Disgraced ex-media magnate Conrad Black recently used the pages of his former newspaper to justify the fortunes of the Weston family, the owners of Loblaw Companies Ltd. The wealth of the retail family are, Black claimed, the result of “talent,” “savvy,” and “ability.” The article — an obit for Galen Weston in the National Post — is a pitch-perfect example of elite back slapping and mutual approbation.

Black writes fondly of the Westons’ “novel form of Christian capitalism;” the “inborn altruism of their companies;” and their noble “policy of seeking no or minimal public recognition for their good works.” The narrative that Black spins about the heroism of the Westons’ business acumen is ludicrous — it could only have come from a fellow traveler of Canada’s ruling class.

Funnily enough, one does not need to rely on leftist caricatures to find a rejoinder to Black’s fanciful hagiography. The Westons and their surrogates have stated clearly that a program of wage and job cuts as well as monopolization have maintained the family’s wealth.