Blacklock's Reporter

Canada never saw such an upheaval as the First World War. Income tax, trade unionism, votes for women, national health, Canada Savings Bonds, public pensions, federal regulation of industry, liquor controls – each is a legacy in its own right. Yet all were born in four electric years of struggle.

Only in recent decades have researchers documented this whirlwind in a succession of excellent books capturing the war’s impact on national life. A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service is a welcome addition.

The conflict shattered every preconception of women’s role in Canadian life. As Lucy Maud Montgomery put it, “The women who bear and train the nation’s sons should have some voice in the political issues that may send those sons to die on battlefields.”

A federal program launched in 2018 by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to promote youth volunteerism remains unknown by youth despite more than $204 million spent to date, says in-house research. Trudeau at the time predicted ongoing subsidies would  “inspire a new culture of service in Canada.”

Canadians are owed a tearful apology by past Liberal immigration ministers, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said yesterday. He identified two by name as responsible for mismanagement Poilievre called “incredible.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday named previously-announced ventures as the first “nation building” projects to be fast-tracked by cabinet. The list included a nuclear research program licensed five months ago: "Success means several things."

Any links between eviction and homelessness are imprecise and affect a small number of tenants who lose their homes, CMHC said yesterday. The latest research followed a recommendation by federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle that Parliament provide free lawyering for tenants facing eviction: "The state should act as a role model."

The 1982 Charter Of Rights beats all similar provincial bills by placing reasonable limits on Canadians’ freedoms, says the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. The ruling came in the case of a Saskatoon woman who argued pandemic restrictions violated absolute rights promised by then-Premier Tommy Douglas in 1947: "In a post-Charter world it became unclear."

Records show 8,877 of 8,900 new Covid ventilators bought at top dollar under sole-sourced contracts from two preferred suppliers were scrapped as surplus. Then-Industry Minister Navdeep Bains said at the time he was in regular contact with sales representatives “who are telling me they want to help.”

Canada’s last ambassador to Afghanistan privately boasted that diplomats' hurried flight from Kabul “set the standard” at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Reid Sirrs made the comments at an Afghanistan Evacuation Recognition Ceremony closed to the public: 'A special shout-out goes to the Canadian team.'

Cabinet will cut its half-trillion dollar budget this fall, Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday. He did not detail where, or how much: "That fall budget will spend less."

The internet is to blame for public cynicism and intemperate language against legislators, said a declaration yesterday signed by Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia. “This behaviour is on the rise and we condemn this troubling trend,” it said.

Canadians will be asked how much they’re willing to pay to save rare fish. The Department of Fisheries yesterday outlined the unusual research project under the Species At Risk Act, a federal law that has been used to curb development in the name of conservation: "This project will collect data to allow the department to estimate Canadians’ non-market values for six species."

The Department of Public Works in 2024 approved the sale of up to 19,000 costly new ventilators as scrap metal without ever bothering to remove them from original shipping crates, Access To Information records show. One manager warned of “high reputational risk” if taxpayers found out.

A confidential Department of Foreign Affairs party to self-congratulate employees for bravery in their 2021 flight from Kabul was approved by then-Minister Mélanie Joly, records show. Internal documents described the Afghanistan Evacuation Recognition Ceremony as a “good news” story to boost morale: "Embarrassing."

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s undisclosed 2025 deficit is likely in the $80 billion range, the Bloc Québécois yesterday estimated based on current and promised spending. The Conservative Party earlier put the shortfall at $80 billion or more, the highest since the pandemic: "This is an historic amount."

A federal labour board has faulted the Department of National Defence for denying a religious exemption from its vaccine mandate. "Sincere religious beliefs" were sufficient to decline a Covid shot, an adjudicator ruled: 'The state is in no position to be the arbiter of religious dogma.'