Your middle-of-the-week gin and lime ...
At least six current superior court justices may have paid to meet with the prime minister or the deputy prime minister at Liberal Party fundraisers shortly before being appointed.
These findings come in the wake of an earlier analysis by the National Post and the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF), which found that over three times as many Liberal party donors have been appointed to judicial office than Conservative donors since 2016.
The IJF and the Post matched the names and cities of federally appointed judges from the government’s Orders in Council database against fundraiser attendance lists from Elections Canada’s Regulated Fundraising Events Registry (covering 2019 to the present) and historical event records posted on the Liberal party’s website. All federal fundraisers with tickets over $200 and featuring a party leader, cabinet minister, or leadership contestant must be reported to Elections Canada.
Persons with similar names of three federally appointed judges to Alberta’s superior trial court appear on the fundraising registry. A Robert Armstrong and Michel Bourque, both of Calgary, attended several fundraisers with high-level cabinet members — sometimes together — with their last attendance at events just a couple months before judges with similar names were appointed to Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench. Robert W. Armstrong of Calgary was appointed to the bench in February 2021 while Michel H. Bourque, also of Calgary, was appointed in December 2021.
Never send the Canadian government to do an adult professional's job:
Federal auditors have uncovered more irregularities over government-issue charge cards, this time at the Immigration and Refugee Board. A random check identified missing records, transactions that were “not properly signed and dated” and a lack of spending limits: “No documentation was on file.”
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A CBC executive, Michel Bissonnette, has billed nearly $30,000 in travel expenses to date this year including a now-cancelled junket to the French Riviera, records show. Bissonnette repeatedly flew business class to Paris and once hired a driver to chauffeur him five blocks through downtown Ottawa: “We simply can’t be in a position where we have to keep cutting.”
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The cost of a federal tax credit once dubbed an “open bar” for corporations is now approaching levels last seen a decade ago when the previous Conservative cabinet cut the subsidy. More than 16,000 companies nationwide are now claiming the Scientific Research and Experimental Development credit, said a federal report: “I’m a big, big fan.”
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CBC Radio billed more than $160,000 in legal fees to challenge a CRTC order over use of the n-word, according to Access To Information records. The network won its free speech case June 8 in federal court: “The CRTC overstepped its jurisdiction.”
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The post office warns it is tracking another heavy loss this year. Revenues for parcels, letter mail and flyers all fell in the first half of 2023, said the Canada Post Corporation: ‘We acknowledge the magnitude and significance of recurring financial losses.’
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The Alberta government is disputing the amount of money it is set to receive from Ottawa’s fiscal stabilization program (FSP), claiming it should get $130 million more from the federal government.
The disagreement is outlined in a Feb. 21 briefing note from then-deputy finance minister Michael Sabia to federal Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. The note is marked as “secret” and was obtained by Postmedia via an access to information request.
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“I never had any issue with the old passport before with this type of curling,” he said. “The old passport still remains quite sturdy and stiff.”
The new Canadian passports are sensitive to heat and humidity due to the way they've been manufactured, which could result in the curling of the covers, a spokesperson from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CTVNews.ca in an email.
“The previous generation of passports contained an additional layer (in the cover) in order to protect the electronic chip," IRCC said.
With the new passports, the electronic chip made out of polycarbonate materials is located in the data page, meaning this page is sturdy, while the cover is thinner.
And who did you vote for again, Canada?:
A recent poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies found that half of Canadians (50.8 per cent) felt that they were more successful than their parents. But roughly that same amount (46.9 per cent) also believed that upcoming generations would attain lower levels of economic success.“The Millennials do not feel that they’re going to do as well as the Baby Boomers, and the Baby Boomers seem to think so, too,” said Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies.They’re just the latest figures uncovered by the Montreal-based non-profit that paint a picture of a Canada that is increasingly pessimistic about the future.In prior reports, the Association of Canadian Studies has found that rising shares of recent immigrants are expressing disappointment with their new home. And a growing number of Canadian young people are starting to wish they lived somewhere else.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims he’s “making life more affordable” but his own government agencies continue to prove his carbon tax makes life more expensive.
“Nova Scotians saw prices at the pump increase by 14% in July compared with June,” Statistics Canada reported . “The introduction of the federal carbon levy in the province and higher wholesale prices contributed to higher gasoline prices.”
It’s not just Statistics Canada. Canada Revenue Agency shows the carbon tax currently increases the price of gasoline by 14¢ per litre, the price of diesel and home heating oil by 17¢ per litre and the price of natural gas by 12¢ per cubic metre.
The Bank of Canada is the federal government’s central bank and is tasked with keeping inflation low.
“If the charge were to be removed from the three main fuel components of the consumer price index (gasoline, natural gas and fuel oil) it would reduce the inflation rate by 0.4 percentage points,” the Bank of Canada wrote in a note to Parliament’s finance committee.
