It’s not the car, it’s the hypocrisy.The issue with Chrystia Freeland’s chauffeur-driven cars is not that she uses them. She’s Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Nobody expects her to hop on a bus..No, the issue is the holier-than-thou blether: “I don’t actually own a car because I live in downtown Toronto. I am like 300 metres from the nearest subway… I walk, I take the subway.” (Yes, she really said ‘like.’).All playing, I suppose, to the green, low-carbon narrative. She even tweeted a picture of her and her biking buddy with their bikes. “I ride my bike to meetings in Toronto,” wrote Freeland. Fair enough. It’s not like we all have the same options, but in a grudging, teeth-grinding sort of way, it looked like she was trying to walk the talk..Except it was a bit of a fib. When her chauffeur put in his lunch chits, it turned out he had been ‘supporting’ the minister “with meetings and events” on 20 occasions earlier this year — in Toronto..Again, Ms. Freeland, you’re a senior government minister. You’re entitled to a car when you need it. But don’t try and spin us a green yarn about not even owning one. If you can call up one from the car pool whenever you want to, you don’t need one, do you? Sheesh!.More here from my colleague Linda Slobodian.Save French!. Riots .Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge recently told the Commons languages committee that, “We need to ensure we recruit immigrants where there are significant Francophone populations... In the past I think we were focusing in some European regions but it is clear the future of French is found in Africa.”.“Tunisia!” says frequent Western Standard Edmonton correspondent Grant Brown, “That's the answer. It is working out so well for France.”.CBC.During the runup to the election, the CBC made some pretty serious allegations against Premier Danielle Smith, suggesting that she was interfering with the justice system. It turned out in the end that they didn’t have anything. But it could have cost her and her party the election.. Glen MurrayGlen Murray .Now, a story from Winnipeg with unfortunate parallels. According to CBC ombudsman Jack Nagler, CBC coverage “crossed the line” in publishing the opinions of people who worked with mayoral candidate Glen Murray regarding his fitness to serve as mayor. As Blacklock's Reporter tells it, the CBC quoted former Pembina Institute co-workers as questioning whether Murray was “fit to be a mayor” or “would be a toxic mayor” if elected..Murray had already served one term as mayor of Winnipeg, before entering provincial politics in Ontario. He joined Pembina after losing his seat but as last year’s municipal election campaign opened, was listed as front runner. Then came the damaging allegations..Nagler declined to say that the CBC story caused Murray’s loss. He did however say that the CBC’s report “didn’t advance the story,” and that the opinions of Murray’s former colleagues at Pembina were “beside the point.”.“To have the article conclude with this section, to have the two speakers serve as the ‘final word’ on the subject, felt like piling on.”.“Their opinions on Glen Murray’s suitability as mayor were beside the point,” wrote Ombudsman Nagler. “It didn’t advance the story in a meaningful way. To have the article conclude with this section, to have the two speakers serve as the ‘final word’ on the subject, felt like piling on.”.Nice for Murray to win his complaint..Bit late now though, isn’t it?.Housing. Housing construction .Back to hypocrisy. Must we listen to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whinging about the shortage of housing, when it’s he who’s driving the shortage by flooding the market with immigrants while simultaneously forcing up interest rates through his inflationary borrowing?.Apparently so. And talking of policy inconsistency, if each Canadian is responsible on average for 15 tonnes of carbon emissions, how does it help the country reach net zero by bringing in half a million CO2 emitting new Canadians every year? Do the maths..The answer is that by creating a housing shortage one stimulates the construction industry and thereby masks the fact that otherwise, the Canadian economy is not doing very well..A win for freedom, sort of.Given what we all had to put up with from governments, health agencies, experts and quacks during the COVID pandemic, it’s refreshing to see even a small court victory in the settling of accounts now underway. Thus, when King’s Bench invalidated Deena Hinshaw’s public health orders, it cleared the way for charges to be dropped against pastors who had kept their churches open, arguing that the state shouldn’t set the terms of worship. So far, so good. It will also clear the way for other people who suffered harm because of the lockdowns, to sue.. Closed store signSource CBC .The problem is, it’s not the win it could have been. Hinshaw’s orders were struck down because she persuaded the judge that she merely recommended them, and the province issued them. Had she taken responsibility for them, they may have stuck..We’ll always take a win, but in this case a win under the Charter would have been better. As things stand, it could happen again. Justice Centre President John Carpay will explain more fully in these pages, soon.
