Polar bears are so plentiful they have become a nuisance, says a Department of Environment report. New data contradict repeated claims by then-Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and others that bears were victims of climate change: “Inuit are concerned about this increasing number.”
The Department of Environment yesterday claimed “real progress” in hitting climate change targets. The most recent data confirmed 2020 emissions fell nine percent mainly due to pandemic lockdowns and travel bans: “This report shows the real progress Canada is making.”
Taxpayer-owned VIA Rail will see continued steep losses for at least another two years despite layoffs and service cuts. The railway in an updated Corporate Plan predicted this year’s operating deficit will run to $411 million: “There remains an important risk.”
Cabinet “pissed away our credibility” in dealing with the Freedom Convoy, said the Prime Minister’s parliamentary secretary. Liberal MP Greg Fergus (Hull-Aylmer, Que.) made the remark in a text message critical of cabinet: “We politicians have pissed away our credibility.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s mandate requiring that Canadians drive electric cars will cost at least $99 billion, new federal figures show. Numbers did not include millions in hidden costs like retraining auto mechanics, said his department: “Proposed amendments are expected to lead to a loss of consumer choice.”
The compact fluorescent bulb once touted by cabinet as a climate-friendly energy saver will be phased out within a year due to mercury pollution. Environmentalists and regulators 20 years ago praised the bulbs as essential in addressing global warming: “The status quo was not considered to be a viable option.”
New regulations by Treasury Board President Mona Fortier would further delay Access To Information disclosures that currently stretch into years. The Board in a Christmas Eve notice said Canadians seeking public records should be required to show their birth certificate or other proof of citizenship: “No consultations were deemed to be necessary.”
Canada Post has wound up its pioneering electronic document sharing service. The ePost system launched decades ago was overtaken by Google Drive and other services: “I’ve never needed Canada Post in order to send and receive email.”
High profile Canadians may be in the pay of foreign agents, says a Department of Public Safety memo. The document did not identify any public office holders by name: “Do Canadians not deserve to know?”
The Government of Canada is so secretive its own employees must file Access To Information requests to retrieve records, says the largest federal public service union. The Public Service Alliance in a submission to Parliament said documents should be made public as a matter of course: “We are concerned.”
The typical gun owner in Canada has a rifle or shotgun, enjoys camping and shoots for sport or food, says in-house research by the Department of Public Safety. “They are worried about the public’s view of firearms owners,” wrote researchers.
Taxpayers will lose billions with a federal waiver on Canada Student Loan interest payments, new figures show. The Department of Employment said interest charges since 2016 totaled $3.38 billion: “This measure is targeted at making loan repayment more affordable.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada yesterday budgeted $720,000 for a national survey on the scope of “long Covid.” The Agency acknowledged it knew little about the number of Canadians with debilitating symptoms months after testing positive for the coronavirus: “This is serious.”
Blacklock’s managing editor today named the Parliamentary Press Gallery in an Ontario Superior Court lawsuit. It follows the December 2 eviction of Tom Korski from the National Press Building, a Gallery first.
The lawsuit states the Gallery executive committed “breach of contract, breach of duty of good faith and breach of the duty of honest performance.” It seeks $224,000 in damages, costs and “a declaration that the defendant breached the Gallery constitution.”
“The Gallery’s conduct is reprehensible and constitutes a breach of the duty of good faith and the duty of honest contractual performance,” wrote counsel Jessica Kuredjian of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP of Toronto. The Press Gallery has not yet filed a statement of defence.
Documents to be submitted in Superior Court show over a six-month period the executive of the press association compiled a list of grievances from the same three of 313 members of the Gallery: Emilie Bergeron and Michel Saba of Canadian Press and freelancer Hélène Buzzetti, a former Gallery president.
Blacklock’s was denied permission to speak to complaints at a Board hearing and was twice denied permission to read written complaints discussed by competitors at closed-door meetings. Korski was locked out of his office for alleged “serious misconduct.” Counsel Kuredjian wrote Superior Court the allegations “do not meet the definition of ‘serious misconduct’” in the Gallery’s own bylaws.
“In particular the complaints as alleged did not involve any threatening of physical or psychological harm to any members of the Gallery or materially interfere with the ability of other Gallery members to perform work for which Gallery membership is required,” wrote Kuredjian. “To the contrary.”
Numerous reporters, photographers and editors worked alongside Korski “for years and in some instances over a decade without Korski’s conduct materially affecting their ability to perform work for which Gallery membership is required,” wrote Kuredjian.
Complaints were that Korski “was impolite,” “frightened a complainant for no particular reason” and “made a complainant nervous for no particular reason.” Records show other complaints were that Blacklock’s staff posted a tweet critical of Canadian Press committee coverage, listened to English-only audio feeds from the House of Commons, called Freelancer Buzzetti an “idiot,” once propped open a newsroom door during the pandemic and tore a piece of paper “in a theatrical gesture.”
Gallery President Guillaume St-Pierre of the Journal de Montréal was accompanied by an armed constable in serving the December 2 eviction notice. The eviction was approved following a closed, half-hour Board meeting on November 15 attended by President St-Pierre, John Tasker and Rachel Hanes of the CBC, Luigi Della Penta of Global News, Catherine Levesque of the National Post, Boris Proulx of Le Devoir and Mia Rabson of Canadian Press.
By Staff 
A new $2 billion “green” Crown corporation will be permitted to buy, sell and swap shares in other companies without public scrutiny. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday wrote the confidentiality order into federal regulations: “You’re saying, ‘Give me the $2 billion, I’ll buy some shares.'”
