Fentanyl in air at Vancouver supportive housing offices

The presence of second-hand fentanyl smoke is so severe at some British Columbia supportive housing facilities that workers cannot escape “substantial exposure,” even if they stay in their offices and don’t venture into hallways or tenants’ rooms.

That is the among the findings of tests conducted at 14 British Columbia supportive housing facilities, results that contributed to the province’s decision to form a working group aimed at tackling safety issues — including second-hand fentanyl exposure.
#BritishColumbia
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🚶🏽‍♂️‍➡️'Temporary' workers account for 19% of Canada's private-sector workforce

Temporary foreign workers account for a little under 19% of Canada’s private-sector workforce. That’s according to a May 1 Immigration Ministry briefing note.

The note put the number of temporary residents at just over 3 million — a number that includes more than 129,000 individuals who illegally overstayed their visas.
#immigration
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💸Average Canadian family spent 42.3% of income on taxes in 2024: study

🔹The average Canadian family spent 42.3 per cent of their income on taxes in 2024, according to a new study from the Fraser Institute.

🔹The report from the Fraser Institute showed the average Canadian family, which it estimates to have earned an income of $114,289 last year, paid about $48,306 in total taxes to the federal, provincial, and municipal governments.

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💸 Ottawa’s hotel bill for asylum seekers reaches $1.1-billion

The federal government says it has spent $1.1-billion to house asylum seekers in hotels since 2017, on top of $1.5-billion it has given provinces and cities to help pay for refugee claimants’ upkeep.

Asylum claims have increased dramatically from 50,365 in 2017 to 173,000 in 2024 in Canada. Most arrive in Ontario and Quebec, particularly in Montreal and Toronto.
#immigration
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🏛💰 Calgary projects $175M budget surplus for 2025

The City of Calgary is projected to achieve a $175 million budget surplus in 2025, continuing a decade-long trend of sizeable surpluses averaging $158 million annually.

As of June 30, the surplus stands at $221 million, driven by higher investment income and lower-than-expected expenditures. Surplus funds may be allocated to infrastructure projects or reserves, sparking discussions ahead of the 2025 municipal election.
#Alberta
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Alberta concerned with federal plan to accept newcomer parents, grandparents

Alberta’s immigration minister says he’s concerned about the federal government’s plan this year to accept thousands of parents and grandparents of immigrants already in Canada.

Federal Immigration Minister Lena Diab’s office said the federal government’s actual countrywide target for approvals this year for the parent and grandparent immigration stream is at 24,500.
#Alberta #immigration
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📊 Most Canadians still think Canada is accepting too many immigrants, and many don't trust newcomers: poll

🔹62 per cent of people think that the country is currently admitting too many immigrants.

That’s an increase of four percentage points since pollsters last asked the question in March 2025, and more than double the number of people who felt that way six years ago. In the most recent poll, only 20 per cent disagreed and 19 per cent said they don’t know.
#immigration
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All 5 former Hockey Canada players found not guilty of sexual assault

An Ontario Superior Court justice today found five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team not guilty of sexual assault charges, ending an eight-week trial.

Justice Maria Carroccia said the Crown had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant in the case had not consented to the sexual activity that took place in a room on the second floor of a London, Ont., hotel in June 2018.
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Number of federal public service jobs could drop by almost 60,000, report predicts

A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the federal public service could shed almost 60,000 jobs over the next four years as Ottawa looks to cut costs.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne sent letters to multiple ministers asking them to identify cuts to program spending at their departments of 15 per cent by 2028-29.

The report, written by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives senior economist David Macdonald, says the federal public service could lose up to 57,000 employees by 2028.
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3 drillers freed from northern B.C. mine after being trapped for days, says company

Newmont Corp. says the three miners who have been trapped for days in the Red Chris mine in northern B.C. were successfully brought to the surface safely on Thursday night.
#BritishColumbia
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❌ Immigration to Canada not a right, Saskatchewan court rules

Immigrating to Canada is not a right, a Saskatchewan court has ruled. The case stems from a lab technician from India whose decision to use a sketchy immigration broker resulted in her work permit being revoked.

Foreign nationals do not have a right to immigrate to Canada. Neither is there any right to a privileged immigration process.

Wrote Justice Andrew Davis, of the province’s Court of King’s Bench.

The technician was granted a work permit under the “occupation in demand” category of Saskatchewan’s Immigrant Nominee Program, which was revoked due to her decision to employ Travel Jockey Immigration & Holidays of Surat, India.

