Official Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge yesterday said he will “investigate” the appointment of Governor General Mary Simon over her inability to speak French. It is not a legal requirement under the 1969 Official Languages Act. Two previous appointees lacked fluency in French: “We have analyzed the complaints.”
The Department of Canadian Heritage in a briefing note acknowledged a bill mandating first-ever internet regulations “has caused adverse reactions” and expect it will be amended in the Senate. Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez had publicly called Bill C-10 “an absolute priority” for cabinet: “We have very little time.”
Cabinet on Saturday quietly rewrote quarantine rules affecting cross-border travelers, signaling the imminent easing of restrictions on non-essential trips after sixteen months. “We do recognize Canadians are anxious,” said Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc.
Cabinet spent six months on a failed search for a new Commissioner of Indigenous Languages who spoke French, according to a briefing note. The requirement was dropped with the appointment of British Columbia anthropologist Ronald Ignace to the $216,000-a year post: “Our languages will no longer stand in the shadow of other languages here in our land.”
Millions in bonuses for Métis veterans of the Second World War have gone unclaimed, says the Department of Veterans Affairs. Only 29 old soldiers or their widows successfully applied for grants: “Proportionately more Indigenous people enlisted voluntarily than other Canadians.”
There is little chance of foreign interference in an expected 2021 general election after no evidence was found of electronic meddling in the 2019 campaign, says a federal agency. The Communications Security Establishment report contradicted cabinet claims of internet threats: “We assess it is unlikely.”
From 30,000 feet
Earth looks fragile
but I noticed some empty seats
on board
so we could collect
survivors.
(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, writes for Blacklock’s each and every Sunday)
Lawful but offensive Twitter posts are undermining Canada’s democracy, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s department says in a briefing note. Regulation of hurtful comments is needed for “a truly democratic debate,” it said.
Liberal MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.), chair of the Commons finance committee, yesterday recalled the panel into rare emergency session to defend a small business tax cut. The Department of Finance questioned the validity of a tax bill already passed into law: “I have never seen this.”
The number of police charges for drug-impaired driving jumped 43 percent after Parliament legalized marijuana, Statistics Canada said yesterday. Prosecutors had predicted the surge of cases once a 95-year criminal ban on recreational cannabis was repealed: “Do we have enough on the ground?”
A charge of witness tampering against the former commander of the Canadian Armed Forces yesterday followed Commons committee testimony of secret audio recordings of General (Ret’d) Jonathan Vance. One witness testified she recorded Vance instructing her to lie about their sexual relationship: “Yes, it’s recorded.”
A Liberal MP’s proposed equity tax on millionaires and revival of a federal inheritance tax to “help pay for the pandemic response” would cover less than a tenth of ongoing deficits, according to Parliamentary Budget Office figures released yesterday. Deficits from the onset of Covid to 2026 are $686.1 billion, by official estimate: “The math does not work.”
A federal department has grossly understated First Nations high school dropout rates despite billions in new spending, says an internal report. Data show as few as 15 percent of students schooled on-reserve finish Grade 12: ‘Results have not shown improvements juxtaposed against significant funding increases.’
Public Works Minister Anita Anand in an ethics filing says she recused herself from cabinet discussions involving Prince Edward Island’s Confederation Bridge. Anand’s husband is managing director of a group with a 34 percent share in the privately-owned Bridge, one of the most profitable corporations in the country: “It’s the most expensive driving experience in Canada.”
A consumers’ advocate has won a legal right to challenge regulatory orders on behalf of travelers. The Federal Court of Appeal ruled the group Air Passenger Rights of Halifax was entitled to plead its case for hundreds of Air Transat customers who suffered nightmare flights four years ago: ‘Passengers became physically ill.’
