Opposition MPs vote for public inquiry into foreign election interference
▪️Opposition MPs passed a motion calling for the federal government to launch a national public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference, after hearing hours of testimony from top intelligence officials who sought to assure that the integrity of Canada's last two elections was upheld despite meddling attempts by China.
▪️After debate spanning two meetings of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee, by a vote of 6-5 with Liberal MPs voting against, opposition parties voted in favour of an NDP motion calling on PM Justin Trudeau to enact an inquiry that would include but not be limited to allegations of election meddling.
▪️The committee still needs to report this decision to the House, but it is non-binding, meaning it's still in the government's purview whether to take the committee's advice.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
▪️Opposition MPs passed a motion calling for the federal government to launch a national public inquiry into allegations of foreign interference, after hearing hours of testimony from top intelligence officials who sought to assure that the integrity of Canada's last two elections was upheld despite meddling attempts by China.
▪️After debate spanning two meetings of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee, by a vote of 6-5 with Liberal MPs voting against, opposition parties voted in favour of an NDP motion calling on PM Justin Trudeau to enact an inquiry that would include but not be limited to allegations of election meddling.
▪️The committee still needs to report this decision to the House, but it is non-binding, meaning it's still in the government's purview whether to take the committee's advice.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍7🤡1
🚑 On the Canadian healthcare system crisis
🔻Though the premiers have accepted the new federal healthcare funding, they admit it is insufficient to improve the situation as the country's healthcare crisis deepens.
The majority of Canadians (56% of respondents) believe that the quality of healthcare provided in their province or territory has worsened over the past 5 years. How did it come to this?
The COVID-19 pandemic has only amplified pre-existing healthcare problems: staff shortages, emergency room closures, long wait times for appointments and surgeries, overworking and burnout.
🔻With worsening working environment, healthcare workers are leaving their jobs in the community health agencies to work in private ones, or leave the industry altogether.
Staff shortages are severe among nurses and family physicians, especially in remote clinics, where they face uncompetitive salaries and high work-load.
Small emergency rooms and family clinics close due to being under-staffed, preventing patients from receiving medical assistance locally. In facilities which still function, it can take several hours to see a doctor.
Healthcare jobs prestige is declining: working overtime has become normalized and is not always paid; healthcare workers often experience aggression from patients and don’t feel like the government does enough to fix the situation.
In Ontario, for instance, nurses fall under Bill 124, which limits wage increases to 1% per year for Public Service employees, which doesn’t keep up with the current 6% inflation rate.
🔻So, it's not surprising that 75% of nurses and 69% of doctors say they intend on leaving the industry in the next 12 months. And this is while there is already an all-time high staff shortage with 126,000 healthcare and social assistance sector vacancies.
Up to two-thirds of newly-graduated nurses leave the profession within the first two years of working. With this trend in mind, some medical students choose to drop out before finishing their degrees.
🔻While healthcare workers in France and in the UK who face similar problems actively protest and demand better working conditions, their Canadian colleagues fail to follow suit. They choose to leave the profession or migrate.
A lot of nurses migrate to the U.S., where employers offer $15-$20 higher pay rate than similar jobs in Canada and a less stressful work environment. This migration rate has doubled in the last 3 years, with more than 1,700 nurses now leaving Canada for the U.S. each year.
🔻The government seems to be aware of the severity of the situation, but the measures they take are insufficient. And plans to attract international healthcare workers have so far not shown visible results.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🔻Though the premiers have accepted the new federal healthcare funding, they admit it is insufficient to improve the situation as the country's healthcare crisis deepens.
The majority of Canadians (56% of respondents) believe that the quality of healthcare provided in their province or territory has worsened over the past 5 years. How did it come to this?
The COVID-19 pandemic has only amplified pre-existing healthcare problems: staff shortages, emergency room closures, long wait times for appointments and surgeries, overworking and burnout.
🔻With worsening working environment, healthcare workers are leaving their jobs in the community health agencies to work in private ones, or leave the industry altogether.
