Canadians with drug convictions are not barred from becoming federally licensed marijuana dealers, says the Department of Health. Regulators would not say how many of the nation’s commercially licensed growers, processors and retailers have criminal records: 'The framework does not automatically disqualify individuals with past cannabis or drug-related convictions.' READ MORE
Federal managers sought to copy a Liberal Party website in promoting a housing program, Access To Information records show. Opposition MPs have complained numerous federal departments are in breach of a directive stating taxpayer-funded advertising must be free of partisan references: "It is clear the shape of the house comes directly from the Liberal video ‘Building Canada Strong.'" READ MORE
Canada Post yesterday said $673 million in credits voted by cabinet March 30 represented a rollover of lapsed loan funding for a total $2.04 billion to date, not $2.72 billion as reported. The correction came as the Budget Office questioned the scope of service cuts including rural post office closures: 'We continue to build a modern postal service that meets evolving needs without burdening taxpayers.' READ MORE
Retired Supreme Court of Canada judge Jack Major, 95, yesterday said the country had entered an era of “judicial supremacy and court overreach.” Major’s comment came in the forward to an essay critical of the current Supreme Court by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an Ottawa think tank: "The trend of court overreach is regrettable." READ MORE
The National Research Council yesterday placed a five-year order for lab rabbits. It followed a long-running campaign by advocates including Laureen Harper and the Humane Society to curb animal testing in labs: "All animals must be delivered in good health." READ MORE
Federal managers have created yet more loopholes to avoid complying with cabinet’s “Buy Canadian” policy, Access To Information records show. The Department of Agriculture in an internal memo said it would only comply if it did not cost extra time or money and was “in the public interest.” READ MORE
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne yesterday disclosed another Canada Post bailout, the third in 16 months to a total $2.72 billion. Terms of the latest line of credit were concealed though previous financing was interest-free without any repayment deadline: 'Revenues will not be sufficient pay all its operating and income charges.' READ MORE
He could be brutal, but he could be smooth. What a man. He would lace into you if he didn’t agree with you completely, but if he knew there was a little thread of an idea there, then he would join it with his threads. This is the guy with a fantastic brain. He’d put ideas together and it would be beautiful. He loved to play bridge to relax. Once a month he played with friends and kept the scores in his head. Brilliant, oh, he was brilliant. I loved him, and he loved me. That’s Arthur Meighen.
