A two-letter typo in a zoning bylaw is enough to dismiss charges against alleged scofflaws, says an Ontario justice of the peace. The typo was just enough to make the bylaw nonsensical, ruled the court: “You must be wondering if you could be convicted under a municipal bylaw containing wording that makes no sense.”
Canadians who volunteer to fight in Ukraine’s foreign legion are disqualified from receiving veterans’ benefits and may be in breach of federal law, says the Department of Veterans Affairs. The maximum penalty is a $2,000 fine and two years in jail: “In a conflict where Canada is neutral Canadians cannot join the armed forces of a hostile party.”
The passport office in a briefing note says it knew a year ago there would be increased demand for travel documents. Management admitted delays in processing applications are now longer than they were before the pandemic: “Passport services are not yet back to normal.”
Cabinet after five years says it is no closer to finalizing the refit of a decrepit heritage building that has already cost taxpayers $10 million. The former United States Embassy across the street from Parliament Hill was to be a symbol of Indigenous reconciliation: “It is on the traditional ground of the Algonquin people.”
Nearly 8 in 10 Canadians fear identity theft though few have in fact had their ID stolen, says in-house research by the federal Communications Security Establishment. Questionnaires with thousands of computer users found bogus emails appealing for money were a more common threat: “Have you ever suffered loss or been the victim of financial fraud as a result of your online activity?”
The City of Melville, Sask., population 4600, has been asked to formally apologize for local gossip that turned into trash talk in a Facebook post. Saskatchewan Information Commissioner Ronald Kruzeniski said it was evident municipal employees were the source of “coffee row gossip.”
North Korea
is in the news again.
My cat and I yawn.
We already know
the Communists miniaturised the device,
but they have a way to go
before the toy can survive re-entry.
And Taepo Dong 2
– their longest-range missile –
cannot reach Texas, Florida, or Pennsylvania.
At most, it will hit the West Coast
and a few states in the Upper Midwest.
No one is going to war
over that.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, writes for Blacklock’s each and every Sunday)
The CBC has 143 executive directors including eight directors of finance, nine directors of legal services and 26 directors of “technology and infrastructure,” according to Access To Information records. Individual pay and benefits were not disclosed though one former executive put his yearly bonus at $80,000: “That requires visionary talent.”
Buyers in three cities account for most new electric car sales nationwide, Statistics Canada figures showed yesterday. New registration of electrics was sparse outside Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal: “More support is needed to help Canadians get behind the wheel.”
Cabinet yesterday disclosed it approved another $500 million loan for Ukraine. The announcement came the same day Ukraine confirmed with creditors it suspended payments on its foreign debt: “It is in the national interest.”
A low-cost volunteer program credited with saving nearly 2,000 people from drowning is threatened with declining membership and inadequate funding, says a Coast Guard audit. The all-volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary dates from 1978: “Between 2015 and 2020 the auxiliary saved almost 1,800 lives.”
The Department of Fisheries would consider any license application for ocean mining, staff wrote in a briefing note. Federal researchers have predicted little market for underwater mining in Canada since the country has ample minerals above sea level: “Seabed mining would be assessed based on the best available scientific knowledge.”
The CBC paid executives millions in Covid bonuses even as management complained of “immense pressure” with crashing ad revenue, records show. Bonuses were the equivalent of nearly $15,000 apiece: “It brings into serious question the judgment of executives in times of crisis.”
A federal agency mandated to counter “slow economic growth” in Québec instead approved $10 million in subsidies for a Montréal tennis tournament, records show. The idea was to draw media attention to the province, said staff: “Funding for sporting events acts as a strategic lever.”
Cabinet has minimal control over food prices, says Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s office. However the Department of Agriculture acknowledged federal regulators raised wholesale prices for milk and butter at a rate higher than general inflation: “Federal governments deliberately have minimal direct involvement in managing food prices.”
