The CBC prompted protests from Seoul by repeatedly identifying South Korean athletes as Chinese at the Winter Olympics. It was the biggest gaffe of its kind since the Government of Canada put up German flags to welcome a delegation from Belgium: "We want people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities to feel valued, seen and heard by CBC." READ MORE
The federal IT department Shared Services Canada has awarded millions in “rolling” sole-sourced contracts to the same suppliers over 90-day periods, records show. Cabinet in 2018 granted federal managers new powers to award contracts without competitive bidding: "How many instances have occurred?" READ MORE
The transport department is hiring private sector consultants to monitor spending on a multi-billion dollar high-speed rail venture. Cabinet said it needed “financial analysis” of the project that has been announced and re-announced for years: "This is real now." READ MORE
Prime Minister Arthur Meighen lived for years on tree-lined Cooper Street in Ottawa. He owned a rambling Georgian Revival-style home. Meighen raised a family, sent his three children to Ottawa public schools and crafted the most momentous legislation of his era. Today the house is gone, replaced with an ugly apartment block. READ MORE
Twenty-six percent of all new federal prisoners have already served time, which begs the question: Whatever happened to the other 74 percent who served time and never returned? On The Outside looks for answers. The result is fresh and compelling research on life after prison. The authors interview longtime inmates including those jailed for serious violent crimes that once earned the death penalty. One hides his past from his children and “aspires to a simple life filled with laughter.” Another complains he must learn how to buy groceries: “People have been cooking my meals for twenty-two years and all of a sudden I gotta cook my breakfast.” A third ex-convict is upset by the loss of civility in polite society: “Personal rudeness in the prison system is not tolerated under any circumstances, at least in the old days when I was there.” On The Outside is no celebration of rehabilitation. Former inmates interviewed by the authors appear broken men, some guilt-ridden, some unapologetic. READ MORE
Canadians are indifferent to claims of labour shortages by businesses that rely on foreign workers, says Department of Immigration research. Even people with mild views on immigration were “unpersuaded” by complaints from employers: 'Some suggested they may depress wages and used foreign workers to drive down costs.' READ MORE
Tax appeals that should take 120 days may take years based on a federal redefinition of time. The disclosure came in a labour board hearing for a Canada Revenue Agency appeals officer demoted for working too slowly: "On occasion it takes years." READ MORE
In small-town Saskatchewan in those days if your parents didn’t own a farm or a business where you might work there were few choices, actually. One was to join the RCMP. Another was to join the military. The third option was to get a job in a bank, so that’s what I did. I started off as a ledger keeper and finally got promoted as teller. Banking was very different then. You basically took people’s money, looked after it, and if you did lend it was only to customers with a huge amount of collateral.
