Why did Jason Kenney weaken temporary foreign worker rules?
After proposing tougher rules governing the controversial Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, the Conservative government has backtracked on one of the key proposals.
The proposal, tabled in June, would have banned employers from accessing the TFW program if they were convicted of human trafficking or assaulting or uttering threats to an employee. This provision was dropped in the final regulations, in effect since Dec. 31.
A spokesperson for the department of Employment and Social Development Canada told the Globe and Mail the change was made after consultations.
Jason Kenney, who became Employment minister in July after the summer cabinet shuffle, hasn't weighed in personally on why the department watered down the rules. But he has stood out as the government's primary defender of the TFW program, including tirades on Twitter.
Despite little evidence of a widespread skills and labour shortage in Canada, the program, pitched by Kenney as a solution to Canada’s skills shortage, has been growing steadily over the past decade.
Behind the numbers is a story of abuse: companies displacing Canadian workers and replacing them with lower waged foreign workers, toiling away for below-market pay in bad working conditions.
And now, thanks to a last-minute change in the regulations, employers convicted of human trafficking and assaulting employees can participate in the TFW program.
Photo: mostlyconservative. Used under a Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0 licence.
Ford more years of this?
On Thursday, the world watched as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford arrived at City Hall first thing in the morning to file his campaign papers. That's right folks, Ford is seeking re-election in 2014.
He's even gotten himself a slogan: "Ford More Years."
The problem? Ford's record isn't what he claims. The Toronto Star's Daniel Dale counted five fibs on Day 1 of his re-election campaign.
Attendance record
Ford claimed he's got the best attendance record on council. His absenteeism rate of 17% means two-thirds of councillors have better a record than Ford.
Property taxes
Ford said annual property tax increases haven't exceeded 1.75% over the past four years. Property taxes went up 2.5% in 2012 and 2% in 2013, explains Dale.
Unemployment rate
Ford said Toronto's unemployment rate has dropped from 11% when he took office to 7% today, but Dale dug up a City of Toronto document showing the rate jumped from 9.4%to 9.8% as of October.
Spending like "drunken sailors" (not in a drunken stupor!)
Ford said the city went on a spending spree after City Council stripped him of his powers in November. The proposed city budget for 2014 remains unchanged.
Saving taxpayers $1 billion
Dale did the number-crunching, and discovered the claim "relies on dubious math, exaggerations and omissions."
Putting Ford's, er, misstruths, aside, older brother Doug Ford, acting as his campaign manager, wasn't interested in any fact-checking. He fielded questions from journalists by turning them into an attack from the "media party," saying people are tired of hearing about his brother's recent and very public troubles.
2014 is starting off with a remarkably 2013-ish bang.
We'll see if the inevitable circus around Ford's re-election campaign will actually bring any answers swirling around Ford's involvement with violent gangs and other shady business described by the Toronto Police in court documents.
Photo: doctorow. Used under a Creative Commons BY-ND 2.0 licence.
This is what income inequality looks like
Found: Stephen Harper's New Year's resolutions!
Look, it's Stephen Harper's notebook with his list of New Year's resolutions.
Photo: danmoyle. Used under a Creative Commons BY-ND 2.0 licence.