News
Public servants gear up for Public Service Pride Week
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Ottawa, Canada- The Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), has urged all Federal Public Servants to join in the Public Service Pride Week which begins on the 22nd to the 26th of August 2022.
While great progress has been made since the days of protests and the Federal Public Service purge, the Public Service Pride Network (PSPN) acknowledges that the fight for equality is not over, citing that as long as discrimination of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any other forms of discrimination exist, Pride voices will be loud and proud.
“In 2017, the Prime Minister delivered a historic apology to 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians that have taken meaningful steps towards building a safer and consciously more inclusive country.
In addition, in March 2022, a bold and dynamic design was chosen for the 2SLGBTQIA+ National Monument to be built in downtown Ottawa by 2025. This monument will educate, memorialize, celebrate and inspire diversity and inclusion in Canadian society.
Later this year, the first-ever Federal 2SLGBTQIA+ Action Plan will be released following a public engagement with more than 25 000 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians.
Part of making our voices heard is to actively participate in the PSPN events, celebrations and programs. With a focus on expression and creativity, this theme of authenticity (Being your authentic self at work) will act as a foundation for discussions, events and advocacy in 2022. The variety of expressions of this theme will highlight how members of the PSPN and the broader public service are diverse and inclusive,” read a presser from the PSPN.
2021 marked the 50th anniversary of Pride gatherings that emerged from the first large-scale protests for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights that took place in Ottawa and Vancouver. Also in 1971, the document We Demand was presented to the Federal government asking for changes to discriminatory Federal laws and policies. By 1973, Pride events were held in several large Canadian cities, and today, many local events take place across the country throughout the year.
22 AUG
Show Your Pride Colours!
2022-08-22 | 09:00 AM (EDT) – 2022-08-26 | 04:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
22 AUG
Virtual Flag Raising!
2022-08-22 | 11:00 AM (EDT)
Online Event
22 AUG
Workshop: How to conduct a safe space conversation!
2022-08-22 | 12:00 PM (EDT) – 01:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
22 AUG
Panel Discussion: Seeing Everyone – Gender Diversity Data!
2022-08-22 | 01:00 PM (EDT) – 02:30 PM (EDT)
Online Event
22 AUG
Panel Discussion and Mini film festival launch!
2022-08-22 | 02:30 PM (EDT) – 03:30 PM (EDT)
Online Event
23 AUG
Presentation: Queering the User Experience – Supporting gender diversity through user interface design!
2022-08-23 | 09:30 AM (EDT) – 11:00 AM (EDT)
Online Event
23 AUG
Panel Discussion: Bringing your authentic self to work!
2022-08-23 | 11:00 AM (EDT) – 12:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
23 AUG!
2SLGBTQIA+ Seniors Facing Discrimination and Fear: Housing Crisis!
2022-08-23 | 12:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
23 AUG
Presentation: Gender Identity and Gender Expression Action Committee Update!
2022-08-23 | 01:00 PM (EDT) – 02:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
23 AUG
Panel Discussion: Strength in Positive Space – How authenticity enhances the workplace!
2022-08-23 | 02:00 PM (EDT) – 04:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
23 AUG
Public Service Pride Week Trivia Night #1!
2022-08-23 | 05:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
24 AUG
Panel Discussion: Pride in Agriculture!
2022-08-24 | 10:30 AM (EDT) – 12:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
24 AUG
Panel Discussion: Putting forward sexually diverse women and the issues that are unique to them!
2022-08-24 | 10:30 AM (EDT) – 12:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
24 AUG
Lunch & Learn: 2SLGBTQIA+ Refugees in Afghanistan – What you can do to help!
2022-08-24 | 12:00 PM (EDT) – 01:30 PM (EDT)
Online Event
24 AUG
Ask Me Anything : On 2SLGBTQIA+ Diversity!
2022-08-24 | 12:00 PM (EDT) – 01:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
24 AUG
Panel Discussion: Public Service Pride Week 2022 – Being Your Authentic Self at Work!
2022-08-24 | 01:00 PM (EDT) – 03:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
24 AUG
The Futures of Pride!
2022-08-24 | 01:30 PM (EDT) – 03:30 PM (EDT)
Online Event
25 AUG
Presentation: Queering commemoration – 2SLGBTQIA+ experience of the First World War!
2022-08-25 | 10:00 AM (EDT) – 11:00 AM (EDT)
Online Event
25 AUG
Panel Discussion: 2SLGBTQIA+ Housing!
