Latest from Daniel Leblanc
Whistleblowers are compromising tax fraud investigations, minister says
Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau has come out swinging against the whistleblowers behind recent reports that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is plagued by major gaps in fraud detection and has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in bogus refunds.
THE FIFTH ESTATE
CRA leadership knew of major gaps in fraud detection as agency paid out bogus refunds, records show
In early 2024, senior officials at the Canada Revenue Agency were so concerned it had wrongly authorized bogus refunds of tens of millions of dollars that they wrote confidential briefing notes stating that the agency was plagued by significant "gaps" in its ability to spot — and stop — scammers, records show.
THE FIFTH ESTATE
CRA launched 'witch hunt' against whistleblowers who exposed millions in bogus refunds, sources say
The Canada Revenue Agency is on a “witch hunt” to find whistleblowers who may have spoken to the media and exposed how it has been repeatedly duped into paying out millions in bogus refunds to scammers, according to sources.
The Fifth Estate
CRA duped in $40M bogus tax refund case. Why did it take a big bank to notice?
In 2023, a Canadian taxpayer logged into his Canada Revenue Agency account, falsely amended previous tax returns and wrongly claimed he was owed more than $40 million in refunds. Without verifying any of the newly filed tax slips, the Canada Revenue Agency authorized the payments and began making the initial instalments, according to sources.
The Fifth Estate
Tens of thousands of taxpayer accounts hacked as CRA repeatedly paid out millions in bogus refunds
At the height of this year’s tax season, the Canada Revenue Agency discovered that hackers had obtained confidential data used by one of the country’s largest tax preparation firms, H&R Block Canada.
How often does your MP speak up in the House of Commons?
Members of Parliament all receive the same base salary — $203,100 — but some spend much less time on their feet in the House of Commons than others.
Canada tried to copy New Zealand's gun buyback program — what went wrong?
The Canadian government sought to follow New Zealand's lead in 2020 when it launched a program to force gun owners to surrender military-style firearms. But while New Zealand acted quickly in 2019, Ottawa is still struggling to implement its own plan.
Gun control group calls Trudeau government's buyback program a 'waste' of money
The Trudeau government is losing a key ally in its efforts to take hundreds of thousands of military-style firearms out of circulation, jeopardizing one of the top items in its public security agenda.
Ottawa hoping to convince reluctant civil servants of the benefits of working from the office
The federal government is preparing to welcome a frustrated workforce back to its offices on Sept. 9.
RCMP official calls for debate on hate speech law after probe of controversial imam ends without charges
The RCMP is warning of a growing number of cases of public speech that could incite hatred and is asking whether it has the legal tools to counter the trend.