Poilievre calls on Carney to sell assets to avoid conflicts of interest
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Winnipeg Free Press
16 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Workplace assessment of RCMP watchdog found ‘clear call for change,' documents show
OTTAWA – An independent assessment of the RCMP watchdog, prompted by an anonymous email from employees, uncovered concerns about favouritism, a lack of transparency, heavy workloads and 'a toxic environment.' The workplace assessment of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP found 'a clear call for change and action at the leadership level to restore credibility and trust within the organization.' The Canadian Press recently obtained a copy of the May 2024 assessment, almost six months after filing an Access to Information request with Public Safety Canada, which ordered the report. The Ottawa-based review commission is an independent agency created by Parliament to ensure public complaints about the conduct of RCMP members are examined fairly and impartially. Public Safety hired independent workplace investigator Robert Néron for the assessment after receiving an October 2023 email from review commission employees fearful of signing their names due to the watchdog's small size. In a June 2024 note to Public Safety summarizing his findings, Néron said the anonymous email had alleged the review commission was in total disarray because of a lack of leadership from the commission chairperson. Michelaine Lahaie was serving in the role at that time. Néron's summary, heavily redacted before release under the access law, rejected the pointed allegation against the chairperson — a conclusion he reached after interviewing commission employees, including Lahaie, and circulating a detailed questionnaire to staff. Néron found employees generally felt engaged with their work and that most believed leadership treated them fairly and provided constructive feedback. However, some staff expressed serious concerns. The report says a significant number felt overwhelmed by their workloads, causing stress and making them less satisfied with their jobs. It cites a 'notable communication gap' between the leadership and staff, with many employees saying organizational messaging was too infrequent and lacked clarity and consistency. The report says feedback from employees on methods of resolving conflict was mixed, 'with a distinct portion of the workforce feeling unsupported.' There were also multiple complaints of 'a toxic work environment' due to the behaviour and practices of leadership. 'The staff expresses a strong desire to address and resolve this toxic environment,' the report says. 'They seek an anonymous reporting system to report workplace misconduct, especially involving senior managers.' Employees also wanted additional support for mental health issues and a more compassionate means of accommodating staff needs. Many employees said supervisors and team managers should have more autonomy over decisions about investigative outcomes and allowing people to work remotely, the report adds. 'They believe some current leaders lack the necessary skills and hold positions due to favouritism.' The questionnaire, distributed to current and recently departed employees, revealed a consensus that the commission lacked vision, strategy and a cohesive plan for its future, the report says. 'Respondents feel there are no opportunities to discuss the broader mission or innovate.' The report makes several recommendations to improve employee well-being and promote stronger leadership at the commission. 'In our view, addressing these concerns is crucial to fostering a more inclusive, equitable and productive organizational culture,' Néron said in his letter last year to Public Safety. 'Employees' experiences demonstrate an urgent need for reforms in organizational management to address these issues.' Following completion of Néron's report, Public Safety took steps to help Lahaie communicate the findings to commission staff and implement the various recommendations, the records released under the access law show. Lahaie, a military veteran, was appointed chairperson of the complaints commission for a five-year term in 2019. Her tenure was later extended through early this year. The chairperson's job has been vacant since January and Lahaie is now vice-chairperson at Tribunals Ontario, a provincial government agency. Lahaie declined to comment on the workplace assessment, citing restrictions related to her new position. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. The review commission has put in place several initiatives to bolster employee well-being following the assessment, said Public Safety spokesperson Tim Warmington. The measures include better availability of wellness information on the organization's intranet and presentations to staff on stress resilience, conflict management and employee assistance, Warmington said in an emailed response to questions. The review commission's mandate is set to expand to cover the activities of the Canada Border Services Agency as well as the RCMP. Legislation establishing the Public Complaints and Review Commission received royal assent last year, though it is unclear when the new agency will be up and running. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
16 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trade top of mind as Canada's premiers are set to hold three-day meeting in Ontario
TORONTO – Tariffs and trade are top of the agenda as the country's premiers arrive in Ontario's cottage country for a three-day meeting that comes at a pivotal time for both Canada-U.S. and domestic relations. The premiers' summer gathering in Muskoka will also feature a Tuesday meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, as trade talks with the United States are expected to intensify. Most of what the premiers are likely to discuss stems from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs: trade negotiations, the direct impact on industries such as steel and aluminum, the increased pushes to remove interprovincial trade barriers and speed up major infrastructure and natural resource projects to counteract the effects of tariffs, as well as Indigenous communities' concerns about them. Day 1 of the premiers' meeting involves discussions with Indigenous leaders including the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council and the Native Women's Association of Canada. Carney himself is fresh off a meeting with hundreds of First Nations chiefs, many of whom have expressed concerns about their rights being sidelined as the prime minister looks to accelerate projects in the 'national interest.' Some of the top priorities premiers are pushing include pipelines and mining in Ontario's Ring of Fire region, and chiefs have said that must not happen by governments skirting their duty to consult. