Green MP Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.), 72, in her final address to Parliament as Party leader said she felt foolish for siding with Liberals when it counted in past confidence votes. “I was a fool,” she said: "I see clear-eyed now." READ MORE
Federal agents have not seized a single shipment of slave-made imports in Canada in the last 10 years, new records show. Cabinet in a 2021 Ministerial Mandate letter had promised to “eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains and ensure Canadian businesses operating abroad do not contribute to human rights abuses.” READ MORE
Cabinet proposes to end homelessness by 2036 after abandoning an earlier target to end homelessness by 2030. Failure to achieve results showed it was “a hard problem,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters: 'Previous well-intentioned efforts have fallen short.' READ MORE
Nearly a quarter million temporary foreign residents in Canada now eligible for permanent status are mainly Ukrainian war refugees and migrant workers, says Prime Minister Mark Carney. Cabinet announced the quota in its budget last Thursday without specifying whether it applied to illegal immigrants facing deportation: "Who are these people?" READ MORE
The Department of Veterans Affairs will not recognize Indigenous fighters of pre-Confederation Canada as veterans. The honour was sought by the Assembly of First Nations: "Veterans Affairs Canada defines a veteran as ‘any former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who successfully completed basic training and was honourably discharged." READ MORE
The Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to take over management of the largest private military cemetery in the nation at a $15.9 million cost. The National Field of Honour at Pointe-Claire, Que. was established in 1929 by private donors as a dignified resting place for impoverished veterans facing a pauper’s grave: "No man who has given his services in defence of his country should be buried as a pauper." READ MORE
Poet W.N. Branson writes: "The geese flee south in the moonlight, a weird eerie sight. Silent dark shadows gliding in that putrefying light. The report of a rifle: a shock, a flash..." READ MORE
My grandfather worked as a school custodian for decades in the Toronto District School Board, a man who swept and mopped the floors, who kept the classrooms tidy and locked up at the end of the night so that children had a place to learn and teachers had a place to work. I carry his story with me. When I was 15 years old, I failed the Ontario literacy test. At the age of 30, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. As long as I am honoured to call myself a Member of Parliament, I hope I can be a walking, talking reminder that people should never give up.
