MPs today open proceedings of an unprecedented special committee on Chinese human rights abuses. The Commons last December 10 voted for hearings to “examine all aspects of the Canada-China relationship”. READ MORE
Union Sues For Defamation
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers in a rare lawsuit accuses B’nai Brith of defamation. “A union may now sue to defend its reputation,” ruled an Ontario Superior Court judge: "This is a case in which the defamation action appears to have merit." READ MORE
“The Costs Are Reasonable”
The labour department in an Access To Information memo described as “good value for money” a program to subsidize temporary work experience for 686 university graduates at a cost of nearly $10 million. The ongoing program pays fifty percent wage subsidies to private companies to hire graduates for as little as ninety days: "Small businesses don't have the money to train graduates who are not job-ready." READ MORE
Prison For Gov’t Loan Fraud
A court has upheld federal prison terms for conspirators convicted of defrauding a Department of Industry loan program for small business. “Banks and the taxpayer were all victims,” wrote the Ontario Court of Appeal. READ MORE
Sunday Poem: “Succession”
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock's tradition each and every Sunday: "A recent poll in the United Kingdom asked people who is best suited to reign after Queen Elizabeth II..." READ MORE
Book Review: An Immigrant’s Tale
Canada is not the kind of country that wakes up in the morning to the sound of trumpets and drums. No MP ever gave a speech entitled “Canadian Exceptionalism”, and if somebody tried, a voice in the back of the room would say: “In fairness, Belgium makes pretty good chocolates.” Yet we enjoy an extraordinariness most dramatically illustrated in the immigrant experience, and none more unusual than the story documented in Reflections On Malcolm Forsyth. The composer in his dying days devoted his last breaths to a national tribute. READ MORE
Senator Boosts China Friends
The head of the largest legislative group in the Senate has accepted a January 30 invitation to speak at a China-endorsed club praised for promoting “friendship” with the People’s Republic. Liberal appointee Senator Yuen Pau Woo of Vancouver yesterday would not say if he was paid for his appearance: 'He is widely recognized as a leading thinker.' READ MORE
Guest Commentary
Joey Smallwood hated and detested me with ferocious venom. I was stubborn. The hatchet was never buried. It if were ever buried, it would have been buried in my head. No, we weren’t on very friendly terms whatsoever. The man was redoubtable. There wasn’t a politician in Canada who could defeat him in debate or argument, and he did some admirable things. Unfortunately his defects destroyed his virtues.
