‘First Step In A Long Journey’

 

My mailbox,

1 terabyte.

 

Indicator says

I use 0.05% of the storage space,

leaving room

for 54 million more emails.

 

If I live for another 50 years,

I would need 3,000 messages a day

to reach capacity.

 

Got 3 today.

 

(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, writes for Blacklock’s each and every Sunday)

Will Pay Vaccine Burial Costs

The Department of Health will pay burial costs for Canadians killed by federally-approved vaccines. “Serious and permanent vaccine injuries are rare but as with any medical product they do occur,” staff wrote in a briefing note: “The program will provide death benefits and support for funeral expenses.”

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Kept China Donations Quiet

Cabinet aides in internal emails said federal agencies should keep quiet about donations of pandemic supplies from China. The messages were prompted by Liberal MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.) who questioned why Canada was not celebrating charity by Chinese corporations: “We aren’t touting any.”

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Hockey Execs To Seal Records

Hockey Canada is asking a federal judge to seal records detailing what it does with millions in subsidies. The governing body in a rare Federal Court application claimed it faced “material financial loss” if information was disclosed: ‘Ask how they spent the $9 million.’

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Profited 8% On Security Fee

The Department of Transport turns an average eight percent profit on mandatory security fees for air travelers, records show. Net profits over a five year period totaled a third of a billion: “It has become a cash cow, not a fee for service.”

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Bribery Case In Its 14th Year

Judges have ordered a fresh trial in Canada’s longest-running bribery case. Executives with an Ontario software firm are accused of plotting large cash payoffs to win an Air India contract. The investigation dates from 2007: “A fair trial is a trial which satisfies the public interest in getting at the truth.”

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Feds To Eject Maskless Voters

Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault yesterday said his agency will strictly enforce any local mask requirements on Election Day, September 20. Maskless voters will be ejected from polling stations if they defy local health orders, he said: “I think electors have a responsibility.”

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Name CBC As Fact Checkers

Facebook Canada yesterday named the CBC as an election campaign fact checker. The Crown broadcaster’s French-language service Radio Canada will monitor other media’s news stories to ensure accuracy, though the network has acknowledged multiple errors in its own news coverage: “We are committed to doing our part.”

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Delay Bank Reforms ‘Til 2022

Cabinet yesterday gave banks until 2022 to comply with new federal consumer protection laws. Regulations follow 2017 hearings of the Commons finance committee that detailed unethical practices: “Sales goals were an insidious thing for all branch employees.”

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OK French In The Fed Sector

Federally regulated private sector companies should be subject to Québec language regulations, Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole said yesterday. O’Toole said any Conservative cabinet within 100 days of taking office would “work with Québec to apply Bill 101 to federally regulated businesses.”

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Chuck Norris Wins, Again

Taping a Chuck Norris poster to the side of a police van does not amount to misconduct, Québec’s Police Ethics Tribunal has ruled. The decision followed complaints by demonstrators who spotted the poster during 2018 street rallies against the G7 Summit: “It was a running gag.”

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Public Vetoes CERB Amnesty

Taxpayers oppose amnesty for undeserving Canadians who claimed $2,000 pandemic relief cheques they weren’t entitled to, says in-house research by the Canada Revenue Agency. Authorities have yet to explain why the Canada Emergency Response Benefit program went 200 percent over budget: “If ineligible recipients were not asked to repay benefits it would be unfair.”

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Watch That Bias, Says CRTC

The CRTC yesterday cautioned broadcasters to play fair in campaign news coverage. Guidelines for TV and radio stations followed a 2016 investigation that found coverage of one Conservative MP was so one-sided it breached the Broadcasting Act: ‘It asked listeners to vote for a candidate who wears a turban.’

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Aide Fined For Ethics Breach

The Ethics Commissioner yesterday fined a political aide in Foreign Minister Marc Garneau’s office, Sara Amash, for breach of the Conflict Of Interest Act. Opposition MPs have sought an increase in the current $500 maximum fine for scofflaws: “Retaining public trust remains an ongoing challenge for institutions in Canada.”

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Covid Sparked Rush To $100s

The Covid economic crash sent more Canadians to the bank to withdraw large bills, $50s and $100s, data show. The Bank of Canada reported an extraordinary increase in the amount of cash withdrawn by Canadians from the outbreak of the pandemic: “A sharp spike in withdrawals of banknotes occurred.”

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