In other words, life would be more affordable if Trudeau scrapped the carbon tax.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer is the federal government’s non-partisan, independent budget watchdog. The PBO also notes the carbon tax makes Canadians poorer.
“Most households will see a net loss, paying more in fuel charges and GST, as well as receiving lower incomes, compared to the Climate Action Incentive payments they receive and lower personal income taxes they pay,” according to the PBO.
The carbon tax will cost the average family between $347 and $710 this year, even after the rebates are factored in, according to the PBO.
Trudeau’s carbon tax bill is only getting bigger. The carbon tax will increase the price of gas by 37¢ per litre in 2030, according to the CRA.
Trudeau also imposed a second carbon tax through fuel regulations. The second carbon tax doesn’t come with rebates and it’s layered on top of Trudeau’s original tax.
Analysis from the Department of the Environment shows the second carbon tax will “disproportionately impact lower and middle-income households,” including Canadians “currently experiencing energy poverty,” “single mothers” and “seniors living on fixed incomes.”
Independent government regulators in Atlantic Canada estimate the second carbon tax initially costs between 4¢ and 8¢ per litre of gas.
By 2030, when the fuel regulations are fully implemented, Trudeau’s two carbon taxes will increase the price of gas by about 55¢ per litre and cost the average family more than $2,000 every year.
While Ottawa has made life more expensive with yearly carbon tax hikes, other countries provided gas tax relief.
The United Kingdom announced billions of dollars of fuel tax relief. Australia cut its gas tax in half. South Korea cut its gas tax by 30%. Germany temporarily cut its fuel tax by 30¢ per litre of gas. The Netherlands cut its gas tax by 17¢ per litre.
India cut its gas tax to “keep inflation low, thus helping the poor and middle classes.”
While Canadians are now paying two carbon taxes, more than 75% of countries don’t pay a national carbon tax, according to the World Bank .
Trudeau knows the carbon tax makes life more expensive. After all, the objective of his carbon tax is to increase the price of gasoline, diesel and heating fuel.
But Steven Guilbeault said that we had to stop using gas!:
There is no evidence a five-year, $133.7 million climate change program reduced diesel emissions in Northern Canada, says a federal audit. The program mainly resulted in “trusting and respectful relationships” with Indigenous people, wrote auditors.
Another failed policy in the making:
Having banned some single-use plastics of convenience (straws, cutlery, etc.), the Trudeau government has turned its sights on plastics of necessity, including plastic films to keep foods isolated from contamination, protect them from pests and destructive oxidation, and help keep them cold, which is critical to preventing microbial contamination and spoilage.
This is a major turning point in the Trudeau government’s war on plastics, which incidentally fails on economic and environmental grounds. Even if its “Zero Plastic Waste by 2030” program was to work, it would prevent a paltry increase from 0.02-0.03% to 0.023-0.033% of global plastic pollution, an undetectable reduction of three-thousandths of 1% by the government’s own admission.
And even that small reduction in environmental harm would likely be offset by increased environmental harm from replacements for the banned plastic products. Again, per the government’s own analysis, these regulations are expected to actually increase the waste generated from substitutes by almost 300,000 tonnes in 2024 and by around 3.2 million tonnes over the life of the program (2023 to 2032). Paper substitutes will comprise most of that increase.
But this next stage in the war on plastics moves beyond issues of economics and environmental protection and into the realm of human health and safety. Not to be overly dramatic, but while the previous stages in the war on plastics might have inconvenienced people or wasted their money, this new phase may sicken and kill them.
According to government statistics, food poisoning causes 1.6 million illnesses and 105 deaths every year in Canada. About 90% of those sicknesses are caused by four foodborne pathogens — norovirus, Clostridium perfringens, campylobacter and salmonella. Keeping foods sanitary and thermally controlled is critical to minimizing the spread of these parasites; they’re easily spread to exposed foods through human contact or contact with contaminated surfaces.
As the Center for Research on Ingredient Safety at Michigan State University observes: “Currently, plastic wraps play an important role in food preservation and safe transportation, helping to keep our foods fresh and safe which in turn can help reduce food waste” and on “an industrial scale, plastic wraps protect food from potential contamination and spoilage during their journey from their origin to our plates.”
Again, why can't we produce our own baby formula and medicines?:
The federal government is looking for ways to bring more infant formula products to Canada while it overhauls regulations to prevent future shortages, an internal memo shows.
Many parents still struggle to find the right formula for their babies at a reasonable price, after last year's temporary shutdown of a U.S.-based manufacturing plant caused a major shortage of shipments to Canada.
The bare shelves illustrated just how fragile Canada's supply chain is when it comes to vital infant formula, which Canada does not produce domestically.
See above question.
