Canada’s population shrank slightly since July for the first time since 1971, Statistics Canada said yesterday. Analysts said the decline was due to the flight of thousands of foreign students and migrant workers whose permits had expired: "Every province and territory except Alberta and Nunavut saw population decreases."
A York University researcher assigned to work on pro-Palestine reports at taxpayers’ expense called Canada a “racist settler colonial state,” records show. Cabinet advisor Amira Elghawaby met personally with the author and approved the assignment, but yesterday had no comment: "Thank you for the work you are doing."
Cabinet yesterday agreed to issue a new toonie commemorating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the CN Tower. Once dubbed an unexciting concrete pillar that went twice over budget, the Tower today is an iconic “symbol of national pride,” it said.
Employees at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ran up nearly $17,000 in traffic tickets, records show. Bad drivers were told to cover fines out of pocket though other federal agencies charged taxpayers for infractions from photo radar to parking in a towing zone: "How many have received tickets?"
Federal judges have faulted the Department of Indigenous Services for dismissing appeals to fix First Nations housing so substandard it made schoolchildren ill. The Federal Court of Appeal ruling followed Minister Mandy Gull-Masty's pledge to "deliver the proper care for children."
Cabinet advisor Amira Elghawaby secretly paid $80,000 for pro-Palestine research to counter alleged “disinformation" by MPs, senators and media, Access To Information records disclose. Elghawaby's Office of the Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia had flatly denied the confidential funding at taxpayers' expense: "Thank you again for this impeccable work."
The Department of Industry sought tips from Value Village on “affordability,” Access To Information records show. The nation’s largest commercial second-hand retailer met top federal executives to discuss the benefits of thrift, said a staff memo: "What strategies has Value Village used?"
A&W Restaurant franchisees in Québec say they face closure without migrant labour. Owners in a petition to the Commons human resources committee said they could find no Québecers willing to work in fast food: 'They are currently the only labour force truly available to fill positions that Québec workers refuse.'
A new $20 banknote will include unprecedented security features to combat counterfeiting, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said yesterday. “You’ll have to wait for the unveiling,” he said.
The Alberta Court of Appeal yesterday struck down a 1912 law that required new lawyers to swear allegiance to the King. Most other provinces had already repealed the requirement: "'I will be faithful and bear true allegiance’ are not the words of an ordinary undertaking."
The Budget Office yesterday challenged Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne to explain why he seeks a 20 percent hike in the national debt ceiling. The increase would take permitted borrowing to a record $2.54 trillion: "This is more than required."
The Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations is sealing all reports filed by a Kamloops, B.C. First Nation that was paid to exhume the purported graves of 215 children at an Indian Residential School. “Confidential information,” the department wrote in denying an Access To Information request for the records: "None of these sites have been investigated further."
Anti-Semitic slurs are now commonplace among medical students, Jewish interns and health care practitioners in three provinces have told the Senate human rights committee. Doctors in Alberta, Manitoba and Québec said bigotry was part of everyday life on campus: "For a profession whose core principles include impartiality, evidence and care for all patients, this is profoundly corrosive."
CBC and Al Jazeera viewers consider themselves uniquely informed, says an Elections Canada report. The two TV networks were named by self-described “informed” voters when asked where they got their news: 'They tended to rely on certain media outlets.'
The Canada Revenue Agency has a duty to explain itself when rejecting taxpayers’ appeals, says a federal judge. “Trust us” was insufficient, ruled the Federal Court of Appeals: "This is no small thing."
