Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan last night said he was unaware the People’s Liberation Army attended winter training exercises in eastern Ontario three years ago. Sajjan said he personally put a stop to the practice following the detention of two Canadian businessmen in Beijing: “I wasn’t aware it was actually taking place.”
The plastics industry yesterday protested a cabinet proposal to list their product as toxic under federal law. Executives said the listing under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act unfairly stigmatizes household goods from food containers to intravenous tubes: “Industry has been lobbying hard against this approach.”
Arctic sea ice grew 27 percent last year, the Department of Environment reported yesterday. The figures contradicted claims by then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna that the Arctic “is literally melting”: “Is that what we want?”
Criminal money laundering in Canada is worth up to $113 billion a year, says a federal report. The mafia is mainly active in three cities while motorcycle gangs operate nationwide: “The Covid-19 pandemic has created ripples throughout the criminal marketplace affecting the operations of different organized crime groups.”
Superintendent of Financial Institutions Jeremy Rudin is warning of climate activism in the courts. “Governments in Canada have already seen the launch of some litigation related to climate change,” said Rudin: “We are seeing an increase in activism using the courts.”
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s department is endorsing a legislated ban on universal criminal background checks as discriminatory to convicted felons. The proposal follows new research indicating the jobless rate for parolees is fifty percent: “Employer bias is a barrier that individuals with criminal records commonly encounter.”
The Federal Court is repealing “Christmas.” Amendments to 1998 Federal Court Rules propose to delete references to the Christmas recess as non-inclusive for lawyers, plaintiffs and defendants who practice other religions or none at all: “Not all litigants before the Courts celebrate Christmas.”
Newly-released figures show suspiciously high rejection rates of Disability Tax Credit claims by the Canada Revenue Agency. Paperwork should be “a lot more user-friendly,” said the vice-chair of a federal advisory panel: “There are definitely more questions to be answered by looking through the data.”
Rideau Hall has stripped a former police chief of his federal Order of Merit of the Police Forces. Officials did not explain if they’ll attempt to retrieve the 2011 medal from Frank Elsner, ex-chief of police in Victoria: “He stood in a position of power and responsibility.”
A First Nation tobacco wholesaler that ships millions of cigars a year must pay tax, Ontario Divisional Court has ruled. The judgment came in the case of a tobacconist who claimed tax exemption under the Indian Act: ‘The purpose is not to give First Nation persons a general economic advantage.’
In the lobby of a federal building
three faces were smiling from the wall:
Her Majesty the Queen,
The Right Honourable Prime Minister,
and The Honourable Minister.
On the way to the parking lot
I saw a few
who did not smile that day;
however,
they were further down the hierarchy.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, writes for Blacklock’s each and every Sunday)
Federal internet censors should target hurtful words against politicians, says Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault. The Minister added pending regulations may include an internet kill switch to block websites deemed hurtful, but called it a “nuclear” option: “News regulations for online platforms are needed.”
Few Canadians, 24 percent, rate climate change targets a very high national priority. The findings are detailed in research by the Department of National Defence: “Thinking about the issues presently facing Canada, which one do you feel should receive the greatest attention from the government?”
China’s ambassador in Ottawa says more Canadians should visit the People’s Republic, promising the “vast majority” shouldn’t worry about being kidnapped by police. “China is not a police state,” said Ambassador Cong Peiwu: “It’s nothing like that. If you walk on the Chinese streets, it’s quite safe.”
Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly has signed a pledge she will avoid all discussion of future federal contracts with her boyfriend’s company. The undertaking to the Ethics Commissioner follows Blacklock’s disclosure the boyfriend received more than $42,000 in federal funds: “She has never played any role in the awarding of government funds to this company.”
