Sask. NDP, White City say community in dire need of new high school and elementary facilities
WATCH: The provincial NDP and the Town of White City are calling on the Ministry of Education to build a new high school and elementary school in the community.
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National Post
30 minutes ago
- National Post
FIRST READING: The wokest military on earth
First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post's own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here. Article content Article content TOP STORY Article content One of the stated goals of the Carney government is to rejigger Canada's various military relationships. After decades of reflexively going along with the United States on defence issues, the Liberals are signalling a plan to make nice with Europe. Article content Article content This week's speech from the throne stated that Canada will be joining 'ReArm Europe,' a massive planned buildup of the continent's military strength, largely as a check against Russia. Article content Article content But as Canada strikes out to make new friends, these new allies may encounter a Canadian military that is slightly different than what they remember. Even for Western militaries that have embraced nostrums of equity and inclusion, in many ways Canada has gone further than all of them. Article content It was in 2022 that the Canadian Armed Forces dramatically dropped its standards for dress and grooming. There are no longer any restrictions on hair length or colour and everything from hoop earrings to ear spacers to eyelash extensions can now be freely worn on parade squares. Article content Canada acknowledged at the time that nobody else was doing this. As Canada's then top soldier, Wayne Eyre said at the time that Canada was 'leading the way' on 21st century military dress codes. 'We have … consulted with our allies, who have told us that we are several years ahead of them,' said Eyre. Article content Article content Three years later, Canada is still an outlier in having units filled with beards, green hair, facial piercings and sideburns. All across Europe, beard bans are standard at a minimum, with exceptions allowed under strict conditions. The Norwegian military, for instance, allows beards only with explicit, written permission. Article content Article content Even France, a country known for its freewheeling workplace dress codes, forces its soldiers to shave before marching through Paris on Bastille Day.
CBC
35 minutes ago
- CBC
Government accountability watchdog calls for end to free concert tickets for city councillors
A democracy watchdog is questioning the practice of municipal governments receiving free tickets to events hosted at public venues, following a CBC News investigation. Access to free tickets has been under scrutiny after a former federal cabinet minister accepted tickets from a Crown corporation to see Taylor Swift during the Eras Tour. Documents obtained by CBC News through freedom of information requests show municipalities with taxpayer-funded arenas and theatres in British Columbia have received hundreds of complimentary tickets worth thousands of dollars to events hosted at their facilities. Facility-use agreements between the City of Kelowna and Live Nation Canada show seven complimentary tickets were allotted to the city for Tenille Townes, Darcy and Jer and Paul Brandt and Terri Clarke. The events were held at the Kelowna Community Theatre, owned by the city. Forty tickets were routinely given to the City of Prince George for shows at CN Centre — the city's arena — dating back almost twenty years, including for: Elton John, Sarah McLachlan and The Tragically Hip. And the City of Kamloops was granted 40 free tickets from Live Nation Canada to a Bryan Adams concert in 2023, as part of an agreement to use its public arena, Sandman Centre. It received another 40 tickets to Blue Rodeo. CBC has learned the tickets are generally given to mayor and council, city staff, media (including CBC), non-profits and volunteers. Tickets may be gifted to community groups or used as promotional material, but in some instances, they have been given to elected officials. Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, says these contracts aren't usually made public, and cities shouldn't be using them to get free tickets in secret. He said city politicians and staff who accept free tickets are profiting personally from a public facility or could be using them to buy relationships, if they're giving them away. "This is really deeply unethical to be doing this," Conacher said. Kelowna, Prince George and Victoria track who receives the tickets. The City of Kamloops, however, does not. Kamloops also stood out for charging fees, requiring third-party approval and redacting its free tickets from the contracts during the freedom of information request (FOI) process. The redacted documents were released on Oct. 15, 2024, three months after the initial request, and following approval of millions in borrowing to build a new performing arts centre in downtown Kamloops for concerts and other events. CBC later appealed the redactions, leading to the release of the information. CBC's investigation found a noteworthy case of free tickets in Kamloops. City emails show staff offered two tickets to each game, show and event with drinks to the mayor and council for the Memorial Cup, the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, which came to Kamloops in 2023. The email said tickets were being provided to each of them by the host organizing committee due to "significant support." Kamloops council approved nearly a million dollars in upgrades to Sandman Centre