2022-08-25 | 11:00 AM (EDT) – 12:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
25 AUG
Panel Discussion: The 2SLGBTQIA+ Purge – Testimonials from Veterans!
2022-08-25 | 12:00 PM (EDT) – 01:30 PM (EDT)
Online Event
25 AUG
2022 Public Service Pride Awards!
2022-08-25 | 02:00 PM (EDT) – 02:30 PM (EDT)
Online Event
25 AUG
Presentation: Disaggregated survey data for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community!
2022-08-25 | 03:00 PM (EDT) – 03:30 PM (EDT)
Online Event
25 AUG
Public Service Pride Week Trivia Night #2!
2022-08-25 | 08:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
26 AUG
Afrobeats Dis-Dance with Kevin Lunianga (Pride edition)!
2022-08-26 | 12:00 PM (EDT) – 01:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
26 AUG
Pictionary 2SLGBTQIA+!
2022-08-26 | 01:00 PM (EDT) – 02:00 PM (EDT)
Online Event
News
Fires in Happy Valley-Goose Bay under control with no current risk of explosion – CBC.ca
A statement released Saturday morning from Happy Valley-Goose Bay RCMP says the fires in the town and on the Canadian Forces Base are now under control and there is no risk of explosion.
As well, Mayor George Andrews announced that the state of emergency has been lifted and evacuated residents are now permitted to return to their homes.
“We implore the general public to remain away from the area as we have firefighters and other first responders at the scene in the coming hours and days,” Andrews said.
“And we just ask the public not to engage in any activity up around the Canadian side,” he said, referring to the North side of the community.
The police say firefighters battled the blaze, which caused extensive damage to a number of commercial structures, throughout the night. No one was injured.
A fire broke out in a former airport hangar in Happy Valley-Goose Bay late Friday, which sparked a number of explosions as well as an evacuation and an official state of emergency.
Andrews says the fire department was assisted by a number of groups, including the military.
“Early this morning our firefighters stood down a little,” Andrews told CBC News on Saturday. “We have a crew here who are battling some hotspots.”
“This looks to me to be a predominantly clean up site,” Andrews said, regarding the damage caused by the fire. “Now, we will be probably on-site here for a number of days because of just the sheer heat and things within that old hanger. If you can imagine, this is a huge old military aircraft hanger.”
“The fire started in a couple of buildings that were on the back of an old hanger that sits at the airfield on the north side,” said Andrews. “It caused the the hanger that was next door to be engulfed… That hanger is not there anymore.”
Andrews said it’s too early to determine what caused the fire.
“This was a huge, huge effort on behalf of all our emergency services which were engaged and our crews fought very hot, very uncomfortable conditions through the night,” he said.
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News
Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday | CTV News – CTV News Toronto
More money will land in the pockets of Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit (CCB) installment.
The federal government program helps low and middle-income families struggling with the soaring cost of raising a child.
Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees who are the primary caregivers for children under 18 years old are eligible for the program, introduced in 2016.
The non-taxable monthly payments are based on a family’s net income and how many children they have. Families that have an adjusted net income under $34,863 will receive the maximum amount per child.
For a child under six years old, an applicant can annually receive up to $7,437 per child, and up to $6,275 per child for kids between the ages of six through 17.
That translates to up to $619.75 per month for the younger cohort and $522.91 per month for the older group.
The benefit is recalculated every July and most recently increased 6.3 per cent in order to adjust to the rate of inflation, and cost of living.
To apply, an applicant can submit through a child’s birth registration, complete an online form or mail in an application to a tax centre.
The next payment date will take place on May 17.
News
Capital gains tax change draws ire from some Canadian entrepreneurs worried it will worsen brain drain – CBC.ca
A chorus of Canadian entrepreneurs and investors is blasting the federal government’s budget for expanding a tax on the rich. They say it will lead to brain drain and further degrade Canada’s already poor productivity.
In the 2024 budget unveiled Tuesday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government would increase the inclusion rate of the capital gains tax from 50 per cent to 67 per cent for businesses and trusts, generating an estimated $19 billion in new revenue.
Capital gains are the profits that individuals or businesses make from selling an asset — like a stock or a second home. Individuals are subject to the new changes on any profits over $250,000.
The government estimates that the changes would impact 40,000 individuals (or 0.13 per cent of Canadians in any given year) and 307,000 companies in Canada.
However, some members of the business community say that expanding the taxable amount will devastate productivity, investment and entrepreneurship in Canada, and might even compel some of the country’s talent and startups to take their business elsewhere.
