Latest news with #SeanKilpatrick
Toronto Star
13 hours ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
Competition Bureau reaches deal with Canadian Natural Resources over gas processing
The Canadian government's Competition Bureau website is pictures on a mobile phone and laptop screen in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick skp flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
CTV News
3 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Canadian Food Inspection Agency finds rare disease at B.C. commercial pigeon premises
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. The agency says it has uncovered a case of Newcastle disease at a commercial pigeon operation in Chilliwack, B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Canada's food inspection agency says it has uncovered a case of Newcastle disease at a commercial pigeon operation in Chilliwack, B.C., requiring the birds to be culled and the premises to be disinfected. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the virus affects both wild and domestic birds and can cause pink eye in humans. It says the ailment is of great concern to the world's agricultural community since it's highly contagious and threatens poultry. The agency says mild strains affect domestic poultry and pigeons and more severe strains can kill chickens. It says Newcastle disease can decrease egg production in domestic birds and cause high numbers of sudden deaths in a flock, while wild birds can develop wing paralysis and be left unable to fly. It says the risk to humans is low if gloves are worn while handling infected birds, and that the disease was rarely found to kill wild birds before 1990. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Telecom complaints watchdog highlights compliance issues in annual 'report cards'
Published Jun 17, 2025 • 2 minute read Canada's telecom and television complaints watchdog is once again urging providers to better inform their customers about its services, as it says just under one-third were fully compliant with requirements of the organization's public awareness plan last year. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / Files / THE CANADIAN PRESS Canada's telecom and television complaints watchdog is once again urging providers to better inform their customers about its services, as it says just under one-third were fully compliant with the organization's public awareness requirements last year. 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 The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) released its annual compliance report cards on Tuesday, measuring how well service providers have fulfilled their obligations to remain in good standing. The report said 32 per cent of the 65 providers it audited in 2024 were fully compliant with rules to inform their customers about the CCTS on their respective websites, compared with 35 per cent in 2023 and 18 per cent in 2022. Although most providers had some information about the CCTS on their websites prior to being audited, the watchdog said many of the issues it highlighted were about how and where the information was presented. Four-in-10 had 'some' compliance issues while 28 per cent lacked any level of compliance, which was roughly in line with the results from the previous four years. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The CCTS said it engages with non-compliant providers to help rectify the issues. In the past, it has publicly named companies with recurring compliance issues, noting that is one tool at its disposal to enforce the obligations. In more severe cases, such as a provider refusing to implement a resolution ordered by the watchdog following a complaint, it could consider expelling the company from its membership. That would prompt the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to get involved, opening the door for financial penalties. 'Canadians with unresolved phone, TV, or internet service complaints should be made aware about the CCTS by their providers,' said Janet Lo, CCTS assistant commissioner for legal, regulatory and stakeholder affairs, in a press release. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Providers have a responsibility to inform customers about the CCTS on their websites, customer bills, and in their escalation processes. This year's report cards show some progress on website information, but customers are still telling us that they are not being informed by their providers.' The report cards showed 43 per cent of audited provider websites with a search function did not return search results for the CCTS, down from 52 per cent the prior year. All service providers the CCTS previously flagged for repeated non-compliance with the search function requirement had rectified the issue by 2024. In April, the commission published its mid-year complaints report, which revealed it handled 11,909 total gripes from customers between Aug. 1, 2024 and Jan. 31, 2025. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That was up almost 12 per cent from the same reporting period a year earlier. The increase was driven by customers' issues with their wireless service, which represented around half of all complaints submitted, followed by internet issues, which accounted for just over one-quarter of total grievances. On Tuesday, the CCTS said it confirmed nine instances during that six-month period of service providers failing to implement resolutions to which they had agreed, or remedies that the CCTS ordered following an investigation. The commission said in all nine cases, it worked with providers to fix the issues and ensure the customers obtained the required remedies. Toronto Maple Leafs Canada Toronto & GTA Columnists Canada
Toronto Sun
12-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Liberals under fire for rushing bill through Parliament to speed up resource projects
Published Jun 12, 2025 • 4 minute read Prime Minister Mark Carney answers a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is coming under fire for seeking to rush through a major piece of legislation that grants cabinet sweeping powers to quickly approve major projects. 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 Government House leader Steven MacKinnon put a motion on notice Thursday that would push Bill C-5 through the House of Commons by the end of next week — leaving just one day to hear from civil society groups, stakeholders and experts. Critics charge the move is anti-democratic. In a fiery exchange in question period, Bloc Quebecois House leader Christine Normandin accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of trying to 'steamroll' a bill through the House that would greatly expand his own powers. 'The prime minister has no right to impose C-5 under closure when the bill gives him exceptional powers unlike anything that we've seen before,' she said in French. 'Is that the prime minister's intention, to bypass Parliament and govern by decree like Donald Trump?' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. MacKinnon pushed back by saying 'Canadians and Quebecers spoke loud and clear' in the last election for action to shore up the economy, in part due to the illegal trade war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. 'We are acting in a democratic way,' he said, noting the bill delivers on election promises laid out clearly in the Liberal platform. The bill includes controversial provisions that could allow cabinet to skirt existing processes and laws to fast-track approvals for projects the government deems to be in the national interest. The government aims to streamline disparate processes to limit approval timelines for big projects to a maximum of two years, boosting investor confidence. When asked about the timeline at a press conference Thursday, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said the legislation needs to pass quickly to shore up an economy being undermined by Trump's tariffs. