A costly program to computerize records of cross-border freight trucks saw the Canada Border Services Agency flooded with so much information it was “impossible for them to analyze all of the data,” says an internal report. It was the second time in six years that auditors questioned the eManifest program: "Performance has not been monitored."
Canadians remain skeptical of a Department of Finance proposal for “open banking,” calling it suspiciously vague. The department since 2017 has studied the plan it claims would benefit consumers: "Awareness of the terms ‘open banking’ and ‘consumer-driven banking’ was nearly non-existent."
Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland will not comment on whether she asked the cabinet-appointed chair of a Crown bank to work as financial agent for her failed Liberal leadership campaign. The Business Development Bank denied comment, saying political activity by its directors was not public business: "It would be inappropriate to comment."
The future of the post office rests with Labour Minister Patty Hajdu, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has told members. A cabinet-appointed mediator recommended deep service cuts the Liberal Party opposed as "shameful" a decade ago: "It is up to Minister Patty Hajdu to decide what to do."
Neil Macdonald, former CBC pundit and husband of Canada's Ambassador to Vatican City, has deleted social media posts in which he mocked Pope Francis’ funeral, attempted a Hitler joke and ridiculed Conservative voters as bigots and losers. Removal of Macdonald’s Substack account followed a new Treasury Board directive on misuse of social media: "It can diminish the confidence."
CBC News has acknowledged the latest in a string of errors under the guise of fact checking. Management in a formal correction admitted a CBC producer got her facts wrong in purporting to correct others’ comments on election results in Carleton, Ont.: "We need the public to feel safe, that we are a beacon for that truth."
A federal agency that disregarded employees’ appeals for religious exemptions from vaccine mandates breached the Charter Of Rights, a labour board has ruled. The National Research Council was cited for twice dismissing pleas from Christian staff who objected to the source of cells used in production of Covid shots: "The state is in no position to be, nor should it become, the arbiter of religious dogma."
Blacklock's pauses for the Victoria Day observance with warmest wishes to friends and subscribers. We're back tomorrow -- The Editor.
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “Translated into French my short poems aren’t so short after all…”
In 2010 lawyers at the Department of Justice claimed a constitutional right to weekend golf getaways. They work a 37.5-hour week and spend the odd weekend on call, unpaid unless they actually attend court on Saturday. Attorneys complained that meant they couldn’t leave town or drink or host a dinner party when on call, in breach of their Charter right to life and liberty.
It took six years, two trials and two labour board rulings before a federal judge threw out the complaint as thin. Everybody has basic human rights, wrote Justice Yves De Montigny, “but not the right to do as you please in all circumstances.”
In Canada the cry of human rights is now applied to humdrum complaints. “Human rights is the language we use to frame the most profound – and the most commonplace – grievances,” writes Dominique Clément, association professor of sociology at the University of Alberta; “Human rights are not immutable. They are continually adapting as times change.”
Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York, Ont.) hurriedly sold his stock portfolio in anticipation he’d remain in cabinet, according to a May 1 ethics filing made public yesterday. Erskine-Smith, a former corporate lawyer, did not detail which shares he sold days before being dropped as housing minister: "It’s impossible not to feel disrespected."
Taxpayers should not have to wait as late as December to see a federal budget, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said yesterday. Cabinet is postponing disclosure of federal accounts until it finalizes a Fall Economic Statement similar to a document tabled last year on December 16: "It means spending is out of control."
Ballot errors in a single riding threaten the legitimacy of any close votes in the 45th Parliament, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet said yesterday. The Party is contesting its loss of the Terrebonne riding to Liberals by a single vote on judicial recount after Elections Canada confirmed a Bloc ballot was improperly rejected: "It might make a difference in a very important vote."
Dr. Theresa Tam, the nation’s $324,000-a year chief public health officer, considered “all Canadians as my patients” during the pandemic and resented public criticism that strayed into mockery of her accent and ethnicity. Tam’s views are detailed in Access To Information notes disclosed by the Public Health Agency: "Overnight I went from being relatively unknown to being broadcast to the public eye."
Legislation drafted by the National Council of Canadian Muslims would see Parliament recognize a state of Palestine. MPs who have advocated for recognition include a current member of cabinet: 'It is model legislation.'
