sbv

cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/156444

Romel Castillo, a family physician originally from Cuba, learned much more than words when he joined a fledgling program to brush up on his medical English.

He learned the unspoken language of practising medicine in Canada, where concepts such as patient privacy, cultural competency and shared decision-making can be different than in an immigrant doctor’s homeland.

From The Globe and Mail via this RSS feed

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/53463841

Before the cameras were installed four years ago, roughly 17 per cent of motorists followed the posted speed limits. ... In the last year before the cameras were banned, compliance reached 87 per cent.

Within a week of the cameras’ removal, that fell to 62 per cent, and three weeks later, it had dropped to 50 per cent.

...

Carlucci says it’s time for drivers to reflect and consider one simple question.

“Why are you speeding in a school zone?”

Debt writeoffs by the federal government climbed above the $5-billion mark during the last fiscal year, according to figures reviewed by The Globe and Mail, adding to a debate over Ottawa’s practice of keeping the identities of those who benefit from such debt relief secret.

...

The upward trend in writeoffs inspired Conservative MP Adam Chambers to introduce a private member’s bill, C-230, that would require Ottawa to publicly disclose all corporate writeoffs worth $1-million or more.

...

“This is a great legislative initiative,” said Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull, the parliamentary secretary to François-Philippe Champagne, the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, during the debate on the bill.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawas-debt-writeoffs-climb-above-5-billion-mark/

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.today/post/45322079

Carney’s own department, the Privy Council Office, has been one of the worst performers in the access to information system. In the span of about two years, the office was peppered with an extraordinary 87 legal orders to release documents after initially refusing to provide them to requesters. That’s up from zero orders in the previous three years. Little surprise, then, that bureaucrats have been quietly recommending curbs on the information commissioner’s ability to issue such orders.

I couldn't find an archive link that works. I tried signing in and archiving myself but it still asks for an e-mail.

If you enter a throwaway e-mail it'll let you in without having to confirm.

A massive mud plain cutting north-east made it clear where the water had gone. It had travelled almost 10km overland into a bigger lake. Amazingly, no one had been hurt in this gigantic – was it a mudslide? A flood? Nobody was sure what to call it.

With each passing decade since the mid-1980s, Canadians have been spending less and less time with their friends. Just 19 per cent said they hung out with friends on an average day in 2022, down from 48 per cent in 1986, according to Statistics Canada.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/social-trends/article-canadians-spending-less-time-friends-inventive-stay-close/

Contrary to concerns about cataclysmic traffic if the intersection of Portage and Main was opened to pedestrians, the actual impact was, well, almost nil.

...

That fear made the intersection focus of countless newspaper columns, radio shows and bar-stool discussions. It made it an issue in the mayoral election of 2014, and the subject of an unsuccessful plebiscite in 2018.

The theme through these years was that change was too risky. Nothing happened until maintenance costs associated with the concourse under the intersection made the status quo too expensive. This past summer, traffic lights were installed in spite of the fear.

And in early December, about six months later, the city reported that … the traffic is fine.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-cities-reform-change-winnipeg-portage-main-toronto-bike-lanes/

Within five years, the construction of new homes in the country’s hottest markets is projected to slow to near-zero. Less construction, fewer homes, and fewer jobs – all at a time when the country needs more housing than ever.

The growing technical complexity of the Income Tax Act, which makes it harder for taxpayers to understand the rules and for the agency to apply them correctly, is likely one reason behind the rise in objections, Mr. O’Riordan said.

But the soaring number of objections could also signal that Ottawa has put increased emphasis on tax compliance in recent years without proportionally increasing resources to help taxpayers comply with the tax code and to review disputes, he said.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/article-canada-revenue-agency-objections-taxpayers/

The federal and provincial governments have been underfunding universities for decades. Recently, universities were able to start recruiting foreign students to make up for the shortfall, but it looks like that money tap will be turned down. It doesn't look like there's a plan to make up for it.

At the same time, the feds want to

recruit more than 1,000 top international researchers to Canada, with the budget injecting up to $1.7-billion into a suite of recruitment measures.

That'll be tough if universities see their income crater.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said after talking with Prime Minister Mark Carney he’s decided to pause the advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume.

That was faster than I expected.