Blacklock's Reporter

Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland (University-Rosedale, Ont.) yesterday took the oath as Parliament’s first woman finance minister. The milestone came thirty-five years after the appointment of the country’s first woman treasurer, Conservative MPP Dr. Bette Stephenson, appointed Ontario finance minister in 1985 by then-Premier Frank Miller. Stephenson died a year ago to the date at 95: "I am Canada's first woman finance minister."

Banks should extend mortgage deferrals to avert an October surprise for cash-strapped borrowers, mortgage brokers told the Commons human resources committee. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation estimated as many as one in five homeowners will have deferred mortgage payments by Labour Day: "These families will be forced to sell their homes."

The World Health Organization will not allow Canadian MPs to question its officials over dealings with China on Covid-19. The Commons health committee had issued an April 30 summons for Dr. Bruce Aylward, a WHO epidemiologist who repeatedly praised Communist Party measures to contain the coronavirus: 'China is being successful.'

Finance Minister Bill Morneau last night resigned four weeks after disclosing he accepted $41,366 in gifts from a federal contractor, We Charity. “I’ve done my best,” Morneau told reporters. “I apologized for that.”

CMHC chief executive Evan Siddall in a 2019 podcast complained Canada has “glorified this idea of home ownership” and enriched property holders at the expense of renters. Siddall praised a federal consultant who advocated federal taxes on “unhealthy home values”. Conservative MPs yesterday served notice they will summon Siddall for questioning: "The losers are the people who have won so much already through the increase in house prices, the owners."

Federal IT specialists promise new security measures after hackers successfully targeted some 11,200 accounts including those held by tax filers and Employment Insurance claimants. “We’re looking at ways of strengthening our systems,” Marc Brouillard, acting chief information officer, told reporters.

The Department of Fisheries yesterday in a discussion paper proposed to give cabinet, not Parliament, broad new powers to regulate fish farming in coastal waters. The department said it required “flexibility to address emerging issues” in a proposed Aquaculture Act: “If they’re not monitoring the health of wild fish, how can they really know what the impacts are of aquaculture?"

Canadians consider pesticide use unavoidable though bad for the environment, says Department of Health research. Pesticide sales average more than 132 million kilograms a year, by official estimate: "Six in ten agree they are concerned that pesticides, even when used as directed, are not safe."

Cabinet seeks to ‘scale-up’ drug injection sites with amendments to the Controlled Drugs And Substances Act. The response follows protests in two of four provinces that legally distribute heroin, fentanyl and crystal methamphetamine to users: "We believe in supervised consumption sites."

Canadian youth rate climate change a greater threat than drugs, guns, gangs or traffic accidents. The Department of Public Safety research followed climate marches last September 27 and an apocalyptic speech by teen activist Greta Thunberg at the United Nations: "We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money."

More than a quarter of retirees aren’t retired, says the Department of Employment. New figures follow research indicating the number of Canadians over 65 who remained in the workforce is the “highest on record”.

A tax protestor who attempted to walk out of his trial in British Columbia Provincial Court has been found guilty of failing to file yearly returns. The Canada Revenue Agency has complained of internet-fueled protests challenging the Income Tax Act: "De-taxer, tax protestor, natural person – different names, same agenda."

A committee of MPs today will vote to issue urgent recommendations to cabinet in aid of 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong. One MP compared the territory to East Germany under new Communist Party controls: "In my mind, China doesn't care. China will sacrifice Hong Kong."

We Charity did more lobbying on Parliament Hill than General Motors, newly-released records show. The charity lists eighteen employees as federal lobbyists: "At the time we thought it was minimal."

A tenth of grocery store weigh scales don’t give honest measurements, says a federal audit. The Department of Industry said drivers also have a 1 in 25 chance of being cheated at the pumps: "You get a ticket, you pay a fine. You get another ticket, you pay a fine."