Floor-crossing MPs Lori Idlout (Nunavut) and Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia-Lambton, Ont.) yesterday joined the government caucus in voting 173 to 163 to invoke closure on a motion granting cabinet majority control of all Commons committees. It effectively quashes real-time ethics investigations into Liberal spending, contracting and appointments: "They flattered and recruited a Member who endorsed Avi Lewis and a Member who endorsed the Freedom Convoy, all in the pursuit of power." READ MORE
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne yesterday without comment introduced a long-promised bill to create a federal Financial Crimes Agency. The Liberal Party first proposed a $200 million-a year white collar crime unit in its 2021 election platform: "We’re not sure exactly how the Agency is going to look." READ MORE
Another resignation yesterday left New Democrats with a five-member caucus and just one seat east of Edmonton. Five-term MP Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont-La Petite Patrie, Que.) confirmed he would quit to seek a seat in the Québec National Assembly: "Every day is a test in this beautiful game of politics." READ MORE
Labour Minister Patty Hajdu made up a story about organ donations in attempting to justify a 2025 cabinet order quashing an Air Canada strike, Access To Information records show. It marked the second time Hajdu misled media over a strike ban: "Shipments of critical goods such as pharmaceuticals and organ tissue should continue." READ MORE
A federal program to subsidize news media in “underserved communities” instead paid millions to city newspapers operated by conglomerates, records show. Recipients of aid earmarked for poor, rural weeklies included the Toronto Star, Globe & Mail and two Winnipeg dailies: "I think the Local Journalism Initiative is absolutely critical for rural coverage." READ MORE
MPs have given quick Second Reading to a cabinet bill that would ban bitcoin financing of political campaigns. Approval in principle came Friday, just a month after the bill’s introduction: "There is a high sense of collaboration on this." READ MORE
A $3.2 billion telecom subsidy launched on a promise of high-speed internet for every home in Canada is not close to meeting its target, Department of Industry figures show. Auditors blamed cost overruns and slow processing of paperwork: "These projects target areas where there is currently no business case for the private sector." READ MORE
I often wonder what became of Dennis. He was known to neighbours in the North Park district of Victoria where I lived in 1997. It was a rough-and-tumble neighbourhood. Dennis had a wife and baby. I had seen them going to the welfare office down the corner. He was violent, and he could get very drunk. I don’t think he ever finished high school. I can’t say if restorative justice would have done Dennis much good. Afterward I wondered, what brought Dennis to the point in his life that he was so hateful, so angry, he would shave his head and wear a “White Power” t-shirt and look for someone to hurt?
