Sunday Post

Merry Saint Patrick's Day!

Another scandal brewing:

Two federal ministries are investigating potential violations of privacy laws after government officials shared details about a Postmedia news story and the journalist pursuing it, with representatives of Irving Shipbuilding.

Following a tip, Postmedia submitted questions on March 6 to two departments, National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada, about possible problems with some of the welding on HMCS Harry DeWolf, the first of the six new Arctic patrol ships Irving is building for the Royal Canadian Navy as part of a project that will cost taxpayers $3.5 billion.

However, just 90 minutes after submitting questions — and before receiving a response from either government department — an Irving representative emailed Postmedia to say the company had been made aware of the inquiry and wanted to discuss it. Irving Shipbuilding President Kevin McCoy then telephoned and after a brief discussion, threatened legal action against the news organization. Irving’s lawyers would be “making sure you understand that if you write something false about our reputation we will pursue it,” he said.

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Why is the Canadian government sharing media requests with private industry?

As reported in the National Post on Friday, a Postmedia reporter recently sent information requests to the ministries of National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada. The journalist had received a tip about alleged welding problems aboard HMCS Harry DeWolf, the first of the Royal Canadian Navy’s new Arctic patrol warships. The ship was launched last year and is undergoing fitting-out now. The Postmedia journalist sought information about the alleged welding problems.
This is an entirely routine step in the media. Journalists hear things, which are often unconfirmed, and seek additional information. Sometimes stories result, but often, the provided answers are sufficient and the journalist moves on.

That did not happen here.

After sending the query to both government departments on March 6, the journalist received several prompt replies — within two hours, in fact. But not from federal officials. Instead, the replies came from Irving Shipbuilding, which built the DeWolf. The first was an offer of information, the second was a threat to sue Postmedia if “anything false about (Irving’s) reputation is published.” Irving knew the journalist’s identity and the topic of his queries.

Irving has every right to reach out to journalists, and to go to court if it feels it has been wronged. That is not in dispute. But why are federal ministries farming out media requests to the private sector? Why are they revealing to companies the identities of journalists pursuing stories about those companies?

I'll just leave this right here:

Norman's lawyers have accused Brison of political interference in the shipbuilding deal at the centre of the case.

They claim, in a court filing, he tried to kill the $668 million plan to lease a naval supply ship from the Davie shipyard, in Lévis, Que. on behalf of a rival, Irving Shipyard.

His lawyers deny any meddling.

The scandal that just won't die:

The criminal law at the heart of the SNC-Lavalin saga dogging the federal Liberals has led to charges in just seven cases in 20 years, leading some to call for a review of the legislation and additional resources for investigators.

The Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act made it illegal for Canadian companies and individuals to bribe foreign public officials in business transactions. The most recent report to Parliament on the law, from September 2018, showed that since the law was passed in 1999, charges had been laid against four companies and 15 individuals, stemming from seven investigations.

Of those, three companies pleaded guilty and three people were convicted, while 11 people were either acquitted or had their charges stayed. One person accused in a bribery scheme in India faces a trial later this year. The case against SNC-Lavalin is the one outstanding charge against a company, and if SNC-Lavalin goes to trial it will be the first company to do so.

That places Canada at the lower end of enforcement among the 44 signatories of the 1999 Anti-Bribery Convention of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Canada passed the domestic law after it signed the convention, which is aimed at recruiting richer countries to combat corruption their own citizens and businesses perpetrate in poorer ones.

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Building pipelines involves jobs. The oilsands involve jobs — tens of thousands of jobs. Northern Gateway involved jobs. The Energy East pipeline involved jobs. Oil companies cancelling projects involved jobs. The flight of headquarters from Calgary involved jobs. The still-stalled Trans Mountain pipeline involves jobs.

The most massive jobs hit in the Canadian economy, involving an entire industry, did not get 1/100 the prime attention that a single company, with a dubious reputation, already sanctioned outside Canada, and under investigation within, received.

Who can seriously believe the “we value jobs line?”

Did they hound and set siege to the National Energy Board with the same ferocity and frequency the attorney general was subjected to for the benefit of SNC-Lavalin?

Was the dark lord of the Privy Council on the phone to the head of the NEB reminding the board that there were massive jobs involved in all these impeded and cancelled projects? Seeking to slacken the regulations, speed up the process, get the approvals out pronto?

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According to a Leger Poll conducted on behalf of the Montreal Journal, the Liberals have fallen from 39% to 35% in the polls since the controversy began. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have moved from 21% to 25%.

So, the Liberals have gone from having an 18 point lead to having a 10 point lead, which would cause a big swing in seats.

Additionally, 51% of Quebec residents want a change in who governs the country.


Trudeau and his cronies have been counting on his story being believed in Quebec, but that isn’t happening.

39% say they believe Jody Wilson-Raybould, while 25% say they believe Trudeau. 36% say they don’t know who to believe.

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Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former cabinet minister who accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of trying to influence her decision in a criminal case against engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, has confirmed she intends to run as a Liberal in the next federal election.

(Sidebar: if anyone thought she had a "come to Jesus" moment and was now principled, they had better think again.)

It's just an economy:

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) said the federal Liberal government's impact assessment changes could inadvertently cripple sectors already grappling with low commodity prices and constrained pipeline capacity.

(Sidebar: that's the whole point of it.)

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Canada’s top marginal tax rates are punitively high, have put Canada in an uncompetitive position and discourage individuals from engaging in productive economic activity, ultimately hindering economic growth and prosperity. These are the observations of the Fraser Institute, based on a study of Canada’s top tax rates and how they compare to other jurisdictions. The findings were published in a new report released this week, just in time for the upcoming federal, pre-election budget, set to be delivered on March 19.

Expanding class sizes require extra help in the classroom. Ditch the unnecessary sex ed programs and you might find the money for a teacher's aid:

The province’s new sex ed curriculum changes when students will learn about various topics like gender identity but still covers all the material included in the controversial 2015 version, Education Minister Lisa Thompson says.

Also -  why? Are you afraid that students might be put off Canada's favourite vice?:

Members of two Alberta political parties want to extend the abortion protest zones to schools across the province, but that proposed change will likely have to wait until after the election.

Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said amending legislation to extend abortion protest bubble zones to K-12 schools in Alberta is one of the government's priorities.

"I think that K to 12 students should be able to go to school free of harassment, and intimidation, and bullying. And I felt like we needed to do more to make sure that we protect our students," Hoffman said.

(Sidebar: ... said the fatty who zero problem banning free speech on things people are forced to pay for.)

Two hundred and sixty-one people have been killed from 2015 to 2018, an average of  sixty-six people per year, in France alone but whatever. Look for root causes or something.

Six weeks until Passover and Easter. Let's see the public hand-wringing then.




North Korea settles back into a familiar pattern:

North Korea is considering suspending denuclearization talks with the United States unless Washington changes its stance after the breakdown of a summit meeting in Hanoi between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a senior official said Friday.

Regime change or get used to this all over again.




Have you read up on your patron saints of the day to day?




And now, "The Parting Glass":