Blacklock's Reporter

Working animals were once a staple of town and country life: pit ponies, sheep herders, warehouse mousers. All lesser mammals were bred for chores or meat. “The main thing to remember,” says a friend who’s spend a lifetime with horses, “is that they don’t care about your feelings.”

With automation and a declining birth rate, animals have become members of the family. As author Dave Olesen puts it, “In a culture that is becoming almost completely unfamiliar with animals as working partners, many people take up their dogs as little furry surrogate children.”

The Commons finance committee last night by a 6-5 vote ordered that cabinet surrender confidential records on We Charity. The extraordinary summons followed the Prime Minister’s testimony he was never told his officials were in contact with We Charity regarding a federal grant, though the group had awarded members of Justin Trudeau’s family more than a half-million dollars’ worth of free trips and appearance fees: "Nobody believes you."

Finance Minister Bill Morneau failed to divulge his close personal ties to We Charity before voting to grant the group up to $43.5 million in funding, the Prime Minister and his chief of staff said yesterday. Justin Trudeau said he was unaware Morneau accepted $41,366 in gifts or that We Charity hired Morneau’s daughter: "No, I did not know."

The federal carbon tax was intended to be a “powerful incentive” for Canadians to use less heat in the winter, says a 2018 Access To Information memo by the Department of Natural Resources. Officials subsequently blamed winter heating in part for a rise in greenhouse gas emissions: 'Canadians should not be punished every time they turn up the thermostat.'

The military says it may have more Indigenous members than claimed due to First Nations, Inuit and Métis who are reluctant “about self-identifying”. A defence department review said members did not want special treatment: "Members have expressed mixed feelings."

The Department of Justice interviewed young Canadians on whether police are prejudiced against Blacks and Indigenous people. “Police are identified as perpetrators of unfair treatment,” said a newly-released summary of three years’ worth of focus group study: "Young people would also like to know how to file a police complaint."

The Commons finance committee last night summoned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for three hours of questioning on his family’s ties to We Charity. Liberal MPs lost a 6-5 vote to limit Trudeau’s appearance to sixty minutes. The Prime Minister is to testify at 3 pm Eastern today: "We're trying to get to the bottom of this."

Health Minister Patricia Hajdu flew six times aboard a federal jet to her Thunder Bay home, Transport Canada disclosed yesterday. The department said Hajdu used the aircraft so often pilots were able to meet their minimum hours for annual certification: 'Our pilot inspectors must maintain their flying proficiency.'

The Public Health Agency in a January 29 briefing note advised Canadians traveling in pandemic quarantine zones in China not to wear a mask despite local mandatory mask orders. Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer, for weeks told the public masks were pointless and risky: "You have to be careful you’re not putting your finger in your eye."

The Commons ethics committee yesterday by a 6 to 4 vote rejected a motion that cabinet members disclose all personal and family ties to We Charity. Disclosure was too broad, said critics: "That's your shame."

A $10.5 million federal program paid climate change researchers for studies that were never written, and other reports that were little read. “The program faces many challenges,” wrote auditors with the Department of Fisheries.

Commons finance committee arithmetic suggests We Charity awarded members of the Trudeau family more than $560,000 in speaking fees and expenses including free trips to London for the Prime Minister's mother. Charity executives yesterday would not disclose actual payments including commissions paid to the Trudeaus’ talent agency: "I understand that in hindsight this is a significant issue."

A We Charity-run program promising jobless students up to $5000 for volunteerism would have seen “very few” students get $5000, the Commons finance committee was told yesterday. Marc Kielburger, co-founder of the charity, said actual payouts would have been as little as a third the size of what cabinet promised: "Volunteering can be a fantastic way to build skills."

The Canada Revenue Agency will claw back baby bonus payments from any parent who fails to file a 2019 tax return within thirty days. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier pledged parents should not be “worrying about the bills”.

The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday faulted staff at Canadian missions overseas for sloppy bookkeeping, awarding contracts to themselves and selling laptops in a garage sale. Ongoing audits of missions follow the 2017 discovery of a fraud ring at the Canadian embassy in Haiti: "The audit found deficiencies."