Both have dealt with Vance allegations Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here to get it delivered weekday mornings. Ottawa heard from an insider from another era yesterday. Ray Novak, principal secretary to former prime minister Stephen Harper, testified at the Commons defence committee about the conduct of former chief of defence staff Jonathan Vance. Novak said he was in on a 2015 meeting in which Harper, who'd been told about allegations into Vance's conduct during an Italy posting, directly asked the general, who was in line to lead the military, if there was "anything else he should know." Novak said Vance made no mention of the allegations that have more recently come to light—and called that "untruthful." Culture change: Adam Chapnick, a professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, published a blog post on his observations about how and why some people in the military are promoted—and others aren't. "Written and unwritten rules prevent training development officers, chaplains, doctors, lawyers, military police, reservists, and all sorts of others who form part of our military’s proverbial 'tail ' (a disproportionate number of whom are women) from ever reaching the most senior ranks," he writes. "When I first asked why such choke-points existed, I was told that those who fight on the “frontlines” wouldn’t serve under anyone who had worked primarily in 'supporting' roles." Chapnick's advice: rethink those norms. Canada is imposing sanctions on Chinese officials for "gross and systematic human rights violations" against Uyghurs in Xinjiang province. They target four individuals and one entity: Zhu Hailun, Wang Junzheng, Wang Mingshan, Chen Mingguo and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau. The feds followed the lead of the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union. Earlier this year, the federal database that discloses the titles and dates of briefing notes—ubiquitous documents that get ministers up to speed on issues—published a Dec. 17, 2020 note for the eyes of Procurement Minister Anita Anand. The title: Epoch Times, the name of an anti-communist newspaper affiliated with the Falun Gong movement that has gained a reputation for defending far-right conspiracy theories. Maclean's asked for the briefing note, but the full document was redacted in its entirety. We asked the Liberals for anything they were willing to tell us about that note. A Liberal source produced undated correspondence—sent in 2021—from Anand's office to Canada Post. That letter starts: "As you are aware, certain content being delivered through Canada Post as paid neighbourhood mail has elicited strong negative feedback from Canadians over the past several months." Anand wrote that while the postal service respects Charter rights and "free communication," she thought the post "should not be used as a means to disseminate racist, hateful rhetoric." Anand also encouraged Canada Post to "strengthen its processes" on preventing the dissemination of hate, and "improve Canadians’ ability to choose what they receive in the mail." The source confirmed that the letter was referencing the Epoch Times, at least in part. A Canada Post spokesman confirmed receipt, but answered no follow-up questions. Moderna's co-founder got the Pfizer vaccine: And he's happy about it. Prajakta Dhopade profiled Derrick Rossi, the Boston-based Canadian stem cell biologist who helped pioneer the mRNA industry. When it came time to get inoculated, Rossi wasn't choosy. When the time came for his vaccination through his affiliation with the Boston Children’s Hospital, it was the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine that made its way into his arm. His friends find it very funny that the co-founder of Moderna didn’t get a Moderna vaccine, he says. But Rossi is pleased because it gives him the opportunity to tell people: get vaccinated. “Don’t pick and choose,” he says. “Even if a vaccine is only 60 per cent efficacious, it’s better than zero per cent.” The future of cars: Innovation, Science and Economic Development is looking for someone to provide "efficient access to external automotive expertise" that falls outside ISED's "internal capacity"—including advanced vehicle technologies. They might want to call up Flavio Volpe's auto parts manufacturing association. That group is working on an all-Canadian, zero-emission vehicle named after Canada's famous, short-lived fighter jet of the same name. The world needs social democracy now, more than ever: Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent celebrated his 85th birthday on Sunday. Did he mark the milestone by kicking back and relaxing? Well, Broadbent might've been putting the finishing touches on an op-ed in Maclean's about the urgent need for more of his chosen ideology: The crises we face—whether unequal economic outcomes, racism and discrimination, climate change and environmental degradation, and declining democratic participation—require for their resolution an activist public sector and a strong civil society. While working with a market-based economy we must avoid a market-shaped society. $706,137: That's the cost of the RCMP's next order of felt hats for its Mounties, which the contract stipulated "must be a quality mixture of rabbit and hare fur" and include a leather band "made of vegetable tanned calfskin, with a steel buckle." The full specs take 20 pages to explain. The winning bidder was Biltmore Hats, a subsidiary of Milano Hats based in Garland, Texas. The Mounties surely didn't buy from the company's Justin collection. —Nick Taylor-Vaisey | 
