Canadians are divided on whether genetically modified foods are safe to eat. The finding in a survey by federal inspectors follows the defeat of a 2017 Commons bill mandating labels on GM foods: "Why is labeling a bad idea?"
The Liberals’ minority Parliament is down to 155 seats in the 338-seat Commons with the abrupt resignation of a Toronto MP. Michael Levitt, two-term MP for York Centre, yesterday said he is quitting effective September 1: "Now is the time."
A Québec company was awarded $113,486,868 in sole-sourced federal orders for pandemic masks though it didn't have a factory in Canada. MPs have demanded to see terms of the contract with AMD Medicom Inc., the only Canadian vendor to win a ten-year federal contract: "Is the federal government picking winners and losers?"
CBC-TV producers declined comment after breaching the network’s own ethics code in failing to disclose a pundit works as a federal contractor. Journalistic Standards And Practices at the CBC state “it is important to mention any association, affiliation or specific interest a guest or commentator may have so the public can fully understand that person’s perspective.”
A $300 million national emergency stockpile of pandemic supplies should be privatized or run on a commercial basis by a Crown corporation, says a Canadian Medical Association Journal commentary. Doctors fault the Public Health Agency for mismanagement of the stockpile that resulted in waste and shortages: "We were caught flat-footed."
Superintendent of Financial Institutions Jeremy Rudin spent $75,640 to ask employees if they liked their job. Nearly a quarter said they planned to look for other work: "Objectives included giving employees a chance to be heard."
Cabinet will introduce a new federal benefit for jobless workers who are self-employed and uninsured, says Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough. The $71.3 billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit program expires October 3: "CERB has served its purpose."
Blacklock's pauses for the August bank holiday with warmest regards to subscribers. We wish you a safe, happy holiday. We'll be back tomorrow -- The Editor.
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday: “Exploring the landscape of the English language, I find Fee in Coffee, Off in Office. There’s Cat in Catastrophe…”
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."
