FOI

FOI


Red River Polytechnic looks to expand after MITT takeover

Red River College Polytechnic is celebrating an enrolment bump and eyeing new high school partnerships as part of its merger with a longtime competitor. For the first time, nearly 400 students attended their first day of RRC Polytech in Winnipeg’s south end on Tuesday. The new campus is outfitted with two school logos — a […]

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Panda Diplomacy: A Mayor’s Quest To Bring Pandas From China To Hawaiʻi

When Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi decided he wanted pandas at the Honolulu Zoo, he approached the Chinese Consulate-General in Los Angeles, who gave him some advice: Go to China. The trip, a 10-day whirlwind this past spring taken by Blangiardi and his wife, who was born in Beijing, cost taxpayers roughly $30,000 and involved the […]

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‘Treacherous and unsafe’: St. Catharines firefighters have documented the dangers of the former GM site for years—the City has failed to act

For years, St. Catharines firefighters have answered call after call about the former General Motors property on Ontario Street, responding to fires, signs of smoke and medical emergencies at the deteriorating industrial site in the heart of the city.  Numerous reports detail a high level of risk to firefighters entering the crumbling buildings, confirming what […]

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‘Greenwashing by governments more harmful’: Who is holding Ottawa and Queen’s Park accountable?

When the federal and provincial governments promote themselves as friends of the environment, while pushing legislation and projects that will devastate landscapes and impact our well being, who holds them accountable for the blatant greenwashing? Perhaps no one. “There’s little greenwashing specific laws in Canada overall, and there are no laws that prohibit the government […]

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Ontario was warned of ‘suspicious’ OSAP activity at a few career colleges: documents

The association representing career colleges in Ontario began warning the government about possible “suspicious” student financial aid activity at a few campuses three years ago, documents show. Career Colleges Ontario also asked the government to refer certain related concerns to police, though the details of those concerns and whether they apply to any particular institutions […]

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Childhood vaccination rates remain stable in Quebec despite the COVID-19 pandemic

As students head back to school across Quebec, data from the province’s public health institute indicate that vaccination rates have remained stable in recent years. Experts say Quebec is in a good position and credit efforts that were made in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. The institute’s vaccine survey finds that the coverage rate […]

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$385M in OSAP grants sent to students at 7 career colleges last year, documents show

A small subset of private career colleges in Ontario has led explosive growth in the number of people receiving student financial assistance, new data shows, and the association representing the sector itself has raised concerns. The number of students receiving grants and loans through the Ontario Student Assistance Program at a few of approximately 170 […]

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Vauxhall Council adopts ORRSC agreement

A 30-plus year agreement with the Town of Vauxhall has officially been updated. During their regular Aug. 17 meeting, Vauxhall town council reviewed an updated Oldman River Regional Services Commission member services agreement. The updated agreement had been ratified by ORRSC’s board of directors on June 4, 2026, and they have requested that council review […]

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Controversial UP copper mine gets $50M in state grants after years of trying

State taxpayers will spend up to $50 million on the polarizing Copperwood copper mine in the far western Upper Peninsula following a vote Tuesday by the Michigan Strategic Fund. Toronto-based Highland Copper Inc. pitched the project in 2023 as a $425 million mine that will create 380 jobs during its 11-year lifecycle — and one […]

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Deloitte used AI in $1.6M government report, but watchdog says it can’t investigate

This reporting is part of an ongoing collaboration between Ricochet and the Newfoundland and Labrador Independent, funded through the Local Journalism Initiative. Today’s story builds on prior investigative reporting by The Independent, which you can read here. Last year, one of the world’s most trusted accounting firms produced a Health and Human Resources Plan for […]

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ICE arrests jumped to nearly 50,000 in July, the highest monthly total of Trump’s second term

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested nearly 50,000 people in July, the highest single monthly arrest total during the second Trump administration, according to new figures. The spike in immigration arrests shows that the administration has continued to advance its mass deportations agenda despite a shift in approach earlier this year from […]

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Ontario students brace for ‘vast amount’ of debt amid OSAP changes, tuition increases

As Aidan Jeffers begins his graduate studies at the University of Toronto, he says he will have to work more hours and possibly rely on food banks due to drastic changes to student financial aid in Ontario – and the resulting debt he expects to rack up. Jeffers said he’s been working two jobs over […]

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