Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: "On the way to work, an ant with a broken leg. Limping. Vigorously. Drawing a circle in the sandy pavement. Antennae slapping in the air..." READ MORE
Review: Pierre & The Sodbusters
When Pierre Trudeau died the Calgary Herald published a commentary calling him a Communist. As late as 1989 an Alberta Liberal running for a Senate seat drew protest after describing Trudeau as “a great Canadian.” The provincial party has not won an election in more than a century. If voters send a handful of Liberals to Ottawa from time to time, statistically a Canadian has a better chance of visiting outer space than earning an MP's pension as an Alberta Liberal. The last to serve three terms left office 19 years ago. READ MORE
Would Sue Over Social Posts
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly’s department in an Access To Information memo contemplates “legal action” against users on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites it suspects of spreading “false and misleading information.” The censored 35-page memo did not explain what action federal lawyers would take: "This strategy seeks to uphold the integrity of and public trust in government information." READ MORE
CEO’s Visa Card Suspended
The CEO of Farm Credit Canada had her corporate Visa card suspended as “delinquent” for failing to make minimum payments, Access To Information records show. Staff questioned thousands in late fees and interest charges run up by Justine Hendricks in her role as the Crown bank’s $458,000-a year chief executive: "The audit division may find this particular transaction as non-compliant." READ MORE
Sees ‘Opportunity’ In Condos
A $1.45 billion bailout of Metro Vancouver condo developers is an “opportunity” for taxpayers, Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday. He did not explain what profit the public would see in buying thousands of vacant condos from speculators facing losses: "A bad development becomes a good development on the second or third owner, but in between there’s that opportunity." READ MORE
Federal Tanker Ban Remains
Cabinet yesterday withdrew a suggestion it might “adjust” a 2019 ban on oil tanker traffic off the northern British Columbia coast. “There is no way,” said B.C. Premier David Eby: "The tanker ban remains." READ MORE
No AI Nonsense In Tax Court
Artificial intelligence “nonsense” has no place in Tax Court, a judge has ruled. The remarks came in the case of a taxpayer who challenged the Canada Revenue Agency using fabricated case law: "AI is no substitute for real lawyering." READ MORE
Guest Commentary
Robert Peary’s wife had given him a handmade flag to carry on his last expedition in 1906 when he claimed to discover the North Pole. Peary died in 1920 but left a written account of the map’s location in a cairn at Cape Columbia overlooking the Arctic Ocean. Hidden in the cairn was a rusted tin with a perfectly preserved remnant of the flag the size of a handkerchief. Later we gave it to Peary’s widow. We made other finds that year: tins of fruitcake from an 1875 British expedition, and letters addressed to Amundsen left behind by a Danish team in 1920. And we began the work of mapping the Canadian Arctic.
