Indigenous leaders push for meeting with first ministers as Ford takes softer tone on development
The request came as Premier Doug Ford struck a softer tone over Ontario's Bill 5, which empowers the province to bypass environmental and other laws to create 'special economic zones' to speed development and offset an expected economic slowdown because of U.S. President Donald Trump's levies.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
2 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: Carney's guide for civil service cuts
Prime Minister Mark Carney waits to speak during a tour of a steel manufacturing facility, in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Photo by Chris Young / The Canadian Press The federal government has moved to block civil servants from streaming services such as Netflix, Crave and Amazon Prime on its networks. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account According to documents obtained by University of Ottawa Assistant Professor Matt Malone and published by CBC, this was not done so much because the streaming put a strain on government networks, but that it was perceived to be a 'people management' issue. Scott Jones, president of Shared Services Canada (SSC), the agency responsible for IT, wrote to the Treasury Board about a meeting of deputy ministers, during which they discussed the use of streaming services in federal buildings. He supported blocking them. 'While streaming may ultimately impact the bandwidth available to the (Government of Canada), it is also more importantly a people management issue,' he wrote. 'In the current context and with public perception of the public service as it is … there is value in engaging (deputy ministers) on these issues and in committing SSC to take some action.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The departments with the highest streaming included the Department of National Defence (DND), Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Privy Council Office. This coincides with a Canadian Press story from February, which reported that large numbers of civil servants aren't following the rules when it comes to the government's hybrid work-from-home model that requires government employees to be in the office three days a week. The DND, which employs about 28,700 people, had the lowest compliance rate. In January, it was 60%, but just 31% in December. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the union representing about 240,000 federal employees, said it had no record of any employee being dismissed or disciplined for not adhering to the hybrid rules. Prime Minister Mark Carney has told government agencies and departments they must slash 15% from their budgets over the next five years. These two reports provide a road map for where to cut. Those ministries and agencies where employees (a) can't be bothered to show up for work on the days they're required, or (b) are streaming Netflix, should be the first on the chopping block. As a show of good faith, Carney should end the hybrid model for MPs and require them to show up to work when the House resumes sitting. Sports Columnists Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA
National Post
5 hours ago
- National Post
Trump's tariff threats against Canada face legal hurdles ahead of August deadline
Donald Trump's plan to realign global trade faces its latest legal barrier this week in a federal appeals court — and Canada is bracing for the U.S. president to follow through on his threat to impose higher tariffs. Article content While Trump set an Aug. 1 deadline for countries to make trade deals with the United States, the president's ultimatum has so far resulted in only a handful of frameworks for trade agreements. Article content Article content Article content Deals have been announced for Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom — but Trump indicated last week that an agreement with Canada is far from complete. Article content Trump sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney threatening to impose 35 per cent tariffs if Canada doesn't make a trade deal by the deadline. The White House has said those duties would not apply to goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. Article content Article content Countries around the world will also be watching as Trump's use of a national security statute to hit nations with tariffs faces scrutiny in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Article content The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in May that Trump does not have the authority to wield tariffs on nearly every country through the use of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act of 1977. Article content The act, usually referred to by the acronym IEEPA, gives the U.S. president authority to control economic transactions after declaring an emergency. No previous president had ever used it for tariffs and the U.S. Constitution gives power over taxes and tariffs to Congress. Article content Article content The Trump administration quickly appealed the lower court's ruling on the so-called 'Liberation Day' and fentanyl-related tariffs and arguments are set to be heard in the appeal court on Thursday. Article content George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin called Trump's tariff actions a 'massive power grab.' Somin, along with the Liberty Justice Center, is representing the American small businesses.
