Immigrants drawn to “ethnic enclaves” in Canada’s largest cities typically earn less than if they lived somewhere else, says a federal study. “What are the effects of living in an ethnic enclave?” asked CMHC researchers: "Immigrants who landed in ethnic enclaves earned less on average."
Forest fires in northern Canada are no more frequent than they were in the 19th century, says the Department of Natural Resources. Cabinet has blamed wildfires on climate change: "The current rate of burning is still lower than historic levels."
Replacement of the old Department of Indian Affairs with two new departments saw the hiring of nearly 2,000 more federal employees, new data show. Total spending jumped 79 percent under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s program to replace what he called “colonial structures.”
Liberal MPs have blocked disclosure of cabinet documents detailing Canadian diplomats’ hurried flight from Afghanistan aboard half-empty military aircraft. MPs on the Commons Special Committee on Afghanistan successfully filibustered a motion to compel release of the records: "We need this."
Alleged wage fixing by grocers raises questions about “what else is happening that we don’t see” in the sector, the Commons industry committee was told. A cabinet bill would criminalize wage fixing under threat of 14 years’ imprisonment: "Workers are directly and indirectly affected by Canada’s competition policy every day."
Canada Revenue Agency staff have so much time on their hands they run side businesses at work, claims a former manager. The allegation came in the case of a $65,000-a year assessments officer fired for attending school meetings during work hours: "I didn’t feel that I was stealing."
Cabinet will not explain the abrupt resignation of Cynthia Garneau, the $318,000-a year CEO of VIA Rail. Garneau quit Friday though two years remained in her contract: "“It will now be up to another driver to lead the organization."
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, an Israeli-born biologist, writes for Blacklock’s each and every Sunday: “Thank God It’s Friday has little to do with God Almighty…”
Michael Maclear was the only Western TV correspondent in North Vietnam the day Ho Chi Minh died in 1969. Half a million mourners clad in white queued for hours to see Ho laying in state, his head resting on a soft pillow. It was “a great river of people,” Maclear recalls. The temperature hit 107° and kept climbing: “Every few seconds in the intense heat, even among the ranks of soldiers, someone would faint.”
Reading Guerrilla Nation is like opening a drawer to find a lapsed passport or faded yearbook. In an instant you are in a time and place once very important and now utterly forgotten – “the strangest of journeys in the most divisive of times, when ‘Nam confounded us all,’” writes Maclear.
A New Democrat lawyer who publicly endorsed decriminalizing heroin yesterday was appointed a judge by the federal cabinet. Suzan Fraser of Toronto was named an Ontario Superior Court justice: "Canadians are rightly concerned about Liberal policies that make it easier to use hard drugs."
A promised federal campaign to plant two billion trees is off to a slow start due to years spent “going out and finding excess trees,” says Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The Liberal Party announced the plan in its 2019 campaign platform: "Why are you so bad at making plans?"
Senators yesterday considered billing taxpayers for a $175-an hour counseling service for witnesses who volunteer to testify at committee hearings. A decision was deferred after Senator Donald Plett (Man.) suggested the matter be discussed behind closed doors: "A witness would select a therapist or other culturally-appropriate counseling service or person of their choice and could claim up to $500."
Federal employees ran up nearly $20,000 in routine parking and traffic violations, records show. The incomplete figures excluded millions in violations by the two largest fleet operators, the post office and Department of National Defence: "All factors of vehicle usage that led to an infraction are examined in the public interest."
Cabinet yesterday for the third time in two years introduced a bill for oversight of the Canada Border Services Agency. Critics complain the Agency with a $1.6 billion annual budget and 11,500 employees is the largest police force in Canada without an independent oversight board: "We’re not doing something right here."
