Blacklock's Reporter

Liberal-appointed Senator Yuen Pau Woo (B.C.) in remarks published more than a week after the expulsion of a Chinese spy complained of “extreme anti-China sentiment” in Canada. Woo urged Canadians to sign a Commons petition against a registry of foreign agents: "Media reporting of anonymous and unsubstantiated ‘intelligence’ reports has created a frenzy of innuendo against Chinese Canadian politicians."

China has more “diplomats” assigned to Montréal than any other country including France, according to new figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The House affairs committee has been told the number of Chinese envoys in Canada is suspiciously high: "Never shy away from denying a visa if it is for a political operative."

A loophole in a cabinet bill to curb usury would still allow payday lenders to charge 365 percent interest, the Department of Finance confirms. One senator described the clause in the bill as inexplicable: "It’s a lousy situation."

Attorney General David Lametti says he will review changes in federal law to allow postal inspectors to open suspicious letters. The Canada Post Corporation Act states inspectors may only open larger packages suspected of carrying contraband: "I am open to looking at that."

New data confirm more small businesses have gone deeper in debt. Figures from a federal loan guarantee program show applications approved last year jumped 34 percent: "That is the price we have to pay."

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: “O Canada en français. It’s where the arm prepares to bear the cross…”

What did the 19th century smell like? What was it like to stroll ankle-deep in horse effluent and live by the 25-watt glow of an oily lamp on winter evenings?

Many Canadian historians and documentary filmmakers recall the facts and figures of the past without ever providing a true tactile sense of how our ancestors got by, with one exception. We can still gain a taste of what they ate.

Collecting Culinaria is a tribute to an extraordinary trove of historic cookbooks collected by Linda Distad, a University of Alberta librarian who died in 2012. Distad had a mania for heritage recipes. Her collection ran to more than 3,000 titles including the first English-language cookbook published in Canada, The Cook Not Mad, circa 1830. Consider the recipe for corn beef: “To one hundred pounds of beef. three ounces salt peter, five pints of salt, a small quantity of molasses will improve it, but good without.”

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault yesterday dismissed Budget Office arithmetic showing climate change regulations will cost Canadians thousands a year. Guilbeault said the numbers were wrong but provided none of his own: "My office will be happy to provide you with a number of numbers with which we disagree."

Major changes to the federal election map should be in place in 2024, Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault said yesterday. Boundary changes would remove seats in Toronto and northern Ontario and add seats in Alberta and British Columbia: 'We will be ready to hold an election on the new map should one be called.'

Canadians are "upset and in a bad mood" over air travel, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra. Testifying at the Senate transport committee, Alghabra said he recognized consumers are fed up with poor service: "People are tired, exhausted and losing faith."

Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen yesterday said builders must construct more homes but outlined no new proposals to boost supply. Builders and analysts appealed for a cut in taxes and mandatory charges on new construction: "Governments need to stop adding costs to homes."

A far-reaching clause in cabinet’s 430-page omnibus budget bill is shocking, says the Canadian Bankers Association. Cabinet seeks to charge GST on credit card issuers with retroactive audits back to 1990: "This is coming as a complete shock."

China Central Television, voice of the Communist Party, must be removed from the CRTC’s approved list of programs for distribution in Canada, MPs said yesterday. It follows a 2022 federal ban on state-run Russia Today: "In mainstream society they have no idea what is happening in our Chinese community." 

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault yesterday threatened criminal sanctions against coal-burning provinces that fail to comply with climate change regulations. His remarks came a day after Saskatchewan’s Premier said the province will run its coal and gas-fired power plants so long as they're useful: "Not complying with this regulation would be a violation of Canada’s Criminal Code."