Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau are being called on to resign over alleged conflicts of interest.
The Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois also threaten to seek a vote of non-confidence in the minority Liberal government and force a fall election.
An ethics investigation is underway for the two politicians not recusing themselves in awarding WE Charity a $912-million contract.
The money, now withdrawn, would have had WE supervise a program to pay students up to $5,000 for volunteer service.
Since they have family ties to the organization, Trudeau and Morneau have apologized for not declaring possible conflicts.
WE would have earned $43 million for running the program to create 20,000 volunteer placements.
Trudeau’s wife, brother and mother were paid about $300,000 to take part in earlier WE programs, and one of Morneau’s daughters works for the charity.
Morneau said he just repaid WE $41,000 for trips his family took to Kenya and Ecuador in 2017 to see its humanitarian work.
Ready for a vaccine
The Canadian government has ordered 75-million syringes, alcohol swabs and bandages for when a COVID-19 vaccine is ready.
Government minister Anita Anand said this would stockpile enough vaccine supplies to give at least two doses to every Canadian.
There are about 24 vaccines in clinical trials and 140 more in early stages of development.
Researchers predict it will next year before the first vaccines will be ready for widespread use.
Medicago, a Quebec biopharmaceutical company, began Canada’s first human vaccine trials and expects to have initial results by early fall.
There are 113,208 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 98,870 resolved and 8,881 deaths in Canada.
News in brief
— Two young girls, whose bodies were found in a wooded area southwest of Quebec City, were murdered by their father, who then took his own life, police say. An intense search led to the body of Martin Carpentier after daughters Norah, 11, and Romy, 6, were found.
— A global drop in air travel has led to 500 jobs being eliminated by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. The cuts at Pearson International Airport will be through the elimination of unfilled positions, voluntary departures and layoffs. The authority has also cut capital spending by $265 million.
— Second Cup coffee chain has opened its first cannabis dispensary in midtown Toronto. Six more locations are planned across Ontario this year. Second Cup is restructuring and some of its shops will become weed locations known as Hemisphere Cannabis Co.
Facts and figures
• The Canadian dollar is higher at 74.54 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.315 Canadian before exchange fees.
• The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate remains unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
• Canadian stock markets are mixed with the Toronto index lower at 15,997 points and the TSX Venture index up to 691 points.
• The average price for gas in Canada is lower at $1.046 a liter (Canadian) or $3.97 for a U.S. gallon.
• Lotto Max: (July 21) 7, 22, 26, 35, 46, 47 and 49; bonus 19. (July 17) 5, 11, 15, 18, 20, 24 and 46; bonus 37.
• 6/49: (July 22) 5, 14, 19, 42, 46 and 47; bonus 8. (July 18) 5, 23, 37, 40, 44 and 45; bonus 47.
Regional briefs
— Nova Scotia police are searching for Tobias Doucette, who is accused of attempting to murder a police officer by stabbing him and injuring a police dog. The Cape Breton man was last seen in Bridgewater after police responded to a domestic violence call at a hotel. Sergeant Matthew Bennett and the dog are recovering after surgery. Also in Nova Scotia, a public review has been announced into the April mass shooting that left 22 people and gunman Gabriel Wortman dead.
— Provinces in Atlantic Canada remain cautious about letting anyone "from away" enter during the pandemic. Premiers still haven’t opened the region to travel from other provinces or beyond. Premier Dwight Ball said Newfoundland and Labrador remain closed to anyone outside Atlantic Canada even though there are just two recent positive cases.
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July 26, 2020 at 02:11AM
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Trudeau under fire for alleged conflict of interest - The Ledger
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