Blacklock's Reporter

Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “In Washington D.C. the Redskins football team is asked to change its name. Strong arguments are called up. The term is offensive, hurtful…”

A friend of mine, a federal contractor, recalls visiting his MP for help on a local issue. The MP grew increasingly irritable and finally threw up his hands, exclaiming: “What’s in this for me?” The meeting ended badly.

This collision of two worlds – the aggrieved petitioner and harassed legislator – is the core of The Effective Citizen. Author Graham Steele, a former Nova Scotia finance minister, acknowledges both petitioner and legislator have legitimate points, albeit on different frequencies, and explains how to tune dialogue to problem-solving.

“The best meetings were the ones where my visitors understood the environment I was working in, and helped me understand the environment they were working in, and together we had a constructive discussion about what was possible or not possible, and why,” writes Steele. “Those meetings were too rare.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney faces a parliamentary hearing regarding his misrepresentations over toll-sharing concessions on the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The chair of the Commons government operations committee yesterday summoned MPs to a special hearing to “get to the bottom of the matter.”

The nation’s largest labour federation yesterday shamed Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem for unlawful practices. Macklem was censured for hiring replacement workers in a five-week dispute with striking security guards: "It is especially troubling that this conduct is coming from the Bank of Canada."

The Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations waived a requirement that a Kamloops First Nation account for what became of $12.1 million in funding for “exhumation of remains” at an Indian Residential School, according to records disclosed yesterday. The Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation made no attempt to exhume any graves despite funding: "Officials were asked about what appears to be missing reports."

The Department of National Defence in a report to MPs confirms it is installing new marine radar sites along shipping lanes in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Valley. No reason was given, though the department conducted earlier research that found Canadians feared a Great Lakes flashpoint should the United States "turn on Canada."

There is no time for any “fulsome review of the future of Canada Post,” cabinet has told MPs in reply to a request for public hearings on the impact of service cuts. More immediate austerity measures are a priority, it said: 'The government will take into account the issues raised by Canadians as it determines whether additional reforms are needed.'

Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday did not comment after federally-released records showed he misled taxpayers over secret terms of a U.S. toll-sharing agreement on the $6.4 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge at Windsor, Ont. One MP said it was improbable that Carney, “a very smart man who has a background in finance and banking,” was unaware he lied to the public.

Housing starts will continue to go down, not up, through 2027, the federal mortgage insurer CMHC said yesterday. The forecast contradicted Prime Minister Mark Carney’s repeated claims that cabinet was “building more homes, faster.”

The RCMP must reopen its criminal investigation into the killing of 138 Canadian citizens and permanent residents by Iran, says an Ontario businessman who lost his wife and son in the 2020 terrorist attack. Newly-released records show the Mounties abruptly cancelled their investigation after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Iranian authorities: "Somebody gave them an order to stop."

A federal panel assigned to combat anti-Semitism yesterday had no comment on figures showing Jews remain a leading target of hate crimes nationwide. One advocacy group calculated Jews are now 22 times more likely than gentiles to be a crime victim in Canada: '“What do they propose to protect the Jewish community? An Advisory Council."

The Department of Immigration has rejected more Gaza foreign study permits than it’s accepted, records show. No reason was given, though a briefing note said applicants were subject to security screening with photos and fingerprints: "Applications have been refused."

Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday walked away from reporters when asked if he misled the public over billions in toll concessions secretly granted the United States on the Gordie Howe International Bridge at Windsor, Ont. A public ceremony commemorating the July 27 opening with U.S. guests was cancelled: "Did you mislead Canadians, sir?"

The RCMP says it has no records divulging who told police to abruptly cancel a planned criminal investigation of the killings of scores of Canadians in Iran in 2020. Records show the investigation was dropped after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a friendly meeting with Iran’s foreign minister: 'There is no evidence RCMP members were motivated by political considerations.'

The CBC will use record funding this year to “combat disinformation,” says a Department of Heritage briefing note. Broadcast executives to date have declined to tell the Budget Office or the public specifically what measures it contemplates: "The government is exploring options."