CBC News publicly cancelled an editorial order 30 minutes after learning of cabinet’s disapproval, records show. The TV network has repeatedly denied following Liberal “political winds or influences,” according to former CEO Catherine Tait: "Independence is critical to the trust Canadians place in us."
Canada Post has removed 600 city sidewalk mailboxes this year as a cost-cutting measure. Removal of what management called “street furniture” came as the corporation ran up $482 million in pre-tax losses for the first six months of the year: "Changes are critical."
Federal judges have upheld a $20,000 cap on compensation for pain and suffering under the Canadian Human Rights Act. Legal commentators including now-Governor General Louise Arbour had criticized the limit set a generation ago by Parliament: "Removing the cap on damages would go a long way to increase access to justice."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “You envision a world of perfect harmony…”
Poverty is called a trap, though millions of Canadians have escaped it using subtle methods. The Department of Employment, an anti-poverty agency, is not good at this. “The welfare state, which imposes order from above and requires specific outcomes, fails on many levels,” write Joe and Stephanie Mancini. “Access to basic necessities of life is often denied because someone does not fit into bureaucratic categories, or because they cannot navigate complex rule-based systems.”
The Mancinis’ Transition To Common Work is a crisp critique of the welfare state written by a devoutly Catholic husband and wife committed to aiding the poor. This is not a rant about the dole. It is an eloquent account of the subtle, human remedies for despair.
An international agency, the Great Lakes Commission, yesterday had no comment after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the renaming of Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The purported change takes effect in 30 days: "This is official."
The Department of Health paid a pollster nearly $100,000 to ask Canadians what environmental steps they took to get fresh air in the home. The most popular response: “Open a window.”
Cabinet yesterday abruptly revised its list of American imports subject to retaliatory tariffs to remove 25 percent duties on fish and seafood products. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne gave no reason when asked by reporters: "What message does it send to Americans?"
An internal report is faulting Labour Minister Patty Hajdu’s department for poor service and growing backlogs of unresolved complaints under the Canada Labour Code. “Backlogs have increased significantly,” wrote auditors.
Taxpayers paid $487.9 million to plant 228 million trees under the now-disbanded Two Billion Trees Program, records show. Official figures counted millions of saplings scheduled for planting in national parks that were not actually planted: "The program made strong progress."
A newly-registered Commons petition yesterday challenged Prime Minister Mark Carney to reinstate a $3.7 billion Google tax he suspended 14 months ago as “part of a bigger negotiation” with the United States. Collapse of trade talks cleared the way to revive the tax approved by Parliament, wrote petitioners: "This tax concession has yielded no lasting benefit."
Costs of lawyers’ billable hours on land claims and other Indigenous litigation went up 24 percent after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau disbanded the old Department of Indian Affairs to create two new departments, figures show. “Roles and responsibilities are not always understood,” wrote auditors.
Civil defence planners in 1954 proposed drawing up a “brains and skill” A-list of gifted Canadians to be saved in case of nuclear war, newly-declassified records show. People whose intelligence was deemed essential would help rebuild a postwar world, said a secret memo: "Special facilities should be provided to preserve the lives of persons whose intelligence and experience may be essential."
Ron Hallman, the $327,000-a year Parks Canada CEO responsible for forest management, was given a hero’s farewell in retirement with an Army band and testimonial by a former prime minister, Access To Information records show. No mention was made of the disastrous 2024 Jasper fire: "Showcase Ron’s accomplishments."
Cabinet yesterday approved a rare deer cull at a national historic site. The Department of Environment in a legal notice called it a question of public safety: "A controlled cull was determined to be the most effective approach."
