On Monday morning, Vancouver Park Board employees erected a blue fence around a homeless encampment in CRAB Park — separating residents from their shelters and belongings. As park rangers and police began preparing the site to be cleared, residents of the camp on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ territories watched from outside the newly constructed barrier. […]

Manitoba Education has abandoned plans to create an entirely new online high school to increase access to remote learning and expand e-course offerings coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department’s planned takeover of InformNet — a Grade 9-12 remote learning program operated by Winnipeg’s St. James-Assinbioia School Division — appears to be collateral damage […]

Aurora will soon explore the feasibility of developing a Digital Data charter that would protect residents’ privacy in an increasingly digital world. Sitting at Council’s inaugural Committee of the Whole meeting, Council approved a motion from Ward 2 Councillor Rachel Gilliland tasking staff to come back with a report on just such a framework “centred […]

Refit work on the 17-year-old MV Fanafjord, slated to replace the decommissioned Holiday Island ferry running between Wood Islands, PEI and Caribou, NS is well underway, according to Transport Canada.  However, the department is no longer confident the vessel will be ready by May 1st as promised by Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay and other federal […]

Manitoba Teachers’ Society executives have not ruled out an investigation to hold whistleblowers accountable for exposing employee concerns about the head office’s “toxic” environment, related departures and capacity to support members. “I honestly can’t say at this point in time which direction things will take; we’ll have to see how things play out,” said president […]

The cost of insurance for local municipalities continues to rise. Springwater Township received its annual insurance renewal notice last Friday at a cost of $625,709.52. That’s almost $42,000 more than last year, or slightly more than seven per cent.  According to a report prepared by Renée Ainsworth, Springwater’s clerk and director of corporate services, which […]

One group of local union presidents wants the Manitoba Teachers’ Society to launch an inquiry into recent leaks that reveal MTS headquarters is troubled by a large number of administrative employee leaves and allegations it is a “toxic work environment.” Anonymous posts criticizing leaders from both the union’s operational and political wings began appearing on […]

After a damning report from the Ontario Health Coalition accusing the PC government of purposely underfunding public health systems to finance the private sector, the organization’s local chapter has announced April 22 will be a day of protest at Brampton Civic Hospital to demand “Truly Universal Healthcare”.  The demonstration is currently scheduled to take place […]

A national organization that advocates for the rights of tenants is calling for all municipalities to require a building permit and engineering report to verify residents have to be vacated in order to do renovation work which is often just a guise to remove renters so that prices can be significantly increased. On February 28th, […]

BC Ferries has launched a bid to build up to seven green flagship vessels but climate groups are urging the company to abandon liquified natural gas to fuel ships and speed electrification of its fleet to reach its emissions targets.  The ferry service recently revealed it has teamed up with a naval architectural firm to […]

Regrettably, it’s a pretty safe bet that frauds and scams have been a part of human history from the very beginnings of civilization. As time has passed and society has advanced, fraud schemes have evolved to keep pace with progress and technology. Fraudsters in the digital age have an ever-expanding array of tools and schemes […]

Integrity commissioner Peggy Lovelace of E4m municipal advisors, which is retained by Cobalt council, attended a special meeting of Cobalt council Thursday, March 7 where she strongly advised council to stop bringing in resolutions at the last minute. By doing so, the staff is not given enough time to prepare background information, she pointed out. […]