Local Journalism Initiative

Source: Local Journalism Initiative


Province quietly pulls plug on Grade 10 exams

Manitoba Education has discreetly dropped Grade 10 exams from its annual system-wide assessment schedule. The evaluations were originally designed to measure strengths and knowledge gaps up to and including Grade 9 content to inform teacher instruction for the remainder of a cohort’s high school career and provincial planning, policy and resource decisions. They never made […]

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Documents indicate massive diesel spill at New Brunswick Irving station

More than two months after being detected, the environmental cleanup of a massive diesel spill at an Irving truck stop on Beardsley Road in Woodstock continues. The full scope of the spill, initially detected on Dec. 12, 2024, only became evident in late February when CBC unveiled information garnered through a freedom of information request […]

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One oil and gas site was ‘stinky,’ another was ‘gurgling.’ B.C. officials gave them a pass anyway

This investigation is a collaboration between The Narwhal and Investigative Journalism Foundation. “Serious deficiency.” “Very stinky.” “Leakage.” “A hazard.” Those are some of the ways BC Energy Regulator officials described oil and gas sites when they documented apparent environmental infractions during routine inspections, according to internal documents.  The regulator, a provincial government agency, is largely […]

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Manitoba school boards adapt to tariffs by halting travel, preparing for cost hikes

Transcona’s school board has decided to stop paying for teachers and other employees to participate in U.S.-based education conferences and training opportunities. The River East Transcona School Division, which operates 42 schools in northeast Winnipeg, is the latest to promote domestic tourism — in the form of student field trips and staff professional development — […]

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Documents reveal over 1,000 potential infractions left unchecked by B.C.’s energy regulator

This investigation is a collaboration between The Narwhal and Investigative Journalism Foundation. On a warm mid-August afternoon in 2022, a BC Energy Regulator inspector drove to an oil and gas site in the northeast part of the province. The inspection was one of more than two dozen stops for the compliance and enforcement officer that […]

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Over 1,000 potential infractions: inside B.C.’s oversight of oil and gas companies

This investigation is a collaboration between The Narwhal and Investigative Journalism Foundation. Between 2017 and 2023, BC Energy Regulator officials documented thousands of apparent environmental infractions at oil and gas facilities only to conclude the sites were compliant, according to internal government documents. In more than 1,000 instances, inspectors documented a series of apparent environmental […]

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Mohawk Council of Kahnawake unveils new website

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) has a shiny new website as of this Wednesday. Aerial drone shots of the territory now take up nearly the entirety of its landing page. Revamping the entire website was a massive undertaking, said Justus Polson-Lahache, among those at Public Relations that led the redesign.  “There were maybe 200 […]

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Newcomers group seeks home

The Newcomers Support Team met with town council at the February 19 Governance and Priorities meeting to give some information about their group. Laurie Andrews, the executive director for Drayton Valley Community Learning, along with Verna Wicks with DVCL, and Sheen Tamayo, a recent newcomer to the community, gave an update on what they’ve been […]

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Information breach raises concerns about upcoming U of M campus election

The University of Manitoba Students’ Union has issued an alert about an “accidental disclosure” of member information to candidates running in an upcoming campus election.  Student names and identification numbers, as well as their school emails and faculties, were mistakenly shared with 30 campus leader hopefuls via email on Feb. 12, per a statement on […]

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Land For Homes discusses importance of knowledge and community context

Nunavut is taking another small step in addressing the housing crisis.  Land for Homes (L4H) brought together representatives from several  groups including Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), Nunavut Housing  Corporation (NHC), Nunavut Association of Municipalities (NAM), regional  Inuit associations, development corporations, and all levels of  government to talk about challenges and collaborations to remove  barriers to […]

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Fisheries and Oceans Canada expects to flounder under mounting climate costs

Hurricane Fiona left a trail of destruction across the Atlantic Coast in September 2022 wreaking havoc on wharves, fisheries, vessels, and gear and the federal government’s pocketbook. In response to the climate disaster, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has had to earmark more than $563 million to deal with Fiona’s aftermath, including damage to 142 […]

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Care home company got $8.8M in subsidies, paid shareholders millions

One of the largest for-profit continuing care home operators in Alberta received more than $8.85 million in wage subsidies from the provincial government while the company also paid out tens of millions to shareholders. Between 2020 and 2023, Alberta Health transferred over $8.85 million in subsidies to Extendicare as part of a $2 per hour […]

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