A federal panel assigned to combat anti-Semitism yesterday had no comment on figures showing Jews remain a leading target of hate crimes nationwide. One advocacy group calculated Jews are now 22 times more likely than gentiles to be a crime victim in Canada: ‘“What do they propose to protect the Jewish community? An Advisory Council.”
The Department of Immigration has rejected more Gaza foreign study permits than it’s accepted, records show. No reason was given, though a briefing note said applicants were subject to security screening with photos and fingerprints: “Applications have been refused.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday walked away from reporters when asked if he misled the public over billions in toll concessions secretly granted the United States on the Gordie Howe International Bridge at Windsor, Ont. A public ceremony commemorating the July 27 opening with U.S. guests was cancelled: “Did you mislead Canadians, sir?”
The RCMP says it has no records divulging who told police to abruptly cancel a planned criminal investigation of the killings of scores of Canadians in Iran in 2020. Records show the investigation was dropped after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a friendly meeting with Iran’s foreign minister: ‘There is no evidence RCMP members were motivated by political considerations.’
The CBC will use record funding this year to “combat disinformation,” says a Department of Heritage briefing note. Broadcast executives to date have declined to tell the Budget Office or the public specifically what measures it contemplates: “The government is exploring options.”
Canada could “dismantle the United States if we wanted to,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said yesterday in denouncing $28 billion in new White House tariffs. “They need to feel the pain,” he told reporters.
A Commons petition asks that cabinet conduct a national naming contest to commemorate a proposed $35 billion West Coast pipeline. The petition was submitted by a Toronto comedian and climate activist, Aaron Hagey-Mackey: “Any citizen or resident of Canada may submit and vote on proposed names online, the winning name to be adopted as the project’s official name.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney last night acknowledged new U.S. tariffs will cost Canadians but proposed no new initiatives. Under current law it would take an Act of Parliament to enter negotiations with the United States over dairy quotas: “This trade dispute has raised costs for families.”
The cost of living is now “a critical issue,” says a Department of Agriculture briefing note. New federal data yesterday showed the rising price of food continues to outpace the general inflation rate as it has since 2024: “Affordability remains a critical issue.”
A tenth of employers inspected by the labour department over migrant hiring are in breach of regulations, says a federal memo. Inspectors documented complaints from below-market wages to “possible situations of mistreatment.”
The Canada Revenue Agency broke federal law in attempting to force a Christian employee to take a Covid shot, a federal labour board has ruled. The adjudicator in the case awarded $5,000 in damages to an Agency manager suspended without pay: “The employer violated the collective agreement and the Canadian Human Rights Act.”
A Senate bill to regulate gaming ads is unsafe, say online bookies and casino operators. The gaming lobby appealed to MPs not to pass the bill as adopted by the Senate last October 21: “Restricting gambling advertising is unlikely to prevent people from betting.”
Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez’s department is the first to delete all departmental Twitter accounts. An Access To Information memo said hurtful remarks by the public on social media “created significant mental strain for employees.”
Nearly 13,000 people sleep in cars, alleys or abandoned buildings nationwide according to new data by Housing Minister Gregor Robertson’s department. The count of homeless people, the most comprehensive to date, found another 4,700 slept in tent cities: ‘Unsheltered locations included streets, alleys, parks, transit stations, abandoned buildings, vehicles, ravines and other outdoor locations.’
Liberal MP Lori Idlout (Nunavut) cannot act as a federal contractor, the Ethics Commissioner has ruled. Idlout was major shareholder in a company that received hundreds of thousands to conduct Indigenous workshops for federal employees: “I am ordered by the Ethics Commissioner.”
