Federal

Today Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, issued the following statement: “I want to congratulate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his re-election, and congratulate all federal leaders on a hard fought campaign to ensure Canadians’ voices are heard on the important issues facing this country. Our government looks forward to working with the Prime Minister, and with all federal parties, to ...

Today, the Hon. Andrew Scheer, the Leader of Canada’s Conservatives, revealed that, if elected Prime Minister this October, a new Conservative government would make maternity benefits tax-free. “Having a child is an exciting milestone in any person’s life, but it comes with added costs and pressures,” said Scheer. “Today, young parents are under pressure and worried about their future. They ...

Today, Jill Dunlop, Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, issued the following statement regarding World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: “Today, on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, I want to draw attention to the unfortunate prevalence of human trafficking across Ontario. I also want to recognize the survivors and stakeholders who are actively working to help raise awareness ...

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) will deploy a team of investigators to Mistastin Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, where a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver floatplane operated by Air Saguenay was involved in an accident. The TSB will gather information and assess the occurrence. The aircraft was reported missing to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) in Halifax at 11:30 ...

As leaders from the Canadian wastewater management sector gather in Ottawa to discuss issues like plastics in water and the impacts and costs associated with “flushable” wipes on municipal sewer systems operations and reliability, Friends of the Earth is releasing its new poll on flushable wipes. With municipal expenditures to clean up wipes estimated in the past at $230 million ...

An NDP motion tabled by Ethics Critic Charlie Angus (Timmins – James Bay) passed unanimously yesterday at the joint meeting of the International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy and the House of Commons Ethics Committee. The motion called on the committee’s chair to issue a legal summons to Facebook executives Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg when they ...

When the Auditor General files a report, it’s rarely good news for the government. That was the case this week when the watchdog’s office reported about the ongoing problems within government call centres for departments that people rely on – Employment and Social Development; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; and Veterans Affairs.  While Canadians might reasonably expect their calls would provide ...

This afternoon, Premier Doug Ford and Todd Smith, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, issued the following statement regarding the lifting of U.S. Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs: “This is a good day for our steel and aluminum sectors, the province and our workers,” said Ford. “Since day one, our government has been calling on the federal ...

“When the vote began on my call for a national suicide action plan I stood up and held up the eagle feather and the red hawk feather in remembrance of all the youth we have lost in the northern communities. I wanted those children to know that they were loved and that Canada must do better for this coming generation ...

Today, the Honourable Peter Kent, Conservative Shadow Minister for Ethics, sent a letter to the Commissioner of the RCMP regarding Justin Trudeau’s illegal vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island. The letter points out that the facts, as uncovered and reported in December 2017 by the former federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, potentially reveal a prima ...

There’s no doubt tax time can be stressful. Most of us understand there are consequences for cheating on taxes but may not be aware that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) also write off some debt as being uncollectable.  While this doesn’t often make news, the fact that this type of forgiveness was extended on a grand scale this year is ...

The last federal budget before this October’s election short-changed Northern Ontario, and mostly missed the mark, according to the NDP’s Northern Ontario MPs, Carol Hughes and Charlie Angus. “This is a disappointing budget for Canadians who need help right now to make ends meet,” said Hughes. “This budget is disconnected from most people’s reality and the challenges we are facing ...

Transport Canada has this morning made the decision to ground all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft effective immediately and to close Canadian airspace to this aircraft series. We are fully complying with this decision and have taken the necessary steps to safely ground all 13 Boeing MAX aircraft currently in service. We’d like to reassure you that over 92 per cent ...

“If we take care of the land, it will take care of us.” More than 300 First Nations guardians, leaders and partners are gathering in Vancouver from March 12 – 13th to discuss the next steps in creating a national guardians network. Guardians serve as the “moccasins and mukluks” on the ground for their communities. Drawing on traditional knowledge and ...

Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to the federal announcement on drug coverage:   “Today’s announcement on drugs by the federal Liberals is more recommendations, more delays, and no action — again. That affirms for me that Ontario will have to implement its own universal pharmacare program, a drug plan that covers everyone. In the last election, I ...