Ontario announces additional $330 million a year funding on pediatric health services

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is announcing that the province will be spending an additional $330 million each year on pediatric health services.

The government says it will allow children’s hospitals to significantly increase staffing and provide more services.

The funding is set to go toward more than 100 initiatives, including increasing the number of day surgeries performed, rapid access clinics that will help people avoid the ER during respiratory virus season, reducing wait times for mental health services and an immunization catch-up program.

#Ontario

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🏠 Toronto’s rent crisis: Minimum wage would have to hit $40 an hour for workers to be able to afford to live here, report finds

Nearly all Canadians putting in a 40-hour week at minimum wage are allocating more than 30 per cent of their monthly pre-tax income toward rent or mortgage costs — the marker of unaffordable housing — Tuesday’s report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative found.

And while Ontario has one of the highest hourly minimum wages in the country at $15.50, surpassed only by B.C. at $15.65, the climbing cost of housing in Toronto is eroding any gains made.

At an average monthly rent of $2,572, a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto would require the minimum wage to be $33.60 for it to meet the affordability criteria, according to the report. For a two-bedroom apartment, that figure climbs to $40. That means the minimum wage would need to more than double for workers to comfortably afford rent in the city.

Rent jumped by almost 16 per cent for Toronto condos and apartments in June compared to the same time last year, according to a report from Rentals and real estate data firm Urbanation.

Out of the 37 cities studied in the report, only three have affordable two-bedroom apartments for a minimum-wage earner, the report said — all in Quebec, where the minimum wage was $14.25 during the study in 2022.

#Ontario #Quebec #housing

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Program to attract tech workers from the U.S. hits capacity one day after opening

Last month, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced a new work permit for H-1B visa holders in the U.S. — part of a larger federal government strategy to poach talent from abroad.

H-1B visas allow foreign nationals to work temporarily in the U.S. in certain specialized occupations, including some in the technology sector.

Tech companies went on a hiring binge during the pandemic but have since starting laying people off in large numbers. That has left a lot of H-1B visa holders scrambling to find new jobs before they're forced to leave the U.S.

Applications for the work permits opened on Sunday. By Monday the program had reached capacity, with 10,000 applicants bidding for a permit.

Fraser said he was watching the situation in the U.S. and saw it as an "opportunity" for Canada when he first announced the program.

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Canadian-born president of Stanford University resigns over 'serious flaws' in his research

The president of Stanford University said Wednesday he would resign, citing an independent review that cleared him of research misconduct but found "serious flaws" in five scientific papers on subjects such as brain development in which he was the principal author.

Marc Tessier-Lavigne — who was born in Trenton, Ont. — said in a statement to students and staff that he would step down Aug. 31.

The resignation comes after the board of trustees launched a review in December following allegations he engaged in fraud and other unethical conduct related to research and papers that are in some cases two decades old.

Panelists found multiple instances of manipulated data in the 12 papers they investigated, but concluded he was not responsible for the misconduct. Still, they found that each of the five papers in which he was principal author "has serious flaws in the presentation of research data" and in at least four of them, there was apparent manipulation of data by others.

#US

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👨‍🚒 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 More than 2,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel from the U.S. have been deployed to assist with fires in Canada through the National Interagency Coordination Center located at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).

https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/news-releases/us-firefighters-continue-support-canada-during-record-breaking

Documents show that more than 200 Quebec prison inmates have been accidentally released since 2015

More than 200 inmates, some serving time for violent crimes, have been inadvertently released from Quebec province prisons over the past eight years.

Correctional staff, as well as court clerks and police, confused inmates, miscalculated sentence lengths, and miscommunicated with one another. These errors resulted in the early release of 175 people between January 2015 and January 2022. In addition to those cases, 29 others were released early between April 2022 and March 2023, said Louise, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety said Quintin.

It was also previously reported that hundreds of people have been illegally detained for days to months in Quebec over the past decade due to administrative errors. An alleged victim of unlawful detention is now seeking authorization to file a class action lawsuit against the provincial government.

#Quebec

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Calls coming from Alberta for resolution to B.C. port workers' strike

With B.C. port workers poised to renew their strike on Saturday morning, Alberta's premier is renewing her call for the federal government to legislate the union back to work.

"The federal government must reconvene Parliament and legislate these workers back to work. Albertans and Canadians cannot afford to have hundreds of millions of dollars daily in products delayed at these ports," Danielle Smith said in a tweet Tuesday night.

Alberta beef producers agree. While the majority of exports from the province go south to the United States, Canadian beef producers are working hard to re-establish a market in Asia, particularly Japan, which re-opened its borders to Canadian beef in March, 20 years after closing them due to an outbreak of BSE.