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We have a trade war that is affecting sector after sector after sector. Canadians' jobs are at risk. Canadians' livelihoods are at risk. And quite frankly, the prosperity of the country is at risk,' Hodgson said. But NDP MP Leah Gazan said in the House of Commons foyer Thursday that the bill isn't going to build the economy out because it will trigger a series of court challenges. She called on the government to extend the time frame of the public study and do more to consult with Indigenous Peoples _ something she said got shortchanged in the bill. 'I'm calling on the prime minister to slow it down, to not rush a bill that has this much consequence through in five days,' she said. Hodgson pointed to support for the bill from the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, which represents more than 100 First Nations seeking to have their own projects advanced, and said he is consulting privately with stakeholders. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I can tell you I've got multiple conversations going on with different rights holders and business leaders as part of my department's efforts to ensure that consultation is robust,' he said. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs said in a statement Thursday that it has unanimously passed a resolution opposing Bill C-5. It said the organization is calling for its immediate withdrawal. 'The federal government cannot cloak violations of our rights under the guise of national interest,' said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, the organization's president. 'This legislation, as currently written, would be a complete betrayal of Canada's commitments under the (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) and the hard-fought recognition of our inherent and constitutionally protected title and rights. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It will not stand unopposed.' Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said there will be a meeting between the Prime Minister's Office and First Nations leaders, citing the wildfires as one reason it has been delayed. 'I also want to acknowledge that because there are many communities in a critical state of wildfire and evacuation, that time will be taken to have that dialog,' she said. 'I know that it is the intention of the Prime Minister's Office to sit down with First Nation's leadership directly and to have the economic discussion and hear from them.' But Anna Johnston, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, said the drive to push the bill through quickly is 'incredibly concerning' because the government has done 'very little engagement' so far on such a major piece of legislation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The biggest concern is that it's going to give cabinet the power to approve projects before they have any information about them beyond what the proponent has decided to give the government,' she said. 'There's a reason why we have decisions at the end of environmental assessments and regulatory processes. It's so that governments can make informed decisions about projects that have the potential to harm Canadians and to harm the environment.' Stuart Trew, a senior researcher with the left-leaning think tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the bill is 'destined to end up in court' and 'really bump up against the government's commitments to reconciliation with First Nations.' 'It seems geared to let the government ram projects through, without adequate study, without all the usual considerations about the impacts on endangered species,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We should raise our eyebrows any time a government claims a national emergency in order to rush through legislation with implications as significant as this does.' The legislation also looks to break down internal trade barriers and make it easier for workers to take jobs in other provinces. MacKinnon rejected a call from the Bloc Quebecois this week to split the landmark legislation in two. That would have allowed the House to speed through the less contentious internal trade provisions while putting the controversial major projects portion under the microscope. Carney has vowed repeatedly to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day, 19 days from now. The House has been sitting for just three weeks and is currently scheduled to rise next week on June 20. MacKinnon said in a scrum on Wednesday that he has not tried to get consensus from the other parties to have the House sit any later. Toronto & GTA Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA Canada World
Toronto Sun
10-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: Auditor general targets spending on fighter jets
Auditor General of Canada, Karen Hogan, holds a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS Be alarmed. Be very alarmed. 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 A day after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced he will invest billions of new taxpayer dollars to meet Canada's NATO target of spending 2% of our gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, a scathing report by the auditor general reveals massive cost overruns in the government's plan to modernize Canada's aging fleet of fighter jets. Karen Hogan reported Tuesday that the cost of buying 88 F-35 fighter jets to replace Canada's aging fleet of CF-18s — estimated at $19 billion in 2022 because the government used outdated information — had increased by almost 50% to $27.7 billion by 2024. That's without including the added costs of building essential infrastructure — now more than three years behind schedule — and purchasing advanced weaponry to make the F-35s fully operational, which Hogan said will add at least $5.5 billion more to the final price tag. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The fighter jet program also faces a shortage of qualified pilots, despite being warned about that issue in a 2018 report by the auditor general. Hogan said some of the government's cost increases were unavoidable due to inflation, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and supply chain shortages caused by the 2020 global pandemic. But others were caused by government failures. 'National Defence's approach to managing risks … had weaknesses, lacking proactive measures to minimize the impact of potential threats and the project did not have robust contingency plans,' Hogan concluded. Adding to the uncertainty is that Carney has ordered a review on whether Canada should purchase all 88 American-made fighter jets or consider possible alternatives such as European-made fighter jets. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More Defence Minister David McGuinty gave the standard government boilerplate response to the auditor general's findings, saying the government accepts the auditor general's recommendations and will implement some by Sept. 30 and others by Nov. 30. Which means that, as is the standard operating procedure in responses to critical auditor general reports these days, the same people who created the problems will now be trusted to fix them. That's disturbing in the context of the massive amount of new spending Carney has promised in order to hit Canada's NATO target of committing 2% of Canada's GDP annually to defence spending, starting during this fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2026, compared to 1.4% last year. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Toronto Blue Jays NHL Crime