Who could have seen this coming?:
Federal healing lodges account for a high number of prison breaks, according to Correctional Service records. New data show 70 percent of federal escapees are Indigenous: “Escapes from healing lodges represent a challenge for residents, staff and community alike.”
And this?:
Drug deaths rose by a third in 2021, Statistics Canada said yesterday. The increase in fatalities due to “accidental poisonings” followed parliamentary proposals to decriminalize heroin nationwide: “What do you think the impact of decriminalizing small amounts of illicit drugs would be?”
Why, it's like Canadians put totally immoral and irresponsible people in charge who then shrug their shoulders when things go predictably wrong.
Also - drumming anti-Americanism so that no one will point out what poor shape this country is in:
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said that a new travel advisory warning Canadians who are LGBTQ to be careful travelling in some parts of the United States is in no way politically motivated, and is meant to focus on Canadians’ safety.
The nothing that will happen to anyone travelling to the US is a much-needed reprieve from everyone noticing how bad Chrystia is at her job.
Sure, they ran away but they bravely ran away:
The Department of Foreign Affairs held a secret ceremony honouring Ambassador Reid Sirrs and other diplomats who fled Afghanistan aboard a half-empty military plane during the fall of Kabul, records show. Canadian military called the incident an embarrassment: “Some still carry this emotional weight to this day.”
Because of course Montreal won't:
Three years after it was pulled down and beheaded during a protest at Place du Canada, the city of Montreal has decided the statue of John A. Macdonald will not be reinstalled in its former spot.
On Aug. 29, 2020, a protest held in support of defunding police and against racism turned ugly in downtown Montreal and the statue of Canada’s first prime minister was brought down. The head of the statue came off when it was toppled. ...
The city is in talks with different institutions to decide where to place the statue, “along with an interpretive panel that will reflect all aspects of its history.”
Sir John A. Macdonald gave the French (who lost at the Plains of Abraham) a country to hate.
And they've never forgiven him for it.
Public safety is a mere trifle to Andrea Horvath:
Canada’s homelessness crisis went from bad to worse during the pandemic years, as encampments popped up in municipalities across the country. In the past, these tent cities were forcibly removed by local law enforcement. (For example: the now infamous operation to remove encampments in various Toronto parks.) But this month the city of Hamilton approved a fresh approach—one that acknowledges encampments as an interim reality of the housing crisis and attempts to balance the needs of all community members.
Per new protocols, encampments of five or fewer tents will be permitted in parks and public spaces, provided they are more than 100 metres away from schools, daycares or playgrounds. Outreach workers (not law enforcement) will be the first point of contact in the case of infraction. “We are moving forward with a housing-first, human rights–based approach,” says Hamilton mayor Andrea Horwath. The plan that will also include access to washroom and shower facilities and more frequent garbage cleanup.
Good luck with that, Andrea.
An artwork by renowned Canadian artist Tom Thomson at the National Gallery in Ottawa was splattered with paint today as part of a protest against the federal government's response to wildfires.
Ottawa police say they arrested Kaleb Suedfeld and charged him with criminal mischief, adding they are still investigating.
On2Ottawa, a Canadian climate change advocacy group, issued a news release shortly before the arrest to say that paint would be thrown at Thomson's "Northern River," created in 1914-15.
An Instagram post by the group shows a man smearing the glass that protects the painting with pink paint.
The group says it has organized several traffic disruption demonstrations this month to draw attention to wildfires issue and is promising further actions in Ottawa next month.
If everyone knew, why did they let it happen?
Some people are special:
Kimberly Murray, the independent special interlocutor on missing children, unmarked graves and burial sites associated with residential schools, says she has met with Canada’s new Justice Minister and hopes he will move to address “denialism.”Ms. Murray, who was given a two-year mandate last year to work closely with Indigenous communities, released an interim report in June that detailed how “denialists” are attacking the communities that announce possible unmarked graves. “This violence is prolific,” the report said. “And takes place via e-mail, telephone, social media, op-eds and, at times, through in-person confrontations.”The report included a call that “urgent consideration” be given to create legal mechanisms to deal with the problem, including “the implementation of both civil and criminal sanctions.”
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Last week the provincial government filed a motion in Court of King's Bench to exclude 250,000 homeowners and businesses from the title claim of the Wolastoqey Nation. Premier Blaine Higgs said at the time that public statements by the First Nation that its claim wouldn't affect smaller private landowners is not adequately reflected in the legal documents filed in court.
“It is the responsibility of any premier and any government to protect the people of the province,” Higgs said in a statement. “Across more than half our province hundreds of thousands of New Brunswickers are at risk of having their property impacted by this unprecedented claim in which they have been denied any standing or representation.”
In a statement on behalf of the six chiefs of Wolastoqey Nation, Gabriel Atwin, Chief of Bilijk First Nation (Kingsclear), accused Higgs of being “irresponsible” about the intent of the land claim. Atwin said his nation's lawsuit isn’t about “harming homeowners and regular New Brunswickers.”
