two sides and they expect shipments to arrive in Canada.

“We continue to have productive and positive talks with the United States. Emphasizing for them that health care supplies and workers across the border are very much a two-way street and we need to continue to be there for each other because it is in our collective interest,” Trudeau said.

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