Blacklock's Reporter

Take the story of one battalion raised in one city, multiply it 100,000 times, and you have a haunting account of the catastrophe of the First World War. Historian David Campbell chronicles such a story with encyclopedic research and a filmmaker’s eye for poignant detail, like the Battle of Passchendaele reduced to a terrified pack mule drowning in mud.

“The more we pulled on him the worse it was, and the poor thing kept sinking down and down, inch by inch, and we were frantic. We couldn’t stop it and finally the transport officer of the 18th Battalion decided there was only one thing to do…When his head was just above the mud the officer had pulled his revolver out of his holster, and the mule turned his head, and I will never forget the look on that poor brute’s great big brown eyes when he looked at the officer, and the officer shot him, and then cried like a kid. Some of us, too.”

The Treasury Board is concealing the scope of federal job cuts from analysts at the Budget Office, records show. Refusal to disclose follows Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali’s promise to MPs to “strengthen openness.”

Liberal MP Arielle Kayabaga (London West, Ont.) yesterday would not say whether paid employees worked on her political campaign while on the public payroll, a breach of Treasury Board rules. The former Government House Leader’s six-figure billing for “personnel” over nine days mainly reflected vacation pay for staff, a spokesperson said.

The Canada Revenue Agency counted “450 possible fraud cases” involving staff who falsely claimed pandemic relief benefits while on the payroll, documents show. The figure detailed in a labour board case contradicted claims at the time by Revenue Commissioner Bob Hamilton who assured MPs there were “not very many, obviously.”

A piece of Canadiana is bound for the scrapyard. MV Prince Edward, last ferry to link Prince Edward Island with the mainland under parliamentary mandate, will be sold for scrap, the fisheries department said yesterday: "It is highly likely the vessel would have sunk."

A cabinet bill granting citizenship to grandchildren of Canadians abroad should include adoptees, says the Canadian Bar Association. Lawyers in a submission to the Senate social affairs committee said current law was unfair to foreign children adopted overseas: "It treats adopted children differently."

Liberal MP Arielle Kayabaga (London West, Ont.) yesterday would not explain why she billed more than $173,000 for nine days’ worth of “personnel” costs in her brief tenure as Government House Leader. Kayabaga spent the entire period in her riding with Parliament out of session: 'It was a short-lived position.'

A globetrotting climate program that cost taxpayers billions became a “tick box exercise” for federal managers, says an internal report. Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expanded the Climate Financing Program during a failed 2020 campaign to gain a seat on the United Nations Security Council: "Canada is back."

Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre yesterday taunted TV networks to cover Liberal in-fighting over the budget. “I am looking forward to seeing the wall-to-wall coverage,” he told reporters.

The Department of Employment yesterday said it will install 131 cameras in its buildings for “video surveillance.” No reason was given. The department earlier led all others in workplace harassment investigations: "The volume of breaches of the Code Of Conduct is increasing."

Cabinet will take legal steps to privatize a Crown corporation once called an “absolute mess.” The sale of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation of Winnipeg has been under review since managers failed three audits: "There is a willingness."

A Liberal MP has sponsored a Commons petition to grant federal aid and permanent residency to foreign students and migrant workers facing departure or deportation. More than three million foreigners are in Canada on valid or expired temporary permits, by official estimate: "Canada’s non-permanent resident population was estimated at approximately 3,049,277."

Newspaper revenues are down a quarter since 2020 despite millions in taxpayers’ bailouts, new Statistics Canada data show. The latest figures follow comments by the subsidized press’ chief lobbyist, Paul Deegan, that Canadian publishers were unable to change their business model: "“You may ask, why?"

Cabinet will rewrite the Canada Post Corporation Act to allow speedier stamp rate hikes. The law currently requires cabinet approval for any increase, typically delaying higher revenues by three to four months: "The stamp rate in Canada has not kept pace."

It is “difficult” to determine what good came from a multi-million dollar subsidy program launched to promote United Nations policies, say federal auditors. Then-International Development Minister Karina Gould launched the program in 2021 on the promise of a “brighter future for everyone.”