Public servant named in ArriveCan controversy denies responsibility for contracting issues

A public servant who has been named multiple times in parliamentary hearings on the ArriveCan controversy is denying responsibility for the project's contracting issues.

Diane Daly, an employee with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), appeared Wednesday before the House public accounts committee, which has been investigating ArriveCan's soaring costs.

Daly told the committee that she was seconded to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) while ArriveCan was being developed. She said she had no authority to make decisions about the contracting process and insisted that her role was largely an administrative one.

No one wants to take responsibility.

🍁 Maple Chronicles

Canada unexpectedly loses 2,800 jobs in July

Canada's economy shed a net 2,800 jobs in July, as gains in full-time work were offset by part-time job losses, while the unemployment rate remained at a 30-month high of 6.4 per cent, data showed on Friday.

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Real estate insolvencies in Canada set to surpass levels of global financial crisis

Residential property developers are facing rising insolvencies as they struggle with higher borrowing and construction costs – and industry experts warn the trend is likely to worsen as interest expenses remain elevated.

From January to May this year, there was an average of 20 real estate, rental or leasing insolvencies in Canada every month. Companies either sought bankruptcy protection or filed creditor proposals to make it easier for them to manage their debts under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

At this pace, Canada is on track to reach about 240 real estate insolvencies this year, which would be 57-per-cent higher than 2023 and 13-per-cent higher than 2009, when a wide swath of businesses ran into problems owing to the financial crisis and global recession.

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❗️Appeal court strikes down law on searching phones, tablets and laptops at border

The law allowing Canadian border officers to search people’s personal devices is unconstitutional, Ontario’s top court has ruled, giving Parliament six months to come up with new legislation.

The Ontario Court of Appeal said in a 114-page decision released Friday that there’s a need for a higher threshold justifying a search of travellers’ phones, tablets and laptops, after concluding the current law violates the right to be free from unreasonable searches guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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🩺 These 17 cancers are on the rise in younger generations

The study, published in The Lancet this month, found that 17 of the 34 most common cancers diagnosed between the ages of 25 to 84 are on the rise in younger people. More than half of the cancers are linked to obesity, consistent with the rise in childhood obesity among recent generations.

The rise in cancer rates was particularly evident in millennials born around 1990. The number of new cancers of the small intestine, kidney and pancreas was two to three times higher in people in their mid-30s than in boomers — specifically those born around 1955.

#healthcare
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Most Canadians think adding Mark Carney to cabinet would have no benefit to Trudeau

While Canadians have a more favourable view of former central banker Mark Carney than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, most don’t think adding him to the minority government’s cabinet would help the Liberals’ fortunes, according to a new poll by Nanos Research.

The poll shows 39 per cent of respondents believe appointing Mr. Carney as finance minister would have no impact on how people vote. A further 29 per cent said it would help the Liberals be more competitive in the next election, 8 per cent said it would make the incumbent less competitive, and 24 per cent said they were unsure.

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Athlete, OnlyFans star Alysha Newman twerks to celebrate winning Olympic bronze medal

Canadian pole vaulter and OnlyFans star Alysha Newman went viral last Wednesday after celebrating her Olympic bronze medal by twerking.

Soon after concluding her record-setting performance, Newman shook her butt toward the crowds and television cameras — a move that would later divide the Internet on whether she was trying to promote her OnlyFans or just celebrating with a dance.

We don't claim her.

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👊Another massive brawl took place in Khalistan Brampton on Friday.

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Canada’s temporary foreign worker program a ‘breeding ground’ for modern slavery, UN report concludes

A final report by UN investigator Tomoya Obokata concludes that Canada’s temporary foreign worker program is a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.

The special rapporteur retains the view that the temporary foreign worker program serves as a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery, as it institutionalizes asymmetries of power that favour employers and prevent workers from exercising their rights.

states the final report, which is dated July 22 and was recently posted online.