Staff shortages are severe among nurses and family physicians, especially in remote clinics, where they face uncompetitive salaries and high work-load.
Small emergency rooms and family clinics close due to being under-staffed, preventing patients from receiving medical assistance locally. In facilities which still function, it can take several hours to see a doctor.
Healthcare jobs prestige is declining: working overtime has become normalized and is not always paid; healthcare workers often experience aggression from patients and don’t feel like the government does enough to fix the situation.
In Ontario, for instance, nurses fall under Bill 124, which limits wage increases to 1% per year for Public Service employees, which doesn’t keep up with the current 6% inflation rate.
🔻So, it's not surprising that 75% of nurses and 69% of doctors say they intend on leaving the industry in the next 12 months. And this is while there is already an all-time high staff shortage with 126,000 healthcare and social assistance sector vacancies.
Up to two-thirds of newly-graduated nurses leave the profession within the first two years of working. With this trend in mind, some medical students choose to drop out before finishing their degrees.
🔻While healthcare workers in France and in the UK who face similar problems actively protest and demand better working conditions, their Canadian colleagues fail to follow suit. They choose to leave the profession or migrate.
A lot of nurses migrate to the U.S., where employers offer $15-$20 higher pay rate than similar jobs in Canada and a less stressful work environment. This migration rate has doubled in the last 3 years, with more than 1,700 nurses now leaving Canada for the U.S. each year.
🔻The government seems to be aware of the severity of the situation, but the measures they take are insufficient. And plans to attract international healthcare workers have so far not shown visible results.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍12
Ontario proposes speeding up mine approvals in bid to gain foothold in battery metals industry
▪️The federal government said late last year that it was working with the provinces and territories to reduce red tape in the sector, after conceding that mine approvals take far too long. Developing a mine in Canada can take up to 25 years.
▪️The potential amendments to the provincial Mining Act would make it easier for companies to obtain permits to mine metals from tailings, allow companies to defer up-front payments on plans to close mines, and loosen restrictions related to the rehabilitation of shuttered mine sites.
▪️Over the past few years, the Canadian and United States governments have pushed to establish North American supply chains of critical minerals used in electric car batteries, such as lithium.
#Ontario
🍁 Maple Chronicles
▪️The federal government said late last year that it was working with the provinces and territories to reduce red tape in the sector, after conceding that mine approvals take far too long. Developing a mine in Canada can take up to 25 years.
▪️The potential amendments to the provincial Mining Act would make it easier for companies to obtain permits to mine metals from tailings, allow companies to defer up-front payments on plans to close mines, and loosen restrictions related to the rehabilitation of shuttered mine sites.
▪️Over the past few years, the Canadian and United States governments have pushed to establish North American supply chains of critical minerals used in electric car batteries, such as lithium.
#Ontario
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡14👍3
Families fear crowded classrooms as UCP funds only two Calgary school projects
UCP’s new schools announcement this week only granted full funding to two local projects.
“Our school board has lost the courage and the willingness to advocate for us. Instead, we have a board that’s willing to just stay quiet and take the scraps," says Krista Li, who sits on the West Calgary Catholic High School advocacy group.
According to her estimates, class sizes are well over 40 students in high school core courses at a local school.
Information on class size averages is no linger available after the UCP in 2019 removed the requirement for boards to report the numbers.
“Students know, parents and teachers know, exactly how large classes are. It’s ridiculous how the government and school boards just hide those numbers now,” Li concludes.
#Calgary
🍁 Maple Chronicles
UCP’s new schools announcement this week only granted full funding to two local projects.
“Our school board has lost the courage and the willingness to advocate for us. Instead, we have a board that’s willing to just stay quiet and take the scraps," says Krista Li, who sits on the West Calgary Catholic High School advocacy group.
According to her estimates, class sizes are well over 40 students in high school core courses at a local school.
Information on class size averages is no linger available after the UCP in 2019 removed the requirement for boards to report the numbers.