It’s not the car, it’s the hypocrisy.The issue with Chrystia Freeland’s chauffeur-driven cars is not that she uses them. She’s Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Nobody expects her to hop on a bus..No, the issue is the holier-than-thou blether: “I don’t actually own a car because I live in downtown Toronto. I am like 300 metres from the nearest subway… I walk, I take the subway.” (Yes, she really said ‘like.’).All playing, I suppose, to the green, low-carbon narrative. She even tweeted a picture of her and her biking buddy with their bikes. “I ride my bike to meetings in Toronto,” wrote Freeland. Fair enough. It’s not like we all have the same options, but in a grudging, teeth-grinding sort of way, it looked like she was trying to walk the talk..Except it was a bit of a fib. When her chauffeur put in his lunch chits, it turned out he had been ‘supporting’ the minister “with meetings and events” on 20 occasions earlier this year — in Toronto..Again, Ms. Freeland, you’re a senior government minister. You’re entitled to a car when you need it. But don’t try and spin us a green yarn about not even owning one. If you can call up one from the car pool whenever you want to, you don’t need one, do you? Sheesh!.More here from my colleague Linda Slobodian.Save French!. Riots .Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge recently told the Commons languages committee that, “We need to ensure we recruit immigrants where there are significant Francophone populations... In the past I think we were focusing in some European regions but it is clear the future of French is found in Africa.”.“Tunisia!” says frequent Western Standard Edmonton correspondent Grant Brown, “That's the answer. It is working out so well for France.”.CBC.During the runup to the election, the CBC made some pretty serious allegations against Premier Danielle Smith, suggesting that she was interfering with the justice system. It turned out in the end that they didn’t have anything. But it could have cost her and her party the election.. Glen MurrayGlen Murray .Now, a story from Winnipeg with unfortunate parallels. According to CBC ombudsman Jack Nagler, CBC coverage “crossed the line” in publishing the opinions of people who worked with mayoral candidate Glen Murray regarding his fitness to serve as mayor. As Blacklock's Reporter tells it, the CBC quoted former Pembina Institute co-workers as questioning whether Murray was “fit to be a mayor” or “would be a toxic mayor” if elected..Murray had already served one term as mayor of Winnipeg, before entering provincial politics in Ontario. He joined Pembina after losing his seat but as last year’s municipal election campaign opened, was listed as front runner. Then came the damaging allegations..Nagler declined to say that the CBC story caused Murray’s loss. He did however say that the CBC’s report “didn’t advance the story,” and that the opinions of Murray’s former colleagues at Pembina were “beside the point.”.“To have the article conclude with this section, to have the two speakers serve as the ‘final word’ on the subject, felt like piling on.”.“Their opinions on Glen Murray’s suitability as mayor were beside the point,” wrote Ombudsman Nagler. “It didn’t advance the story in a meaningful way. To have the article conclude with this section, to have the two speakers serve as the ‘final word’ on the subject, felt like piling on.”.Nice for Murray to win his complaint..Bit late now though, isn’t it?.Housing. Housing construction .Back to hypocrisy. Must we listen to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whinging about the shortage of housing, when it’s he who’s driving the shortage by flooding the market with immigrants while simultaneously forcing up interest rates through his inflationary borrowing?.Apparently so. And talking of policy inconsistency, if each Canadian is responsible on average for 15 tonnes of carbon emissions, how does it help the country reach net zero by bringing in half a million CO2 emitting new Canadians every year? Do the maths..The answer is that by creating a housing shortage one stimulates the construction industry and thereby masks the fact that otherwise, the Canadian economy is not doing very well..A win for freedom, sort of.Given what we all had to put up with from governments, health agencies, experts and quacks during the COVID pandemic, it’s refreshing to see even a small court victory in the settling of accounts now underway. Thus, when King’s Bench invalidated Deena Hinshaw’s public health orders, it cleared the way for charges to be dropped against pastors who had kept their churches open, arguing that the state shouldn’t set the terms of worship. So far, so good. It will also clear the way for other people who suffered harm because of the lockdowns, to sue.. Closed store signSource CBC .The problem is, it’s not the win it could have been. Hinshaw’s orders were struck down because she persuaded the judge that she merely recommended them, and the province issued them. Had she taken responsibility for them, they may have stuck..We’ll always take a win, but in this case a win under the Charter would have been better. As things stand, it could happen again. Justice Centre President John Carpay will explain more fully in these pages, soon.