Evidence entered during the hearing included allegations that Travel Jockey offered fake job offer letters and fake college degrees for $1,000 a piece, and the would-be technician’s permit was revoked despite her denials and explanations of irregularities in her application.
#immigration
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🇺🇸 Trump says trade deal with Canada may not be reached

U.S. President Donald Trump says he may not reach a new trade deal with Canada and is suggesting he might instead impose more tariffs on the country unilaterally.

We haven’t really had a lot of luck with Canada. I think Canada could be one where there’s just a tariff, not really a negotiation. We don’t have a deal with Canada.

#US
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🏦📈 Ontario mortgage delinquencies on the rise and could climb higher still, experts warn

Mortgage delinquencies rose to 0.22 per cent in Ontario for the first quarter of this year. That’s up from 0.15 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 and 0.09 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

In Toronto, the mortgage delinquency rate hit 0.23 per cent for the first quarter of 2025. That compares to 0.14 per cent for the first quarter of 2024 and 0.08 per cent for the first quarter of 2023.

Mortgage delinquencies haven’t been that high in Toronto since early 2013 and Ontario hasn’t seen levels this high since 2016.
#housing #Ontario
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🇺🇸 U.S. slaps 20.56% anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber

The U.S. Commerce Department has decided to hike anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood to 20.56 per cent, with B.C. lumber organizations calling them unjustified, punitive and protectionist.

B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar described the long-awaited rate hike as a "gut punch" for B.C.'s forestry industry which has seen thousands of workers laid off over the last few years.
#US
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🗳Over 200 candidates sign up for Poilievre's byelection — doubling previous record

More than 200 candidates, mostly associated with a group of electoral reform advocates, have signed up to run in an upcoming federal byelection next month. The number more than doubles the previous record on a single ballot.

Former Alberta MP Damien Kurek vacated his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot to give Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre a chance to rejoin the House of Commons. Poilievre lost his longtime Carleton riding in April's general election.
#Poilievre #Alberta #election
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❌💰Federal government to stop funding hotel rooms for asylum seekers, IRCC says

Asylum seekers staying in federally-funded hotels will soon have to check out as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says that funding will end in September.

A spokesperson for IRCC said that as of Thursday, the federal government was housing 485 asylum seekers in five hotels in Ontario and Quebec, noting it has spent approximately $1.1 billion on temporary hotel housing for asylum seekers since 2020.
#immigration
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Canada slashes Confederation Bridge toll to $20 starting Friday

Starting Friday, the federal government will cut Confederation Bridge tolls from just over $50 to $20 for all vehicles. Fares on ferry routes connecting Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will also be reduced by 50 per cent, with fuel surcharges eliminated.

Additionally, Ottawa is funding Marine Atlantic Inc. to halve fares between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, and to freeze freight rates.

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Ford walks back vow to have province issue asylum seekers work permits

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is retracting a vow he made last week to have his province issue its own work permits to asylum seekers in the face of what he said were federal government delays that have left refugee applicants in limbo for two years.

Last Wednesday, Mr. Ford had told reporters after a conference with his fellow premiers that his province would step into the federal government’s purview and issue its own work permits to ensure that refugee applicants could enter the labour force more quickly. But on Monday, he called a press conference and reversed himself.

I don’t want to take the responsibility off the federal government.

#Ontario
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🏠 Alberta could topple Ontario in new housing construction

For the first time in more than 40 years, Alberta is on track to potentially build more homes than Ontario this year.

Based on data for the first six months of the year, the province is on pace to build 58,900 homes by the end of 2025. If it hit that mark, it would shatter the previous record and put the province within striking distance of Ontario, which has more than triple the population.
#housing #Alberta #Ontario
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💰📈 Alberta's Heritage Fund hits $30B after $2.8B injection from surplus

Alberta's rainy-day Heritage Fund is getting an extra $2.8 billion, hitting a record high of $30 billion, which is almost double what it was five years ago.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government wants it to hit $250 billion by 2050, so future governments can spend investment returns without draining the fund. Smith says it's still on track to hit that benchmark in 25 years.

The aim is to shield Alberta's budget from the resource-revenue roller-coaster that has plagued past budgets.
#Alberta
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B.C. man attacked by cougar has minor injuries after he says he punched it

A British Columbia man suffered minor injuries after fending off a cougar attack by punching the animal in the face in the province’s northern Interior.

The province’s Conservation Officer Service says man was working near Lake Kathlyn when the animal approached and swiped his upper body.

The man told officers that he punched the cougar in the face and the animal then disengaged. The service says the man suffered non-life-threatening injuries and did not need to be hospitalized.
#BritishColumbia
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