🐎Almost 1.5M people attended this year's Calgary Stampede

The organization said 1,477,953 people visited the grounds during the last 10 days, an all-time record for the event.

#Alberta
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Fort William First Nation declares state of emergency over drug epidemic

Fort William First Nation in northwestern Ontario has declared a state of emergency as the community struggles with an ongoing drug epidemic.

The state of emergency was announced Friday by Chief Michele Solomon and formally passed by council on Monday.

#Ontario
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🎓University of Saskatchewan implements first-of-its-kind anti-fraud system to prevent Inuit pretenders

A new anti-fraud system, which has been under development for two years, breaks with the previous practice of trusting the students blindly.

Now proof of ancestry from specific indigenous groups are required to access some of the university's scholarship programs.

This measure is long overdue.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

🎓'Not a back-door entry to citizenship' Marc Miller stresses importance of caps on international students

The era of uncapped intake of international students is over, federal immigration minister Marc Miller said during a visit to Calgary.

We have to make this a system that is more quality-oriented. We have to make sure that we have more diversity, more qualified, more talented bunch of people coming into the country, and to make sure that they know exactly what they’re getting into — Canada is not a cheap place to live in.

Miller gave an interview on Saturday following a ceremony at Stampede where 25 people were granted Canadian citizenship.

In other words: liberals are still fine with mass immigration, as long as it gives them diversity points and future votes.

#immigration
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💰❌'I can’t wait to defund the CBC': Pierre Poilievre

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has renewed his pledge to “defund the CBC” after the board of directors for CBC and Radio-Canada has approved bonuses for some staff for work they did in the most recent fiscal year.

The move, which was confirmed Monday, came amid outcry that 1,194 eligible employees working for the public broadcaster would receive bonuses in a year when 141 employees were laid off and 205 vacant positions were eliminated.

I can’t wait to defund the CBC and sell off the headquarters for housing.

Poilievre wrote in a post shared to X along with a link inviting his followers to a website calling on the Liberals to end subsidies to the state broadcaster.

#Poilievre
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📊Canadians think Quebec gets more than it gives to federation: poll

A new poll indicated that many Canadians think Quebec is the federation’s biggest beneficiary.

Angus Reid, a non-profit opinion research institute, asked 2,021 Canadians if they think any provinces “get an extra advantage — that is, they get more than they give being part of Canada.”

🔹Forty-two per cent of Canadians polled said Quebec garners an extra advantage.

🔹Majorities in every region other than Ontario and Quebec said Quebec gets more than it gives.

🔹Alberta was the top choice when Angus Reid asked which provinces give more than they receive.

#Quebec #Alberta
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💰Canada's economy appears to have achieved soft landing, says IMF

Canada's economy appears to have achieved a soft landing, the IMF said on Tuesday, essentially referring to a scenario where interest rates are high enough to bring inflation down to the central bank's target without causing a recession.

Canada's economy has been posting positive growth this year, although economists say it is lackluster, and the rate of inflation has consistently stayed in the bank's target range of 1% to 3%, albeit hovering at the upper end.

On Tuesday, Statistics Canada data showed that consumer prices cooled more than expected to 2.7%, bolstering to an almost certainty of a second rate cut by the Bank of Canada next week.

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Fewer immigrants are deciding to become Canadian citizens

The 2021 and 2016 Census reported fewer immigrants are choosing to become Canadian citizens.

According to new data released by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), the proportion of people becoming citizens within 10 years of their arrival in Canada has dropped by 40 per cent.

The numbers indicate citizenship uptake is the lowest among highly educated economic immigrants, and the ICC’s CEO said it’s because they are weighing their options before taking the oath.

Trudeau is willing to sell his soul to bring in as many migrants as possible and they don't even want citizenship. Maybe it's time for us to become less inviting?

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'Diverted safe supply is being resold into our community': London police confirm drug diversion a growing concern

For the first time, London police are speaking out about the diversion of safe supply drugs happening in the city.

Diverted safe supply is being resold into our community – its being trafficked into other communities, and it is being used as currency in exchange for fentanyl, fueling the drug trade.

said Chief Thai Truong.

It was clear from the beginning that it would come to this.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

Trudeau cabinet to meet Friday as speculation around a shuffle swirls

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet is expected to meet on Friday. The agenda sets aside 30 minutes for ministers to meet virtually Friday morning, to talk about "appointments."

The meeting comes amid speculation around the prime minister shaking up his inner circle.