“Students know, parents and teachers know, exactly how large classes are. It’s ridiculous how the government and school boards just hide those numbers now,” Li concludes.
#Calgary
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍8😱1
🥇Female athletes are against policies allowing trans athletes to compete in the female category
By a wide margin, elite female athletes have rejected the idea of allowing male-bodied athletes to compete in their women’s sport.
This comes from a Sport Canada commissioned report:
▪️91.7% of the female athletes interviewed agreed that female athletes should have the right to compete in dedicated female sport categories in sex-affected sports.
▪️88% agree that transwomen (biological males) have a competitive advantage over females.
▪️88% disagree when asked if gender identities are more important than biological sex when deciding eligibility in high performance sports.
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport currently implores national sports organizations to include male-born persons in the female category based upon self-identified gender status alone.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
By a wide margin, elite female athletes have rejected the idea of allowing male-bodied athletes to compete in their women’s sport.
This comes from a Sport Canada commissioned report:
▪️91.7% of the female athletes interviewed agreed that female athletes should have the right to compete in dedicated female sport categories in sex-affected sports.
▪️88% agree that transwomen (biological males) have a competitive advantage over females.
▪️88% disagree when asked if gender identities are more important than biological sex when deciding eligibility in high performance sports.
Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport currently implores national sports organizations to include male-born persons in the female category based upon self-identified gender status alone.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍22❤3🤡1
University of Ottawa excludes white scholars to “combat systemic racial discrimination”
The Ontario university joins a growing list of post-secondary institutions taking part in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion practices.
A job posting for a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Public Management Professor position in the University of Ottawa School of Political Studies notes that hiring “will be done in accordance with the University’s initiatives to combat systemic racial discrimination.”
“Only qualified applications from racialized or Indigenous peoples will be considered and evaluated for the position,” the post reads.
#Ontario
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The Ontario university joins a growing list of post-secondary institutions taking part in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion practices.
A job posting for a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Public Management Professor position in the University of Ottawa School of Political Studies notes that hiring “will be done in accordance with the University’s initiatives to combat systemic racial discrimination.”
“Only qualified applications from racialized or Indigenous peoples will be considered and evaluated for the position,” the post reads.
#Ontario
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡28🤬5👍3
🍺Beer sales hit all-time low as Canada’s alcohol sales see largest drop in a decade
Canadians bought less booze last year, according to findings from a new report.
The volume of beer sold per person in Canada last year reached an all-time low, while the wine sales based on volume also experienced its largest decline since tracking began in 1949.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Canadians bought less booze last year, according to findings from a new report.
The volume of beer sold per person in Canada last year reached an all-time low, while the wine sales based on volume also experienced its largest decline since tracking began in 1949.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍25❤5😱4🎉2
🇨🇦Chronicles of the week: Feb. 27-Mar. 5, 2023
▪️The government has banned TikTok from all of its phones and other devices. Jagmeet Singh and Pierre Poilievre deactivated their accounts.
▪️Manitoba plans to bring in 350 nurses from the Philippines.
▪️Adastra Labs in B.C. gets approval from Health Canada to make and sell cocaine. This move leaves B.C. Premiere and opposition leader concerned.
▪️Trudeau Foundation returns $200K to Beijing-linked donor amid election interfearance scandal. Opposition MPs vote for public inquiry.
▪️Vancouver city council has approved a 10.7% property tax increase, which is higher that initially proposed.
#digest
🍁 Maple Chronicles
▪️The government has banned TikTok from all of its phones and other devices. Jagmeet Singh and Pierre Poilievre deactivated their accounts.
▪️Manitoba plans to bring in 350 nurses from the Philippines.
▪️Adastra Labs in B.C. gets approval from Health Canada to make and sell cocaine. This move leaves B.C. Premiere and opposition leader concerned.
▪️Trudeau Foundation returns $200K to Beijing-linked donor amid election interfearance scandal. Opposition MPs vote for public inquiry.
▪️Vancouver city council has approved a 10.7% property tax increase, which is higher that initially proposed.