"It's essential that other countries can depend on the fact that our ports are available and functioning properly to get product to market," said Brad Dubeau, general manager of Alberta Beef Producers.

#BritishColumbia #Alberta

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls Ottawa’s light rail “a mess” during the recent nationwide shutdown

For the third straight day, the light rail system serving the country’s capital was paralyzed on Wednesday due to technical problems. A routine inspection Monday found one car had an axle assembly with excessive grease and was looser than allowable for safety reasons.

“We put a tremendous amount of money into the LRT. We handed it over to the City of Ottawa and, I don’t know, it was a mess, is all I can say. The inquiry said everything,” the premier told reporters Wednesday while in Ottawa

A public inquiry into the $2.1 billion system that was reported last December found, among other things, that the system was rushed into operation before it was ready.

#Ontario

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Homeless encampment dismantled in St. Thomas, Ont.

City of St. Thomas staff were accompanied by city police as a homeless encampment was dismantled Wednesday.

A mechanical claw attached to an excavator was used to dismantle makeshift structures on the site along Victor Street, near where it intersects with Chester Street. Neighbours said the property was the site of an industrial building that was dismantled years ago.

St. Thomas police officials said the decision to dismantle the encampment was made after a violent assault at the location in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

#Ontario

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15 people arrested, 73 charges laid in GTA-wide commercial cargo theft investigation

Peel police have arrested 15 people following an investigation into an auto theft ring that was allegedly stealing fully loaded commercial vehicles and then selling their cargo to unwitting buyers.

Police say the investigation, dubbed “Project Big Rig,” began in March, and was a joint-forces operation between Peel Regional Police, York Regional Police, the Toronto Police Service, Halton Regional Police and Ontario Provincial Police.

“As a result of this investigation, six locations were targeted within the GTA and warrants were executed,” said Det. Mark Haywood from the Peel police commercial and auto crime unit during a news conference in Mississauga.

“Through the hard work of the investigative team, I'm pleased to share that the investigation resulted in the recovery of 28 containers of stolen cargo valued at $6.99 million. An additional 28 stolen tractors and trailers valued at $2.25 million were recovered. Total value of recovery: $9.24 million.”

#Ontario

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Protesters chase Trudeau out of Belleville

An event for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was cut short in Belleville, Ont., today after nearly 100 protesters surrounded him and his motorcade.

Trudeau was in the city to mark the seventh anniversary of the Liberal government's Child Care Benefit, to meet with the mayor and to visit a farmers' market.

Trudeau was set to meet with about 10 vendors, but he couldn't make his way to the other side of the public square after being swarmed by the dozens of protesters.

Not exactly the level of support that a Prime Minister should have.

#Trudeau #Ontario

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Majority of Canadians think Trudeau government spends too much and on the wrong things: poll

🔹Two in three Canadians think the amount they pay in income taxes is too high and fewer than one in four Canadians believe the federal government spends on the right priorities, a study found.

🔹Other findings include that two in three Canadians recognize that increased government spending contributes to inflation.

🔹Quebec residents, in particular, have taken issue with the federal government’s spending, with 64 per cent of respondents in La Belle Province saying Ottawa is overspending. Countrywide, 55 per cent of Canadians agree.

🔹Respondents were also more likely to be against carbon pricing (45 per cent) than in support (41 per cent), with the Atlantic provinces representing the strongest opposition at 68 per cent.

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🇨🇦🇺🇸‘No choice’ but to retaliate against Canadian digital tax, U.S. ambassador says

The United States could target digital trade if it decides on retaliatory measures against a proposed Canadian digital services tax, U.S. ambassador to Canada David Cohen said.

The Liberal government confirmed this week it plans to go ahead with the tax targeting Big Tech in 2024, despite 138 other countries and jurisdictions agreeing last week to delay similar measures.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has previously warned Canada should not implement a unilateral tax.

The Canadian tax, estimated to bring in $3.4 billion over five years, is aimed at large companies that operate online marketplaces, social media platforms and earn revenue from online advertising. This includes Amazon, Google, Facebook, Uber and Airbnb.

The Liberal government first promised the tax in the 2021 budget. It would be retroactive to 2022, meaning the companies would be on the hook for more than $1 billion once it comes into effect.

#US

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Some young Canadians would rather die earlier or not have sex than lose social media, study shows

A study of 750 Canadians ages 16 to 30 has yielded some shocking results. It asked the sample group what they would rather give up than social media.

🔹While most would only sacrifice things like alcohol or video games, nearly 10 per cent of respondents said they would accept being unable to have children, give up sex, or forfeit one-year of their life to maintain their social media connections.

