Blacklock's Reporter

Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “Years of observation in men’s washrooms led me to conclude…”

In 2012 a Department of Transport engineer celebrated his promotion as supervisor by triumphantly needling a coworker over his expense claims. “Why twist the knife?” a labour adjudicator wrote later. The coworker responded by slapping the manager so hard it sent his eyeglasses flying. Interestingly, the supervisor was cited for what author Alexander Abdennur calls “camouflaged aggression” while the employee who responded with a slap was awarded $25,000 in damages.

Dr. Abdennur examines office politics in the same manner Jane Goodall studies primates. He likens bureaucracies to an “animal world” of “petty grievances” and vendettas, “vengeful rumination” and predatory score-settling where managers are like small birds that “freeze when they see the shadow of a circling hawk.”

Camouflaged Aggression In Organizations does not single out public sector employees per se. They are only human, and as a 10th century Arab poet put it: “When nature grows a straight branch, humans attach a spear head to it.”

Mandatory use of the $54 million ArriveCan app saved travelers “about five minutes” at border crossings, says a Public Health Agency report. The claim contradicts Customs union complaints that lineups were so long travelers urinated themselves while waiting to clear border crossings: "There is obviously something fishy going on."

The CBC, self-described “industry leader” in equity hiring, has a less diverse workforce than the Department of Agriculture, according to Access To Information records. Managers disclosed most CBC employees are white, English-speaking men: "We believe in celebrating human differences."

Shared Services Canada, the federal IT department, will not tell MPs the address of its building due to national security concerns, it said. Publicly available records show its main office is above a Tim Hortons restaurant at 90 Metcalfe Street in Ottawa with data servers nearby: "Perhaps the Russians or the Communist Party of China could find your offices through Google."

Borrowers under a costly federal Covid business loan program were typically small and heavily indebted, says a Department of Industry report. Losses under the Canada Emergency Business Account are estimated in the billions: "We've had your back."

Paper cheques have made a comeback as retailers try to avoid high transaction fees on credit cards, says the Bank of Canada. The Department of Finance has for years threatened to regulate card fees though no legislation has been introduced to date: "Who do we work for?"

Twenty-five New Democrat MPs will pressure cabinet for legislation this year to regulate legal internet content, Party leader Jagmeet Singh said yesterday. Regulations should include censoring “misinformation,” he said: "It has to be the government."

Vacancy rates in federal offices run as high as 70 percent or more under a pandemic work-from-home policy for employees, records show. Cabinet quietly dropped claims it could save billions by selling empty buildings: "We are reimagining our workplace."

Men are more likely to file their taxes using off the shelf software while women tax filers worry about making mistakes, data show. Canada Revenue Agency researchers quizzed taxpayers nationwide to spot differences between the sexes: "A number of concerns are present."

Fewer than a tenth of complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission alleging anti-Muslim discrimination are ever referred to a full hearing, records show. The Commission said it had “limited” resources in its $42.2 million annual budget: "The Commission understands."

Canadian farms use three times the amount of antibiotics in poultry, pigs and cattle than the European Union, says the Public Health Agency. New figures point to increased risk of antimicrobial resistance in humans, said an Agency report: "14,000 Canadian deaths were associated with antimicrobial resistance."

Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, has sold his financial interest in marijuana amid a sharp downturn in the sector. Nationwide a total 24 cannabis retailers, wholesalers and distributors filed for bankruptcy protection last year: "I no longer have an interest."

Organized crime is suspected of operating in the public sector, says an Access To Information briefing note at the Department of Public Safety. The memo did not identify any federal office by name but said there was “corruption in the sector.”

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."