Blacklock's Reporter

A Roman junket last July by the Senate agriculture committee cost taxpayers nearly $45,000, records show. Senator Robert Black (Ont.), chair of the committee, said the trip was no holiday: “That won’t be a good look.”

The insolvent SaltWire Network newspaper chain, largest in Atlantic Canada, pocketed taxpayer subsidies while failing to pay its taxes, court records show. The CEO earlier testified the chain was “vital to our democracy.”

Cabinet is “committed” to mandating insurance for property owners on flood plains, says the Department of Public Safety. Flood damage should not be charged to taxpayers through disaster aid, said a briefing note: “Canada is taking steps to prioritize flood risk.”

The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed claims immigration fees breach Charter rights. Lawyers had sought to certify a class action lawsuit claiming mandatory fees were akin to the 19th century Chinese head tax: “That is not what we are dealing with here.”

Peter Routledge, Canada’s chief bank inspector, yesterday issued a directive ordering bankers to begin assessing mortgage holders at risk of default “effective immediately.” Canada has not had a bank failure in 39 years: “Begin testing to estimate potential losses.”

Organized crime is active in Canadian ports, says an RCMP report. Police have sought new powers to conduct mandatory background checks on all port workers including federal Customs agents: “We need to take a hard look at the security of our ports.”

The Communist Party and other groups are lobbying the Commons to support a motion accusing Jews of war crimes. Activists publicly claimed credit for “tirelessly pressuring” Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz (Davenport, Ont.), chair of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, to change her view of the Hamas war: “Julie’s newfound support for an arms embargo is a direct result of our organizing!”

Pandemic lockdowns doubled small business loan defaults under a federal program, new data show. The scope of losses on taxpayer-backed loans was expected to worsen due to “a certain time lag.”

Jews have filed a discrimination lawsuit against federal meat inspectors over new guidelines they say threaten the entire production of kosher meats in Canada. Kosher processing has already fallen 89 percent under new Guidelines, petitioners told the Federal Court: “Freedom of religion does not require citizens to change or abandon their religious beliefs,”

Canadian medicare is so bad people consider it frightening, say in-house research by the Department of Health. The national survey found Canadians were typically afraid they would never receive life-saving treatment when needed: ‘Participants have fears about access to services and delays in tests or treatment.’

Cabinet members facing re-election commissioned Privy Council research on whether Filipino-Canadian voters felt they were getting enough “attention,” newly-disclosed records show. Liberals currently hold all but three of the ten largest Filipino ridings nationwide: ‘Several spoke positively about increasing immigration.’

The federal “safe supply” drug policy is senseless and destructive, says Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre. Speaking in Vancouver, Poilievre told business owners that cabinet must “break the cycle of addiction that is raging out of control in our country.”

Uncorroborated childhood memories cannot be reported as fact, says the CBC’s Ombudsman. The advisory followed complaints a Manitoba town was unfairly depicted as cruel and bigoted in a Truth and Reconciliation Day story: “Our article could have been clearer about the extent to which we were relying on the perceptions of children 45 years later.”

Federal anti-trust lawyers are tracking more complaints of false environmental claims by businesses claiming to be net zero, Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell wrote in a letter to senators. Current law must be broadened to deal with fake “green” advertising, he said: ‘For example, claims about being ‘net zero’ or ‘carbon neutral by 2030.’