Blacklock's Reporter

Easter greetings to all friends and subscribers. Blacklock’s pauses for the national observance this Good Friday — The Editor

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s “strong middle class” budget followed internal polling that warned of widespread grumbling by middle class voters. “Most were of the view the country was currently headed in the wrong direction,” said a Privy Council report: “There should be a greater emphasis on increasing benefits and financial supports for middle income Canadians.”

The Privy Council Office yesterday would not comment on its apparent garbling of records over an ethics filing. Documents suggested Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc recused himself from a crucial vote a day after it happened: “How do you recuse yourself the day after?”

More than 620,000 people face clawbacks of tax refunds under a federal program to recover Canada Emergency Response Benefit payments from ineligible claimants, records show. The figures were disclosed at the request of New Democrat MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, Man.), who has advocated for a CERB amnesty: “I think it is wasteful to chase the poor for money they do not have.”

Cabinet yesterday confirmed it will pay $23 billion in compensation for systemic underfunding of First Nations child welfare programs. Indigenous Services Minister Patricia Hajdu called it “an important piece of healing” with minimum compensation of $40,000 per individual: “It is a total of just over $23.34 billion at this point.”

French outside Québec “remains fragile” despite billions in grants to promote the language, says a Department of Canadian Heritage report. Rates of bilingualism actually fell in English-speaking provinces over the past two decades: “The viability of francophone official language minority communities remains fragile.”

Federal Court Justice Janet Fuhrer, a Liberal appointee, maintains Twitter posts in which she praised cabinet and retweeted remarks criticizing a Conservative politician. All judges must halt “partisan activity” following their appointment, according to ethics guidelines: ‘Judges should refrain from conduct with respect to issues that could come before the courts.’

The Canada Revenue Agency audits more poor tax filers than wealthier ones, new figures show. Data follow longstanding complaints the Agency spends more time chasing trivial tax matters than pursuing “larger fish.”

A typical federal employee costs $125,000 a year in salary, benefits and overtime, Budget Officer Yves Giroux said yesterday. Giroux, who is paid $255,000 annually, said payroll costs were far above historical averages: “While increases in salaries were the largest contributor, spending on pensions, overtime and bonuses grew faster.”

Canada has one of the lowest incarceration rates in the English-speaking world, new data show. Figures from the Department of Public Safety also indicate 40 percent of adults appearing in criminal court are not convicted: ‘The purpose is to assist the public in understanding statistical information on corrections.’

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he played no part in cabinet’s appointment of his sister in law as interim Ethics Commissioner. Martine Richard is senior general counsel on ethics: “I recused myself.”

Canadians need “increased education” if cabinet is to meet its electric car mandate, says in-house research by the Department of Natural Resources. Federal pollsters found stiff resistance to electrics as costly and impractical: “Fewer than one in five, 17 percent, feel there is an affordable zero emission vehicle that meets their lifestyle needs.”

Consumers increasingly blame inflation on federal deficit spending, not the war in Ukraine, says Bank of Canada research. Canadians surveyed by the Bank said they expected overspending to raise prices overall for years to come: “Most consumers think the Bank’s ability to get inflation back to target is hampered by high government spending.”

Repeal of tax breaks for real estate investment trusts would save the federal treasury a quarter billion over five years, the Budget Office said yesterday. Figures were requested by Green MP Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, Ont.), who blamed trusts for running up housing costs: “It adds up.”

McKinsey & Company was never considered for federal blacklisting as an unethical supplier even after facing legal troubles abroad, records show. The Department of Public Works said court settlements and corruption charges “had no impact” on its work with the company: “I wake up every day knowing it’s an ethical company.”