Globe and Mail
8 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Ottawa is quietly working on launching a new entity it hopes will be key to housing affordability
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has been quiet since the federal election about the housing crisis, the same issue that contributed to the Liberals' fading popularity under their previous leader. Behind the scenes, however, housing stakeholders are fielding a flurry of calls from government officials seeking their advice on the creation of Build Canada Homes, a new federal entity that Mr. Carney has said will get the government back in the business of homebuilding. His ambitions, announced during his campaign, were big: act as a developer to build affordable housing, spur innovation in the housing sector and offer low-cost financing to affordable-housing builders. However, trade turmoil has quickly overshadowed housing affordability in the political arena, creating a void of information on how the federal government plans to get more homes built. Renée LeBlanc Proctor, a spokesperson for Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, said in a statement that the government was on track to launch the initiative this fall and stakeholders would learn more soon. But questions still linger about how the new entity will function, and what its creation will mean for existing programs. Meanwhile, some leaders in the housing policy and advocacy spaces are worried that if the government doesn't move quickly to spur more supply, the economic slowdown caused by U.S. tariffs will set plans further behind. Mr. Carney promised the initiative would be a 'lean, mission-driven organization' focused on building affordable housing by leveraging public lands and partnering with the private sector. He pitched it as a central piece of the government's plan to double the rate of homebuilding in the country. Opinion: Ottawa must resist the temptation to fiddle with CMHC amid housing market slump Raymond Sullivan, executive director of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, an organization that represents the social and non-profit housing sector, said he's encouraged to see affordable housing at the heart of Build Canada Homes' mission. But given how long it can take to set up a new bureaucracy, Mr. Sullivan said the government should roll out elements of Build Canada Homes as they become ready, rather than wait for the entire organization to be set up. 'We're not going to have a cake that's fully baked and ready to launch in the fall. So let's focus on the pieces that are already available to us,' he said. University of Toronto senior housing researcher Carolyn Whitzman said there are two versions of the initiative that are being discussed in policy circles: one that is limited in scope and focused primarily on partnering with developers to build affordable housing on public land, and one that also has a larger mandate encompassing financing and innovation programs. Figuring out what exactly Build Canada Homes will be responsible for and how it will distinguish itself from organizations such as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation appear to be some of the details Ottawa is trying to hammer out, according to stakeholders consulted by the government. Mr. Sullivan said Ottawa should ensure social-housing projects in the pipeline are not affected by the organization's creation. 'We don't want to see any kind of interruption. We need to know that the government is there as a partner with us, not sitting back for a year building a new structure, but ready to work on things that are ready,' he said. Real estate is not a financial slam dunk, Canadians are learning the hard way Some housing experts and stakeholders are skeptical that Build Canada Homes will be a sufficient solution to the housing shortage. The government has had mixed success with its housing initiatives in the past — such as the slow progress it's made on converting unused office space into affordable housing recently flagged by the Auditor-General — and a new organization will likely take time to begin delivering results. 'They've talked about partnering with industry to actually build the units, which will be important, because governments around the world have proven that they can't properly get into the actual construction game,' said Kevin Lee, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders' Association. Mr. Lee said building affordable housing on public lands also won't be enough to get the government to its goal of 500,000 housing starts a year. (The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 283,734 units in June.) Meanwhile, the private and social-housing sectors are impatient for clarity on other policy fronts, including the promised GST rebate for first-time homebuyers. Mr. Lee said the delay is affecting demand at a time when the economy is already slowing down the housing market. 'Having something like that that was promised not get turned into official policy has really thrown another wrench into the system,' said Mr. Lee. Proposed GST rebate for first-time homebuyers could offer average relief of $27,000, PBO says Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne introduced legislation in late May to provide the GST rebates. But unlike the government's 'One Canadian Economy' legislation, which was rushed through the House of Commons and Senate during the four-week sitting, the bill on GST rebates must wait for Parliament to return in the fall. The government's prioritization of fast-tracking approvals for major projects and managing trade tensions with the U.S. reflects a shift in the public's priorities, as well. Polling by Abacus Data shows U.S. President Donald Trump is the second-most important issue to Canadians, with housing and the economy nearly tied for third. (The rising cost of living – which includes housing costs – was the No. 1 issue.) Mike Moffatt, founding director of the University of Ottawa's Missing Middle Initiative, said the shift in priorities is understandable, though he warned housing could become of greater importance again. 'The government would be doing itself favours if they do the legwork now, because if it becomes a big concern, or the primary concern for Canadians, again, it might be too late to really address that,' Mr. Moffatt said. The trade war with the United States also has repercussions for the housing market, which won't make the government's job of spurring homebuilding any easier. RBC assistant chief economist Robert Hogue said the housing market is slowing down in part as 'payback for an exceptionally strong period' after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 'However, the trade war kind of put a damper on things and really affected confidence in most of Canada, and that's when we saw, through the winter and spring, a lot of potential home buyers saying, 'might as well sit it out,'' he said. These three housing markets are bucking national trends, and Trump is one reason why 'The challenge is to get more demand for new construction at a time when building costs have gone up and and you've got now more inventory in the existing home market, in many places around Canada.' Mr. Moffatt said as the government works on setting up the organization, it needs to roll out policies that will have a more immediate effect on the housing market. For example, the government could expand its proposed GST rebate so that all homebuyers of a primary residence are eligible, he said. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in the spring his government would match the tax break if it were extended to all homebuyers. Prof. Whitzman said social-housing builders also are seeking information on a number of programs, including the affordable housing fund, which provided capital for the repair of existing affordable and community housing. That fund recently ran out of money, leaving its future in limbo. 'I'm not saying Build Canada Homes is a bad idea,' she said. 'But there's stuff that could be happening tomorrow and there's stuff that should be happening tomorrow.'
