Latest news with #Ottawa-based
National Observer
14 hours ago
- Business
- National Observer
Expert group says the next six months are 'crucial' for major projects bill success
Prime Minister Mark Carney 's government should prioritize Indigenous engagement and declare "low-risk, high-impact" projects as being in the national interest within the next six months to validate the major projects bill, an Ottawa-based group of experts says in a new paper. The Expert Group on Canada-US Relations at Carleton University released a white paper on the future of Canada's energy sector Monday morning, before Carney was set to meet with Canada's premiers in Huntsville, Ont. Carney asked to join the premiers during their annual summer premiers gathering after President Donald Trump threatened Canada with 35 per cent tariffs starting Aug. 1. The Building Canada Act, also known as Bill C-5, is a central piece of the Carney government's response to Trump's tariffs. The legislation gives the government the power to fast track projects like mines and pipelines deemed to be in the national interest, as the Liberal government seeks to shore up Canada's economy and rely less on trade with the United States. The expert group, co-chaired by former Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty and Carleton University international affairs professor Fen Hampson, wrote that the next six months are critical for the signature piece of legislation to be seen as a success. Beatty said Trump's tariffs have created a "remarkable consensus" to change the way Canada conducts business. "For too long, we've been a nation of builders that can't get anything built, to the point where you get decision by delay, where projects get abandoned or not even proposed because of regulatory paralysis," Beatty said in an emailed response. "The prime minister has promised major improvements to the system, but to sustain and build the momentum, we have to show Canadians that the reforms are working." The white paper says the Carney government should designate national interest projects "immediately." That list should include liquefied natural gas, oil, nuclear, hydrogen and renewable energy infrastructure. The authors suggest deeming two LNG projects in northwestern BC, LNG Canada 2 and Ksi Lisims LNG, as being in the national interest because both have already cleared several regulatory hurdles. The Ksi Lisims LNG project is also a marine project, which puts it into federal jurisdiction. "These projects are more manageable through federal action, and the potential rewards for Canada — 50,000 jobs and $11 billion per year added to the GDP — are major," Beatty said. In order to deepen Indigenous engagement, the expert group says the government should formalize a co-developed benefit-sharing and equity process for land rights holders. Carney held his first of three meetings with Indigenous leaders on Thursday in Gatineau, QC, meeting with hundreds of chiefs. Some of the chiefs said they left the meeting feeling "cautiously optimistic," but others left early feeling that concerns they'd raised for weeks weren't being listened to. Still, Beatty called the meeting an "important first step." "The onus is on governments and business alike to demonstrate their good-faith commitment to the process and to communicate the tremendous opportunities these projects present for Indigenous communities," Beatty said. Winning the trust and confidence of Indigenous communities won't happen overnight, but the prime minister has demonstrated a commitment to making it happen, he said. Carney will co-host the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee with Natan Obed, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president, in Inuvik, N. W. T., on Thursday to continue discussions about the legislation.
Ottawa Citizen
19 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Summer reading: The healing power of 'blue space' infuses Water Borne
Article content Welcome to the Ottawa Citizen's summer reading file, where we'll feature new work by a local author once a week. Article content Dan Rubinstein is an Ottawa-based writer, editor and stand-up paddleboarder (not necessarily in that order). His first book, Born To Walk, was a finalist at the City of Ottawa Book Awards and Kobo Emerging Writer prize. This piece was excerpted from Water Borne: A 1,200-Mile Paddleboarding Pilgrimage, published in June by ECW Press. Article content In 2023, Ottawa writer Dan Rubinstein completed a round-trip journey, via stand-up paddleboard, from Ottawa to Montreal, New York, Toronto and back to Ottawa. The 10-week expedition allowed him to explore and appreciate the aquatic environment around us. Here's an excerpt from chapter One of Water Borne: Article content Petrie Island, about a dozen miles east of downtown, is one of my regular destinations when I paddle on the Ottawa (River). A park that's connected to the shore by a causeway, it's the farthest I can go on a one-way inflatable SUP excursion and still catch a bus home (or, rather, two buses and an LRT train — an ordeal that can take longer than the downriver run). But I'm not riding public transportation this Monday morning in early June. Lisa, my wife, is driving me to Petrie so I can start paddling east. Article content 'We'll be going against rush-hour traffic,' I tell her, smiling sheepishly as I load my deflated board into the car. 'You'll make it home in time to bike to the office like usual.' Article content Article content I don't point out, mind you, that she'll be bogged down in stop-and-go highway traffic on the way back. And I look the other way when we pass through a construction zone that'll delay her even more. Article content Article content Considering my impending absence for most of the next four months, and the parenting and domestic load that she'll be shouldering solo all summer, this morning's drop-off is a minor inconvenience. Yet Lisa instantly and enthusiastically said 'go for it' when I first mentioned my embryonic idea. Throughout two decades of parenthood together, we've taken turns springing one another for projects away from home. She's a writer, too, and, possessing an emotional intelligence far superior to mine, understands that without a creative and/or physical relief valve, my complaints, about the ennui of nine-to-five work and workaday life in general, will inevitably reach an insufferable crescendo.
Toronto Star
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Expert group says the next six months are ‘crucial' for major projects bill success
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney's government should prioritize Indigenous engagement and declare 'low-risk, high-impact' projects as being in the national interest within the next six months to validate the major projects bill, an Ottawa-based group of experts says in a new paper. The Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations at Carleton University released a white paper on the future of Canada's energy sector Monday morning, the before Carney was set to meet with Canada's premiers in Huntsville, Ont.
Ottawa Citizen
a day ago
- Health
- Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa-based organization's pre-budget submission takes aim at women's health funding
Article content An Ottawa-based organization is urging the federal government to allocate millions of dollars in Budget 2025 to address gaps and misinformation in women's health, saying the money will advance women's health care across the country. Article content The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) is a national organization dedicated to advancing women's health and advocating for better health-care policies across the country. Article content Article content In its pre-budget submission, the organization outlined five key recommendations for government officials to consider while drafting Budget 2025, which is expected to drop in the fall. Article content Article content One of those recommendations is a $20 million investment to close data gaps in women's health by creating a National Women's Health Data Dashboard and improve data collection strategies. Article content The SOGC says the dashboard, which should be a standardized and disaggregated database, will provide meaningful insights into key women's health indicators. This includes data on maternal mortality and morbidity, stillbirth and perinatal loss, menopause and endometriosis. Article content This will help patients make informed decisions about their health and also allow health-care providers to provide more responsive, equitable and cost-effective care, the SOGC added. Article content Article content The organization also said the move will also have economic benefits because incomplete data leads to lost productivity and greater costs to the health-care system. Patients often have to foot hefty bills from unnecessary health-care costs. Article content Article content Currently, provinces and territories are responsible for collecting this data and practices may vary widely. Article content 'The federal government must take a leadership role in co-ordinating and standardizing this data collection, as approaches to health data collection across provinces and territories vary widely. Only national leadership can ensure consistency, comparability and the quality needed to build a reliable, actionable and nationally-focused database and dashboard,' the pre-budget submission read. Article content 'Without co-ordinated, federally driven health data infrastructure, Canada will continue to miss emerging health trends, fall short in reducing system costs and fail to support women whose pain and illness limit their ability to fully participate in the economy.'
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
'Toxic environment' and favouritism plague RCMP watchdog, review finds
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. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 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 Neron 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, Neron 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. Neron'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. Neron 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,' Neron 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 Neron'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. Employees' experiences demonstrate an urgent need for reforms in organizational management to address these issues 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. 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. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
