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The number of businesses eligible for a federal program that prioritizes Indigenous companies when awarding contracts jumped more than 40 per cent over the past year. But some community leaders are criticizing the program, saying it has overly broad criteria and is vulnerable to abuse.
More than 800 new registrants enrolled over the year in the Indigenous Business Directory, a database of companies eligible to participate in Ottawa’s procurement strategy for expanding the Indigenous economy. That jump, from 1,900 to 2,700 companies as of April, coincided with a federal plan, announced three years ago, that by this year a minimum of 5 per cent of the total value of federal contracts should be awarded to Indigenous businesses.
But the federal government is now pledging to review its approach to such contracting incentives in response to concerns from some Indigenous groups. In reports and interviews, they have outlined a series of issues related to a lack of oversight and scrutiny when it comes to which companies are eligible and whether the strategy’s requirements to employ Indigenous workers are actually enforced.
Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
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Ottawa not sufficiently addressing flood of access requests for immigration records, watchdog says
Canada’s Immigration Department has made “insufficient progress” in improving immigrants’ access to information about their applications, the federal information watchdog said yesterday.
In a new report, Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard said that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not adequately dealt with the high volume of requests made by prospective immigrants to learn about the status of their applications, even though the department said it had a plan in place to do so back in 2021.
IRCC’s failure is now affecting operations at another federal department as frustrated applicants have turned to the Canada Border Services Agency for answers, according to the report.
Israel captures main aid route into Gaza as Rafah invasion intensifies
The Israeli military took control of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the main corridor for humanitarian aid going into Gaza, as Israel’s invasion of Rafah intensified yesterday.
Tamara Alrifai, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, told The Globe and Mail that the Rafah crossing was closed and almost no aid was coming into Gaza. Over two million people are living in dire humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
The Israeli military said Wednesday that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, another key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid, which was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby.
- Israeli-Canadian businessman murdered in Egypt in apparent antisemitic attack
- With Gaza’s maternity care in shambles, danger and misery abound for babies, parents and midwives
- Israel’s military operation in Rafah ‘completely unacceptable,’ Joly says
- David Shribman: Biden condemns antisemitism as campus protests continue
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Also on our radar
Ottawa pushes Crown corporations to make riskier deals: In an effort to attract more investment into the economy, the federal government is directing Crown corporations that finance small and medium-sized businesses to support more of them and also potentially riskier ventures.
CBC boss says no need for 800 job cuts: CBC chief executive officer Catherine Tait said yesterday the public broadcaster will not cut the 800 jobs it said it would last year because its financial outlook has improved after the federal budget provided an additional $42-million in funding. Tait added that CBC and Radio-Canada will start looking at sharing resources in order to save money, but ruled out a merger between the two.
Security guard at rapper Drake’s home hospitalized after shooting: A security guard standing watch outside the Toronto mansion of superstar rapper Drake was seriously injured yesterday after gunfire shattered the calm of the Bridle Path, one of the city’s most exclusive neighbourhoods. Police declined to say whether Drake was home during the shooting, which happened shortly after 2 a.m.
Ottawa approves B.C. recriminalization request: Ottawa approved yesterday British Columbia’s request to once again prohibit possession of illicit drugs in public spaces, in a significant policy reversal of the province’s drug-decriminalization pilot project.
Fans gear up for all-Canadian NHL playoff series: The Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks meet for the first game in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs tonight, the last two teams with a shot to end Canada’s 31-year championship drought.
Air strikes put Ukraine’s firefighters in danger: Russia is employing a harsh tactic in Ukraine known as “double tap” air strikes, where the same target is hit twice. Fighter jets leave enough time between the two strikes to ensure first responders will be on site and vulnerable. Firefighters in the city of Kharkiv have taken the brunt of these attacks so far this year.
Ukrainian emergency workers extinguish a fire, November, 2023.Olga Ivashchenko/The Globe and Mail
Morning markets
European stocks rose today, boosted by company earnings, while U.S. futures were flat and the dollar climbed as investors assessed the signals on the path for Federal Reserve interest rates.
In early trading, Europe’s continent-wide Stoxx 600 index rose 0.32 per cent. Germany’s DAX climbed 0.48 per cent, Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.42 per cent and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.87 per cent.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.45 per cent overnight. Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.6 per cent lower at 38,202.37, wiping out Tuesday’s gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 0.9 per cent to 18,313.86.
The Canadian dollar traded at 72.69 U.S. cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Editorial: “Mr. Poilievre’s common-sense tough-guy persona is old hat in conservative politics. What’s new and worrisome is his threat to gut the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the name of right-wing virtue-signalling.”
Lisa Kerr: “For a decade, Stephen Harper’s government amended the criminal law in ways courts found unconstitutional. The public cost of litigating those reforms was extraordinary, and almost none of the policies remain. Mr. Poilievre knows that history. His idea now is that he will be the one to decide what rights Canadians have. We must tell him that the criminal-justice system is off-limits – and that government cannot insist that Canadians obey the criminal law, while suspending the legal rules of criminal justice for itself.”
Today’s editorial cartoon
Illustration by David Parkins
Living better
How to overcome ‘savings guilt’ when you’re living paycheque to paycheque
As the higher cost of living continues to squeeze household budgets, many Canadians find they have even less left over at the end of every month to squirrel away for the future. There’s a way to break the guilt cycle, says a financial advisor.
Moment in time: May 8, 1906
Bill Miner, notorious American stagecoach and train robber, stole $7,000 in B.C.’s first train holdup, near Mission in 1904.BC Archives / CP
Bill Miner robs train at Ducks, B.C.
A paltry $15.50 was the take on this day in 1906 when Bill Miner and two accomplices robbed a Canadian Pacific Railway train at Ducks (now Monte Creek), B.C., just east of Kamloops. Miner had spent the past four decades robbing trains and stagecoaches across the American West. Not even repeated prison terms could deter him from his life of crime. In the early 20th century, Miner slipped into Southern British Columbia and assumed the alter-identity of George Edwards, a gentlemanly cattle buyer and rancher. It was the perfect cover for Miner, by then in his 60s. Little did anyone realize that Miner was behind a train robbery near Mission, B.C., in September, 1904. All that was known was that the heist was well-executed and the silver-haired bandit was polite, almost apologetic. When Miner and his gang struck again at Ducks in May, 1906, luck was not on their side. Not only was the train not carrying the rumoured gold and cash, but the robbers lost their horses and tried to escape on foot. This time, Miner was captured and sentenced to time in the B.C. penitentiary. Somehow, he managed to escape and returned to the United States to resume his wayward ways. Bill Waiser
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