Latest news with #SRO
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
PTBA for extending e-integration deadline
ISLAMABAD: Following failure of the FBR to integrate sales taxpayers, Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA) has asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the deadline up to June 30, 2025 for corporate sales taxpayers to electronically integrate with the FBR's system. The deadline of integration has been expired on June 1, 2025 for the corporate sales taxpayers. According to a letter of the PTBA to FBR Chairman, Pakistan Tax Bar, fully support the government's documentation initiative aimed at enhancing transparency and documentation of the supply chain through implementation of electronically integrate their hardware and software with Boards computerized system (E-invoicing) through license integrator or PRAL under SRO 709(1)/2025 dated 22nd April, 2025. The corporate and individual tax filers have to integrate by May 1, 2025 and June 1, 2025 and subsequently deadline was extended for corporate and individual tax filers to June 1, 2025 and July 1, 2025 respectively. However, despite these timely efforts, it remains practically impossible for significant number of corporate entities to integrate with Board's computerized system through license integrator or PRAL within specified time and manner. It has received several representations from member bars across the country indicating that the deadline for corporate tax filers is going to be expired on June 1, 2025. In these current circumstances, it seems impossible to get the integrated process completed by the corporate tax filers on the due date. Therefore, in the interest of documentation and proper implementation for the integration of supply chain, the PTBA has recommended that the deadline for the corporate tax filers to integrate has to be extended till June 30, 2025. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Ontario legislation could put police back in schools in Ottawa and across Ontario
Four years after a controversial police-in-schools program was cancelled in Ottawa, the province is introducing legislation that will require school boards to implement a program if it is available. The Ottawa Police Service cancelled the SRO program in June 2021 after the city's largest school board decided to drop the 20-year-old program and publicly apologize for harm to marginalized students. About a week after the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board cancelled the program, then-police chief Peter Sloly said since the OCDSB accounted for about half of the SRO program, police had decided to drop the program at all four Ottawa school boards and reinvest the resources. The proposed legislation announced May 29 may help 'rebuild capacity,' said OPS in a statement. School resource officer (SRO) programs will be implemented if local police have one, to take effect in the next school year, according to the province. OPS said it has developed a specialized 'community youth unit,' launched in January, which currently includes four officers, with a proposal to add one additional officer per police district. 'These will not be new positions. The additions will reactivate existing roles that have remained vacant since 2021, when the previous SRO program was suspended.' OPS is not reintroducing the former SRO program in name, but it has fully integrated many of its most effective elements into the new delivery model, said the statement. 'We recognize that some aspects of the former model — such as consistent and timely support during school-related incidents — were highly valued. While these elements are part of our long-term vision, current staffing limitations prevent us from fully realizing that level of coverage at this time. That said, the proposed provincial legislation may help accelerate our ability to rebuild capacity and restore more consistent service across Ottawa's schools.' The decision to drop the SRO program at the OCDSB in 2021 came after months of controversy. Sloly argued that while some students distrust police, the SRO program is part of the solution to improve relationships and fight systemic racism. But a report from the OCDSB's equity and human rights office said the program had not been critically examined for its impact on Indigenous, racialized and minoritized students. When the SRO program was cancelled, police were only permitted in OCDSB schools under certain circumstances, such as investigating a crime, responding to a safety concern or in response to an invitation from a school or the school board. In May 2023, Ontario Premier Doug Ford weighed in after an invitation to an Ottawa police officer to attend a 'community helpers day' event at a Stittsville elementary school was rescinded if the officer wore her police uniform. 'This is a disturbing trend that needs to stop,' Ford tweeted, calling on OCDSB to immediately reverse the policy. OPS introduced its new youth strategy in 2024, which guided the development of the community school engagement team launched in January. Created in collaboration with all four school boards, the program is delivered by Community Youth Unit officers and is designed to provide consistent, relationship-based support to schools, said OPS. 'However, participation is voluntary and based on each school board's decision to access our services. Should the proposed legislation pass, it may encourage greater uptake by supporting school boards in engaging with police services in a structured and transparent way.' In June 2023, OCDSB Trustee Donna Blackburn attempted to introduce a motion to reopen discussions with OPS about establishing standards of practice that would allow for police support in schools. The matter was never debated on a point of order. 