MPs yesterday ridiculed claims Consul Tom Clark needs an $8.8 million Manhattan penthouse to do his job. “Is it a requirement of Mr. Clark’s position as Consul General in New York that he has white Macuba stone floors?” asked Conservative MP Larry Brock (Brantford-Brant, Ont.). “I’m just curious.”
A Manitoba legislator instrumental in censuring then-Senator Lynn Beyak (Ont.) yesterday said she’ll reserve comment on appointee Charles Adler “for the time being.” The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs invoked the Beyak case in demanding Adler’s appointment be rescinded for derogatory remarks against First Nations; ‘They denigrate a group of fellow Canadians and think they can get away with it.’
The federal labour department today is urging a last-minute settlement between Teamsters Canada and major railways to avert a national freight shutdown. Any strike or lockout would be costly, shippers said: “Get a deal.”
The federal government is giving itself another three years to comply with its own Pay Equity Act. The extension comes just days before an August 31 deadline requiring that all federally regulated employers have equity plans in place: “This means pay equity could actually potentially take until 2029, 2030.”
A Court precedent on password sharing is a “license for piracy,” warns a former assistant deputy trade minister. Hugh Stephens, now vice chair of the Canadian Committee on Pacific Economic Cooperation, called the May 31 ruling on property rights under the Copyright Act “controversial.”
“This is the same government that constantly speaks of the need to maintain a viable media sector and which has undertaken several initiatives with the declared intent of doing so,” Stephens wrote in a public commentary on Blacklock’s v. Attorney General.
Stephens said the decision as it stands undermines the commercial viability of news media. The deadline to appeal the ruling expires in seven business days.
“Newspapers like the Globe & Mail and National Post, specialized journals like Blacklock’s, recreational publications like The Walrus or Maclean’s or various other online publications should be able to stand on their own feet and earn revenue from the valuable content they provide,” wrote Stephens.
“If that content is not worth paying for in the eyes of consumers, why produce it?” asked Stephens. “But a business model that is based primarily on getting paid by consumers for the content they consume is not viable if media products are free for the taking.”
The Federal Court ruling upheld Department of Justice claims that the sharing of passwords without payment or permission was lawful. It came in a Blacklock’s lawsuit against Parks Canada.
Paid Others $282,000
Evidence showed a Parks manager Genevieve Patenaude was caught purchasing a single Blacklock’s password, ignoring website terms and multiple warnings and sharing the password with any co-worker who asked “if you ever need to access any Blacklock’s article.” The judge who wrote the May 31 ruling, Justice Yvan Roy, said the manager obviously made a “mistake.”
“Had Ms. Patenaude been curious enough she would have clicked on the button ‘Terms And Conditions’ and right upfront she would have read the paragraphs,” wrote Justice Roy. Terms stated: “You acknowledge and agree one subscription is allotted per subscriber.”
However Parks Canada had an obvious “significant public interest in reading articles” without paying for usage, said Justice Roy. “This constitutes the simple act of reading by officials with an immediate interest in the articles for business-related reasons,” he said.
Parks Canada and the Department of Environment at the time paid $282,000 to access content by government-approved media. Parks Canada paid Blacklock’s $148 and attempted to conceal the scope of its password sharing under Access To Information.
Vice Chair Stephens said the decision undercut the commercial viability of Canadian media. “It is high time the Government of Canada stopped saying one thing but doing another,” he wrote.
“One would not expect a large government department would purchase exactly one (one!) subscription and freely share it among any employees who might need access to the content,” wrote Stephens, adding: “But that is what happened to Blacklock’s Reporter.”
By Staff 
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must revoke broadcaster Charles Adler’s appointment to the Senate over “vile” and “racist” remarks about fellow Manitobans, leading Indigenous groups said yesterday. Adler in radio commentaries disparaged First Nations as corrupt, lazy, uncivilized complainers: “We demand this appointment be rescinded immediately.”
Commons scrutiny of the purchase of a luxury Manhattan penthouse for New York Consul Tom Clark follows audits showing Department of Foreign Affairs’ real estate holdings jumped 25 percent since 2017. Auditors faulted the department for poor management: “Property infrastructure is subject to public scrutiny.”
The Department of National Defence for the first time acknowledges above-average suicide rates in the armed forces, typically involving women volunteers. New data show it was unrelated to service in combat: “There weren’t many who had a history of deployment.”
Service Canada, the federal agency that manages Employment Insurance, yesterday said it is hiring consultants to guide employees in “how to manage emotions” and “develop empathy and listening skills.” No budget was disclosed: “Recognize your triggers.”
Canadian real estate continues to attract dirty money, says a federal agency. The group in an Operational Alert urged caution over suspicious dealings like flipping titles to unbuilt condominiums: “Some realtors look the other way.”
Liberal Senate appointee Charles Adler in a radio broadcast called Indigenous people uncivilized “boneheads” who should “get a job.” Adler’s remarks on Radio CJOB Winnipeg were so vulgar they prompted a formal complaint by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, records show: “No shit, Sherlock.”
A disgraced Canadian diplomat has abruptly resigned while under investigation, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed. The executive faced firing for lewd misconduct at the office: “Our ultimate goal is to foster a culture of zero tolerance for bad behaviour of any kind.”
Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks’ office in a briefing note it is “inaccurate to claim” its decriminalization of cocaine and opioids is to blame for an increase in overdose deaths in British Columbia. Coroners’ data show deaths increased 16.5 percent in the period of decriminalization: “It is inaccurate to claim this exemption is the cause.”
Cabinet is expanding a multi-million dollar fund to document claims thousands of children died in Indian Residential Schools. It acknowledged First Nations complaints a $500,000 limit per grant application was insufficient: ‘We are committed to finding the children.”
A federal program to have young Canadians “give more back to their communities” has cost $204 million to date, records show. Cabinet launched the Canada Service Corps six years ago “to support a vision of Canada.”
