Canada must “source domestically for federal contracts,” Public Works Minister Joel Lightbound said yesterday after touring a British Columbia shipyard. He made no mention of outsourcing shipyard jobs to China through a billion-dollar contract currently under investigation by the Commons transport committee: 'We're creating a prosperous economy.'
Parks Canada yesterday without comment deleted all reference to “genocide” in its latest historic site designation of an Indian Residential School. The agency as recently as last February 12 called the schools "cultural genocide."
Auditors are within their rights to estimate actual income of all-cash businesses, the Québec Court of Appeal has ruled. Judges upheld a reassessment of $30,031,393 in taxes and penalties against Sami Fruits, a retail chain that grew from a single fruit stand in Montréal: "Sami’s way of operating and accounting did not keep pace with the company’s growth."
Canadians rate religious extremism a greater threat to public order than neo-Nazis, says in-house research by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. It follows numerous anti-Semitic street protests and the 2023 assassination of a Sikh nationalist in Surrey, B.C.: "Overall six in ten, 57 percent, feel Canada is more dangerous."
Up to a third of stock analysts predict a recession by year’s end, the Bank of Canada said yesterday. Its survey of market participants followed Governor Tiff Macklem’s assurance there will be no recession in 2025: "What is the probability of real GDP growth in Canada being below zero at the end of 2025?"
An Elections Canada report debunks cabinet claims a fixed date for balloting had to be delayed due to conflicts with the Hindu calendar. One day was as conflicted as another, says a newly-released report on the proposal Opposition MPs called a pension grab under the guise of cultural sensitivity: "The date was moved not for any cultural event."
About a third of desk phones have been permanently disconnected at federal offices, says a memo by the government’s IT department Shared Services Canada. And more than 91,000 government-issue cellphones were found to be unused, figures show: "The average monthly cost of unused phone service plans was $253,832."
Postsecondary graduates typically find work they enjoy in their chosen field but at lower pay than they hoped, says a tracking study by the Department of Employment. Fewer than a third of graduates expressed regrets, said the report released yesterday: "What are student debt loads at graduation and three years later?"
Cabinet’s own green fuel regulations may leave Canadians more reliant on American gas and diesel imports, says a briefing note by Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin’s department. Canadian makers of products like biodiesel were struggling to meet expected demand under a federal mandate, it said: "Canada’s low carbon fuel industry is struggling."
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney will join speakers at a Liberal-affiliated Ottawa think tank to discuss “national progress” at $470 a ticket, say organizers. Kenney's host, Canada 2020, was formerly chaired by Mark Carney: "Be part of the conversation."
The military is awarding a six-figure, sole-sourced contract for psychometric training to “provide insights into core emotional motivations and fears,” according to the Department of National Defence. Managers hired a British consultant who also sells workshops on self-esteem and romantic relationships: 'It has its roots in a deeply spiritual journey.'
A $2 billion retroactive pay hike for the Canadian Armed Forces covers about a fifth of the sum required to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney’s NATO pledge, figures show. “This is part of the strategic investment to meet NATO’s two percent defence spending target,” said Carney.
The CBC did not identify terrorists in news stories because the term reflected a "certain narrative" and was “highly politicized,” an executive wrote in a newly-disclosed letter. The editorial policy drew censure from MPs and led to thousands of complaints: "We must always choose our words carefully."
Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: “Time for Michelangelo’s performance review. Focus on how. Four years painting a ceiling. Creativity a concern: themes copied from Bible…”
In 1874 a Scottish immigrant ship the Moravian glided past the pretty farms and hamlets of the St. Lawrence River valley. Passengers gathered on deck after a long transatlantic journey.
“A discussion broke out among a number of the ship’s passengers,” writes author Peter Price. “‘Who are Canadians?’ asked one person. For the gathered passengers, most of whom were laying eyes on the shores of Canada for the first time, it was a question with no obvious answer. A ‘person born in Canada is always considered a Canadian,’ one person insisted. This answer made little sense to another, who retorted that ‘a fellow can’t be a horse because he was born in a stable.’”
Yet Canada survived. Most nations indexed in the 19th century atlas did not. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czarist Russia, Kingdoms of Bavaria, Serbia and Hawaii, Republic of Cuba, Qing Empire, Orange Free State, all gone. The list of industrialized nations to survive intact for 158 years without civil war is a short list, yet Canada did it.