That's one hot take. The UN is a joke.

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New human rights commissioner resigns before starting role

Canada's human rights commissioner Birju Dattani has resigned before ever officially starting the job, according to a post on his LinkedIn account.

Dattani agreed to go on leave last week — the day before he was set to officially begin his role — following complaints about past comments and actions of his that were called antisemitic by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

Invisible forces at work.

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Mom fights back in grizzly bear attack

A brave Yukon mom who was attacked by a grizzly bear while jogging said her 2-year-old daughter was her inspiration to survive.

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Organized crime shifting to domestic fentanyl production

Organized crime groups have begun making more fentanyl in Canada rather than importing it from abroad, the RCMP says. The shift began in 2019, following a halt in production from overseas markets.

Isn't it wonderful to see domestic production flourishing under Trudeau?

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🗳A former Progressive Conservative is launching a new political party

A new political party will appear on the ballot in two upcoming by-elections as the Canadian Future Party seeks to introduce itself officially as a centrist option for voters it argues are growing weary of an increasingly polarized environment.

The party, approved by Elections Canada last month, will field candidates in the LaSalle—Émard—Verdun and Elmwood-Transcona races in September.

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🩺 Premier Ford jokes that hospital overflow can go to new animal hospital

At a ribbon cutting ceremony for King Animal Hospital on Tuesday, Premier Ford seemed to joke about Ontario's burdened health care system. Ford quipped that overflow patients can attend the animal hospital for their MRIs and CT scans.

#healthcare
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Ontario’s ‘unofficial estimate’ of homeless population is 234,000

The government of Ontario estimates nearly a quarter of a million people — roughly three of every 200 residents — are homeless, according to information contained in a housing ministry document.

The number is about nine times higher than the auditor general’s most recent estimate, and still likely drastically undercounts the true number of people experiencing homelessness in the province, experts say.

#Ontario
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Prime Minister Trudeau wishes a baby "Happy Pride."

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'Disgusted' immigration minister looking into revoking citizenship of Toronto terror suspect

The federal government is looking into whether the citizenship of a man accused of planning a terror attack in Toronto should be revoked, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday.

The father, who is also accused of committing an aggravated assault in 2015 for the benefit of the Islamic State somewhere outside of Canada, has Canadian citizenship, authorities say. Police said the son does not have citizenship.

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📉Federal government planning sharp cut to low-wage stream of temporary foreign worker program, sources say

The federal government is planning to sharply cut the low-wage stream of the temporary foreign worker program back to prepandemic levels, government sources say, amid criticism of its growing use by Canadian employers.

Reliance on the low-wage stream has shot up since 2022, when Ottawa agreed to ease access to the program in response to calls from restaurant owners and other employers who said they were struggling to find staff after months of pandemic restrictions.

So the pandemic restrictions triggered a workforce crisis? Sounds like a government-induced problem.

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Alberta moving ahead with new female sports rules after Olympic controversies

A Summer Olympics rocked by controversies over gender identity hasn’t deterred the Alberta government from moving ahead with planned changes to gender divisions in competitive sports, according to the ministry overseeing the new policy.

Alberta is committed to safety and fairness in sport. Which is why we’re working with provincial sporting organizations (PSOs) to ensure that biological women and girls have a choice to compete in a women’s only division in athletic competitions.

Amber Edgerton, press secretary for the Alberta ministry of tourism and sport.

#Alberta
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💸Nearly half of Canadians say rising prices make it harder to cover daily expenses

Nearly half, or 45 per cent, of Canadians say rising prices are “greatly impacting” their ability to meet day-to-day expenses, which is 12 percentage points higher than two years ago, according to a Statistics Canada study.

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🇮🇳 Yesterday, on India's Independence Day, a group of Sikh separatists staged a demonstration outside the Indian Embassy in Toronto. During the demonstration, the Sikhs stomped on the Indian flag.

Isn't that considered incitement of hatred?

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