'I believe it's a positive development,' said Blackburn of the province's May 29 announcement. 'It's just sad that we were put in a position where (Education Minister) Paul Calandra was forced to say it.' Blackburn signalled her intent to bring the matter back in another motion that had been scheduled for discussion on May 20, but has since been rescheduled to June. Cancelling the SRO program in 2021 'not only affected the safety of staff and students at the OCDSB, we affected the safety of staff and students at the other three school boards,' said Blackburn in an interview. She believes trustees may be open to discussing the matter again. 'We have seven new trustees since the OCDSB voted to get rid of the program,' said Blackburn. 'My motion gives all of us the opportunity to demonstrate we understand the importance of the role police can play in keeping school communities safe.' Blackburn said in one recent incident, she was asked by the parent council at a Barrhaven school whether they could invite police to a school barbecue. 'I agreed that if there was any blowback to anyone, I would take responsibility for it. Thankfully, the police presence was a huge success and there were no negative repercussions whatsoever,' she said. 'We need to have a very clear message to the system if a school community wants the OPS to come to a barbecue, they can come in uniform, and they can come in a cruiser. If school communities don't want police doing that, then don't do that.' But fellow trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth said it's inappropriate for the Ministry of Education to centrally make a decision about police in schools. 'The work that was done in 2021 to end the SRO program and remove police from schools was very important to address the past and present discrimination and bias by police in interactions with Black and Indigenous and LGBTQIA, by women and girls who report violence and sexual harassment, by people with mental illnesses and disabilities and other marginalized groups in our community,' she said. Trustees have a responsibility as elected representatives to advocate for the community, said Kaplan-Myrth. 'Vulnerable populations in Ottawa have made it crystal clear that, from an equity and social justice lens, cancelling the SRO program was the right thing to do. That doesn't mean that the OCDSB has no relationship with the Ottawa Police. We've been working with them in other ways. There's still a lot of work to be done to establish trust.' SROs in schools are part of a broad proposed legislation that would give the minister of education more power to put schools under supervision. The OCDSB is under financial investigation by the province. 'It's incumbent on us to pass this motion to demonstrate to the Ministry that the OCDSB can make good, common-sense decisions, particularly when we are being closely monitored,' said Blackburn.
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Should police officers be in Ontario schools? Province wants to revive controversial program with new legislation but not everyone agrees
The Ontario government plans to require public school boards to implement school resource officer programs in areas where they are offered by local police services, beginning in the 2025-26 school year. The proposal is part of the Supporting Children and Students Act, introduced May 29, which the Ministry of Education says aims to strengthen government oversight, accountability and transparency in public school boards, post-secondary education and children's aid societies. The legislation would also give the education minister enhanced powers to more easily put school boards under provincial supervision. School resource officers (SRO) have been a source of debate at school boards across the province, with critics raising concerns about negative impacts on racialized and marginalized students. In a news release , Police Association of Ontario president Mark Baxter said the organization endorses the government's initiative and looks forward to seeing the SRO program implemented, where available, at school boards provincewide. 'The school resource officer program plays a crucial role in fostering trust, safety and mentorship within our schools. Having experienced the positive influence of an SRO in my own life, I understand how impactful these programs can be for young people,' Baxter said. Ontario's largest educator union disagrees. Calling it an 'egregious overreach' the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) issued a statement opposing the plan. 'ETFO strongly opposes the Ford government's latest legislative proposal that grants the Minister of Education additional powers to more easily place elected school boards under supervision and that forces the presence of police officers in schools,' the union stated. ETFO described the bill as 'authoritarianism cloaked in the language of accountability,' saying the government is attempting to deflect blame, suppress dissenting voices and tighten political control over the public education system. The union added the proposed changes would transfer power from democratically elected trustees to Queen's Park, and would compel boards to reintroduce SRO programs 'despite their well-documented harm, particularly to Black, Indigenous, and other racialized students.' The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association also criticized the proposal, calling it an attempt to erode local decision-making and divert attention from broader issues in the education system. 