Blacklock's Reporter

It was a popular quip in the 1980s that West Edmonton Mall’s waterpark had more submarines than the Royal Canadian Navy. The sub service was always the heartbreak branch of the military: underfunded, ill-equipped, with working conditions that would be intolerable in a federal prison.

Author Julie Ferguson spent decades researching this affectionate tribute to the nation’s hard-luck submariners. It remains an intriguing and little-known story. It is also a mystery why anyone ever volunteered for submarine duty in the first place.

Modern underwater warfare dates from 1863 when the Confederate navy launched a combat submarine in Alabama’s Mobile Bay, the H.L. Hunley: a ten-metre tube with hand-cranked propeller and lighting by candle. The idea was to sneak up on Union warships dragging a canister of gunpowder in tow. Instead the Hunley sank like a stone. Rescuers later recovered corpses of crewmen huddled together clutching candles, their faces frozen in agony: “The spectacle was ghastly.”

Housing affordability should be restored by 2055 or so based on current development rates, CMHC said yesterday. Research showed planning and obtaining municipal permits took about twice as long as actual construction of a typical apartment building or townhouse row: "This is far too long."

Cabinet supporters are dismissing criticism of Mark Carney over misleading statements he made regarding his involvement in relocating a corporate head office from Toronto to New York. However one minister said Carney should explain himself to Canadians: "You've got to ask Mr. Carney."

Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland yesterday insisted she can raise military spending 63 percent in two years. “Watch me,” said Freeland after a former cabinet colleague dismissed the claim as implausible: "It can’t be done."

A newly-disclosed federal audit yesterday cited “confusion,” “lack of insight” and mismanagement at the passport office that cost taxpayers millions. Liberal leadership candidate Karina Gould was minister responsible at the time: "The entire service delivery model was temporarily disrupted."

A labour department report recommends new measures to keep willing, older employees in the workforce. It follows a cabinet suggestion of tax reforms for pension-age Canadians who choose to stay on the job: "This report will guide our next steps."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made 104 federal appointments since announcing his resignation January 6, records show. Appointees include four senators, six ambassadors and 14 judges, and the reappointment of a former Liberal MP whose term at a federal agency did not expire until months after Trudeau leaves office: 'I commit to transparency and merit-based appointments.'

Liberal leadership candidate Karina Gould yesterday said she often “raised my voice” against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and cabinet. “We didn’t get things right,” said the Burlington, Ont. MP who spent eight years as a cabinet member: "Why didn’t you help stop that?"

Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney yesterday had no comment over contradictory remarks he made about his past. Carney in one instance was accused of lying about a shareholders’ letter he wrote as chair of Brookfield Asset Management Ltd., and in another case claimed he personally helped balance the 1998 federal budget though he was a student at Oxford at the time: "Carney lied."

Ottawa is deeply bigoted against China due in part to cynical politicians and media, says Liberal-appointed Senator Yuen Pau Woo (B.C.). He named no names but suggested political aides, commentators and public employees were complicit: "As a senator in Ottawa I see it very clearly in Parliament."

Alberta’s Human Rights Tribunal in a key test of religious freedoms has ordered a hearing on whether personal interpretations of Scripture are legitimate grounds for defying a workplace order. The dispute involved an an oil and gas employee who cited the Ten Commandments in declining a vaccine: "There is a genuine issue to be resolved."

Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney last night said the Canadian economy has been weak for years under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Whatever growth occurred was driven by uncontrolled immigration and deficit spending, said Carney: "Our economy was weak before."

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is taking the CBC to Federal Court over its refusal to disclose how much it spends on self-promotion. The advocacy group in a Court application asks that a judge compel the CBC to disclose its annual advertising budget: "As a publicly funded broadcaster the CBC is accountable to taxpayers."

The Federal Court has thrown out a class action lawsuit claiming negligence by the Public Health Agency in failing to maintain its emergency stockpile of pandemic medical supplies. The Court was no substitute for a inquiry, ruled the judge: "The plaintiffs are asking the Court to embark on an exercise akin to a public inquiry."

Climate change will generally benefit Canadian farmers with longer frost-free seasons, says the Department of Agriculture. The analysis contradicts public opinion surveys showing climate alarmists fear looming food shortages: "Projections shown here are the most likely climate outcomes assuming high greenhouse gas emissions."