OTTAWA – Uno scioccante rapporto interno sull’app ArriveCan – usata durante la pandemia per gestire arrivi e partenze dal Canada – rileva l’esistenza di appaltatori inesistenti: in particolare, il 76% degli appaltatori dell’app “non ha svolto alcun lavoro”, afferma l’audit appena pubblicato dall’Ufficio del Difensore Civico per gli Appalti (Office of the Procurement Ombudsman) e pubblicato dal National Post…
OTTAWA – A shocking internal report on the ArriveCan app – used during the pandemic to manage arrivals and departures from Canada – finds the existence of… non-existent contractors: in particular, 76% of the app’s contractors “did not do any work”, says the audit just released by the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman and published by the National Post. →
OTTAWA – È iniziata ieri la prima “tornata” di udienze nell’ambito dell’inchiesta federale sulle interferenze straniere in Canada: un’inchiesta pubblica, che rende necessaria la condivisione di una serie di documenti riservati. ..
OTTAWA – The first “round” of hearings began today, in the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canada: a public inquiry, which requires the sharing of a series of confidential documents. The first five days of hearings will therefore serve to decide how to make that information public, to prepare the ground for the next public hearings which will probably take place at the end of March and which will serve to delve deeper into the accusations of Chinese, Indian and Russian foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, with a report on those matters due May 3. The investigation will then turn to policy questions, examining the government’s ability to detect, deter and counter foreign interference that targets Canada’s democratic processes. The final report is expected by the end of the year.
OTTAWA – Inizieranno questa settimana le udienze pubbliche dell’inchiesta federale sull’ingerenza straniera nelle elezioni canadesi e nelle istituzioni democratiche. Il commissario Marie-Josee Hogue inizierà a presiedere la prima fase aperta dell’indagine nazionale, alla quale si è arrivati dopo un lungo percorso e nonostante la riluttanza del governo federale…
OTTAWA – Public hearings for the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions will begin this week. Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue will begin chairing the first open phase of the national investigation, which was completed after a long journey and despite reluctance from the federal government. →
TORONTO – Un’operazione congiunta Polizia italiana – Rcmp canadese – Interpol ha permesso di rintracciare duecentocinquantuno auto, per un valore stimato di 22 milioni di euro, rubate in Canada e “stoccate” all’interno di diversi container in transito nel porto italiano di Gioia Tauro, in provincia di Reggio Calabria…
TORONTO – A joint Italian Police – Canadian RCMP – Interpol operation has made it possible to trace two hundred and fifty-one cars, with an estimated value of 22 million euros, stolen in Canada and “stored” inside various containers in transit in the Italian port of Gioia Tauro, in the province of Reggio Calabria. →
TORONTO – Dopo le town hall telefoniche della scorsa settimana e gli incontri organizzati dall’amministrazione cittadina, è tempo di tirare le somme per il sindaco di Toronto, Olivia Chow, alle prese con il Budget 2024…
TORONTO – After last week’s town hall telephone calls and the meetings organized by the city administration, it is time to take stock for the Mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, as she deals with the 2024 Budget.
Today, in a press conference together with the fire chief Matthew Pegg in the Riverdale fire station, the first citizen – answering journalists’ questions on the 2024 Budget – began by recalling that she had “inherited a financial disaster, having to face a deficit of 1.8 billion dollars. I could repeat what the Mayors of the past have done: cut services or cut emergency funds; or, I could protect them and improve them”, she said, then going on to list some numbers: Budget 2024 includes money for 52 more firefighters, more fire inspectors and 911 dispatchers, as well as 63 additional frontline and support staff for Toronto Paramedic Services, as well as money for the new Toronto Community Crisis Service to deal with people in crisis.
The first citizen added that there is also more money in the Toronto police budget, but it is $12.6 million less than what the Toronto Police Services Board approved in the budget request voted on last December. A decision, as is known, already contested by Chief Myron Demkiw who last week spoke to the City Council, pointing out how the proposed cuts will undermine the efficiency of the police force which will not be able – due to a lack of policemen – to keep up with the ever-increasing crime rate. “Let me set the record straight” Chow replied today, “the Toronto police are receiving millions of dollars more in their budget, there are no cuts” she said, referring to the overall increase compared to 2023.
