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Hello,
Former Liberal MP Raj Grewal has been charged with fraud and breach of trust.
In their announcement, the RCMP allege Mr. Grewal had millions of dollars in personal loans that he did not disclose to the federal ethics commissioner and that he used his office to solicit those loans.
Mr. Grewal was elected as a Toronto-area MP and left the Liberal caucus in 2018 when the allegations first came to light. He did not run for re-election in 2019. While he was in office, he sat on the House of Commons finance committee and asked officials some interesting questions during the committee’s study of the country’s money-laundering laws.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
Members of Parliament and their staff are gathering in larger numbers and wearing fewer masks than required to under Ontario or Ottawa public-health rules. The House of Commons is able to set its own guidelines for working within the parliamentary precinct and is not subject to the rules of other jurisdictions.
Canadian household debt was down in the second quarter of this year.
The federal lobbying commissioner is looking into WE Charity, even if it did announce this week it is winding down its Canadian operations.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled against a doctor in the province who has led a years-long campaign to allow for more private health care in the system.
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled against Canada’s large cable and phone providers in their battle against the telecom regulator’s attempts to lower rates.
Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu is warning the cities of Calgary and Edmonton not to reduce police budgets in the wake of concerns about systemic racism. The province suggests it could withhold funds from the municipalities if city councils do “defund the police.” Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said the province could reduce crime and the burden on police if it better funded health and social services.
And Canada Post is apologizing for allowing someone to print custom stamps with pictures of John A. Macdonald’s severed (statue) head on them.
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail) on the year of waiting: “There was some of that ambitious energy early on in the pandemic, when those gifted with an abundance of extra time and privileged with few existential worries baked sourdough bread and proudly shared their culinary creations on the internet. But six months on, that enthusiasm for a slower version of life has waned. As we wait for life to return to normal, time has shifted from being a luxury to a burden, and ambitious energy is now about deciding not to wear the same clothes three days in a row. Who’s going to see you, anyway?”
Patrick Brethour (The Globe and Mail) on the uneven economic recovery ahead: “But when it comes to how Canadians have fared through the ensuing economic crisis, the past six months have been anything but a common experience of suffering. Gender, parental status, income, race and even the type of workplace: All of those categories have created a fault line running through the economy, as the most recent labour force data make clear.”
André Picard (The Globe and Mail) on the B.C. court ruling and the larger problems with health care: “Before we dislocate our shoulders patting ourselves on the back, let’s not forget that medicare is no better today than it was yesterday. More importantly, patients are no better off. (Nor would they have been had the ruling gone the other way.)”
Paul Wells (Maclean’s) on Trudeau’s plans to build back better: “One of the questions about Canadian politics this autumn will be whether Canadians hear anything resembling their own thinking when they see the Prime Minister calling this a time of unprecedented opportunity. Trudeau’s predecessor once called a milder global financial crisis an excellent buying opportunity. It didn’t go over well. Maybe this is different?”
Elizabeth Renzetti (The Globe and Mail) on natural disasters and the gender-reveal party that sparked a wildfire in California: “It was easy to blame these people, who are at least the second group to have caused a wildfire because they couldn’t control their excitement over having a girl, or possibly a boy. But is it fair? It kind of lets the rest of us off the hook. Let he among you who has not set off a turquoise-smoke hand grenade cast the first stone.”
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