Blacklock's Reporter

It is an Ottawa ritual now that every cabinet minister must open public remarks with the phrase, “I acknowledge I am speaking to you today from the unceded territory of the Algonquin people.”

There is no context. The Minister of Small Engine Repair could be testifying on budget appropriations, but only after paying homage to the Algonquin.

What do those words even mean? Does Parliament Hill really belong to the Algonquin? If so, shouldn’t they just pay them for it?

If a cabinet minister “acknowledges” this is stolen land, does that carry any legal weight? Or is it a manipulative and self-serving deflection of anticipated criticism, like saying: “Some of my best friends are Jewish”?

Professor Peter Russell, acclaimed political scientist with the University of Toronto for more than a half-century, examines a similar question in Sovereignty: The Biography Of A Claim. Russell devotes a whole book to the meaning of the word “sovereignty.” It works. It is wry, fast-moving and instructive.

Cabinet must live to the letter of an agreement promising passage of a pharmacare bill by year’s end or renege on a vote deal, New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh said yesterday. His remarks follow a Department of Health memo that said “working” on a prescription drug bill, not passing it, was sufficient: "They would be breaking the deal."

A CBC story faulting the Catholic Church was “an error in judgment” that violated the broadcaster’s own ethics code, a network ombudsman said yesterday. The ruling came three days after CEO Catherine Tait hailed the CBC as the “gold standard” on ethics: 'Editors did not have an explanation for the failure.'

Crown prosecutors have dropped charges against a Freedom Convoy pastor ticketed for breach of lockdown orders. Pastor Henry Hildebrandt of the Church of God of Aylmer, Ont. challenged quarantine rules that forced churches to close but permitted liquor and marijuana stores to remain open: "What are we afraid of?"

The Department of Health in an internal report proposes a crackdown on internet vendors in the name of consumer safety. It suggested foreign e-commerce companies be required to have “a domestic presence to sell products in Canada.”

A “cyber incident” that knocked the National Research Council offline last year was a foreign attack, the agency confirms. It would not elaborate: "The Council has thoroughly weighed the public interest for disclosure against the need to ensure security of its network."

The Commons government operations committee yesterday agreed unanimously to summon seven cabinet members to explain ballooning costs of federal consultants. The investigation targets McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm whose ex-managing director was a Liberal appointee as Canadian ambassador to China: "Who is pulling the strings?"

Language Commissioner Raymond Théberge asked federally-regulated employers to “back tweet” French translations of old messages on their social media accounts so Twitter feeds would be officially bilingual, according to a report to senators. One employers’ group called it “impossible.”

A 1994 moratorium on rural post office closures could be revised to save Canada Post money, says the Department of Public Works. Federal researchers quietly polled Canadians on alternatives including one proposal to bypass the moratorium by redefining “rural.”

The federal Competition Bureau yesterday said it will begin enforcement of a criminal ban on wage fixing effective June 23. Parliament passed the law on allegations Canada’s largest grocers conspired to eliminate pandemic “hero pay."

A 2015 law to cut federal red tape achieved little, says a Treasury Board report. Critics had dismissed the initiative as doomed to failure: "We see the Act as nothing more than a public relations exercise."

Cabinet has invoked confidentiality in refusing to disclose the overhead cost of a new social program, the Canada Dental Benefit. It follows suspicions administrative expenses are high though the program disqualifies the poorest families from receiving aid: "I’m curious to see how much we’re actually spending on administration rather than delivering to folks."

Five years after Parliament legalized marijuana a third of the market is still controlled by drug dealers, says the Department of Public Safety. Federally licensed retailers had trouble competing with organized crime, it said: "There continues to be a well entrenched illegal market in place."

A federal agency, the Canadian Dairy Commission, will introduce another round of wholesale milk price hikes effective February 1. Data show retail prices for dairy products jumped as much as 22 percent last year: "Three consecutive increases have been allowed."

Canadians are ambivalent about hosting future world sporting events, says in-house research by the Department of Canadian Heritage. Mixed views included complaints that events like the Olympics are “corrupt” and a waste of money: "There is no clear consensus."