Immigration Minister Marc Miller is refusing to release a federal citizenship booklet that's been under revision by his department since 2016. Parliamentarians complained Miller’s office ignored multiple requests to see the guide that promised “historically accurate” accounts of Indigenous history with input from the LGBTQ community: "References generally in the guide are ones that are outdated." READ MORE
Western free trade farm groups are petitioning the Senate to reject a Bloc Québécois bill on dairy quotas. Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet has warned the bill must be signed into law by 11:59 pm Eastern on October 29 or he will “bring down the government.” READ MORE
The Commons public safety committee by unanimous vote has agreed to investigate RCMP murder-for-hire allegations against the Government of India. “A criminal is a criminal and a Canadian is a Canadian,” said Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn): 'This is something the Sikh community has been talking about for more than 40 years.' READ MORE
Canada is a net exporter of fentanyl, says the Department of Foreign affairs. Canada “is now a source and transit country for fentanyl to some markets,” said a department briefing note: "Domestic production is likely exceeding domestic demand." READ MORE
Newly-declassified records show then-External Affairs Minister Joe Clark personally cancelled a showing of the film The Last Emperor at the 1989 grand opening of a new Canadian Museum of Civilization. “Too sensitive,” said Clark, noting the film was to be shown only days after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "The Prime Minister noted the shock that most Canadians had experienced." READ MORE
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: "Stay indoors. Shelter-in-place. No one to enter this facility without photo ID..." READ MORE
If one of the keys to happiness is learning how the world works, University Leadership would be an essential text. It is wry, self-deprecating and likable. They might have marketed it as a self-help guide on governance but that would have meant redesigning the cover, say with a thunderbolt and exclamation marks and a snappier title like Yes! You Can! Instead readers are treated to very Canadian observations like this: “We are reluctant to declare high ambition, whether because we are unable to speak with one voice or we fear repercussions from falling short. Perhaps there is more to the amorphous cultural arguments than we care to admit: Canada is a solid, middle-of-the-pack performer because that is where Canadians are most comfortable. Even if true, however, middle-of-the-pack performance is no longer assured, if ever it was.” READ MORE
Canada really has no choice. We can build a health care system, but that is not health. Only individuals, parents and children, can build up their health through good eating and physical activity. The McDonald’s ad that promised “you deserve a break today” was compelling on the drive home from work and knowing the children were hungry. We see the results in weight-related illness. It’s an alarming trend, and not sustainable. Governments realize they have to do something but appear to be searching for solutions.