#Trudeau
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💸Toronto’s ‘after’ math: Total damage from flash flood could surpass $1 billion

The total cost of Tuesday’s flash flood in Toronto could easily surpass $1 billion — and the government and homeowners will be paying for most of it.

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, Tuesday’s storm is comparable to the historic 2013 flood in Toronto, which resulted in $1 billion in insured residential and commercial damage (adjusted for inflation in 2021) and was among the 10 most expensive natural disasters in Canada.

#Ontatio
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🚙Auto theft decreased by 14% in Ontario while Quebec dropped 36%

An insurance fraud prevention group says auto thefts were down 17 per cent during the first six months of 2024, compared to the same period last year.
In Ontario, auto theft decreased by 14 per cent while Quebec saw a 36 per cent decline in stolen vehicles.

Équité Association says the drop can be attributed to multiple factors, including increased border patrol and police collaboration, government action and better public awareness.

Hot take: no more cars to steal?

#Ontario #Quebec
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💉Edmonton leading Alberta in opioid deaths despite recent improvements

Edmonton remains Alberta’s municipality with the most opioid-related deaths, according to recently released provincial data.

While Edmonton tops the list, both the city and the province as a whole have seen a decrease in opioid-related deaths when compared to the same period last year.

Opioid-related deaths in Alberta fell from 436 between Oct. and Dec. 2023 to 355 between Jan. and Mar. 2024, an 18.6% decrease. During the same three-month period in 2023, Alberta saw 442 opioid-related deaths, decreasing 19.7%.

#Alberta
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Should these people be allowed “safe” access to drugs?

#BritishColumbia
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High-profile Liberal minister quitting cabinet, not running in next election

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan has announced he will not run in the next federal election, and will be quitting his cabinet position Friday.

O’Regan made the announcement in a social media post Thursday.

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🇨🇦🇨🇳Mélanie Joly's surprise visit to China is first by Canadian foreign minister in 7 years

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is making a surprise visit to China in an effort to thaw relations between the two countries — the first face-to-face talks in Beijing involving a Canadian foreign minister in nearly seven years.

Love–hate relationship.

#China
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🇨🇦🇨🇳🇷🇺Chief of Defence Staff says Canada, U.S., have five years to prepare for new threats from Russia and China

General Jennie Carignan said she estimates Canada has about five years to prepare to meet new long-range threats to the continent from Russia and China.

Carignan says both countries are developing new hypersonic missiles that can fly five times the speed of sound and change course mid-flight. This means, unlike with ballistic missiles, a targeted country cannot quickly predict where such missiles will land. Other threats include advanced cruise missiles and advanced ballistic missiles.

#China #Russia
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Immigration Minister Marc Miller's Montreal office vandalized by protesters

The Montreal offices of Liberal MP and federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller suffered what appeared to be thousands of dollars of damage after being vandalized on Thursday.

The St-Jacques St. office’s windows were smashed and covered with pink paint and vandals wrote: “Marc Miller Child Killer” in spray paint across the office’s facade.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

Poilievre vows to fire envoy as Canada buys a $9M condo for diplomat in NYC

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to fire Canada’s consul general in New York City if the Tories wins the next federal election.

In a post on social media, Poilievre called the former journalist, Tom Clark, a Liberal media hack in response to the government’s decision to buy a $9-million condominium in Manhattan.

#US
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Supreme Court confirms state is liable when Parliament enacts unconstitutional laws

The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed the federal government does not have absolute immunity from liability when Parliament enacts laws that are later overturned as unconstitutional.

The decision upholds a 2002 ruling — Mackin v. New Brunswick (Minister of Finance) — that says the state does have limited liability when it enacts unconstitutional laws, but only when those laws are "clearly wrong, in bad faith or an abuse of power."

The hearing was unusual because all ten provinces intervened in the case.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

💵Population growth ‘masked’ Canada’s ‘recession-like economic backdrop’

Nathan Janzen, RBC assistant chief economist, and RBC economist Carrie Freestone said in a report Wednesday that as per-person output is declining in Canada’s economy, population growth prevented outright declines in Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP). The report notes that this is occurring alongside unemployment rate increases that would be expected in a typical recession.

Higher interest rates alongside decades-high inflation in 2022-23 ate away at household purchasing power. Weaker demand spurred a rise in the unemployment rate of a size that historically only happens in recessions.

But decades-high population growth has masked this recession-like economic backdrop. Canada has added 2.1 million additional consumers since mid-2022.

🍁 Maple Chronicles