But the 2024 Budget has not only generated discontent among the police: the entire citizenry is worried about the proposed increase in property taxes to 10.5 percent to address the budget hole: an increase that could become 16.5 percent if the federal government does not allocate $250 million for refugees. And precisely on this last point, the first citizen announced that on Wednesday she will meet the federal Minister of Public Security, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic Leblanc, to talk about the type of support Toronto needs. “Good things take time. We still have time” Chow said. “My budget won’t come out until February 1st.” And then she concluded: “I spoke to both the federal and provincial governments to say ‘look, look at all the problems and challenges that we face that other cities don’t have’. And I said this to everyone, in so that they support us even more.”
Now the first citizen will have to complete the process, bringing the 2024 Budget to the City Council for final approval.
In the pic above: Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow (from Twitter X – @MayorOliviaChow)
TORONTO – Gli elevati tassi di interesse hanno avuto un impatto negativo più sulle famiglie canadesi a basso reddito che su quelle ricche: è quanto evidenzia un nuovo rapporto di Statistics Canada. Una cosa abbastanza ovvia, visto che le famiglie a basso reddito hanno meno capacità di “difendersi” dall’aumento del costo della vita: ma il rapporto di Statistics Canada, al di là della scontata conclusione, analizza il risparmio e la ricchezza nel terzo trimestre del 2023 e quello che emerge è che il gruppo a basso reddito è stato penalizzato anche da un aumento risibile – del 3% – degli stipendi medi, che è stato abbondantemente assorbito da un calo del 43% del reddito netto da eventuali investimenti e, soprattutto, dai tassi più elevati per il credito al consumo. I più ricchi, invece, hanno goduto di un aumento maggiore dei salari medi (quasi il 6%) e dei redditi netti da investimenti (quasi il 10%). Questo gruppo ha quindi registrato il ritmo più rapido in termini di reddito disponibile medio ed è stato l’unico gruppo ad aumentare il reddito netto da investimenti…
TORONTO – High interest rates have had a negative impact on low-income Canadian families more than on wealthy ones, as a new report from Statistics Canada highlights. A rather obvious thing, given that low-income families have less ability to “defend themselves” from the increase in the cost of living: but the Statistics Canada report, beyond the obvious conclusion, analyzed savings and wealth in the third quarter of 2023 and what emerges is that the low-income group was also penalized by a laughable increase – of 3% – in average salaries, which is was abundantly absorbed by a 43% drop in net income from possible investments and, above all, by higher rates for consumer credit. The richest, however, enjoyed a greater increase in average wages (almost 6%) and net investment income (almost 10%). This group therefore experienced the fastest pace of average disposable income and was the only group to increase net investment income. →
TORONTO – Il Canada ridurrà il numero di permessi per studenti internazionali del 35% come parte di “un tetto temporaneo di due anni alle iscrizioni straniere”, ha annunciato ieri mattina il ministro federale dell’Immigrazione, Marc Miller. Il tetto ridurrà il numero di permessi di studio approvati, nel 2024, a 364.000, mentre il limite del 2025 sarà rivalutato alla fine di quest’anno. Saranno esentati dal tetto gli studenti che si iscrivono ai master ed ai dottorati di ricerca…
TORONTO – Canada will reduce the number of international student permits by 35 per cent as part of “a temporary two-year cap on foreign enrollments,” Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced this morning. The cap will reduce the number of approved study permits in 2024 to 364,000, while the 2025 limit will be re-evaluated at the end of this year. Students enrolling in master’s and research doctorates will be exempt from the cap. “These are the bright people we need to retain instead,” Miller said, adding that doing so will allow them to decisively confront the institutions and “bad actors” who have to pay exorbitant tuition fees to international students. →
