More than a quarter of young children eligible for Covid shots went unvaccinated over parental worries, data show. Mothers and fathers were concerned vaccines had unknown side effects, said the Public Health Agency: 'They worried not enough research on the vaccine has been done in children.'
A Calgary trucker arrested as co-organizer of the Freedom Convoy has lost a bid to move his trial out of Ottawa on claims of jury bias. However Ontario Superior Court agreed residents, workers and commuters who witnessed the Parliament Hill protest are disqualified from sitting in judgment of James Bauder: "There may be a legitimate concern about securing an unbiased jury."
A Russian-owned tractor factory has won a Tax Court claim for a six-figure federal tax credit. Buhler Versatile of Winnipeg avoided blacklisting under cabinet’s Russian sanctions: "We are very aware of Russian interests in Canada."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “In the Patent Office, young Einstein gets bored. His job repetitive. His mind seeks intellectual stimuli…”
Years ago a friend of mine, a defence contractor in a spot of trouble, asked: “How can I manipulate media?” It was a blunt, honest question deserving a response in kind. “You can’t,” I replied, not from any claim to newsroom virtue but in observance of Lincoln’s Law that nobody can fool all the people all the time. If public opinion was that malleable, every movie would be a blockbuster, every book a bestseller. every political candidate a winner. Focus group failure speaks for itself.
Yet the myth persists. The lure of manipulation as an expedient problem-solver is irresistible. As every gambler has a “system” so every bureaucracy has a “media strategy.” The practitioners are known as comms guys, communication directors.
The RCMP yesterday said it did not conduct any criminal investigation of alleged Chinese interference in the 2019 federal election. Members of the House affairs committee said the testimony was not reassuring amid repeated claims of illegality: "I am very, very frustrated right now with the lack of information."
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan yesterday said Canada needs more oil and gas workers, not fewer, and cursed cabinet’s “just transition” climate retraining program. “I can’t stand the phrase ‘just transition,’” said O’Regan: "We asked workers in Saskatchewan and Alberta to figure out how to get oil out of sand and by God they did it."
Most Canadians oppose internet voting, says Elections Canada research. A Liberal Party proposal for voting by smartphone was rejected by the House affairs committee prior to the 2021 campaign: "A majority agree that voting over the internet should not be an option."
Cabinet polled for popular catchphrases in anticipation of its spring budget, records show. Most Canadians surveyed in Privy Council focus groups said buzzwords were unlikely to solve economic troubles: 'Most were of the view economic problems facing Canadians were quite complex.'
Trade Minister Mary Ng has signed a “conflict of interest screen” pledging to never award another sole sourced contract to a longtime friend and CBC-TV pundit. The written pledge followed testimony at the Commons ethics committee that rated contracts for Amanda Alvaro as unusual: "The Ethics Commissioner and I have agreed."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Privy Council Office commissioned confidential research on a national electronic ID system. No reason was given. Parliament has repeatedly rejected any mandatory identification program as intrusive and costly: 'Adoption may be difficult especially among Canadians already distrustful of public institutions.'
Federal Comptroller General Roch Huppé ordered managers to “be careful what you write down” to avoid creating records subject to Access To Information. The remarks were made in a teleconference with chief financial officers: "They have to be careful."
Canadians should educate themselves on slavery even if it was outlawed here decades before Confederation, Equality Minister Marci Ien yesterday told reporters. “It doesn’t matter who was in charge,” said Ien.
The Commons yesterday by a vote of 176 to 142 gave Second Reading to a bill critics called a bid to whitewash federal mismanagement of the pandemic. The private bill sponsored by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York, Ont.) proposed that cabinet appoint a committee to review itself: "Canadians will never get the answers they deserve."
Small business yesterday appealed for a cap on billions' worth of credit card fees charged retailers. The Department of Finance for more than a decade has permitted Visa and MasterCard to set their own rates under a voluntary Code Of Conduct: "Who do we work for?”