before the event. "Recognizing, approving and fast tracking the improvements Sandman Centre needed to keep our facility up to date was the first step and had those improvements not been done, the Memorial Cup would not be coming to Kamloops …" the email states. "Christmas has come early this year," added the council's executive assistant. Kamloops councillor Bill Sarai accepted the tickets. He said it is common for elected officials in communities that host the Memorial Cup to receive VIP packages to represent their city and welcome tourists. "We upgraded Sandman Centre to be able to host the Memorial Cup," Sarai said. "So, in order for us to do that, yes, we have to spend some money. Is the end goal, 'Oh, we want to spend a million dollars, so I can get a hundred-dollar ticket to go to Memorial Cup?' I think that's far-fetched." City of Kamloops corporate officer Maria Mazzotta said B.C.'s Community Charter prohibits councillors from accepting quid pro quo situations, with some exceptions, and requires councillors to report gifts or benefits that exceed $250. Full-event tickets to the Memorial Cup were about $600 each. Asked if he reported the tickets, Sarai told CBC: "I was not made aware of the value of the package." Conacher said a lack of knowledge doesn't exempt someone from penalties associated with breaching the Community Charter and criticized a "loophole," in which gifts are reported to municipal corporate officers, not the public. He said if an event is important enough for city staff or council to attend, the city should pay for tickets. "Because otherwise this is a secretive system of possibly trading favours and you have to know who is benefiting from city council or city staff, in order to know what favours they may be doing in return for someone," Conacher said. "It's a dangerously unethical practice, and the only real solution is to not have free tickets provided."
CBC
36 minutes ago
- CBC
City of Edmonton renewal investment shortfall sits at $1.5B: report
City of Edmonton administration and council will discuss next week how to balance growing the city while maintaining existing infrastructure, after a new administrative report found a shortfall of $1.5 billion for the 2023-26 capital budget. The city has $34 billion worth of infrastructure and assets, including roads, recreation centres, parks, pools, fire halls, transit and community spaces. But only 54 per cent of funding is going toward maintenance and renewal, the report says. Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador said the report was not surprising. She has put forward measures like a dedicated fund to mitigate underfunding renewal. "Over time, if we're not taking care of all of our infrastructure and assets, we start to see potential service declines. We see that infrastructure falling into disrepair, which ultimately is more costly for Edmontonians," Salvador told CBC News. "We can have a dedicated fund in place to predictably and sustainably take care of our existing infrastructure." Salvador said Edmonton, like other North American cities, has spread itself thin, sprawling "quite quickly." But she said the city didn't have "an adequate line of sight as to how we're actually going to pay for all of that infrastructure." The municipal government needs to understand the full life cycle costs of all its assets when it builds new facilities, roads and communities near the edge of the city, she said. "We need to be able to not only build them at the outset and pay for the growth of those assets, but have sustainable funding," Salvador said. In March, city council voted to support the creation of a dedicated renewal fund. Provincial funding Ward Dene Coun. Aaron Paquette has concerns over provincial cuts to infrastructure funding for municipalities, saying the Alberta government "massively reduced" the amount provided. "For us, that's meant over $1 billion lost in unconstrained infrastructure dollars," Paquette said. Unconstrained funding can be used without specific restrictions or limitations. Paquette said, at this point, nothing essential will be immediately impacted, but mitigating costs will help future taxpayers. "The reason we have this deficit is through provincial cuts and through, obviously, inflation and some of these tariff discussions," he said. "But it's our job to sort of accommodate for that and provide policy and direction that, again, will shield residents." In an emailed statement to CBC News on Friday, Minister of Municipal Affairs Dan Williams said the provincial government is stepping up to meet the challenge and ensure Edmontonians "have access to world-class public infrastructure." Williams said the city received $179 million through the Local Governance Fiscal Framework, an increase of more than 13 per cent from last year. He noted that, in this year's budget, the provincial government increased amounts paid through its Grants in Place of Taxes program to 75 per cent, with plans to increase amounts to 100 per cent next year. The program lets the Alberta government give municipalities grants instead of paying property taxes on its properties within those communities. The move came after municipalities across Alberta voiced concern to the provincial government over the impact of cuts to grants in place of taxes in recent decades. Williams said the City of Edmonton will receive roughly $28.6 million in funding through the grant, up more than $10.5 million from last year. The provincial capital plan currently sits at $26.1 billion. It includes $1.6 billion for LRT expansion projects, $190 million for the expansions of Terwillegar Drive and Yellowhead Trail in Edmonton and $106 million to revitalize downtown Edmonton.
