by

Review: Anytown On August 4, 1914

Every hometown has its triumphs and tragedies, but few produce writers as evocative as Professor Jonathan Vance of Western University, one of the most skillful Canadian historians of his generation. Vance chronicles his town’s collision with the First World War, a fascination born in Vance’s youth when he walked door to door as a hydro meter reader in the Township of East Flamborough and spoke to ordinary neighbours with extraordinary experiences. “The statistics say that about 8 percent of its population served in uniform and about 1 percent died – or , if you prefer raw numbers, 210 out of 2,400 served and 28 died,” writes Vance. “But how much do those numbers actually reveal?” READ MORE

Exec Bonus Averaged $17,869

Bonuses for federal executives averaged nearly $18,000 in 2024, according to figures detailed in a year-end briefing note. Updated numbers on 2025 bonuses are due shortly, said the Treasury Board: "How does it work in the public sector?" READ MORE

Puts Gov’t Job Cuts At 40,000

Federal job cuts will total about 40,000 by 2029, according to Treasury Board briefing notes. Board President Shafqat Ali has declined to specify actual numbers of layoffs since it “impacts those public service employees and not only them, their families." READ MORE

MP Wants 100% Secular Meat

A Bloc Québécois MP is sponsoring a Commons petition to cancel all subsidies for halal and kosher meat processing in Canada. MP Martin Champoux (Drummond, Que.) earlier expressed outrage after the Department of Agriculture awarded a multi-million dollar subsidy to a halal butcher in Prince Edward Island: "It is not the government's job." READ MORE

Punish 58 At Transport Dep’t

The Department of Transport last year disciplined 58 employees for workplace misconduct. Violations covered “a wide range” of wrongdoing from rudeness to theft, said managers: "Even a single instance is unacceptable." READ MORE

Press MPs For More Tax Facts

Parliament should compel the Canada Revenue Agency to annually report on offshore tax evaders including successful prosecutions, says a labour submission to the Commons finance committee. The Commons seven years ago defeated a similar private bill: "Transparency is essential." READ MORE

Budget Office Fact Checks PM

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s claim of “fast tracking a trillion dollars of investment” is grossly inflated and drawn mainly from reannouncements of old spending, according to Budget Office figure released yesterday. Carney repeated the claim Tuesday in a speech to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos: "We are going to put more than $3,000 in the pocket of every Canadian." READ MORE

← Previous Articles

Guest Commentary

Gagan Sikand

The Happy Land

My parents are Sikh, from the Punjab. Life here was difficult at first. My father had a master’s degree in economics but worked in a factory for the first time in his life. Amid success and setbacks, I never heard my parents say a disparaging word about our country, not once. Mom defined Canada in her own terms: the people are polite, she said. My brother and I grew up in Mississauga, enjoying a wonderful suburban childhood. We cruised the streets on our bicycles, played road hockey and went to Temple. It was quiet and peaceful, the Canadian dream.