Benjamin Bergen, president of the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), said the capital gains tax has overshadowed parts of the federal budget that the business community would otherwise be excited about.
“There were definitely some other stars in the budget that were interesting,” he said. “However, the … capital gains piece really is the sun, and it’s daylight. So this is really the only thing that innovators can see.”
The CCI has written and is circulating an open letter signed by more than 1,000 people in the Canadian business community to Trudeau’s government asking it to scrap the tax change.
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke and president Harley Finkelstein also weighed in on the proposed hike on X, formerly known as Twitter.
We need to be doing everything we can to turn Canada into the best place for entrepreneurs to build 🇨🇦<br><br>What’s proposed in the federal budget will do the complete opposite. Innovators and entrepreneurs will suffer and their success will be penalized — this is not a wealth tax,…
—@harleyf
Former finance minister Bill Morneau said his successor’s budget disincentivizes businesses from investing in the country’s innovation sector: “It’s probably very troubling for many investors.”
Canada’s productivity — a measure that compares economic output to hours worked — has been relatively poor for decades. It underperforms against the OECD average and against several other G7 countries, including the U.S., Germany, U.K. and Japan, on the measure.
Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers sounded the alarm on Canada’s lagging productivity in a speech last month, saying the country’s need to increase the rate had reached emergency levels, following one of the weakest years for the economy in recent memory.
The government said it was proposing the tax change to make life more affordable for younger generations and fund efforts to boost housing supply — and that it would support productivity growth.
A challenge for investors, founders and workers
The change could have a chilling effect for several reasons, with companies already struggling to access funding in a high interest rate environment, said Bergen.
He questioned whether investors will want to fund Canadian companies if the government’s taxation policies make it difficult for those firms to grow — and whether founders might just pack up.
The expanded inclusion rate “is just one of the other potential concerns that firms are going to have as they’re looking to grow their companies.”
He said the rejigged tax is also an affront to high-skilled workers from low-innovation sectors who might have taken the risk of joining a startup for the opportunity, even taking a lower wage on the chance that a firm’s stock options grow in value.
But Lindsay Tedds, an associate economics professor at the University of Calgary, said the tax change is one of the most misunderstood parts of the federal budget — and that its impact on the country’s talent has been overstated.
“This is not a major innovation-biting tax change treatment,” Tedds said. “In fact, when you talk to real grassroots entrepreneurs that are setting up businesses, tax rates do not come into their decision.”
As for productivity, Tedds said Canadians might see improvements in the long run “to the degree that some of our productivity problems are driven by stresses like housing affordability, access to child care, things like that.”
‘One foot on the gas, one foot on the brake’
Some say the government is sending mixed messages to entrepreneurs by touting tailored tax breaks — like the Canada Entrepreneurs’ Incentive, which reduces the capital gains inclusion rate to 33 per cent on a lifetime maximum of $2 million — while introducing measures they say would dampen investment and innovation.
“They seem to have one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake on the very same file,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
A founder may be able to sell their successful company with a lower capital gains treatment than otherwise possible, he said.
“At the same time, though, big chunks of it may be subject to a higher rate of capital gains inclusion.”
Selling a company can fund an individual’s retirement, he said, which is why it’s one of the first things founders consider when they think about capital gains.
Mainstreet NS7:03Ottawa is proposing a hike to capital gains tax. What does that mean?
Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, says he was disappointed by the change — and that it sends the wrong message to Canadian industries like his own.
He wants to see the government commit to more tax credit proposals like the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses, which he said would incentivize business owners to stay and help make Canada competitive with the U.S.
“We’ve had a lot of difficulties attracting investment over the years. I don’t think this will make it any better.”
Tech titan says change will only impact richest of the rich
Toronto tech entrepreneur Ali Asaria will be one of those subject to the expanded capital gains inclusion rate — but he says it’s only fair.
“It’s going to really affect the richest of the rich people,” Asaria, CEO of open source platform Transformer Lab and founder of well.ca, told CBC News.
“The capital gains exemption is probably the largest tax break that I’ve ever received in my life,” he said. “So I know a lot about what that benefit can look like, but I’ve also always felt like it was probably one of the most unfair parts of the tax code today.”
While Asaria said Canada needs to continue encouraging talent to take risks and build companies in the country, taxation policies aren’t the most major problem.
“I think that the biggest central issue to the reason why people will leave Canada is bigger issues, like housing,” he said.
“How do we make it easier to live in Canada so that we can all invest in ourselves and invest in our companies? That’s a more important question than, ‘How do we help the top 0.13 per cent of Canadians make more money?'”
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