Canada
Rail shutdown: Ottawa imposing binding arbitration on parties
Freight trains across Canada came to grinding halt Thursday as thousands of workers at the country’s two main railway companies were locked out.
Billions in federal contracts awarded to ‘Indigenous’ enterprises without verification
The Canadian government mostly relied on an honour system when it awarded billions of dollars in contracts to enterprises identifying as Indigenous.
How Global News’ investigation into Indigenous contracting unfolded
Reporters at Global News and researchers at First Nations University of Canada worked together to examine whether billions in federal contracts are benefitting Indigenous communities
New poll shows Poilievre’s Conservatives ahead in P.E.I.
The Conservatives were also the top party choice of decided voters in P.E.I. Forty-one per cent of decided P.E.I. voters said they would vote Conservative while 35 per cent said they would pick Liberal. Ten per cent of decided voters picked the NDP while 13 per cent picked the federal Green party. One per cent chose the People’s Party of Canada.
The Politics of Interest Rates
Pollara’s study also shows how mortgage status has become one of the defining demographics of our politics. Liberal support sits significantly lower among homeowners still paying down their mortgage (21%) than among those who have paid their mortgage off (28%). It dips even further among homeowners affected most by high interest rates, such as those with variable rate mortgages (17%), those who renewed in the past year (20%), and those planning to renew in the next year (18%).
The Provinces
Summer surge of COVID-19 in Quebec as outbreaks, hospitalizations on the rise
The province’s national institute of public health is reporting outbreaks in 110 long-term care homes and 54 health-care centres.
Election 2024: Saskatchewan Party maintains lead over the opposition NDP, but the gap is narrowing
New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds the Saskatchewan Party in the closest contest with the rival NDP since the Saskatchewan Party first swept into power under Brad Wall in 2007. Half (49%) in the province say they would support the Saskatchewan Party if the election were held today, 42 per cent say they would vote NDP, a seven-point gap and the closest the NDP have been to the Saskatchewan Party in the four years since the 2020 election.
CUPE calls for Fred Hahn to resign, says demand is not due to pressure from Ford
On Tuesday, the national arm of the Canadian Union of Public Employees passed a motion asking vice-president Fred Hahn to resign.
Elsewhere
Kamala Harris accepts the nomination: Five takeaways from the DNC
Americans got to know Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. The DNC also featured themes from abortion to Gaza, and a second-gentleman brand of masculinity.
A Global Treaty to Fight Cybercrime—Without Combating Mercenary Spyware
The UN’s new cybercrime treaty is poised to become a vehicle for complicity in the global mercenary spy trade.
Media
What PolitiFact learned about making money and earning trust
When journalists practice transparency around their processes, their goals and their values, news consumers tend to respond positively. Sometimes, they even spend more money on journalism.
Reader Notes
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Science and tech
Trump announces The DeFiant Ones, a new cryptocurrency platform
Donald Trump and his sons have suggested that the forthcoming platform, The DeFiant Ones, will somehow help unbanked people. Eric Trump has called the platform “digital real estate.” What could possibly go wrong for those who follow for this latest grift?
