Blacklock's Reporter

In the days before television, newsreel producers each year assigned cameras to film three visually rich, set-piece spectacles that represented Canada to theatre audiences nationwide: the opening of Parliament, the Calgary Stampede and the Eaton’s Santa Claus parade. One of these is gone.

A Mile Of Make Believe recounts with warmth and nostalgia the Christmas extravaganza sponsored by a family-owned corporation once the largest retailer in the country. This is not a dry municipal history. Eaton’s in its heyday sponsored Santa parades from Edmonton to Montréal. Author Steve Penfold, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, has crafted a smart and funny account of a lost piece of Canadiana.

Rookie Conservative MP Michael Ma (Markham-Unionville, Ont.) last night abruptly defected to the government caucus, bidding his newfound Liberal colleagues a "merry Christmas." The floor-crossing was announced as the Commons adjourned for a six-week recess: "Happy holidays and a great 2026."

Canada Post is seeking a second emergency loan from cabinet and will require years to pay back more than a billion already borrowed, CEO Doug Ettinger yesterday told MPs. An initial $1,034,000,000 line of credit approved last January 24 has run out, the Commons government operations committee was told: "We’ve exhausted that."

The Department of Health paid out more than $6.6 million in ineligible claims under its Canada Dental Care Plan, records show. It follows disclosure the overall cost of the program is projected to go 50 percent over budget this year: "An error was identified."

Artworks that vanished from a multi-million dollar federal collection included jewelry, records show. The Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations said jewelry disappeared from an unnamed regional office 30 years ago but was only made public now: "Have you contacted police?"

Cabinet approved a five-figure pay raise for an appointee under investigation for workplace misconduct, records show. Marie Chapman of Bedford, N.S., CEO of the Museum of Immigration, yesterday was accused of office bullying like referring to employees as “sluts.”

Attorney General Sean Fraser says he will spend the winter consulting faith leaders on a proposal to prohibit hate speech under the pretext of religious instruction. It follows a 2023 incident in which a Montréal activist called for death to Jews while reading a Quran prayer: "There’s a number of faith leaders who’ve reached out."

Most federal agencies spent more, not less, on travel last year while cabinet claimed to save taxpayers’ money, new records show. Then-Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland promised a 15 percent reduction in travel spending as proof the government was “fiscally responsible.”

Colleges in a single province made a fortune in fees on foreign students, Statistics Canada confirmed yesterday. Record enrollment by foreigners made Ontario the only jurisdiction in Canada where colleges raised more in tuition than they required in public funding: "Nothing lasts forever."

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s department in an internal memo questioned bias of a subsidized advocacy group, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. It awarded the Network a $200,000 research grant even as staffers expressed unease over funding: "Was this taken into consideration?"

CBC’s Ombudsman yesterday questioned why the network manufactured a photo of Prime Minister Mark Carney partying with Jeffrey Epstein to illustrate a story on fake news. “Publishing such an image was risky business,” wrote Ombudsman Maxime Bertrand: "What’s wrong with the CBC? Have they lost their senses? Or worse still, was Carney associated with Epstein?"

A cabinet decision to cut tolls on Prince Edward Island’s Confederation Bridge guarantees French investors more than $40 million a year in taxpayers’ subsidies, says a Budget Office report. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the concession last July 28 without disclosing the cost: "Here is a living, breathing example of risk-free investment for a corporation."

The Commons last night by a 196 to 139 vote rejected a Conservative motion to support construction of an Alberta oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast. Liberals called the motion a ploy to embarrass Prime Minister Mark Carney: "There’s a risk in voting yes, there’s a risk in voting no."

The top manager in the Department of Industry yesterday admitted lying to MPs over a contract with Stellantis. “No one asked me to lie,” Deputy Minister Philip Jennings testified at the Commons government operations committee: "I have reflected."

A record hike in the national debt ceiling is a prudent attempt to cover ongoing deficits through the rest of the decade, the Department of Finance said yesterday. Cabinet proposes to raise the cap 20 percent to an unprecedented $2.54 trillion: "We did decide to err on the side of prudence."