🏠 Number of people living unhoused in Edmonton up 47% in 2024: Data

The number of Edmontonians experiencing homelessness has risen 47 per cent this year, according to data from the city's main housing agency.

In July, Homeward Trust's By Name List(opens in a new tab) counted 4,011 people who were either living unhoused or without stable housing. That's up from 2,728 people in January.

#Alberta
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🎓Nearly 13K international students applied for asylum this year, data shows

Nearly 13,000 international students have applied for asylum in Canada in the first eight months of the year, data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada shows.

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, a total of 119,835 refugee claims were made in Canada. Of these, 12,915 were claimants who were on either study permits (11,605) or study permit extensions (1,310), the department data said.

They see studying as a loophole to remain in Canada.

#immigration
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🩺 Pierre Poilievre says no to 'radical' pharmacare plan during House of Commons debate

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said his party rejects the proposed national pharmacare plan, arguing it would force Canadians to give up their own private drug plans.

In the House of Commons Tuesday, as he debated a non-confidence motion in the Liberal government, Poilievre said the pharmacare plan was something he would not accept.

I will reject the radical plan for an “single-payer” drug plan.

In the spring, the Conservatives voted against the pharmacare legislation, which is now in the Senate.

#healthcare #Poilievre
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🏠 Gap between Ontario housing and population growth highest in 50 years: report

The gap between Ontario’s housing stock and its rapid population growth is the widest it has been since records began, according to a development industry report that throws fresh doubt on the Ford government’s ability to hit its own target of building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

The study found that as far back as 1972, the number of housing starts in Ontario has remained relatively constant, bouncing between around 50,000 and 100,000 per year

Population growth, on the other hand, has gone from the low hundred thousand range into the two hundred thousands and, more recently, closing in on half a million.

#Ontario #housing
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Liberals survive first confidence vote after the end of governance agreement with NDP

The Liberal government has survived the first of what is expected to be a series of confidence votes during this fall sitting.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre brought forward a non-confidence motion this week in an effort to topple the government and trigger an early election.

The result of Wednesday's vote wasn't really in doubt, as the NDP and Bloc Québécois had signalled they wouldn't support the Conservative motion.

The final tally was 211 MPs voting against the motion and 120 in favour. Two Independent MPs and the two Green MPs voted against the motion. Two other Independents voted with the Conservatives.

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Bloc threatens to push for an early election if government doesn't top up pensions by Oct. 29

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet laid out a list of demands Wednesday he said the government must fulfil by the end of October if it wants to avoid the risk of an early election.

Blanchet said the Bloc wants the government to push through a bill, C-319, that would hike Old Age Security (OAS) payouts by 10 per cent for seniors between the ages of 65 and 74. The government topped up OAS payments for seniors aged 75 and older in 2022.

He said those demands must be met by October 29. If they're not, he said, the Bloc will start negotiations with the Conservatives and the NDP on toppling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.

Enjoying the power, eh?

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👶Canada’s fertility rate has hit a record low

Canada’s fertility rate, which has been steadily declining, has hit a record low and the country is now among the “lowest-low” fertility nations.

Statistics Canada released new data on Wednesday showing that the Canadian fertility rate in 2023 was 1.26 children per woman, which is the lowest recorded level since the agency began collecting data.

Coupled with record population growth, this means Canada is losing its identity at twice the speed.

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🇺🇸🇨🇳🇷🇺Canada considering following U.S. in banning vehicle software and hardware from China, Russia

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday she is "absolutely" considering following the U.S. move to ban vehicle hardware and software from China or Russia.

Our government has made it very clear that we take really seriously intentional Chinese overcapacity and we take very seriously the security threat from China.

Freeland's comments come a day after the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce, announced its plans to "prohibit the sale or import of connected vehicles integrating specific pieces of hardware and software … with a sufficient nexus to" China or Russia.

#US #China #Russia
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Why did it take him three business days to scare the bear away? 😂

#BritishColumbia
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Another day in B.C.

#BritishColumbia
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🇨🇦🇱🇧Canada to deploy troops to Lebanon amid increasing tensions to aid in possible evacuations

The Canadian Armed Forces is reportedly sending more troops to the Middle East in case an evacuation of Canadian citizens from Lebanon is ordered.

For months Canada has been pre-positioning assets in the region, but on Wednesday night, troops received an order to be ready to leave Canada in 48 hours.

Canada and Australia have jointly rented a cruise ship for evacuating Canadians.

#Lebanon
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Former Canadian parliamentarian tried to influence Parliament on behalf of foreign state, inquiry told

A former Canadian parliamentarian is suspected of trying to influence Parliament’s business on behalf of a foreign government, according to documents tabled Friday at the Hogue inquiry into foreign meddling.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, in co-operation with other government security agencies, produced a list of six significant instances of suspected foreign interference since 2019.

