🩺 Premier Ford jokes that hospital overflow can go to new animal hospital

At a ribbon cutting ceremony for King Animal Hospital on Tuesday, Premier Ford seemed to joke about Ontario's burdened health care system. Ford quipped that overflow patients can attend the animal hospital for their MRIs and CT scans.

#healthcare
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Ontario’s ‘unofficial estimate’ of homeless population is 234,000

The government of Ontario estimates nearly a quarter of a million people — roughly three of every 200 residents — are homeless, according to information contained in a housing ministry document.

The number is about nine times higher than the auditor general’s most recent estimate, and still likely drastically undercounts the true number of people experiencing homelessness in the province, experts say.

#Ontario
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Prime Minister Trudeau wishes a baby "Happy Pride."

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'Disgusted' immigration minister looking into revoking citizenship of Toronto terror suspect

The federal government is looking into whether the citizenship of a man accused of planning a terror attack in Toronto should be revoked, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday.

The father, who is also accused of committing an aggravated assault in 2015 for the benefit of the Islamic State somewhere outside of Canada, has Canadian citizenship, authorities say. Police said the son does not have citizenship.

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📉Federal government planning sharp cut to low-wage stream of temporary foreign worker program, sources say

The federal government is planning to sharply cut the low-wage stream of the temporary foreign worker program back to prepandemic levels, government sources say, amid criticism of its growing use by Canadian employers.

Reliance on the low-wage stream has shot up since 2022, when Ottawa agreed to ease access to the program in response to calls from restaurant owners and other employers who said they were struggling to find staff after months of pandemic restrictions.

So the pandemic restrictions triggered a workforce crisis? Sounds like a government-induced problem.

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Alberta moving ahead with new female sports rules after Olympic controversies

A Summer Olympics rocked by controversies over gender identity hasn’t deterred the Alberta government from moving ahead with planned changes to gender divisions in competitive sports, according to the ministry overseeing the new policy.

Alberta is committed to safety and fairness in sport. Which is why we’re working with provincial sporting organizations (PSOs) to ensure that biological women and girls have a choice to compete in a women’s only division in athletic competitions.

Amber Edgerton, press secretary for the Alberta ministry of tourism and sport.

#Alberta
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💸Nearly half of Canadians say rising prices make it harder to cover daily expenses

Nearly half, or 45 per cent, of Canadians say rising prices are “greatly impacting” their ability to meet day-to-day expenses, which is 12 percentage points higher than two years ago, according to a Statistics Canada study.

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🇮🇳 Yesterday, on India's Independence Day, a group of Sikh separatists staged a demonstration outside the Indian Embassy in Toronto. During the demonstration, the Sikhs stomped on the Indian flag.

Isn't that considered incitement of hatred?

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🇮🇳Unlike in Toronto, in Surrey, British Columbia, the Sikh separatists were confronted by the Indians.

I only have one question. Why is this taking place in Canada?

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Oh, wait, that's why.

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Pierre Poilievre promises to 'defund the CBC' after $18.4M bonus amount revealed

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has renewed his promise to cut off funding to the public broadcaster if he’s elected prime minister next year.

The CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors recently approved over $18.4 million in bonuses for nearly 1,200 employees, managers and executives for the 2023-24 fiscal year after it eliminated hundreds of positions. That number represents a 23% increase over the $14.9 million on bonuses handed out the previous year.

In response, Poilievre shared a post to X with the caption “Defund the CBC” with a link inviting his followers to a website calling on the Liberals to end subsidies to the state broadcaster.

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Alberta Premier Smith says legislation on school pronouns coming after September

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government will introduce legislation on pronouns in schools after classes begin in September.

Smith says the new policy requiring parents to be notified when kids 15 and under want to change their names or pronouns in schools will be proposed in the fall legislature session that begins in late October.

#Alberta
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🇨🇦🇺🇦🇷🇺Ukraine cleared to use armour donated by Canada on Russian territory

Ukraine is free to use Canadian-donated tanks and armoured vehicles inside Russia, the Department of National Defence said Thursday.

Canada has donated eight Leopard 2A4 tanks, a few dozen armoured combat support vehicles and hundreds of armoured patrol vehicles, as well as a handful of M-777 howitzers.

At what point did we become comfortable with being dragged into a war with Russia?

#Ukraine #Russia
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For the first time Alberta surpasses B.C., Calgary tops Vancouver, for venture capital investment

The tech sector in Calgary and across Alberta continues to draw interest, with the city now outpacing Vancouver — and the province surpassing British Columbia — in attracting venture capital investment during the first half of the year.

A new report from the Canadian Venture Capital Association shows firms in Alberta raised $383 million during the first six months of the year through 41 separate deals, compared with $288 million and 43 deals in British Columbia.

#Alberta #BritishColumbia
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🇵🇸Pro-Palestinian encampment dismantled at Vancouver Island University after 110 days

A pro-Palestinian encampment at Vancouver Island University (VIU) was dismantled on Sunday morning, 72 hours after the B.C. Supreme Court granted the university an injunction ordering its removal.

#BritishColumbia #Palestine
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B.C. woman arrested after racially offensive social media content, RCMP says

A Chilliwack, B.C., woman has been arrested over what police are describing as racially offensive content she shared via social media.

RCMP spokeswoman said the woman was allegedly targeting members of the South Asian community on X, adding investigators learned of several examples but believe one person is responsible for all the content.

Copying the Brits?

#BritishColumbia
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📈💸The average family’s tax bill rose $7,606 between 2019 and 2023, more than 2.5 times the previous three decade’s average

Between 1992 and 2023, the average tax bill for the average Canadian family rose by $29,376 (166 percent) to $46,998, according to a recent research paper entitled “The Canadian Consumer Tax Index,” published by the Fraser Institute.

Between 2019 and 2023 alone, the average Canadian family's cumulative taxes rose $7,606. For comparison, between 1992 and 2020, families' tax bills grew by a four-year average of $2,896.

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