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A group of opposition MPs from all three parties collectively called for an overhaul of the federal access-to-information system, which has been under review in the House of Commons since October, 2022. The House committee on access to information, privacy and ethics published a report outlining proposed changes to the regime’s law and policy while Liberal MPs on the committee responded with a dissenting opinion.
Some recommendations include bringing ministers’ offices under federal access law, limiting time extensions on access requests to 60 days, increasing powers to the Information Commissioner of Canada and establishing the automatic release of historical documents after 25 years. Earlier this month, The Globe and Mail launched its Secret Canada project, which included a database similar to the one proposed by the committee.
More from Secret Canada
- Canada’s FOI report card: How government ministries and departments across the country handle access requests
- Use our tools and resources: How to file freedom-of-information requests, navigate the access system and appeal decisions
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A look at the path towards net-zero goals
The Canada Energy Regulator released a report on the first long-term outlook modelling net-zero by 2050. It outlines three scenarios: global net-zero, Canada net-zero and the continuation of current measures. Here are the highlights of the federal analysis:
- Clean electricity will mean the use of fossil fuels will drop significantly if the country is to reach its goal of net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.
- Electricity demand becomes the most important energy source in both net-zero scenarios. Under the global scenario, it grows 120 per cent from 2021 to 2050. The Canada scenario moves the dial even further, with demand growing 135 per cent from 2021 to 2050.
- The report hasn’t changed the plans of Pathways Alliance, a collaboration of Canada’s largest oil-sands producers that aims to reach net-zero production by 2050.
Students at the Lyceum of Bioresources and Nature Management in Irpin play table tennis. The educational facility was relaunched with the help of Canadian and Western donors.Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail
Ukrainians slowly rebuild as war with Russia rages on
The top priority for Ukraine remains winning the war. But even with Russia still occupying about 15 per cent of Ukrainian territory and regularly launching missile and drone attacks, governments and charities are increasingly turning their attention to reconstruction.
More than two dozen countries will gather this week in London for this year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference, where they will try to map out the logistically difficult task of rebuilding a country while it’s still in the midst of a major war. In the centre of Irpin, a city synonymous with the destruction brought by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Lyceum of Bioresources and Nature Management is a symbol of how the country is recovering.
- Also read: Canada urged to set up trust fund to distribute seized Russian assets to Ukraine
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Also on our radar
Banking: Canada’s banking regulator has raised the capital cushion that the biggest banks must hold, increasing the guardrails against high household and corporate debt levels, rising borrowing costs and increased global uncertainty over fiscal and monetary policy.
Titanic search and rescue: A Canadian military surveillance aircraft detected underwater noises as a massive search continued early Wednesday in a remote part of the North Atlantic for a submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. Read our explainer on what is known so far.
Crime: Killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside Surrey, B.C., temple sparks rage in the community. His is thesecond death in two years of a prominent member of the Sikh community in Canada.
The CPA association: The main accounting bodies for Ontario and Quebec have suddenly announced plans to withdraw from Canada’s national accounting organization, which calls the unilateral move “disappointing and shocking.”
Extreme weather: Abnormally hot weather is forecast for the remainder of the summer, and experts warn that an already unprecedented wildfire season will likely intensify in the coming months.
Indigenous rights: Some First Nations have embarked on a campaign to discredit Métis groups in their respective provinces, warning that government efforts to empower the organizations could lead to infringement on First Nations rights and territory.
Helicopter crash: Search-and-rescue crews were combing the Ottawa River near a Canadian Armed Forces base on Tuesday after a military helicopter crashed during a training flight just after midnight.
Morning markets
Markets await Powell testimony: World stocks slipped on as markets await direction from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.09 per cent. Germany’s DAX edged up 0.10 per cent. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.09 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended up 0.56 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.98 per cent. New York futures were slightly lower. The Canadian dollar was slightly firmer at 75.61 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Vancouver’s port, Canada’s biggest, ranks nearly last in the world – this is a crisis
“The only good news in all of this is that the Canadian system may be poised to change. Canada’s business community and premiers are pushing the federal government to get to the root cause of Canada’s decline in trade infrastructure.” - Carlo Dade
The Conservatives protect their right flank, at the cost of losing the centre
“Clearly Mr. Poilievre’s hard-edged approach isn’t working, where it needs to work. It may serve to inflate Conservative margins in seats they already hold. But it is costing them crucial votes in winnable swing ridings.” - Andrew Coyne
Today’s editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon by Brian Gable published June 21, 2023.Illustration by Brian Gable
Living better
Is it legal for my employer to withhold money from my paycheque for not giving enough notice?
“No, this is not legal. It is unlawful for the company to unilaterally withhold your pay without your written consent,” advises Jonquille Pak, lawyer and founder, JPAK Employment Lawyers, Toronto. Meanwhile, Balraj K. Dosanjh, labour and employment lawyer, Cavalluzzo LLP, Toronto, says, “In any event, your employer should not be unilaterally withholding your wages or applying deductions without your prior written authorization.” Read the full piece on career advice here.
- Carrick on money: Want a bad plan for retirement? Rely on your house
- Is the ‘career’ dead? What does that mean for workplaces?
Moment in time: June 21, 1893
View of the ferris wheel on the Midway Plaisance during the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, Chicago.C.E. Waterman/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images/Getty Images
Ferris wheel makes its debut at Chicago Fair
A mix of awe, terror and joy – this is how many riders in 1893 described going up on the first-ever Ferris wheel. They got that thrill at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, planned to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas. Today, the event is best remembered for the debut of the Ferris wheel. Invented by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., it measured 76 metres in diameter and carried 36 cars, each capable of holding up to 60 people. More than 1.4 million fairgoers paid 50 cents apiece for a 20-minute turn on the wheel between June 21 and the end of the expo on Oct. 30. The structure would remain in Chicago until 1904, when it was moved to St. Louis for that city’s World’s Fair. But its new location was short-lived – it was dynamited into scrap two years later. The ride’s legacy, however, has endured for more than a century. Its creator died in 1896, penniless from suing the Exposition over the wheel’s profits and sick from kidney failure and typhoid fever. Tegwyn Hughes
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