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The two-person Ottawa-area staffing company that has received millions of dollars in federal commissions on IT projects subcontracted its work on the ArriveCan app to six other companies, including multinationals such as BDO and KPMG, new documents reveal.
MPs studying the issue – including both Liberal and opposition members – told The Globe the new information raises important questions as to why the government turned to GCstrategies, which charges significant commissions, rather than directly working with the larger companies or performing the work in-house.
- Campbell Clark: ArriveCan contracting wasn’t that bad. It was worse
A Canada Border Services Agency officer hands documents back to a motorist entering Canada at the Douglas-Peace Arch border crossing, in Surrey, B.C., Aug. 9, 2021.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
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In Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, once-distant sounds of war get louder
Bohdan Gritsenko didn’t flinch as artillery thundered Sunday over his hometown, Chasiv Yar, the closest Ukrainian-held town to the beleaguered front-line city of Bakhmut. For the 11-year-old, it was a quiet day: “Yesterday was worse.”
While many of Bohdan’s friends have left, he and his mother, Rimma Morozowa, remain. Morozowa, the deputy director of one of two schools still partially functioning in Chasiv Yar, feels a sense of obligation to stay behind. “I’m responsible for the salaries of the teachers. I’m responsible for the curriculum. I’m responsible for the school maintenance. So, I can’t leave,” she said on Sunday as she gave The Globe and Mail a walking tour of her city while the booms of artillery resounded several times per minute. “For as long as we have light, electricity, water, gas – unlike in Bakhmut – I believe it’s my mission to stay here.”
Repeated appeals from the Ukrainian military and local authorities in Chasiv Yar for residents to evacuate have grown in recent weeks as the Russian military has begun to slowly push forward in the Donbas region.
Read more:
- Germany won’t block Poland giving Ukraine tanks, foreign minister says
- Behind the high-tech hunt for the Russian bombers targeting Ukrainian civilians
- Eric Reguly: The Russian economy proved remarkably resilient in 2022. This year, the decay will set in
Rimma Morozowa, a deputy director of one of two schools in town still partially functioning, and her son Bohdan remain in Chasiv Yar. Many of Bohdan's friends have left.Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail
Suspect in California mass shooting dead, police say
Investigators scrambled on Monday to discover why a 72-year-old gunman opened fire in a California dance hall popular with older patrons and killed 10 people before fatally turning a gun on himself hours later.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the reasons behind the Lunar New Year massacre carried out by Huu Can Tran on Saturday night remained elusive.
Officials worked into Monday trying to identify the 10 people he killed Saturday night at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, about 11 km east of downtown Los Angeles. Another 10 people were wounded and seven remained hospitalized late Sunday.
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Also on our radar
How fishermen are using new technology that could help save North Atlantic right whales: Fishing-gear entanglements are the leading cause of death for the endangered whales. But on-demand or ropeless gear, which removes the key threat to the whales, could change that.
Bank of Canada expected to deliver quarter-point rate hike: Canada’s central bank is likely to hit pause soon on its historic monetary-policy tightening cycle, but not before it’s expected to announce a final interest-rate increase Wednesday.
Microsoft Canada’s Irish ownership offers a glimpse into multinationals’ tax strategies: Microsoft Canada’s change in ownership in its 2021 fiscal year could drive down the taxes that the Outlook, Word and Excel software giant pays on any profit it generates in Canada, experts say, by letting the company transfer profits to the lower-tax country.
Canada becomes mediator in Cameroon peace process: A series of secret meetings in the ski town of Mont-Tremblant and elsewhere in Quebec and Ontario set the stage for Canada to become the chief mediator of peace negotiations aimed at bringing an end to a civil war that has killed more than 6,000 people.
Brooke Henderson wins 13th LPGA Tour title: The Canadian won the Tournament of Champions on Sunday by four strokes, and with her 13th professional title, Henderson has the most wins in Canadian golf history.
Morning markets
Europe steady on economic optimism: European stock indexes were steady in early trading on Monday, supported by hopes that inflation could be past its peak, as markets softened their expectations for future Federal Reserve rate hikes. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.12 per cent. Germany’s DAX was flat. France’s CAC 40 slid 0.07 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended up 1.33 per cent. New York futures were little changed. The Canadian dollar was higher at 74.83 US cents.
What everyone’s talking about
Brazil’s riots highlight the need for a global antidote to disinformation
“The United Nations needs to take the lead in combating disinformation through a global, self-regulated agreement that reverses our disastrous course – just as it has with the COP meetings to contain global warming. The logic of such a pact is simple. Just as climate change is the biggest threat to the Earth’s physical health, so is the disinformation epidemic the greatest threat to the mental health of its billions of inhabitants.” - Marcelo Rech
We have grown unacceptably indifferent to poverty’s pain
“The simple fact is that more of us have to care about the suffering of others for these catastrophic circumstances to change. Where is the groundswell of outrage and anger, the holding of politicians’ feet to the fire?” - Lawrence Scanlan
Today’s editorial cartoon
David Parkins/The Globe and Mail
Living better
As the cost of groceries continue to spiral, more shoppers are turning for the first time to tips long used by older Canadians to cut their bill. One septuagenarian named Dandy has this advice to offer consumers worried about sky-high food costs: read grocery store flyers regularly to become familiar with prices. Shoppers can also scan flyers online or use an app on their phone.
Moment in time: Braving the elements in Yukon
The Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Festival was an annual winter celebration in Whitehorse, up until a few years ago.Matt Jacques/Alamy
For more than 100 years, photographers and photo editors working for The Globe and Mail have preserved an extraordinary collection of news photography. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re looking at Canada’s winter festivals.
Up until a few years ago, the annual winter celebration in Whitehorse was known as the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Festival. The name was in recognition of the “Sourdoughs,” a name given to early white settlers of the North who followed the gold rush and brought their own everlasting sourdough bread starter. But in 2021, the name was changed to the Yukon Rendezvous Festival – a more inclusive name with less baggage than the colonial trappings of the original. The festival, however – this year’s 59th annual version runs from Feb. 10 to 26 – still celebrates the sense of community and pride associated with the harsh reality of life in the remote, dark and occasionally lonely northern winter. The family-friendly activities include snow sculptures, pancake breakfasts, axe-throwing, dog sledding, flour packing, chainsaw chucking (please don’t try this at home) and fireworks. Yukoners and visitors get to recognize that they survived and thrived during another winter in Canada’s North. Philip King
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