Blacklock's Reporter

Canada, unlike Zimbabwe, has no federal department of education, to which Professor Jennifer Wallner of the University of Ottawa comments: And your point is – ? Parliament regulates the minutiae of labels on fertilizer bags, the price of mozzarella, the music they play at Radio CJLR in Meadow Lake, Sask. Yet in 159 years legislators have never set any federal standards on basic elementary and secondary education. Critics lament the fact. Professor Wallner argues this does not mean standards don’t exist. “Provinces can work together,” Wallner writes. “When we compare the provincial education systems to one another, all ten show remarkably strong similarities in investments, achievements and substantive policies.” READ MORE

Cabinet is headed for “a danger zone” with continued overspending, warns Budget Officer Annette Ryan. Testifying at the Senate national finance committee, Ryan said any federal claim that deficit spending will promote economic growth is “the opposite of prudence.” READ MORE

Prime Minister Mark Carney in 2025 ethics filings disclosed extensive shareholding in heating and ventilation companies that would benefit from a federal rebate program announced yesterday. “How is that not corrupt?” asked Conservative MP John Brassard (Barrie-South-Innisfil, Ont.), chair of the Commons ethics committee: "The Prime Minister is not even hiding it anymore." READ MORE

Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight yesterday said an Afghan War ceremony that excluded combat veterans was merely “one step in many” to honour ex-military. McKnight would not explain the lapse while testifying at the Commons veterans affairs committee: "We heard that loud and clear." READ MORE

Opposition MPs accuse Liberal political aides and other government “sources” of planting favourable stories with subsidized media by leaking secret contents of government bills. New Democrats yesterday joined Conservatives in condemning the practice as contemptuous of Parliament: "There have been repeated ‘leaks’ from so-called ‘unauthorized sources’ to journalists in a clear attempt to shape public discourse." READ MORE

Alberta’s lone member of the federal cabinet says she is counting on a large majority of provincial voters rejecting a referendum on separation. “We really need a strong outcome,” said Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski: "We need a decisive ‘remain’ vote." READ MORE

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson yesterday denied making a rude gesture under heated questioning in the Commons. Thompson told MPs her extension of the middle finger was “just a hand movement.” READ MORE