Blacklock's Reporter

In 1997, returning home one evening from a cruise on the St. Lawrence River, criminologist Patrice Corriveau witnessed an assault. Five men were tormenting a sixth. “A gang of arrogant roughnecks, bursting with testosterone, decided to taunt him; they deem his attire too effeminate and conclude he must be a ‘faggot,’ a ‘queer,’” writes Corriveau. “With unbelievable violence, these brave souls shove the young man around as a crowd watches without reacting or intervening in any way.” Upset by what he’d seen, Professor Corriveau of the University of Ottawa devoted his doctoral studies to the persecution of gays in French culture, typically men “used as scapegoats by a society disturbed by sexuality,” he writes. The result, La Répression des Homosexuels au Québec et en France, is adapted to English by UBC Press. READ MORE

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau improperly disclosed classified information and ignored suspicious activities by Chinese agents in Canada because it was to the advantage of the Liberal Party, opposition lawyers yesterday told the Commission on Foreign Interference. The comments came on the last day of hearings: "Party before country." READ MORE

Liberal MPs have saved Catherine McKenna from a summons for questioning over forestry management at Jasper National Park. The Commons environment committee was told residents for years warned then-Environment Minister McKenna and Park managers that Jasper was a “tinder box” of dead pine following a beetle infestation: "McKenna has refused to testify." READ MORE

Cabinet will not meet a Bloc Québécois ultimatum to pass two bills into law by Tuesday or risk collapse of the 44th Parliament. Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet had set a deadline of 11:59 pm Eastern on October 29: "There will be plenty of non-confidence votes between now and Christmas." READ MORE

New quotas lower the number of foreigners to be allowed in Canada next year by 218,000 landed immigrants, migrant workers and foreign students, about 11 percent from 2023 levels, figures show. It follows record-high quotas the Department of Immigration blamed for fueling a “housing crisis.” READ MORE

The Senate is close to passing a private Liberal bill proclaiming April as Arab Heritage Month. “We are open to the world,” said MP David McGuinty (Ottawa South), sponsor of the bill: "How can we use this bill to heal divisions and reduce bigotry?" READ MORE

ArriveCan managers yesterday abruptly announced they’d discovered thousands of “deleted” emails involving business with contractors now under RCMP investigation. It followed protests from MPs after the Canada Border Services Agency claimed evidence was mysteriously destroyed: "We trust this clarifies any potential misinterpretation." READ MORE