Government

Government


Federal departments fall short of Ottawa’s 5% Indigenous procurement target

Several of Canada’s federal departments didn’t meet the mandated target for Indigenous procurement in 2023-2024, according to government documents obtained by Canada’s National Observer through an Access to Information request. The policy, introduced in 2021, requires that at least five per cent of all federal spending must go to Indigenous businesses to address economic gaps […]

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Major reports about how climate change affects the US are removed from websites

WASHINGTON (AP) — Legally mandated U.S. national climate assessments seem to have disappeared from the federal websites built to display them, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites […]

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Eco-friendly transportation a condition of planned Ottawa Senators arena: agreement

Public transit, cycling and walking will be the “primary and preferred modes” of getting fans to and from the Ottawa Senators’ planned downtown arena, says a newly disclosed agreement on the project. Under the agreement, a group led by the NHL team would be responsible for designing, building and paying for a publicly accessible cycling […]

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Why Elon Musk installed his top lieutenants at a federal agency you probably haven’t heard of

WASHINGTON (AP) — On the rooftop patio of the General Services Administration headquarters, an agency staffer recently discovered something strange: a rectangular device attached to a wire that snaked across the roof, over the ledge and into the administrator’s window one floor below. It didn’t take long for the employee — an IT specialist — […]

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Feds proposing regular ‘intelligence-informed briefings’ for opposition leaders: memo

A newly released memo shows federal officials recommended almost a year ago that leaders of major opposition parties receive regular classified briefings — not only on foreign interference but also violent extremism and overseas conflicts. The internal memo says the proposed briefings, to be co-ordinated by the Privy Council Office, would ensure security-cleared leaders, as […]

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Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price

As a devastating wildfire burned through a Maui town, killing more than 100 people, emergency management employees traded dozens of text messages, creating a record that would later help investigators piece together the government’s response to the 2023 tragedy. One text exchange hinted officials might also be using a second, untraceable messaging service. “That’s what […]

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Critics say Nova Scotia bill violates labour rights, threatens right to information

Members of the Nova Scotia public voiced concerns on Monday about a government bill they said threatens people’s access to information and violates labour rights in the civil service. The omnibus bill includes amendments that would allow the Progressive Conservative government to fire without cause the auditor general and non-unionized bureaucrats, and veto the release […]

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Nova Scotia NDP urging public to weigh in on the government’s ‘overreaching’ bills

A series of contentious Nova Scotia government bills — including one that would lift a ban on fracking and uranium mining — come before a legislature committee next week, and the province’s Opposition leader is urging the public to make its voice heard. NDP Leader Claudia Chender said people and groups with concerns should attend […]

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As Ontario hikes cost of electricity exports, Lutnick says more tariffs are coming

Ontario placed a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States on Monday as Canada braced for steel and aluminum duties the Trump administration is set to deploy on Wednesday. “I feel terrible for the American people, because it’s not the American people who started this trade war,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford […]

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Meet the federal worker who went rogue: ‘I hope that it lights a fire under people’

NEW YORK (AP) — To billionaire Elon Musk and his cost-cutting team at the Department of Government Efficiency, Karen Ortiz may just be one of many faceless bureaucrats. But to some of her colleagues, she is giving a voice to those who feel they can’t speak out. Ortiz is an administrative judge at the Equal […]

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US charges Chinese hackers, government officials in broad cybercrime campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twelve Chinese nationals, including mercenary hackers, law enforcement officers and employees of a private hacking company, have been charged in connection with global cybercrime campaigns targeting dissidents, news organizations, U.S. agencies and universities, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. A set of criminal cases filed in New York and Washington add new detail […]

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Government watchdog wants thousands of federal workers to be reinstated

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government watchdog wants more than 5,000 probationary employees to be reinstated at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the latest example of resistance to President Donald Trump ‘s efforts to downsize the federal workforce. The Office of Special Counsel made the request Friday and disclosed it Tuesday. If the request is granted […]

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