Managers have spent nearly $1.6 million advertising a regional high speed rail service that doesn’t exist, records show. The Crown corporation responsible for the railway-on-paper now has 13 vice presidents: "How many?" READ MORE
Anti-Trust Probe Hits Sobeys
Anti-trust lawyers are asking a federal judge to compel disclosure of confidential terms of leases held by one of the nation’s largest grocery chains. Operators of Sobeys are accused of breaching the Competition Act by negotiating restrictive clauses in leases with mall owners: "Real estate that is suitable and commercially attractive for grocery stores appears limited." READ MORE
40% Like Handmade Election
Forty percent of poll workers and returning officers surveyed want to retain old-fashioned hand counting of paper ballots in future campaigns, says an Elections Canada report. It followed a 2021 Liberal Party proposal for voting by smartphone: "This is pretty significant." READ MORE
Radio Gets Forever Licensing
Commercial radio stations would receive forever licenses under a CRTC proposal detailed Friday. Regulations open for public comment to July 6 would extend AM and FM licenses in perpetuity, saving station operators the cost of attending regular renewal hearings every five to seven years: 'This would save time and effort.' READ MORE
Cybersecurity Bill C-8 Is Law
The Senate has passed into law a cybersecurity bill rewritten by critics with greater privacy protection. The measure in final debate was rated better than none: "Yes, this legislation is long overdue." READ MORE
A Sunday Poem: “Check”
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: "Applicants for Summer Jobs program must check a box on the form. Agree with women’s right to abortion..." READ MORE
Book Review: Was The War Worth It?
The First World War gave Canada progressive income tax, national trade unions, the Department of Health, votes for women and daylight saving time. The price was 61,802 dead and 172,000 injured. Was it worth it? With the passing of all eyewitnesses to the cataclysm, Canadian culture has “systematically diminished the violent effects of the First World War,” notes The Great War. Politicians sense it is now safe to stand on tombstones to speak on patriotic themes that play well with focus groups. It is left to historians to correct the record. Great War is drawn from a Western University conference that saw researchers, genealogists and others examine the cost and contribution. “Military triumphs and narratives of sacrifice will have to be weighed carefully against the brutal realities of the war’s human cost,” editors write. READ MORE
Guest Commentary
Defenders of the Senate often use that phrase about “sober second thought.” It is no joke. Senators should be chosen, not as beneficiaries of taxpayer largesse but because they have the brains and the practical experience to see the flaws in proposed laws. Voter anger and outrage at the Canadian Senate is not new. From the outset, prime ministers used their power to appoint to the Red Chamber as a reward for party supporters and faithful allies in the cabinet and caucus.