The document detailed a previously unknown instance of a former parliamentarian who was “suspected of having worked to influence parliamentary business on behalf of a foreign government.”

The CSIS document did not identify the parliamentarian or explain whether it was a Member of Parliament or a Senator. It also did not say what foreign country the parliamentarian was assisting.

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Trudeau says he's 'still waiting' for Quebec premier's plan on temporary immigration

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Quebec's premier of saying things that he "knows aren't true" about immigration as the two leaders continue to clash over the issue.

His response comes after Premier François Legault last week asked the Bloc Québécois to support a Conservative non-confidence motion to topple the government on the grounds the federal Liberals haven't acted strongly enough to reduce temporary immigration in Quebec.

Despite the Bloc's refusal to vote against the Liberals in the confidence vote, Legault has suggested immigration should be a ballot-box question in the next federal election. He has asked all the parties to commit to cutting the number of non-permanent residents to his province by half.

#Quebec #immigration #Trudeau
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📊 Majority of all Canadians now disapprove of Trudeau — except hardcore Liberals: poll

A new Postmedia-Leger poll has found that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is popular only with an ever-dwindling coterie of hardcore Liberal voters, with every other voter demographic wanting him gone.

Disapproval of Trudeau was the one issue that united every conceivable demographic in roughly equal margins; women and men (64 vs. 65 per cent), rural and urban (71 vs. 64 per cent) and even under-35s and senior citizens (66 vs. 64 per cent).

The only exception was those who identified as Liberal supporters. In that group, the approval rate was a whopping 83 per cent, against just 15 per cent who disapproved.

#Trudeau
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Bloc pension demands at odds with Liberal political strategy, economic plans

The government has just weeks to decide if it will meet the $16-billion demand from the Bloc Québécois to stave off an election for a few more months, but the stipulation may be at odds with the political and fiscal plans of the Liberals.

The Liberals have taken great pains in the last year to mould their political strategy around a sense of injustice among millennials and generation-Z Canadians who feel their work isn't paying off like it did for previous generations.

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been touting policies aimed at "fairness for every generation," the Bloc has given him until Oct. 29 to green light spending for its private member's bill to increase old age security for seniors under the age of 75.

If the government doesn't support the bill by then, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet says he will enter talks with other parties to bring down the Liberal minority government before the new year.

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❌Alberta municipal leaders quash advocacy for permanent resident voting rights

A Calgary city councillor's plea to have permanent residents be given the right to vote in municipal elections, an idea long dismissed by Premier Danielle Smith as unconstitutional, has been defeated.

Coun. Courtney Walcott made his case to fellow municipal officials from across the province this week during the Alberta Municipalities annual conference.

Walcott's resolution needed a majority to pass but only got about 42 per cent support in the end — 46 votes short.

If the votes were in his favour, Alberta Municipalities, the organization that represents villages, towns, and cities throughout the province, would have adopted the motion and lobbied the provincial government to make the necessary changes to the Local Authorities Election Act.

#Alberta
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🎓Federal Court to launch new plan for Canadian study permit appeals amid rising immigration cases

The Federal Court is launching a new initiative to streamline how it reviews refused study permit applications. This comes as the number of immigration cases coming before the court continues to surge for the third consecutive year, with filings expected to reach 24,000 by the end of the December — about four times the yearly average in the five years immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release issued by the Federal Court on Thursday.

Currently, people challenging an immigration matter must first apply to the court for permission to reconsider the decision, which will then be reviewed and determined if reconsideration is merited.

#immigration
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'Certainly a world where we could reduce' immigration targets, says minister Miller

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he is exploring the rare option of reducing the number of permanent residents allowed in each year as he gets set to announce the annual immigration targets in November.

The targets have generally been maintained or increased for more than a decade, but with declining job vacancies, rising unemployment — especially among newcomers and younger people — and the growing concerns about affordability, “there is certainly a world now in which we see reductions,” he said.

#immigration
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Elections Canada to recommend tighter nomination rules after foreign influence probe

Elections Canada is set to recommend tighter rules for political parties’ nominations after a federal inquiry referred to the contests as a “gateway” for foreign interference.

Documents published by the Foreign Interference Commission Tuesday afternoon suggest Elections Canada expects to publish the recommendations, including greater transparency measures and stronger enforcement of party rules, by the end of September.

Nominations, where candidates vie for the chance to run under a party’s banner, typically receive less public and media scrutiny than elections or byelections. A significant number of nomination contests for the upcoming general election are already in the books.

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