Blacklock's Reporter

The Freedom Convoy outside Parliament had to be dismantled not as a safety risk but a public symbol of the “spiritual source of the protest movement,” said Michael Keenan, deputy transport minister. His remarks in a teleconference with police contradicted cabinet claims the Wellington Street blockade was a danger to the public: 'It is obviously less tactically important but has a greater impact from a visibility and communication angle.'

The Commons yesterday by a 208 to 115 vote rejected a bill mandating value for money audits at the Bank of Canada. Three Liberal and Green MPs joined Conservatives in voting for tighter scrutiny of the central bank: "That’s what this bill is all about."

Ex-senator Don Meredith would be the first in Canadian history to be stripped of his “honourable” title under a Senate motion. Senators described Meredith as a national disgrace: "This is an extraordinary process that has never been attempted since this Parliament was established in 1867."

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan yesterday opened year-long consultations on a proposal to ban replacement workers in the federally regulated private sector including airlines, banks, marine shippers and railways. Legislation must be introduced by December 31, 2023 under a pact with New Democrats: "It’s going to be a change."

Canadians do not trust Dr. Theresa Tam's Public Health Agency and will not blindly follow its advice, MPs on the Commons health committee yesterday told the chief public health officer. Conservatives read into the record a string of incorrect statements made by Dr. Tam: "We’re never doing this again. We don’t trust you."

The Freedom Convoy made Ottawa “virtually ungovernable,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said yesterday. Mendicino told reporters the protest had a significant and harmful impact on the government, a claim contradicted by internal memos from Mendicino’s own department: "We had to take the decision."

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson in a private phone call with the Prime Minister called Freedom Convoy protesters nasty and un-Canadian, like “the Republican Party down south,” he said. Watson yesterday in testimony at a convoy inquiry denied politicizing the treatment of protesters: "Reminds me of the Republican Party down south. Can’t reason with them. So vulgar."

Canadians in federal focus groups oppose decriminalization of narcotics, according to a Privy Council Office report. The research paper followed cabinet’s decision to decriminalize personal possession of cocaine in British Columbia effective January 31: "Many were concerned about drug users taking advantage of this initiative."

Rising interest rates and falling home prices pose a threat not seen in decades, the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said yesterday. “Financial institutions need to ensure they are prepared,” Peter Routledge wrote in an Information Sheet for lenders: "This type of situation has not been observed in Canada for decades."

Cabinet next spring will begin enforcement of a federal law mandating prompt payment to subcontractors on public works. Parliament passed the measure in 2019: "It is difficult for those working in virtually any other industry to fathom not getting paid for completed work."

A longtime Liberal Party donor “won the lottery” with federal contracts near a Québec border crossing, the Commons ethics committee was told yesterday. Federal agencies spent $136.6 million accommodating illegal immigrants including millions paid for contracts and leases to Party donor Pierre Guay, a local businessman: "He names his price and the government pays it."

Freedom Convoy organizers were complying with a city agreement to move trucks the very day cabinet declared a national emergency, a public inquiry was told yesterday. Ottawa City Manager Steve Kanellakos testified he had no warning cabinet would invoke the Emergencies Act: "Were there incidents? There always are. Was there any extreme violence or anybody seriously injured? No."

Most Canadians consider a federal freeze on handgun sales to be pointless and ineffective, says in-house Privy Council Office research. People questioned how the freeze would counter contraband guns: "Several felt such a law would have little to no effect on the prevalence of firearms-related crimes."

Black market drug dealers are flourishing despite Parliament’s legalization of cannabis on a promise of market regulation, says a federal report. It warned banks to be on the lookout for suspicious cash transfers involving proceeds of cannabis crime: "There still exists a flourishing and illegal cannabis market in Canada."

A federal report contradicts Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault’s claim of major threats at 2021 Covid election polls. Only a tiny fraction of poll workers reported trouble with voters who declined to follow public health orders: "The level of satisfaction with the way the federal election went was unchanged from 2019."