Latest news with #consultation
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Concern, optimism in N.W.T. at prospect of quicker development with new federal law
A controversial federal bill to fast-track "nation-building" projects has been passed into law and while some northern leaders welcome the opportunity to build, others are more skeptical. The Senate passed Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, on Thursday afternoon, allowing the federal government to streamline approval processes for some projects and bypass provisions criticized for hindering timely approvals. But some have expressed worry that the new legislation will override consultation with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and ignore their right to free prior and informed consent as defined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). N.W.T. Sen. Dawn Anderson said the act has sparked concern over Canada's commitment to reconciliation. "The process for consultation does not appear to be substantive in any way, which calls into question the commitment to the [UNDRIP] legislation and Canada's commitment to Indigenous peoples in Canada," she said, speaking with CBC News before the bill passed. "It erodes trust and relationships between Canada and Inuit and First Nations and Métis people." Prime Minister Mark Carney has listed the Grays Bay Road and Port Project as one project he'd like to see approved quickly. The project would see the construction of a 230-kilometre all-weather road that stretches from ice roads in Yellowknife all the way to the Arctic ocean, linking Nunavut to the N.W.T.'s road system. Earl Evans, chair of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, said there's not enough information about how the road would affect caribou migration, and worries about speeding the approvals process before they know more. "We're going to have to be very vigilant in how this is done and make sure our input is taken seriously — because caribou is life for the people up here," Evans said. He recognized the potential economic benefits of the project, and the need for jobs in the region and across the country, but said the stakes of interfering with caribou are high. The Mackenzie Valley Review Board has been travelling to communities to collect feedback on the project. Evans said he does feel his concerns are being taken seriously. "But at the same time, when the federal government wants a project done, it gets done," he said. Meanwhile, at an Arctic development conference in Inuvik, N.W.T., earlier this month, Caroline Wawzonek, the territory's minister responsible for strategic infrastructure, energy and supply chains, spoke to the importance of advocating for federal investment. She didn't mention Bill C-5 but spoke to the importance of all levels of government working together "at speeds and with levels of partnership we haven't seen before." She said that development must include traditional knowledge, and that it's not a "nice-to-have," but an essential. "The homes, the health centres, the schools, the roads that link us, and the energy that powers us — as well as our collaborative and co-management systems of governance — this is what makes our communities sustainable, sovereign, and secure," Wawzonek said.
CTV News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Federal minister plans to hold consultations this summer on immigration intake
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Metlege Diab rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, June 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Lena Diab says the federal government will consult this summer on its immigration levels plan and whether the student visa system is 'sustainable.' In a recent interview with University Affairs, Diab says the annual consultations will reach out to the provinces, university administrators and students themselves. An Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokeswoman says the government expects schools to only accept students they can 'reasonably support' by providing housing and other services. Post-secondary institutions across the country are posting deficit budgets this year, laying off staff and cutting programs as international student enrolment drops. The government last year announced a cap on study permit applications and a gradual decrease in the number of student visas. Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner says her party wants to see an 'immediate and massive' reduction in student visas due to high youth unemployment and the housing crisis. In May, Statistics Canada reported the unemployment rate among returning students had hit 20 per cent, a three per cent increase over the previous year. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
'Lessons learned' by Leeds council after school closure U-turn
A council has said it will learn lessons after it was forced to reverse its plan to close a primary City Council had intended to shut Queensway Primary, in Yeadon, after saying a decline in pupil numbers and financial pressures had put its long-term sustainability at the authority was forced to shelve the plan after parents launched a legal challenge over the way a consultation was carried out ahead of the a set of recommendations to improve future school consultations have been published in a "lessons learned" report by the council. The report found that parents, school staff and councillors felt the consultation period was not long enough, although meetings were held in the run-up to the also said the plan had caused "stress and upset for children, their families and the wider community", particularly as they faced a similar closure threat in added that it had also caused concern over the welfare of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. At a children and families meeting earlier, Otley & Yeadon councillor Ryk Downes said: "Parents were coming to me saying they couldn't find alternative places for their children based on their SEND needs."We have got to sort out the problem of pupil numbers in Aireborough but at the moment the solution isn't there."Councillors were told that a wider "area-based" approach to the decline in pupil numbers would be taken moving Mark Duce, who has been at the school for four years, announced last week he and other staff had taken the difficult decision to leave the school due to a "lack of clarity provided regarding the long-term future of Queensway". Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
The Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- The Herald
We will scale down the cost of the national dialogue: Ramaphosa
On Wednesday, Ramaphosa said many people have become fixated on what it is going to cost. 'We are going to make sure that it is driven down. It is just an estimate. We are going to make sure that we spend as little as possible, but at the same time, have as much consultation as possible so that the process itself must be enriched, while we don't impoverish the people of South Africa through spending too much money on that whole process. 'So what has been put out as the budgeted amount is going to be looked at, and I have said to my colleagues that costs that have been put out must be driven down,' he said. He said the country had in the past forged social compacts and moved the country forward. He said the country was experiencing huge problems, arguing that some of the problems are no different from what other countries are experiencing, including unemployment, inequality and poverty. 'And through that type of discussion will evolve a clearer vision, a vision that will be owned by all South Africans, that will also help to guide what we do. It will also address the stark realities of our current situation, as well as the constraints that we face and the lack of growth in our economy.' He said he was looking forward to the dialogue, coming up with clever ideas and innovative proposals on what needs to be done. He said the government had embarked on structural reforms to ensure it makes the country investable, where those with money can come and invest with confidence, adding that the dialogue will serve the purpose of bringing South Africans together. 'Not all of us will be able to fit into a hall or a stadium, but it is through our formations, it will, through the voices that we will raise that South Africans will be given an opportunity at various levels, at provincial level, at district level, at local level, participating in the discussions, just like we did when we drafted our current constitution.' He said millions of proposals and presentations were made, and those were synthesised for the national dialogue. TimesLIVE
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Consultation on scrapped national park in Galloway cost £160,000
A government body spent more than £160,000 on a consultation process which ultimately ended in plans for a new national park in Galloway being sum spent by NatureScot was revealed through a freedom of information (FOI) request by the BBC - and is only a fraction of the overall spend on the park said the total spent on the consultation had not been finalised, and final invoices would see the total rise "very slightly".The consultation was held between November and February and its findings were used to help deliver a final decision on whether or not a new national park should be created. The Scottish government said it was "absolutely correct" to support the nomination process. Plans for a new national park - to join the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs - were part of a power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish that agreement collapsed last year, the process Scottish government revealed in May last year that it had spent more than £300,000 in the earlier stages of the search for a national spent a further £28,000 after Galloway was announced as the preferred potential location for a new national park in July it stressed that civil servants worked "flexibly" across a range of matters making it impossible to specify exact costs in terms of their time. The final stage of the process was the extended consultation - both in person and online - across 14 weeks which was carried out by is a full breakdown of how much this cost:Licence for online engagement platform - £23,220Leaflets (printing and posting) - £20,438Gaelic translation - £215.55Event and other materials - £908.39Consultation events (hall bookings etc) - £5,695.96Facilitation consultants - £62,244.92Analysis consultants - £21,808.80Independent review of consultation - £9,900Board costs and subsistence - £7,982.35Staff costs and subsistence - £11,082.58Total spend (at 20 June 2025) - £163,496.55NatureScot said there were still some outstanding costs which would see the figure rise said it intended to put the final cost on its website by early July. The consultation ultimately led to a recommendation not to take forward the plan for a new national park, which proved a contentious in the concluded - in its role as reporter - that from the views expressed the proposal had "not garnered sufficient support locally to proceed".Instead, it recommended the strengthening of the likes of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere, Galloway Forest Park and national scenic described the consultation as the "largest and most challenging" it had ever Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the Scottish government had weighed up the arguments for and against and agreed not to welcomed the decision, saying the area did not need another "layer of bureaucracy".Campaigners in favour, however, said it was a "huge missed opportunity" and a "big loss" for the region. 'Absolutely correct' The Scottish government said the Galloway nomination had met all the selection criteria to be confirmed as the proposed location for the country's third national said the designation process required a "thorough consultation process" which had been independently reviewed by the Scottish Community Development Centre which found it achieved "very impressive levels of public involvement".A spokesperson said: "The consultation collected more than 5,000 surveys and more than 1,000 people attended events to share their opinion."Based on this engagement and the reporter's recommendations we took the decision not to designate Galloway and Ayrshire as a national park."But it was absolutely correct to support the nomination process, thoroughly consider the application and meet the statutory consultation requirements that such a process demands."
