Blacklock's Reporter

In 2010 lawyers at the Department of Justice claimed a constitutional right to weekend golf getaways. They work a 37.5-hour week and spend the odd weekend on call, unpaid unless they actually attend court on Saturday. Attorneys complained that meant they couldn’t leave town or drink or host a dinner party when on call, in breach of their Charter right to life and liberty.

It took six years, two trials and two labour board rulings before a federal judge threw out the complaint as thin. Everybody has basic human rights, wrote Justice Yves De Montigny, “but not the right to do as you please in all circumstances.”

In Canada the cry of human rights is now applied to humdrum complaints. “Human rights is the language we use to frame the most profound – and the most commonplace – grievances,” writes Dominique Clément, association professor of sociology at the University of Alberta; “Human rights are not immutable. They are continually adapting as times change.”

Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Beaches-East York, Ont.) hurriedly sold his stock portfolio in anticipation he’d remain in cabinet, according to a May 1 ethics filing made public yesterday. Erskine-Smith, a former corporate lawyer, did not detail which shares he sold days before being dropped as housing minister: "It’s impossible not to feel disrespected."

Taxpayers should not have to wait as late as December to see a federal budget, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said yesterday. Cabinet is postponing disclosure of federal accounts until it finalizes a Fall Economic Statement similar to a document tabled last year on December 16: "It means spending is out of control."

Ballot errors in a single riding threaten the legitimacy of any close votes in the 45th Parliament, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet said yesterday. The Party is contesting its loss of the Terrebonne riding to Liberals by a single vote on judicial recount after Elections Canada confirmed a Bloc ballot was improperly rejected: "It might make a difference in a very important vote."

Dr. Theresa Tam, the nation’s $324,000-a year chief public health officer, considered “all Canadians as my patients” during the pandemic and resented public criticism that strayed into mockery of her accent and ethnicity. Tam’s views are detailed in Access To Information notes disclosed by the Public Health Agency: "Overnight I went from being relatively unknown to being broadcast to the public eye."

Legislation drafted by the National Council of Canadian Muslims would see Parliament recognize a state of Palestine. MPs who have advocated for recognition include a current member of cabinet: 'It is model legislation.'

There will be no federal budget until the fall, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said yesterday. Cabinet in the meantime will table a Ways And Means Motion proposing a multi-billion dollar income tax cut once Parliament resumes May 26, he said: "I could not be clearer than that."

Cabinet yesterday said it welcomed any opposition MP who wants to vote with the Liberal caucus in the minority 45th Parliament. New Democrat leader Don Davies earlier expressed outrage over floor crossing and sponsored a private bill to ban the practice: "The only people who have the right to determine which party represents them in the House of Commons are the voters themselves."

Attorney General Sean Fraser yesterday dismissed questions regarding his competence. Opposition MPs depicted Fraser as a serial bungler who mismanaged two previous portfolios, housing and immigration: "It really doesn’t bother me too much."

Solving the nation’s housing crisis will be slow and complex, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson said yesterday. The former Vancouver mayor, the fifth federal housing minister in six years, told reporters he was uniquely qualified: "I am here to leverage my history."

Rough sports are suitable for Saturday morning TV providing there’s a viewer advisory, national broadcast regulators ruled yesterday. The decision followed complaints Sportsnet Central broadcast a bloody mixed martial arts match at 9:30 in the morning: "As a formal sport, mixed martial arts may appear to an uninitiated watcher to be something of a free for all."

Liberal MP Shafqat Ali (Brampton-Chinguacousy Park, Ont.), a former realtor once cited for attending Parliament by videoconference from a men’s toilet, yesterday was named President of the Treasury Board. The Board presidency previously rated a senior position has seen eight appointees since 2019: "The Member of Parliament was literally using the washroom while participating in a sitting of the House of Commons, the cathedral of Canadian democracy. I can’t believe I actually just said those words."

The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would not discuss self-published commentaries by Neil Macdonald, a former CBC-TV reporter now writing as husband of Canada’s Ambassador to Vatican City. Macdonald mocked Pope Francis’ funeral after attending the mass as a VIP, complained Canadians don’t work hard enough and proposed a boycott of exports to the United States: "It is easy to mock."

Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday appointed nearly a third of his cabinet from the Greater Toronto Area but said they would represent all Canadians nationwide. Appointments left one senior minister west of Winnipeg: "We are governing for all Canadians, all regions."

Five veteran ministers have been fired from cabinet after Canadians “voted for big change,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday. The firings included ministers who’d spent a decade in cabinet: "Big change, not small change; they voted for big change."