Doug Guzman, the Toronto banker hired to oversee defence contracting, yesterday acknowledged longtime dealings with defence contractors but denied any conflict. “I expressed a willingness to serve the country,” Guzman told the Commons defence committee: "I over the course of my career advised or financed probably thousands of companies." READ MORE
Cabinet concessions to Chinese automakers “endanger” domestic industry, General Motors of Canada said yesterday. A GM lobbyist told MPs that allowing low-tariff access to tens of thousands of Chinese electrics will “hollow out our skilled automotive workforce.” READ MORE
A Vancouver climate news site, the National Observer, is the nation’s heaviest user of Department of Canadian Heritage grants, newly-disclosed records show. The “independent news site” received more than $1.3 million in taxpayers' aid to cover the equivalent of 23 employees’ salaries while its CEO served on a volunteer board responsible for approving grants: "The National Observer record speaks for itself regarding our independence from any government." READ MORE
Floor-crossing MPs Lori Idlout (Nunavut) and Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton, Ont.) yesterday joined the government caucus in voting 173 to 163 to invoke closure on a motion granting cabinet majority control of all Commons committees. It effectively quashes real-time ethics investigations into Liberal spending, contracting and appointments: "They flattered and recruited a Member who endorsed Avi Lewis and a Member who endorsed the Freedom Convoy, all in the pursuit of power." READ MORE
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne yesterday without comment introduced a long-promised bill to create a federal Financial Crimes Agency. The Liberal Party first proposed a $200 million-a year white collar crime unit in its 2021 election platform: "We’re not sure exactly how the Agency is going to look." READ MORE
Another resignation yesterday left New Democrats with a five-member caucus and just one seat east of Edmonton. Five-term MP Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont-La Petite Patrie, Que.) confirmed he would quit to seek a seat in the Québec National Assembly: "Every day is a test in this beautiful game of politics." READ MORE
Labour Minister Patty Hajdu made up a story about organ donations in attempting to justify a 2025 cabinet order quashing an Air Canada strike, Access To Information records show. It marked the second time Hajdu misled media over a strike ban: "Shipments of critical goods such as pharmaceuticals and organ tissue should continue." READ MORE
I often wonder what became of Dennis. He was known to neighbours in the North Park district of Victoria where I lived in 1997. It was a rough-and-tumble neighbourhood. Dennis had a wife and baby. I had seen them going to the welfare office down the corner. He was violent, and he could get very drunk. I don’t think he ever finished high school. I can’t say if restorative justice would have done Dennis much good. Afterward I wondered, what brought Dennis to the point in his life that he was so hateful, so angry, he would shave his head and wear a “White Power” t-shirt and look for someone to hurt?
