A union’s 12-year defamation claim against Toronto journalist Jerry Agar has been dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeal. Judges upheld a lower court ruling that “heated” or “colourful” debate on current events was “what a free and democratic society does.”
Parliament’s 2023 passage of the Online News Act left Canadians, especially those in rural areas, too reliant on mainstream media and “official voices” in news coverage, says a report to the Commons heritage committee. The Act provoked a Facebook news ban that left communities “lacking credible information on the platform they used most,” it said.
Canadian parents remain wary of Covid shots for children even years after the pandemic, new Public Health Agency data show. Current vaccination rates run as low as 12 percent: ‘They object to what they saw as an attempt to make them feel guilty.’
More Canadians owe more than ever, says a Financial Consumer Agency of Canada memo. The release of the document yesterday followed a warning by bankruptcy trustees that millions of Canadians have “no margin for error.”
A squatter’s tent in a city park meets the legal definition of “accommodation,” the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has ruled in a far-reaching judgment on urban encampments. The decision came in the case of a homeless Halifax man denied welfare for shelter costs since he had no shelter: “The ordinary meaning of the word ‘accommodation’ is broad.”
A Montréal judge has certified a class action lawsuit against McGill University for failing to curb anti-Semitic disorder on campus. The decision allowing the case to proceed to trial coincided with a new federal report condemning Canadian universities for Jew hate: “Universities are not immune from the intervention of the courts.”
A federal panel assigned months ago to combat anti-Semitism has convened one meeting to date with no agenda or work plan, a member said yesterday. Heritage Minister Marc Miller announced the panel last February with a “mission to foster social cohesion.”
The Army Cadet League, longest-running federal youth program in the nation, is petitioning MPs for millions in special funding on complaints of rising costs. Army and Air Cadets in a joint submission to Parliament said extra funding was needed for expenses from hall rentals to liability insurance: “The Cadet program is facing increasing financial pressures.”
The number of asylum claims in Canada has been halved since Parliament passed legislation granting cabinet new powers to suspend foreigners’ permits, data show. The Department of Immigration in a briefing note said it had rejected more claims since the law was changed: ‘While it is still too early to assess trends, we can confirm an increase in asylum claims that have been found ineligible.’
The Budget Office will undertake the first public review of new costs on the Gordie Howe International Bridge following toll concessions to the United States, an MP said yesterday. Cabinet to date has attempted to block any public scrutiny of concessions after the Prime Minister misrepresented terms: “Canadians deserve answers.”
Newly-declassified records show the military lifted a ban on gay recruits in part after overestimating by fourfold the number of LGBTQ members in the Canadian Armed Forces. Canada was among the first countries to announce recruitment of gay soldiers, sailors and air crew: “Upwards to 10 percent of the military could have homosexual orientation to some degree.”
Foreign agents have until October 3 to register with Foreign Influence Transparency Commissioner Anton Boegman under threat of $1 million fines. The long-promised initiative came into force yesterday: “Citizens need to see this work in action.”
The federal Green Party today opens a campaign to choose its sixth leader in seven years, a parliamentary record. Current leader MP Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands B.C.), 72, confirmed her retirement after suffering a 2023 stroke and disastrous 2025 election: “I am so lucky to be alive.”
A long-promised national flood insurance program would see homeowners at greatest risk pay about $350 in surcharges under threat of being disqualified from disaster relief, according to Access To Information records. The finance department has been reviewing details of the program since 2020: “The premium threshold is currently envisioned as being set at $350.”
The Canada Revenue Agency “turns a blind eye to rich taxpayers and corporations” when it comes to audits, says in-house Agency research. Public skepticism followed a significant drop in the number of audits targeting wealthy tax filers: “Rich people have an easier time tax cheating than middle class Canadians.”