You'll forgive me if I don't believe a single thing you say, sir.
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He had it exactly backwards. Nobody had seen any unmarked graves and two years later we still haven’t, except old community cemeteries unrelated to the issue. So it’s not “irrefutable,” it’s “unsubstantiated,” until someone produces at least one actual student body.
Will anyone ask how we got to the stage where children are corrupted in front of their parents (or even by their parents) and any effort to thwart that is not only frowned upon but stopped?:
In a surprise move last June, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs amended Policy 713 — a document governing gender expression in public schools — to require parental consent before a student could socially transition.
“Formal use of preferred first name for transgender or non-binary students under the age of 16 will require parental consent,” reads the amended policy. Higgs faced a caucus revolt over the change, but countered that he was prepared to call an election over the issue.
Last week, Saskatchewan also announced that parental consent would henceforth be required for a student under 16 to assume new pronouns or a new name (students over 16 can do it without parental consent).
“I’ve been asked what experts we consulted in creating the Parental Inclusion and Consent policy,” said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe in a widely circulated Sunday social media post. He added, “I believe the leading experts in children’s upbringing are their parents.”
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson announced plans earlier this month to amend the province’s Public Schools Act to broaden “parental rights” surrounding gender identity. “Parents want to know what’s going on in the day-to-day lives of their children,” Stefanson told reporters on Aug. 17.
And just on Monday, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce told a news conference that “parents must be fully involved” in circumstances when a child decides to go by different pronouns at school.
According to polls, Canadians are wildly in favour of this new tack.
Even before Higgs went public with changes to Policy 713, a May Leger poll found that 57 per cent of Canadians favoured some form of parental notification in cases where a student was changing their gender identity. Only 18 per cent supported the status quo of concealing a student’s gender transition upon request.
The results of an Angus Reid Institute poll released Monday were even more decisive. Of respondents, 78 per cent said that schools should inform parents if a student changes their pronouns, and 43 per cent said it shouldn’t be done without explicit parental consent. Only 14 per cent agreed with the statement “parents should neither be informed nor have a say — it’s up to the child.”
Prof Derrick Jensen explains the links between queer theory and paedophilia all while being heckled by Trans activists.
— Toby (@ThoughtsToby) August 30, 2023
The Irish government is promoting queer theory to Irish children. #MakeIrelandSafeAgain
pic.twitter.com/22gSe5iSke
Oh, this must burn:
And - almost like cartoonish supervillainy but real:
Dr. Meryl Nass: The WHO's proposed pandemic treaty will enable the WHO "to take over jurisdiction of everything in the world by saying that climate change, animals, plants, water systems [and] ecosystems are all central to health".
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) August 29, 2023
In addition to that, it will remove human… pic.twitter.com/ZcFsrO7WcO
We don't have to trade with China:
The social media giant deleted the fake accounts after uncovering the “largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world,” according to a report released on Tuesday.
(Sidebar: speaking of Meta ...)
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As Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault visits China for a climate conference, Chinese propaganda outlets are heralding the significance of the trip while warning Guilbeault not to take a “condescending tone” with his Chinese counterparts.
A real diplomat from a real country would tell China where to go.
But not Hans.
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Some Chinese international students say their study permits have been tied up in security screenings, leaving them in the lurch for months after being admitted to Canadian universities.
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China’s economy was meant to drive a third of global economic growth this year, so its dramatic slowdown in recent months is sounding alarm bells across the world.
Policymakers are bracing for a hit to their economies as China’s imports of everything from construction materials to electronics slide. Construction equipment-maker, Caterpillar, says Chinese demand for machines used on building sites is worse than previously thought. U.S. President Joe Biden called the economic problems a "ticking time bomb.”
Global investors have already pulled more than $10 billion (¥1.4 trillion) from China’s stock markets, with most of the selling in blue chips. Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley have cut their targets for Chinese equities, with the former also warning of spillover risks to the rest of the region.
White zealots interfere with a Native American's right to traverse unhindered on his ancestral lands:
A tribal ranger’s conduct is under review after he pointed a weapon Sunday at environmental activists and plowed his patrol vehicle through their blockade on the road leading to the annual Burning Man counter-culture festival in the Nevada desert.
The incident unfolded on a rural stretch of highway on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe reservation in northwestern Nevada. The protest calling attention to climate change stopped traffic as attendees were headed to the Black Rock Desert north of the reservation for opening day of Burning Man.
There is a joke in this somewhere:
Local beekeepers were thanked by police west of Toronto for springing into action Wednesday morning after a truck spilled crates carrying five million bees onto a road.
Halton Regional Police said they received a call around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday reporting the bee crates had come loose from a truck and spilled onto Guelph Line north of Dundas Street in Burlington, Ont.
