Government spent more than $213K defending Seamus O'Regan in small claims court

 

Federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan. The federal government spent more than $200,000 defending O'Regan on a lawsuit filed when he was minister of Veterans Affairs. (Terry Roberts/CBC)

Veterans advocate says he’s surprised by how far the government will go to avoid admitting error

The legal cost of defending Liberal cabinet minister Seamus O’Regan in a small claims court defamation case launched by a veterans advocate has now topped $213,500, according to a document tabled in the Senate.

The figure, compiled by Justice Minister David Lametti’s office, was released recently by Sen. Marc Gold, the government’s representative in the Senate, following an exchange last spring with Conservative Sen. Don Plett.

It captures the cost of litigation and support services delivered by the government lawyers and staff who worked on the lawsuit launched two years ago by Sean Bruyea, a former air force intelligence officer. Bruyea claimed O’Regan — who was the Veterans Affairs minister at the time — defamed him in a February 2018 opinion piece in The Hill Times, a parliamentary precinct publication.

The Great Barrington Declaration

 As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection.

Coming from both the left and right, and around the world, we have devoted our careers to protecting people. Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health. The results (to name a few) include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health — leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice.

Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.

Gold Telegraph Conversation Series: Frank Giustra

 With gold breaking all-time highs this week in U.S. denominated terms, we were thrilled and honored to have a conversation with the brilliant Frank Giustra to get his take on the current gold market and the state of the U.S. dollar.

Mr. Giustra is a Canadian businessman, mining financier, and global philanthropist who founded Lionsgate Entertainment. He is CEO of Fiore Group of Companies and Co-Chair of International Crisis Group. From 2001 to 2007, he was the chairman of the merchant banking firm, Endeavour Financial, which financed mining companies.

We encourage all of our followers and subscribers to give Frank a follow on his twitter, here.

Alex Deluce: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions during these incredibly exciting yet uncertain times. First off, you have had an incredible career in the mining industry, what made you interested in the space when you were a young man?

Frank Giustra: Serendipity. I was in the right place at the right moment in history. I started my career at Merrill Lynch in Vancouver in 1978.

Lyn Alden: will we get inflation or deflation? What happens now to gold and stocks

Monetary stimulus broke records this year as the Federal Reserve launched infinite quantitative easing, but in a low interest rate environment, monetary policy is less important than fiscal policy in determining asset prices, said Lyn Alden, founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy.

The last time the federal deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product was this high was in World War 2 in the 1940s, a rapid increase in inflation followed, albeit not immediately.

Gerald Butts still denies responsibility for a bigger scandal: Ontario’s 'green energy' catastrophe

 

Years before becoming the prime minister's key strategist, Gerald Butts held a similar position in the office of former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty. PHOTO BY SEAN KILPATRICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Opinion: Butts was once keen to take credit for ‘all of the province’s significant environmental initiatives’ — back before those initiatives became politically toxic

In Gerald Butts’ much-discussed resignation letter last week, the former principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took responsibility — sort of — for the ever-growing crisis enveloping the federal Liberal government.

While denying he or his staff put any pressure on former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to drop corruption and fraud charges against SNC-Lavalin, Butts nonetheless acknowledged that the story had coalesced around him being central to the imbroglio. “The fact is that this accusation exists … my reputation is my responsibility and that is for me to defend. It is in the best interests of the office and its important work for me to step away.”

Why Trudeau has to back off if the Canada Infrastructure Bank is to succeed

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, listens while Michael Sabia, chairman of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, speaks during a news conference on Thursday. PHOTO BY DAVID KAWAI/BLOOMBERG

Kevin Carmichael: Star-crossed bank will only succeed if investors are confident it operates free of political interference

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the daily face of his government’s response to the COVID crisis, wasn’t going to missa $10-billion announcement.

So there he was on Oct. 1, big-footing his infrastructure minister, Catherine McKenna, to leadthe press conference on the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s new spending plans.

Trudeau says he wants to tackle systemic racism. He should start with this policy.

 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday. (Blair Gable/Reuters)

Amid the litany of promises in his government’s throne speech last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to pursue two deeply contradictory goals with little introspection.

On the one hand, his administration says it will tackle “systemic racism” and break down the “systemic barriers” that exclude people of color from full participation in Canadian life. On the other hand — immediately after, in fact — the speech also vowed to legally consolidate the status of Canada’s “two official languages,” French and English, emphasizing the need to “protect and promote French,” in particular.

The degree to which these objectives are at odds should be evident from a quick perusal of the people running Canada these days.

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Source: J.J. McCullough | The Washington Post