Cabinet yesterday said it would not commit to new funding to clear a backlog of hundreds of whistleblower complaints alleging corrupt practices and misconduct. A federal commissioner has said three times as many lawyers currently on staff are required to investigate tips of government wrongdoing: "There may be allegations that do not see the light of day."
Immigration Minister Lena Diab’s department in a draft citizenship guide celebrates Liberal political appointees and an LGBTQ activist. Cabinet sought new themes in what it called a “restructuring of the way we educate not only new Canadians but all of us.”
Cabinet polled catchphrases and logos in attempting to ease the housing crisis, records show. The Privy Council commissioned federal focus groups on marketing techniques most likely to convince Canadians that cabinet would address shortages: 'Branding concepts could be used by the federal government.'
Doly Begum, a Liberal byelection candidate, in social media posts prior to her nomination described Liberals as untrustworthy, conniving and “the surest path to greater evil.” Begum is a former deputy leader of the New Democrat opposition in the Ontario legislature: "The shine has worn off the Liberals’ formula of fake progressivism."
Cabinet on Saturday served notice of fee hikes for migrant workers, foreigners seeking permanent residency and other services. Federal lawyers have successfully defended against challenges of fees as discriminatory: "Canada is a country of immigrants."
A British Columbia motel operator has been ordered to pay damages for evicting a guest who breached house rules banning marijuana on the premises. Legislators had warned of endless legal battles over property rights when Parliament legalized cannabis in 2018: "The Government of Canada would leave it totally to the courts."
Easter greetings to all friends and subscribers. Blacklock's pauses today for the federal observance. We are back tomorrow -- The Editor
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the great seeker of the “sunny ways” in politics, lived in a grand hotel just steps from Parliament Hill before he became prime minister. The Russell Hotel was Ottawa’s answer to 19th century elegance. In time it descended into ruin.
In 2001 Veterans Affairs Canada added 23 names to the nation’s First World War Book Of Remembrance preserved in the Peace Tower. The 23 were shot for cowardice and desertion. Ron Duhamel, then-veterans affairs minister, told the Commons: “People may lose control of their emotions, have a breakdown for reasons over which they have little control,” he said. “I wish to express my deep sorrow at their loss of life.”
But what if this is all wrong? What if the image of the frail and cowering soldier executed by sadistic military brass is a First War set piece that owes more to filmography than fact?
Immigration Minister Lena Diab’s department drafted a citizenship guide expressing shame for Canada over slavery, Access To Information records show. The guide for new Canadians studying for their citizenship test urged readers to reflect on the country’s “shameful” past: "Many Black people were brought to Canada as enslaved people."
Few Canadians think Housing Minister Gregor Robertson is on the right track in addressing an affordability crisis, says in-house Privy Council research. Federal focus groups found a large proportion of Canadians were resigned to waiting years for “tangible results.”
Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic yesterday faulted the Department of National Defence for “questions regarding fairness” in contracting. It followed a 2022 report that military contracting was tainted by inside dealing and favouritism: "The department did not conduct its procurement process in a fair manner."
Parliament should suspend federal fuel taxes until year’s end, Opposition Leader Pierre Polievre said yesterday. The $5.25 billion cost could be recovered through measures likes reductions to the federal government’s $25 billion in annual spending on consultants, he said: "Since last month gas prices have risen 35 percent."
Commons defectors who quit to join rival parties would be subject to recall under a new House petition. The defection of four MPs in five months including Michael Ma (Markham-Unionville, Ont.) has already prompted tens of thousands of petitioners to demand reform: "Citizens require a formal mechanism to hold MPs accountable."
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree yesterday confirmed low take-up of a $742 million federal program targeting “assault style” firearms. Figures followed in-house Privy Council research warning the program would be a costly failure: "Your plan is over the spring and the summer to deploy RCMP officers to go door to door?"
