Is the NDP-Liberal coalition attempting to whitewash the inquiries?
The Emergencies Act was invoked for the first time in Canadian history on February 14, 2022. While the public order emergency was repealed nine days later, it remains unclear whether the Trudeau government had a rational basis for concluding that it had the power to proclaim such an emergency, or whether the special parliamentary committee…
When it comes to price-fixing, the U.S. acts. Canada, not so much
A Quebec-based group is leading a class-action lawsuit aimed at major federally-licensed beef packers. Cargill, JBS Foods, Tyson Foods and National Beef Packing are all accused of colluding and inflating beef prices since 2015. So if you’re a consumer in Quebec who’s been buying beef since 2015, you can be part of the claim. The…
Vaccines can’t only go to the highest bidder. Industry must be made to do what’s best for the public good
Two years ago, Matt Colvin was the most hated man in America. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had almost 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and was charging up to $70 per bottle, delivered. Colvin had been making a living by following the supply-and-demand principle of economics. He would study market trends, buy…
Supply management is a racket to protect vested interests
Canadians’ love for dairy products is about to be put to the test since the prices of most of those products are about to rise significantly. It goes without saying that milk and cream are important parts of our diet. And cheese, yogurt and butter are cherished by many people. But the average household will…
Kudos from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation for uncovering abuse of taxpayers' money
Darryl Plecas has given British Columbians a gift that keeps giving all year long: government transparency. Before you stop reading because that sounds as dry as a Griswold Christmas turkey, remember that if it weren’t for the former speaker of the legislature, we wouldn’t know about the wood splitter and whale-watching party bought on our…
Using the pandemic as a weak excuse to justify raiding the treasury
If your wallet feels lighter, it’s not just because of the rising cost of living and inflation. Ontario’s political parties have teamed up to take $14 million out of taxpayers’ pockets this year, and they’re just getting started. Back in 2014, former premier Kathleen Wynne introduced the per-vote subsidy. Under Wynne’s plan, political parties would…
Charging money to access this essential information is an attempt to block people from knowing what the government is up to
If democracy dies in darkness, the government of British Columbia just threw our freedom of information rights into a black hole. Victoria has slapped a brand new fee on requests for public information. Now, when journalists and government watchdogs file freedom of information requests to get government documents, they will need to pay between $5…
The president’s son could reap a small fortune from the sales of his mediocre art
Many public and political figures have enjoyed painting, drawing or sculpting as a budding career or a carefree pastime. United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill created over 500 paintings and sold a few in his lifetime. Several U.S. presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, displayed a…
And leads to government overreach and tyranny
The overreach of government is a common refrain among conservatives this pandemic, and not without cause. As those such as Father Raymond de Souza, Ed Bosveld, and others have argued, the State has not merely expanded to the occasion of the crisis, nor only taken powers upon itself it finds necessary to meet the threat.…
Ten ways you might be cheated and what you can do to reduce your risk
James and John came into my office one day and were noticeably shaken. James had just come from the accountant and learned that his business had lost $400,000 in the previous year. In obvious disbelief, he asked if I could help him figure out what the problem was. In our discussion it came out that…