#digest
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡6🤯3👍1
🚫B.C. residents face nearly $1M in penalties for gold mining fraud
The B.C. Securities Commission has issued nearly $1 million in penalties and repayment orders against three local fraudsters involved in an international Ponzi scheme that promised investors large returns on non-existent gold mining operations in Africa and Brazil.
Between 2014 and 2015, the trio solicited B.C. investors, organized events and sold membership units to American companies promising high, no-risk returns for what turned out to be sham gold mine operations.
#BritishColumbia
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The B.C. Securities Commission has issued nearly $1 million in penalties and repayment orders against three local fraudsters involved in an international Ponzi scheme that promised investors large returns on non-existent gold mining operations in Africa and Brazil.
Between 2014 and 2015, the trio solicited B.C. investors, organized events and sold membership units to American companies promising high, no-risk returns for what turned out to be sham gold mine operations.
#BritishColumbia
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍7
Ontario food bank reports record-breaking usage
The Mississauga Food Bank reported that roughly 3,900 more residents used the facility this January, a year-over-year increase of 41%.
“Every month a record is broken is not a cause for celebration, but an alarm bell urgently ringing.” - the food bank stated.
The food bank reports feeding 13,326 people in January.
#Ontario
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The Mississauga Food Bank reported that roughly 3,900 more residents used the facility this January, a year-over-year increase of 41%.
“Every month a record is broken is not a cause for celebration, but an alarm bell urgently ringing.” - the food bank stated.
The food bank reports feeding 13,326 people in January.
#Ontario
🍁 Maple Chronicles
😢14
🇮🇳Indian Immigration To Canada Has Tripled Since 2013
▪️The number of Indians who became permanent residents in Canada rose from 32,828 in 2013 to 118,095 in 2022, an increase of 260%, according to a National Foundation for American Policy.
▪️In 2022, at 118,095, Indian immigration to Canada dwarfed the next largest source countries for permanent residents: China (31,815), Afghanistan (23,735), Nigeria (22,085) and the Philippines (22,070). In 2014, Canada had more immigrants from the Philippines than from India.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
▪️The number of Indians who became permanent residents in Canada rose from 32,828 in 2013 to 118,095 in 2022, an increase of 260%, according to a National Foundation for American Policy.
▪️In 2022, at 118,095, Indian immigration to Canada dwarfed the next largest source countries for permanent residents: China (31,815), Afghanistan (23,735), Nigeria (22,085) and the Philippines (22,070). In 2014, Canada had more immigrants from the Philippines than from India.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡21🤬17👍4❤1
Prince Edward Island election to be held April 3
Prince Edward Islanders are heading to the polls for a provincial election this spring, with voting day set for Monday, April 3.
Progressive Conservative Leader Dennis King made the official announcement Monday evening at his nomination meeting, as he became the final candidate to be nominated to run in the 2023 provincial election for the party.
Prince Edward Island does have fixed election legislation setting the next voting date as Oct. 2, 2023, but King exercised his right as premier to trigger it early.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Prince Edward Islanders are heading to the polls for a provincial election this spring, with voting day set for Monday, April 3.
Progressive Conservative Leader Dennis King made the official announcement Monday evening at his nomination meeting, as he became the final candidate to be nominated to run in the 2023 provincial election for the party.
Prince Edward Island does have fixed election legislation setting the next voting date as Oct. 2, 2023, but King exercised his right as premier to trigger it early.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡7🔥3👍1
🚫B.C. proposes new law to combat sharing of intimate images online without permission
Attorney General Niki Sharma presented a bill in the legislature Monday that would create new legal rights and remedies to stop the distribution of intimate images and allow the injured person to seek compensation for their harms.
❗️The legislation covers intimate images, near-nude photos, videos, livestreams and digitally altered images, including videos known as deep fakes.
It will require an offender to delete or destroy images or order social media platforms to remove them and scrub the images from search engines.
If the bill is approved, Sharma said the legislation will be retroactive or available to prosecutors back to the moment she tabled it on March 6.
