Rallies for endangered species. Protests led by First Nations. A filibuster from the NDP. More than 4,000 amendments tabled by the Liberals. Two committee hearings with Indigenous leaders, legal experts, labour representatives, and more. Despite all of it, Bill 5 passed. On June 5, as Ontarians across the province struggled to breathe through smoke-filled air […]

Transparency advocates say a coming federal review of the Access to Information Act should be overseen by an independent panel — not the government — to avoid the pitfalls of the last such exercise. In a letter sent Monday to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, civil society groups, academics and […]

Quebec’s language watchdog contacted the Montreal transit agency at least six times in the wake of a complaint about using the word “go” on city buses to cheer on a local soccer team.  The watchdog — the Office québécois de la langue française — asked for multiple updates on the agency’s efforts to remove the […]

The revelation that since 2022 an additional 1,180 property owners in St. Catharines are unable to pay their tax bill has prompted at least one member of City Council to take action. Less than two weeks after The Pointer reported a sharp rise in the number of properties in municipal tax arrears, information that had […]

In a decision that appears to contradict itself, the municipal watchdog hired by Council members to hold them accountable has determined that even though Mayor Mat Siscoe violated rules set out in the Code of Conduct that governs the behaviour of local elected officials, his conduct somehow did not rise to a punishable contravention of […]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey vowed Wednesday that his administration will improve transparency and policies within the state’s embattled foster care system. Morrisey, a Republican, announced the changes after eight listening sessions statewide to identify areas of improvement and a review of critical cases. Morrisey said he heard attendees at one […]

Cottage owners and disaster prevention experts in Manitoba are urging governments to develop comprehensive wildfire management plans after a pair of devastating wildfires. Close to 1,000 people were forced from their homes last week as a wildfire near the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, spurred by dry, hot and windy conditions, burned nearby. The […]

The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division Board of Education is seeing excellent progress after revamping their Board Advocacy Plan and Board Development Plan. Trustee Alan Nunn updated the board of the progress of both plans at their recent meeting. This year the Board focused their development work on Governance and Leadership, as well as Learning and […]

The Republican-controlled Federal Trade Commission voted Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit against PepsiCo that the previous commission filed in the waning days of the Biden administration. The lawsuit, filed in January, alleged that PepsiCo was giving unfair price advantages to Walmart at the expense of other vendors and consumers. The lawsuit had relied on the […]

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Eunju Kim, who escaped starvation in North Korea in 1999, was sent back from China and fled a second time, told the United Nations on Tuesday that the country’s leader must be held accountable for gross human rights violations. Gyuri Kang, whose family faced persecution for her grandmother’s religious beliefs, fled […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — For generations, official American documents have been meticulously preserved and protected, from the era of quills and parchment to boxes of paper to the cloud, safeguarding snapshots of the government and the nation for posterity. Now, the Trump administration is scrubbing thousands of government websites of history, legal records and data it […]

● Mayor Lovatt has submitted a formal pre-budget request to Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy laying out Town priorities in need of greater Provincial support. ● He warned of a growing infrastructure gap, exacerbated by rising costs and a lack of sustainable funding for small but fast-growing towns like Stouffville. ● Lovatt noted the potential […]