There Is Always Corruption to Fall Back On

Losing a non-permanent seat on the UN isn't the end of the world:

SNC-Lavalin Group may have paid $1.9 million in fines for nine years of bid-rigging in Quebec, but it is still eligible for federal contracts, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

The Public Prosecution Service wouldn’t share its agreement with the company, which the Federal Competition Bureau had been investigating after suspicious bids on Montreal and Quebec City municipal public works.

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Canada’s new auditor general says many audits have been cancelled or delayed “indefinitely” as her office faces budgetary constraints, as well as an increased workload due to COVID-19 and infrastructure spending.

“We have some audits that are ongoing that were expected to be tabled in the House in the fall of 2020. We have delayed those into 2021,” Auditor General Karen Hogan told members of the federal finance committee on Monday. “All other audits unfortunately at this time other than one audit, under the commissioner of the environment, have been put on hold, cancelled or delayed indefinitely so that we can focus on Investing in Canada and COVID-19.”

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The taxpayer-owned Canada Infrastructure Bank yesterday rejected demands from the Commons finance committee for details of bonuses paid to its former CEO. Pierre Lavallée abruptly resigned April 3 with three years remaining in his contract: “Well, that’s unacceptable.”

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Cabinet could have “picked better words” to discourage cheats under a $60 billion pandemic relief program, Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough said yesterday. A draft bill to jail scofflaws would not be retroactive, she said: “I hear you.” 

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Despite a House of Commons rule requiring notification if an MP is arrested, Trudeau and his public safety minister, Bill Blair, claimed they had no knowledge of the charges until two months later. “I think there’s perhaps a reflection that that is something that we can look into,” Trudeau mused. The CBC reported on Friday, however, that the party investigated allegations of inappropriate touching and unwelcome sexual comments directed at a female staffer dating back to the 2015 election campaign, but approved Tabbara to run under the Liberal banner in last year’s election anyway.

Rather than cite his “zero-tolerance” policy when questioned about Tabbara, Trudeau refused to discuss the matter on the basis that it’s confidential. Instead he talked around the issue, maintaining the party takes such matters “extremely seriously” and operates “a rigorous process that has been established to ensure that every single allegation or complaint around misconduct is appropriately dealt with, that there are conclusions and next steps and recommendations that are fulfilled.”

See- everything will be peachy.