#BritishColumbia
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Attorney General Niki Sharma presented a bill in the legislature Monday that would create new legal rights and remedies to stop the distribution of intimate images and allow the injured person to seek compensation for their harms.
❗️The legislation covers intimate images, near-nude photos, videos, livestreams and digitally altered images, including videos known as deep fakes.
It will require an offender to delete or destroy images or order social media platforms to remove them and scrub the images from search engines.
If the bill is approved, Sharma said the legislation will be retroactive or available to prosecutors back to the moment she tabled it on March 6.
#BritishColumbia
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡9👍5❤2🤬1
💉Public health no longer advising boosters for most Canadian adults
Еhe National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended spring booster shots exclusively to at-risk groups, including those over the age of 80, and those who are immunocompromised.
🚫The recommendation excluded Canadians under the age of 65 – so long as the person did not have complex medical needs or live in a long-term care home.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Еhe National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended spring booster shots exclusively to at-risk groups, including those over the age of 80, and those who are immunocompromised.
🚫The recommendation excluded Canadians under the age of 65 – so long as the person did not have complex medical needs or live in a long-term care home.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡15👍4
Governments of Canada and Ontario invest over $109 million to bring high-speed internet to home and rural communities in Ontario
The governments of Canada and Ontario have announced a total investment of $109 million to bring high speed Internet access to over 19,000 homes, businesses and rural communities in Ontario.
The government of Ontario has committed to bring high speed internet access to every community in Ontario by the end of 2025, and has finalized agreements totalling more than $2.2 billion for nearly 200 broadband projects across the province, as of Feb. 2023.
So far, 93.5 per cent of Canadian households have access to high speed internet, or are targeted to receive access through existing program commitments, compared to just 79 per cent in 2014, the two governments said in a release.
#Ontario
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The governments of Canada and Ontario have announced a total investment of $109 million to bring high speed Internet access to over 19,000 homes, businesses and rural communities in Ontario.
The government of Ontario has committed to bring high speed internet access to every community in Ontario by the end of 2025, and has finalized agreements totalling more than $2.2 billion for nearly 200 broadband projects across the province, as of Feb. 2023.
So far, 93.5 per cent of Canadian households have access to high speed internet, or are targeted to receive access through existing program commitments, compared to just 79 per cent in 2014, the two governments said in a release.
#Ontario
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🤡11👍6❤2
🏦Bank of Canada holds interest rate at 4.5%
The Bank of Canada dropped its scheduled interest rate update on Wednesday, announcing a rate hold after eight consecutive hikes since March 2022, when it stood at 0.5%.
Throughout 2022, the bank hiked its interest rate seven times. Another increase followed in January of this year, bringing the key rate to 4.5%. Throughout its rate hike updates, the Bank of Canada has repeatedly cited inflation as the core reason for its decisions.
The central bank will publish its next full outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, in the MPR on April 12, 2023.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The Bank of Canada dropped its scheduled interest rate update on Wednesday, announcing a rate hold after eight consecutive hikes since March 2022, when it stood at 0.5%.
Throughout 2022, the bank hiked its interest rate seven times. Another increase followed in January of this year, bringing the key rate to 4.5%. Throughout its rate hike updates, the Bank of Canada has repeatedly cited inflation as the core reason for its decisions.
The central bank will publish its next full outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, in the MPR on April 12, 2023.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
🔥5👏2🤡1
Poilievre accuses Trudeau of working against Canada and in 'a foreign dictatorship's interests'
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of working in China's interests and against Canada.
Poilievre suggested that members of Canada's security services have been leaking information about the election interference allegations to the media because they "must be very worried about how the prime minister is working against the interests of his own country and his own people."
"They've been warning him for years about this. And what has he done? He's covered it up, even encouraged it to continue," Poilievre told reporters Tuesday.
The source of the leaked documents has not been identified and there is no evidence detailing who the leakers are, what department they work in.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of working in China's interests and against Canada.