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has served for the past year as head of the Council of the Federation, is host of the meeting and said in a statement that protecting national interests will be top of mind. 'This meeting will be an opportunity to work together on how to respond to President Trump's latest threat and how we can unleash the full potential of Canada's economy,' Ford wrote. Trump and Carney agreed in June at the G7 summit to try and reach a trade deal by July 21 but Trump recently moved that deadline to Aug. 1, while telling Carney he intends to impose 35 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canada that same day. Carney has said Canada is trying to get an agreement on softwood lumber exports included in the negotiations with the United States. British Columbia Premier David Eby said he intends to raise the issue and others of particular importance to B.C. at the meeting. '(We want to) get access to the same level of attention, for example, on the softwood lumber as Ontario gets on the auto parts sector, (and) that we get the same amount of attention on capital projects as Alberta is currently getting in relation to their proposals,' Eby said last week in Victoria. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been making a big push for new pipelines, but said during a press conference Friday that her focus would also be on premiers working together to address the tariff threat, including interprovincial trade. 'I was really pleased to sign (a memorandum of understanding) with Doug Ford during the time he was here in during Stampede, and other provinces are working on those same kind of collaborative agreements,' she said. 'We need to do more to trade with each other, and I hope that that's the spirit of the discussion.' Smith and Ford signed an MOU earlier this month to study new pipelines and rail lines between provinces, and both premiers also talked about wanting Carney to repeal a number of energy regulations like net-zero targets, the West Coast tanker ban and a proposed emissions cap. Ford has also taken a lead role on increasing interprovincial trade, signing MOUs with several provinces and enacting a law to remove all of Ontario's exceptions to free trade between the provinces and territories. Nova Scotia's Tim Houston is another premier banging the drum of interprovincial trade, saying the trade war is forcing action on it. 'We're seeing the benefit of working together to respond to economic threats from the U.S. by breaking down internal trade barriers and opportunities to expand in other international markets,' he wrote in a statement. Ford has said the premiers will also talk about emergency management, energy security, sovereignty and national security, health, and public safety. The premiers have also been pushing the federal government to reform bail laws and Carney said last week that legislation will be introduced in the fall and he expects to discuss the issue with the premiers on Tuesday. The premiers' summer meeting also signals a changing of the guard, with the role of chair of Council of the Federation moving between provinces annually. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. But after Ford is no longer chair, he's not expected to take too much of a back seat on all of the aforementioned issues. He is still premier of the most populous province, has built a strong relationship with Carney, often singing the prime minister's praises, and has done frequent American TV interviews making the case for increased trade over tariffs. Those network appearances, in part, earned him a nickname of 'Captain Canada' — a persona he used to massive political benefit. Ford made the fight against tariffs and Trump the central part of his re-election campaign and voters returned him to government with a third consecutive majority. — With files from Wolfgang Depner in Victoria, Keith Doucette in Halifax and Lisa Johnson in Edmonton This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025.
National Post
16 minutes ago
- National Post
Amy Hamm: Trudeau may be gone, but the gender craziness continues
Unlike his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Mark Carney isn't known for making flamboyant declarations of allyship to Canada's 2SLGBTQIA+ community. But don't be deceived: our national fealty to gender ideology remains the same as it was during the Trudeau years. Canada is no less woke under Carney. Article content Some may believe that Trudeau's departure, coupled with international blows to the excesses of this ideology, marked the end of Canada's struggle with the more absurd, anti-reality aspects of trans activism. Unfortunately, that is untrue. Article content Article content Fighting gender ideology in Canada is a war of attrition. And more than ever, those on the front lines need armaments and sustenance. Article content Article content Remember the case of Jessica Yaniv? The transgender-identifying Yaniv filed numerous human rights complaints against female immigrant estheticians for declining to wax male genitalia. Yaniv lost the cases at the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal (on a technicality) and has largely fallen out of the public's eye. Until now. Article content The pageant is open to girls as young as six and contestants undress together backstage. Canada Galaxy Pageants' policy rightly prohibits people with intact male genitalia from competing. Article content The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has been representing the company in what it describes as 'a human rights case … that (deals) with whether children's emotional, mental and physical safety should take precedence over a transwoman's desire to access a female changeroom.' Article content Article content The JCCF recently asked the tribunal to dismiss the case and expects a decision in the coming weeks. Article content Article content According to the JCCF, Matt and Nicole Alexander's teenage son began to vocally oppose his school's gender self-identification policy. His parents did not teach at his school, or even in his school district. However, they soon came under direct attack from gender activists. Article content First, Matt Alexander was suspended from his teaching job in April 2023, over social media posts that members of the public made about him. A month later, Nicole Alexander removed a progress Pride flag that someone taped to the door of her kindergarten classroom. She was placed on suspension that same day.
