Blacklock's Reporter

Canada, unlike Zimbabwe, has no federal department of education, to which Professor Jennifer Wallner of the University of Ottawa comments: And your point is – ?

Parliament regulates the minutiae of labels on fertilizer bags, the price of mozzarella, the music they play at Radio CJLR in Meadow Lake, Sask. Yet in 159 years legislators have never set any federal standards on basic elementary and secondary education. Critics lament the fact. Professor Wallner argues this does not mean standards don’t exist.

“Provinces can work together,” Wallner writes. “When we compare the provincial education systems to one another, all ten show remarkably strong similarities in investments, achievements and substantive policies.”

Cabinet is headed for “a danger zone” with continued overspending, warns Budget Officer Annette Ryan. Testifying at the Senate national finance committee, Ryan said any federal claim that deficit spending will promote economic growth is “the opposite of prudence.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney in 2025 ethics filings disclosed extensive shareholding in heating and ventilation companies that would benefit from a federal rebate program announced yesterday. “How is that not corrupt?” asked Conservative MP John Brassard (Barrie-South-Innisfil, Ont.), chair of the Commons ethics committee: "The Prime Minister is not even hiding it anymore."

Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight yesterday said an Afghan War ceremony that excluded combat veterans was merely “one step in many” to honour ex-military. McKnight would not explain the lapse while testifying at the Commons veterans affairs committee: "We heard that loud and clear."

Opposition MPs accuse Liberal political aides and other government “sources” of planting favourable stories with subsidized media by leaking secret contents of government bills. New Democrats yesterday joined Conservatives in condemning the practice as contemptuous of Parliament: "There have been repeated ‘leaks’ from so-called ‘unauthorized sources’ to journalists in a clear attempt to shape public discourse."

Alberta’s lone member of the federal cabinet says she is counting on a large majority of provincial voters rejecting a referendum on separation. “We really need a strong outcome,” said Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski: "We need a decisive ‘remain’ vote."

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson yesterday denied making a rude gesture under heated questioning in the Commons. Thompson told MPs her extension of the middle finger was “just a hand movement.”

Cabinet yesterday disclosed Employment Insurance claims have skyrocketed up to 400 percent in communities hardest hit by American tariffs. Jobs lost to tariffs could number nearly 90,000 so far, it said: "The tariff situation remains unpredictable with an ongoing risk of considerable job losses."

The Commons yesterday by a 196 to 133 vote rejected an Opposition motion to declare a 10-month tax holiday on diesel. Conservative MPs cited calls from constituents detailing exorbitant costs to fuel heavy equipment from farming to forestry: "Diesel prices are tormenting them."

New powers granting the Canada Revenue Agency the ability to penalize taxpayers slow to comply with demands for records will be used sparingly, says management. A provision in an omnibus budget bill would allow auditors to levy $25,000 fines under a measure one tax group called so harsh it’s unconstitutional: "It is often a last resort."

The Canadian Armed Forces faces a federal Human Rights Tribunal hearing on alleged discrimination. An LGBTQ member claimed the Army breached the Canadian Human Rights Act by denying her request for marriage counseling because she was unmarried: "Members of the LGBTQ community have more difficulty forming local relationships and that they may turn to online relationships."

The worst has passed on risk of defaults by homeowners with fixed payment, variable rate mortgages, says Canada’s chief bank inspector. The Superintendent of Financial Institutions in an internal memo said while 1,100,000 loans have yet to come up for renewal, no danger was apparent: "We recognize many households are facing higher payment requirements."

Foreign Influence Commissioner Anton Boegman yesterday appeared confused over the number of foreign agents in Canada though he is mandated to identify them in a public registry. MPs on the House affairs committee faulted the $265,000-a year Commissioner for lackadaisical work: "You’re not even in the process of taking steps to enforce the law."

Coast Guard vessels may soon carry drones but remain unarmed though they count as national defence under a 2025 regulatory change, MPs were told yesterday. Cabinet transferred the Coast Guard’s $2.4 billion annual budget from the Department of Fisheries to National Defence to meet its minimum NATO spending targets: "How is its spending being counted?"

Parliament should mandate disclosure of all editorial directives at CBC News, a Liberal-appointed senator said yesterday. The proposal by Senator Daryl Fridhandler (Alta.) followed an outcry after the network decreed 9/11 should be reported not as a terrorist attack but “hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes.”