Poilievre suggested that members of Canada's security services have been leaking information about the election interference allegations to the media because they "must be very worried about how the prime minister is working against the interests of his own country and his own people."
"They've been warning him for years about this. And what has he done? He's covered it up, even encouraged it to continue," Poilievre told reporters Tuesday.
The source of the leaked documents has not been identified and there is no evidence detailing who the leakers are, what department they work in.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍18🤡13
🏠Record-high number of Canadians don't think they'll ever afford a home
A report released by Mortgage Professionals Canada found about a third of respondents believe they’ll never be able to afford their first house.
▪️The rapid decline in affordability—thanks to both high home prices and now high interest rates—has played a central role in Canadians’ view towards homebuying, according to the report said.
▪️The survey revealed a record-high number of non-owners believe they will never be able to buy a family home, at 33 percent, growing by 8 points in just six months and a whopping 15 points year-over-year.
▪️Canadians are more anxious about inflation, with 60 per cent of respondents saying they’re worried about how it will impact their finances, up 20 per cent from six months earlier.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
A report released by Mortgage Professionals Canada found about a third of respondents believe they’ll never be able to afford their first house.
▪️The rapid decline in affordability—thanks to both high home prices and now high interest rates—has played a central role in Canadians’ view towards homebuying, according to the report said.
▪️The survey revealed a record-high number of non-owners believe they will never be able to buy a family home, at 33 percent, growing by 8 points in just six months and a whopping 15 points year-over-year.
▪️Canadians are more anxious about inflation, with 60 per cent of respondents saying they’re worried about how it will impact their finances, up 20 per cent from six months earlier.
🍁 Maple Chronicles
😢15🤬7👏2
Giving the middle finger is a 'God-given right,' says Quebec judge
Giving someone the middle finger is a "God-given" right that belongs to all Canadians, a Quebec judge said, as he recently acquitted a Montreal-area man of criminal harassment and uttering threats.
In his ruling, Quebec court Judge Dennis Galiatsatos wrote that not only was Neall Epstein not guilty, the fact that he was arrested and prosecuted at all was a bewildering injustice.
Police arrested Epstein on May 18, 2021, after he had a heated argument with a neighbor which involved raising middle fingers.
#Quebec
🍁 Maple Chronicles
Giving someone the middle finger is a "God-given" right that belongs to all Canadians, a Quebec judge said, as he recently acquitted a Montreal-area man of criminal harassment and uttering threats.
In his ruling, Quebec court Judge Dennis Galiatsatos wrote that not only was Neall Epstein not guilty, the fact that he was arrested and prosecuted at all was a bewildering injustice.
Police arrested Epstein on May 18, 2021, after he had a heated argument with a neighbor which involved raising middle fingers.
#Quebec
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍28❤7🤡7🎉5
Alberta introduces firearms act to counter federal legislation
The Alberta government introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at bulking up in its ongoing firearms feud with the federal government.
Bill 8 is meant to strengthen the province's ability to regulate, administer and advocate on behalf of firearms owners.
Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro has been critical of the federal Liberals' Bill C-21, which includes a national handgun freeze and prohibition on many assault-style firearms.
He has indicated Alberta would not agree to having RCMP officers act as confiscation agents and would protest any such move under the provincial-federal agreement that governs policing.
About 30,000 prohibited firearms are believed to exist in Alberta under the federal definition.
#Alberta
🍁 Maple Chronicles
The Alberta government introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at bulking up in its ongoing firearms feud with the federal government.
Bill 8 is meant to strengthen the province's ability to regulate, administer and advocate on behalf of firearms owners.
Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro has been critical of the federal Liberals' Bill C-21, which includes a national handgun freeze and prohibition on many assault-style firearms.
He has indicated Alberta would not agree to having RCMP officers act as confiscation agents and would protest any such move under the provincial-federal agreement that governs policing.
About 30,000 prohibited firearms are believed to exist in Alberta under the federal definition.
#Alberta
🍁 Maple Chronicles
👍31🔥2