Blacklock's Reporter

Poet W.N. Branson writes: “It’s a million little things that portend a fall, small enough to go unnoticed, gradual, until it’s not. And arresting it Is harder, the longer it runs…”

Fifteen years after the G20 riot in Toronto, there is little doubt protestors won the battle. The G20, Toronto Police, media and government – all were exposed as heavy-handed and paranoiac.

Putting the State on Trial is an eloquent collection of essays dissecting 72 hours in June, 2010 that smashed reputations to smithereens.  Nobody – not government, not police, not media – looks good in this saga, save protestors themselves who exercised their right to dissent. “The riot gear, the verbal assaults, the seemingly irrational physical abuse on hapless citizens caught in the maze, and the initial denial by the police that any of the actions were indicative of an out-of-control policing operation, sparked outrage,” authors write.

The facts: The federal cabinet insisted on holding the summit in Canada’s largest city. Then the Ontario cabinet cordoned off five square blocks of downtown Toronto under an obscure 1939 law intended to protect power plants from Nazi saboteurs. Under Regulation 233/10 any person could be arrested for entry, or failing to provide ID. It became “a trap for those who exercised their ordinarily legal rights,” as Ontario’s ombudsman later observed.

Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault will be called by the House affairs committee to explain irregularities in the April 28 election. Perrault has apologized for unexplained poll closures in one riding and faces a lawsuit over irregularities in another: "The public could also testify."

Housing Minister Gregor Robertson would not answer repeated questions in the Commons on whether he personally speculates in real estate. Robertson’s office yesterday did not comment: "I am here to answer questions on behalf of my department."

The Jewish National Fund has won a Court order compelling federal auditors to disclose confidential records concerning the longtime charity’s loss of tax status last August 10. The National Fund, a registered charity since 1967, has accused the Canada Revenue Agency of bias: "I find the Jewish National Fund’s allegation of bias is a tenable ground of appeal."

The Commons yesterday by a 335-0 vote gave unanimous Second Reading to a cabinet proposal for a $5.8 billion income tax cut. Passage came on a warning from seven New Democrat MPs that they would seek amendments once the bill lands at finance committee hearings: "More troubling are the unintended consequences of this tax measure."

New electric car sales crashed without taxpayers’ rebates, Statistics Canada data showed yesterday. Dealers saw their steepest decline in sales since pandemic lockdowns: "We are certainly looking at monitoring."

Senator Daryl Fridhandler (Alta.), a longtime Liberal Party organizer, yesterday had no comment after accepting a directorship with a federal contractor. Fridhandler would not say why he took the post with a beer vending company or what he was pocketing in fees in addition to his $184,800-a year Senate salary.

The Budget Office yesterday forecast housing starts will remain far short of cabinet’s affordability target for years to come. New home construction was predicted to remain below record levels set in 1976: "We are focused on building big."

Michael Sabia, a former deputy finance minister instrumental in the unlawful use of n anti-terror law to freeze Freedom Convoy bank accounts, yesterday was promoted as head of the federal public service. Sabia told a 2022 judicial inquiry he was undecided on whether peaceful protestors were terrorists: "Who takes responsibility for that?"

The federal New Democratic Party will take years to rebuild after the disastrous April 28 election, former MP Charlie Angus said yesterday. “This is going to be a rough four years,” he told reporters: "I have not spoken to Jagmeet Singh since the election."

A ranchers’ livestock brand would join Parliament’s inventory of all-Canadian symbols under a private bill introduced yesterday in the Commons. The sponsor called it an enduring symbol of the frontier: "It tells a story."

Processing military travel expense claims is so onerous the rules run to 370 pages, says a Department of National Defence audit. The in-house review found a typical employee or Canadian Armed Forces member spent more than three hours on paperwork for every claim: "Documents can be a challenge for users to follow."

The Department of Public Works, largest landlord in Canada, is concealing figures to make it impossible for taxpayers to determine what it spends on office space including leases with suppliers, auditors said yesterday. “The department estimated before the pandemic 50 percent of the office space was underused,” said a report.

Federal managers spent eight months planning a $70,000 Hollywood party at taxpayers’ expense including costs to hire publicists for “red carpet management,” Access To Information records show. The party was cancelled after Blacklock’s reported the expenditure January 17.