Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: "You envision a world of perfect harmony..." READ MORE
Book Review — The Welfare State
Poverty is called a trap, though millions of Canadians have escaped it using subtle methods. The Department of Employment, an anti-poverty agency, is not good at this. “The welfare state, which imposes order from above and requires specific outcomes, fails on many levels,” write Joe and Stephanie Mancini. “Access to basic necessities of life is often denied because someone does not fit into bureaucratic categories, or because they cannot navigate complex rule-based systems.” The Mancinis’ Transition To Common Work is a crisp critique of the welfare state written by a devoutly Catholic husband and wife committed to aiding the poor. This is not a rant about the dole. It is an eloquent account of the subtle, human remedies for despair. READ MORE
No Comment On New Lake
An international agency, the Great Lakes Commission, yesterday had no comment after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the renaming of Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The purported change takes effect in 30 days: "This is official." READ MORE
Fresh Air Puzzle Cost $99,927
The Department of Health paid a pollster nearly $100,000 to ask Canadians what environmental steps they took to get fresh air in the home. The most popular response: “Open a window.” READ MORE
Feds Silent On Tariff Rewrite
Cabinet yesterday abruptly revised its list of American imports subject to retaliatory tariffs to remove 25 percent duties on fish and seafood products. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne gave no reason when asked by reporters: "What message does it send to Americans?" READ MORE
Hajdu Failed Workers: Audit
An internal report is faulting Labour Minister Patty Hajdu’s department for poor service and growing backlogs of unresolved complaints under the Canada Labour Code. “Backlogs have increased significantly,” wrote auditors. READ MORE
Paid $488M For 228M Trees
Taxpayers paid $487.9 million to plant 228 million trees under the now-disbanded Two Billion Trees Program, records show. Official figures counted millions of saplings scheduled for planting in national parks that were not actually planted: "The program made strong progress." READ MORE
Guest Commentary
My father was offered cabinet posts by the Liberal Party. They wanted to appoint him to the cabinet in 1945, but he declined. The Liberal Party used a lot of our ideas, I think, but my father never wanted to be a Liberal. He always maintained he wanted to achieve his purpose through democratic socialism. That’s what he was. That’s how he lived. He thought all people were entitled to a decent life, that no one should suffer from poor housing and poor health. His whole life was devoted to improving conditions for the common man.
