Access To Information records show the transport department arranged a “healing circle” for employees after some questioned whether 215 children were buried at an Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C. Comments were “uninformed, wrong and hurtful,” the deputy minister wrote in a staff memo: "I had people come to see me in tears." READ MORE
The Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision yesterday reopened an ethics probe into then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's dealings with a federal contractor, We Charity. Judges struck a federal law shielding the federal Ethics Commissioner from a legal challenge of his handling of the case: "You don’t let the Prime Minister off with a ruling that is legally incorrect." READ MORE
All federal employees are required to sign a yearly pledge that they are not involved in any conflicts of interest, says a Treasury Board memo. Board president Shafqat Ali earlier told MPs he expected everyone to obey the rules: "Results will be communicated in due course." READ MORE
Cabinet’s plan to spend $90 billion on regional high speed rail is opposed even by Canadians able to take the train, says in-house Privy Council research. Federal focus groups in Eastern Ontario and Québec called the venture costly and unnecessary: 'There were more urgent priorities.' READ MORE
Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin’s department has cut spending limits on government-issue credit cards by a third as a precaution against fraud, says an internal audit. The initiative follows longstanding complaints of irregularities involving credit card misuse government-wide: “Their use carries a degree of inherent risks such as errors, misuse or fraud." READ MORE
Liberal MPs yesterday by a 5 to 4 vote blocked Commons committee hearings into secretly negotiated toll concessions on the Gordie Howe International Bridge at Windsor, Ont. One MP expressed resentment that Canadians would think the Prime Minister lied to taxpayers over terms: "I am a little offended by the insinuations." READ MORE
Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday said he decided months ago to repeal production fees on Netflix and other video streaming services though he voted for them in the Commons. Carney denied changing his mind under U.S. pressure: "No, not at all." READ MORE
My mother and my grandmother made most of our clothes when we were growing up. It was a normal day to get up and go out and get your water and cut your wood and go hunting or fishing. People might consider it to be a hard life, but for us it was not a hard life, it was a normal life. And the contentment to be able to go out and get what you need from the land, there’s a certain tranquility about that. As soon as I started going to school, I realized there were a lot of changes happening in our community.
