Blacklock's Reporter

When political fixer Jean Pelletier was fired as chair of VIA Rail in 2004 the National Post reported with a straight face he was denied “due process.” Pelletier was cast not as a target of Liberal score-settling but a victim denied his fundamental right to a porkbarrel appointment.

Sociologist Dominique Clément would call this a case of “rights inflation.” Like real inflation, it cheapens the currency. Pat references to human rights now run the gamut from Tibetan genocide to accessible washrooms. Forgotten are the nuances of the English language that draw proportional distinction between atrocities and grievances.

“There is a danger in framing any and all grievances as rights violations,” writes Professor Clément of the University of Alberta’s Department of Sociology. “This raises questions about the widespread use of rights talk. These days, almost every grievance is framed as a human right.”

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland grossly inflated estimates of the Freedom Convoy impact on the economy, internal documents show. Freeland cited figures described in one Department of Transport memo as an “extreme case” that did not reflect actual data: "I have many figures in my head."

The Freedom Convoy was the culmination of a “mass protest movement” against pandemic mandates and lockdowns, a convoy inquiry lawyer said yesterday. Counsel at the Public Order Emergency Commission counted more than 140 major demonstrations and legal challenges nationwide leading to the truckers’ blockade outside Parliament: "Just stick to the facts, the raw facts."

Paul Rouleau, the Liberal-appointed judge heading the Freedom Convoy inquiry, yesterday promised Canadians a “fair and meaningful” investigation stripped of any partisanship. “Be prepared to work hard,” he told lawyers at the Public Order Emergency Commission: "The public has a right to know what happened."

Federal debt charges have surpassed the $26.5 billion national defence budget, the Parliamentary Budget Office confirmed yesterday. Debt charges were $31.2 billion and rising, it said: "Public debt charges are projected to more than double."

Air Canada couldn’t count to 10, a British Columbia small claims court judge has ruled. The Civil Resolution Tribunal ordered the airline to pay $775 in damages and costs for garbling its arithmetic at the expense of a North Vancouver couple: 'Explain how to count 10.'

The RCMP in a briefing to deputy ministers the very day cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act falsely claimed Freedom Convoy protesters had weapons outside Parliament. They didn’t. A police memo attributed the rumour to “intelligence information.”

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki when testifying at parliamentary hearings must appear “self-confident and firm,” speak slowly and beware of trickery by MPs. The advice is detailed in a five-page tip sheet written by the Mounties’ government affairs unit: "Smile and pause."

The Commons immigration committee yesterday by a 6 to 5 vote rejected a review of records showing now-Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino backdated documents to mislead a federal judge. Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs called the incident a simple mistake: "There’s something fishy that has happened here, something strange."

The onus is on cabinet to justify extraordinary police powers used against the Freedom Convoy, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said yesterday. Civil rights lawyers are participating in a judicial inquiry that opens today at 9:30 am Eastern: "The burden is on them, not the other way around."

Cabinet yesterday enacted regulations to speed the deportation of foreigners involved in organized crime. The Canada Border Services Agency complained under old rules it had to hear and re-hear evidence against immigrants already convicted of serious offences before deporting them: "I don’t quite understand why we would tolerate this."

A CBC News claim that falsely suggested Russia was behind Freedom Convoy protests should have “been caught before broadcast,” says the network's ombudsman. The claim by CBC announcer Nil Koksal was unattributed and made without evidence: "I am disappointed it took others to point out to CBC the question was 'off.'"

Minister Marco Mendicino’s office yesterday claimed he had no involvement in backdating documents to mislead a federal judge. Internal emails show documents were sent to Mendicino’s office. Staff did not explain the discrepancy: "We’re just waiting for MINO's approval."

Internal Department of Public Safety reports confirm there was no evidence of violence by Freedom Convoy supporters outside Parliament. One report issued the very day cabinet invoked the Emergencies Act said the protest was small, peaceful and had little impact on federal operations: "Disruption to government activities is so far minor."

A fifth of the federal cabinet will testify at the Freedom Convoy inquiry, investigators said yesterday. Eight of 39 cabinet members will be cross-examined under oath on why they invoked the Emergencies Act against protesters outside Parliament: "The issue is not whether it helped the police but whether the powers they already had could have resolved the problem."