'Mandating school resource officers (SROs) is yet another move that undermines local decision-making,' the union said in a statement. 'Over the last decade, many school boards have chosen to end SRO programs after listening to experts and the voices of students, particularly those from Indigenous, Black and other equity-deserving groups who often felt surveilled and unsafe by the presence of police in schools.' The union added that mandating the return of police to schools sends the message that marginalized voices do not matter and ignores evidence that these programs have failed to foster trust between police and students. SRO programs have faced scrutiny from critics provincewide. The Hamilton-Wentworth School Board (HWDSB), for example, scrapped its police liaison program by a 7-3 trustee vote in 2020. Alex Johnstone, HWDSB chair at the time, said the program made some students feel unsafe — even if most students were indifferent to the police presence. 'It is incumbent upon us to have a duty to act to ensure that we have a safe and supportive school for all students. 'Most students' is not good enough,' Johnstone said in 2020. The Toronto District School Board voted to end its SRO program in 2017 following community consultation that found a regular armed police presence in schools was particularly harmful to vulnerable students. The proposed legislation would also mandate public disclosure of expense claims made by school trustees and other key personnel, requiring school boards to post expenses to a public-facing website. The move follows a number of high-profile expense controversies at Ontario boards. Last fall, a Brantford-area Catholic school board garnered headlines after it spent $145,000 to send four trustees to Italy to buy pricey art for schools. A trustee implicated in the scandal later said they 'deeply regret the trip' and vowed to remedy the situation. A portion from each trustee's biweekly honorarium payment is being deducted to repay the trip expenses, the Hamilton Spectator reported last month. The province proposes requiring school boards to implement School Resource Officer (SRO) programs where they are offered by local police services starting in the next school year. Disclaimer: Reader survey results are not scientific. As the informal findings of a survey presented to the readers of this site, they reflect the opinions of those who have chosen to participate. The survey is available online to anyone interested in taking it. This poll does not restrict the number of votes each person can cast. — With files from Metroland, the Hamilton Spectator and the Toronto Star Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Ottawa Citizen
4 days ago
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Ontario legislation could put police back in schools in Ottawa and across Ontario
Four years after a controversial police-in-schools program was cancelled in Ottawa, the province is introducing legislation that will require school boards to implement a program if it is available. The Ottawa Police Service cancelled the SRO program in June 2021 after the city's largest school board decided to drop the 20-year-old program and publicly apologize for harm to marginalized students. About a week after the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board cancelled the program, then-police chief Peter Sloly said since the OCDSB accounted for about half of the SRO program, police had decided to drop the program at all four Ottawa school boards and reinvest the resources. The proposed legislation announced May 29 may help 'rebuild capacity,' said OPS in a statement. School resource officer (SRO) programs will be implemented if local police have one, to take effect in the next school year, according to the province. OPS said it has developed a specialized 'community youth unit,' launched in January, which currently includes four officers, with a proposal to add one additional officer per police district. 'These will not be new positions. The additions will reactivate existing roles that have remained vacant since 2021, when the previous SRO program was suspended.' OPS is not reintroducing the former SRO program in name, but it has fully integrated many of its most effective elements into the new delivery model, said the statement. 'We recognize that some aspects of the former model — such as consistent and timely support during school-related incidents — were highly valued. While these elements are part of our long-term vision, current staffing limitations prevent us from fully realizing that level of coverage at this time. That said, the proposed provincial legislation may help accelerate our ability to rebuild capacity and restore more consistent service across Ottawa's schools.' The decision to drop the SRO program at the OCDSB in 2021 came after months of controversy. Sloly argued that while some students distrust police, the SRO program is part of the solution to improve relationships and fight systemic racism. But a report from the OCDSB's equity and human rights office said the program had not been critically examined for its impact on Indigenous, racialized and minoritized students. When the SRO program was cancelled, police were only permitted in OCDSB schools under certain circumstances, such as investigating a crime, responding to a safety concern or in response to an invitation from a school or the school board. In May 2023, Ontario Premier Doug Ford weighed in after an invitation to an Ottawa police officer to attend a 'community helpers day' event at a Stittsville elementary school was rescinded if the officer wore her police uniform. 