🔹Five per cent said they'd forfeit five years of life expectancy, and three per cent said they'd gladly die a decade earlier.

🔹Five per cent also said they'd be willing to contract a sexually transmitted infection or be diagnosed with a life-threatening illness like cancer, according to the survey.

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RCMP failing to fulfill provincial policing contracts across Canada

The RCMP is falling well short of staffing levels in multiple jurisdictions across Canada where it has provincial policing contracts, with as many as one in six positions unfilled, leaving communities with fewer officers and detachments short-staffed.

The force is suffering significant officer-vacancy rates in all eight provinces and three territories where it provides contract policing as of February 2023.

In Newfoundland, for example, the vacancy rate for RCMP positions was at 17 per cent. The vacancy rate is the gap between the number of officers the force is committed to under policing contracts with the province and the numbers the RCMP is actually providing.

In Prince Edward Island, the Mounties providing 16-per-cent fewer officers than the province has contracted for. In Alberta and the Northwest Territories, it is 15 per cent.

The vacancy rate is 13 per cent in New Brunswick, 10 per cent in Manitoba and eight per cent in Nova Scotia.

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Canadians work from home more often than employees in other countries

🔹The Global Survey of Working Arrangements found that Canadians work an average of 1.7 days per week from home, ranking first among English-speaking countries and globally.

In comparison, employees in the U.S. work remotely for an average of 1.4 days per week, while those in the U.K. and Australia work 1.5 and 1.3 days on average respectively.

Employees in other Western countries, such as Germany, France, and Italy, spend significantly less time working from home, less than a day, on average.

🔹Although Canadians have the highest number of paid remote working days among all countries surveyed, it is not enough for them, the report found.

On average, Canadian employees desire to work from home 2.5 days per week, while their employers plan to offer only 1.8 days per week for remote work.

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Historic flooding hits Nova Scotia amid torrential downpours

Nova Scotia is experiencing a historic flooding event as significant rainfall sweeps the province this weekend.

Based on radar estimates and unofficial observations, Environment Canada said some parts of Nova Scotia may have received more than 300 mm in 24 hours. Radar maps show the heaviest rainfall extending along the province’s southwestern shore to a point north of Halifax.

Authorities on Saturday urged some Nova Scotia residents to evacuate amid threat of dam breach.

#NovaScotia

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Wildfire crews burn area around B.C. airport to protect it from encroaching blaze

The forest and brush around the international airport at Cranbrook, B.C., has been scorched in an all-out effort to protect the vital transportation link from an encroaching wildfire, airport manager said Friday.

Wildfire crews were at the Canadian Rockies International Airport in southeastern B.C. overnight Friday monitoring the fires that were purposely lit as a guard from the out-of-control St. Mary’s River fire.

The controlled burns did their job and are adding to previous wildfire mitigation measures taken by airport officials.

#BritishColumbia #wildfires

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4 missing after record-breaking downpours along Canada’s Atlantic coast cause flooding

Four people are missing after intense thunderstorms dumped record amounts of rain across Nova Scotia over the past two days, causing flash flooding, road washouts and power outages.

The floods submerged multiple vehicles, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokeswoman said two such incidents in West Hants north of Halifax have left two adults and two children unaccounted for as of Saturday morning.

The two children went missing after the vehicle they were travelling in got stuck underwater, the three other occupants were able to escape safely.

Two other individuals remain unaccounted for following a separate vehicle submersion. Two other people in that vehicle were rescued. Police are actively searching for all four missing people.

#NovaScotia

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Retired RCMP officer charged in a case of alleged foreign interference

The RCMP has charged one of its former members in a foreign interference investigation, alleging he helped the Chinese government identify and intimidate a person.

Police say William Majcher, who is from Hong Kong, used his network of Canadian contacts to obtain intelligence or services that benefited the People’s Republic of China. They also say the case does not have to do with election interference.

Majcher was arrested in Vancouver on Thursday and appeared by videoconference in a Longueuil, Que., court Friday. He is being held in custody until another court date Tuesday.

#China

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🇨🇦🇺🇸 Manitoba film industry hit by U.S. writers and actors strike

The strike by writers and actors in the U.S. is starting to impact the Manitoba film industry.

As the Writers Guild of America strike enters its third month, and since the Screen Actors Guild joined the picket line two weeks ago, projects slated for Manitoba over the next few months have ground to a halt.

Rod Bruinooge, interim CEO of Manitoba Film and Music, said in any given year, 60 to 65 per cent of the company’s revenue comes from American productions that employ local workers and actors.

Manitoba IATSE union president Nicolas Phillips said he has no work on film sets scheduled in the near future, leaving thousands of employees out of work.

#Manitoba #US

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