Blacklock's Reporter

Catastrophes inspire art. Many an 18th century painter documented the Great Fire of London and eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Artists similarly tried to chronicle Canada’s one true catastrophe as described by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The results have been jarring. Arts of Engagement spreads the canvas.

From 1867 some 150,000 Indigenous children were forced through the Indian Residential School system. The Commission appointed to examine the historical record was the product of a class action lawsuit, designed by liability lawyers. The outcome satisfied almost no one.

“Truth-telling was not to include the naming of individuals and institutions associated with wrongdoing ‘unless such findings or information has already been established through legal proceedings,’” writes Professor David Garneau of the University of Regina. “Truths were to be accounts of subjective experience, feelings and perceptions rather than the relating of facts.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday endorsed a Bloc Québécois dairy bill opposed by free trade farmers as protectionist. An identical bill was gutted by Liberal appointees at the Senate foreign affairs committee last November 7: "I am going to give a direct answer to you."

The Department of Health seven years after legalizing marijuana will mandate warning labels stating cannabis is an addictive drug linked to psychosis, schizophrenia and brain damage especially for users under 25. The department in earlier research referred to marijuana as less risky than teenage drinking: "Using cannabis before age 25 increases your risk of mental disorders like psychosis and schizophrenia."

An Alberta MP in his maiden speech to the Commons yesterday said Westerners would like to “rip this place down” and rebuild Canada. “Alberta separatism is no longer a fringe idea,” said Conservative MP David Bexte (Bow River): "The future of this country is not a guarantee."

No province may secede without Parliament’s say-so, the Government Representative in the Senate said yesterday. Senator Marc Gold (Que.), a former law professor, called it “a matter of law” but did not explain how it would be enforced: "Could you state then what hurdles a province would have to clear before it could separate?"

A private bill to give 16-year olds the vote is back in Parliament. Elections Canada research shows most adult voters oppose the measure: "Seven in ten respondents, 72 percent, disagreed."

Canada Post is “on the brink,” CEO Doug Ettinger yesterday wrote in a report to Parliament. The post office reported a pre-tax loss of $841 million last year, its worst yet: "Major changes are urgently needed."

Opposition critics should be ashamed for questioning Prime Minister Mark Carney’s personal tax planning, the Commons was told yesterday. Conservative MPs sought assurances Carney had not taken advantage of offshore corporations to avoid paying his share of federal taxes: "They dig dirt on day one. Shame on them."

Cabinet should expect the Bloc Québécois to slow or rewrite objectionable Liberal bills in committees, leader Yves-François Blanchet warned the Commons last evening. “We have a certain weight,” said Blanchet: "We are going to use what Québeckers have given us, which is the balance of power in committees."

The Public Health Agency has failed an internal audit for forgetting to maintain workplace first aid kits for its 4,400 employees, a requirement of the Canada Labour Code. It’s the same Agency censured for failing to stock emergency pandemic supplies to protect Canadians from Covid: "It was not as prepared as it could have been."

Green Party MP Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.) has sponsored a petition asking that Parliament declare an LGBTQ genocide in Canada.  May did not comment on the measure yesterday in her first remarks to the 45th Parliament: "Human rights of the Canadian LGBTQ community are endangered."

Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali accepted free flights from a Muslim advocacy group in traveling to Jerusalem to be photographed at prayer, new filings with the Ethics Commissioner confirmed yesterday. Ali had himself photographed in a mosque and later called the Israeli shelling of Gaza “the tragedy of the century.”

Cabinet will “set a responsible target for deficit reduction,” the Commons was told yesterday. The pledge followed a Throne Speech in which cabinet reiterated campaign promises to cut waste but fixed no deadline to curb new borrowing: "Our government brings a new approach to this matter."

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne yesterday served legislative notice of billions in promised tax cuts. Cabinet would “deliver real change,” he said: "It sends a very clear message to Canadians that we care."

An executive with the Department of Environment resigned while under investigation for “belittling and humiliating” employees, managers disclosed yesterday. Thousands of federal employees have filed harassment complaints since Parliament passed an anti-harassment bill seven years ago: "Harassment can be bullying in the workplace, yelling at employees repeatedly, asking employees to perform tasks that are not part of their employment contracts."