'This is a disturbing trend that needs to stop,' Ford tweeted, calling on OCDSB to immediately reverse the policy. OPS introduced its new youth strategy in 2024, which guided the development of the community school engagement team launched in January. Created in collaboration with all four school boards, the program is delivered by Community Youth Unit officers and is designed to provide consistent, relationship-based support to schools, said OPS. 'However, participation is voluntary and based on each school board's decision to access our services. Should the proposed legislation pass, it may encourage greater uptake by supporting school boards in engaging with police services in a structured and transparent way.' In June 2023, OCDSB Trustee Donna Blackburn attempted to introduce a motion to reopen discussions with OPS about establishing standards of practice that would allow for police support in schools. The matter was never debated on a point of order. 'I believe it's a positive development,' said Blackburn of the province's May 29 announcement. 'It's just sad that we were put in a position where (Education Minister) Paul Calandra was forced to say it.' Blackburn signalled her intent to bring the matter back in another motion that had been scheduled for discussion on May 20, but has since been rescheduled to June. Cancelling the SRO program in 2021 'not only affected the safety of staff and students at the OCDSB, we affected the safety of staff and students at the other three school boards,' said Blackburn in an interview. She believes trustees may be open to discussing the matter again. 'We have seven new trustees since the OCDSB voted to get rid of the program,' said Blackburn. 'My motion gives all of us the opportunity to demonstrate we understand the importance of the role police can play in keeping school communities safe.' Blackburn said in one recent incident, she was asked by the parent council at a Barrhaven school whether they could invite police to a school barbecue. 'I agreed that if there was any blowback to anyone, I would take responsibility for it. Thankfully, the police presence was a huge success and there were no negative repercussions whatsoever,' she said. 'We need to have a very clear message to the system if a school community wants the OPS to come to a barbecue, they can come in uniform, and they can come in a cruiser. If school communities don't want police doing that, then don't do that.' But fellow trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth said it's inappropriate for the Ministry of Education to centrally make a decision about police in schools. 'The work that was done in 2021 to end the SRO program and remove police from schools was very important to address the past and present discrimination and bias by police in interactions with Black and Indigenous and LGBTQIA, by women and girls who report violence and sexual harassment, by people with mental illnesses and disabilities and other marginalized groups in our community,' she said. Trustees have a responsibility as elected representatives to advocate for the community, said Kaplan-Myrth. 'Vulnerable populations in Ottawa have made it crystal clear that, from an equity and social justice lens, cancelling the SRO program was the right thing to do. That doesn't mean that the OCDSB has no relationship with the Ottawa Police. We've been working with them in other ways. There's still a lot of work to be done to establish trust.' SROs in schools are part of a broad proposed legislation that would give the minister of education more power to put schools under supervision. The OCDSB is under financial investigation by the province.
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Coffee sector for duty cuts
Listen to article Stakeholders in Pakistan's growing coffee sector are urging the government to eliminate the 28% combined Regulatory Duty (RD) and Additional Customs Duty (ACD) on bulk instant coffee imports, arguing the current levy is stifling industry growth and preventing the development of a domestic coffee market. The duties were imposed in June 2021 under SRO 840(I)/2021 and currently include a 15% RD and 2% ACD, with other charges making up the rest. Industry sources point to the disparity between coffee and tea imports, which face only a 13% duty. They also note that the tariff on raw instant coffee is disproportionately high compared to finished coffee products, which attract duties between 42% and 53%. According to industry representatives, this duty regime contradicts Pakistan's National Tariff Policy, which emphasises policy predictability, value addition, and industrial efficiency. They argue that eliminating the duties would significantly lower the landed cost of bulk instant coffee, making local manufacturing more feasible and encouraging investment in domestic processing, blending, and packaging facilities. With rising demand for coffee — driven by remote work trends and a flourishing café culture — stakeholders believe that lower raw material costs would also help bring down consumer prices and make coffee more accessible across homes and offices nationwide. They add that reducing duties would streamline the coffee supply chain, cut administrative costs, and offer consumers a wider variety of products at more competitive prices. Industry players see strong potential in exports, saying local producers could create value-added instant coffee and ready-to-drink beverages for international markets.
