Closer Look

If you follow Ontario politics, you’ve no doubt heard of the Skills Development Fund (SDF). One of the Ford government’s signature initiatives, the multi-billion-dollar program doles out taxpayer dollars to companies and organizations that provide training programs and other support for workers.  Premier Doug Ford has called it “the best investment we’ve ever done in the province.” But the Skills...

Spanning many years, the scheme grew into one of the largest art frauds in Canadian history: thousands of fakes bearing the forged signature of renowned Indigenous painter Norval Morrisseau.  When police first revealed the fruits of Project Totton back in 2023, eight suspects were arrested and more than 1,000 alleged ripoffs were seized. At the time, investigators believed the total fraud surpasse...

U.S. President Donald Trump is floating a controversial idea to help more Americans achieve home ownership: 50-year mortgages. On the front end, such loans would lower people’s monthly payments by stretching out the principal over a much longer period. But in the end, the interest payments would be way higher — more than double the amount forked over during a typical 30-year mortgage. North of the...

Leery of AI chatbots? This podcast episode definitely won’t dispel your fears. OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, has been slapped with multiple lawsuits alleging the wildly popular chatbot has a glaring dark side: it plunges users into AI-fuelled delusions, mental health crises, and even suicide. One of the plaintiffs is a Canadian: Allan Brooks of Cobourg, Ont., who claims ChatGPT convinc...

It’s true what they say: records are meant to be broken. Over the summer, the Ontario Provincial Police announced the largest fentanyl seizure in the force’s history : 38 kg, or more than 380,000 street doses of the lethal drug. The massive bust was the result of Project Golden, a multi-jurisdictional investigation that spanned 11 months and multiple communities. Today, the force announced an even...

It’s definitely not something to be proud of. This week, Canada was officially stripped of its “measles elimination status” by the Pan American Health Organization — marking the first time in 27 years that our country was deemed not to be free of the highly contagious disease. Public health experts were hardly surprised by the announcement. For more than a year now, an outbreak of the virus has sp...

Ironically enough, David Chilton did something he would never advise a client to do: he cashed out his RRSPs early to help fund his dream. In his case, the dream was to write a book: The Wealthy Barber . Thankfully for him, the risk paid off — countless times over. Released 36 years ago, The Wealthy Barber helped a generation of readers understand money management and sound investing strategies. A...

Premier Doug Ford has made no secret of his dream to build a massive tunnel underneath Highway 401. But is the idea even possible? We’re about to find out — at a hefty cost to taxpayers . The province confirmed this week it has awarded a $9.1-million contract to WSP Canada Inc. to conduct a detailed feasibility study. "Our government is making significant progress on the transformational proj...

The Carney government tabled its first-ever budget this week — and like the recent federal election, the spectre of Donald Trump looms large over the entire thing. Although the U.S. President’s name doesn’t actually appear anywhere in the 493-page document , the budget lays out the Liberal government’s detailed plan to defend Canada from America’s ramped-up trade aggressions. The key figure is $78...

Last week, Health Canada gave the green light to a long-awaited drug that slows the progression of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Lecanemab is the first approved medication that targets the buildup of amyloid plaque in the brain, believed to be an underlying cause of Alzheimer's. For patients and their loved ones across the country, the approval could not have come fast enough. According to...

Should alcohol bottles contain cancer warning labels? That controversial question was at the heart of a recent Senate debate over Bill S-202, which, if passed, would require liquor packaging in Canada to feature cigarette-style warnings. The Canadian Cancer Society says consuming approximately three drinks per day could double the risk of developing cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophag...

Last week, Amazon announced the elimination of 14,000 jobs worldwide as the retail giant ramps up spending on artificial intelligence.  "Some may ask why we're reducing roles when the company is performing well," wrote Beth Galetti, a senior vice-president at the company. "What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly. This generation of AI is the most transfor...

Will this be the night? The Toronto Blue Jays are one win away from their first World Series title in more than three decades, and they’re hosting Game 6 Friday night at Rogers Centre. Win, and they’re the champs. Lose, and it will all come down to Game 7 Saturday night. Whatever happens, this has already been a World Series for the ages — a politically charged match-up that featured two internati...

“Canadians have changed the way they use the postal service, and we must change with them.” That was the message this week from Canada Post CEO Doug Ettinger , after dozens of managers were laid off as part of an ongoing overhaul at the Crown corporation — which has racked up massive annual losses since 2018 and needed a $1-billion federal loan earlier this year just to stay afloat. “We need to en...

Doug Ford’s anti-tariff commercial has stopped airing on U.S. networks, but the controversial ad is still getting plenty of attention . According to multiple reports published today, Donald Trump’s Ambassador to Canada was so furious over the ad that he angrily confronted Ontario’s representative to Washington at a Monday event. Pete Hoekstra reportedly dropped some f-bombs while scolding David Pa...

Have you tried returning any empties lately? It’s not as easy as it used to be. Nearly 100 Beer Stores have permanently shut down since the Ford government expanded alcohol sales to corner stores and grocery stores, and more are expected to close in the coming months. But here’s the problem : although all grocery stores with a license to sell liquor will be required to accept empty bottles and can...

Last week, we told you about a new rule impacting Canadian snowbirds: if you plan to stay in the U.S. for more than 30 days, prepare to be photographed and fingerprinted at the border. This week, another new rule that impacts all U.S.-bound travellers — not just snowbirds: the American government has announced plans to photograph every foreign visitor when they enter and exit the country by all mo...

Doug Ford never did secure a one-on-one meeting with Donald Trump — but the U.S. president definitely knows who he is. In a fiery social media post late Thursday night, Trump abruptly cancelled all trade talks with Canada because of the Ontario government’s anti-tariff commercial featuring the voice of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Trump said the ad “fraudulently” claimed that Reagan oppose...

The Carney government is promising to create Canada’s first-ever national anti-fraud strategy, including a new financial crime agency aimed at cracking down on sophisticated scammers. Fraud has taken a massive toll on Canadians in recent years — not only on their wallets, but on their emotional well-being. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, more than 23,000 people this year have already...

Big bats equal big bucks. The Blue Jays’ thrilling comeback victory in Game 7 of the ALCS didn’t just propel the team into the World Series. It set up the city of Toronto for a huge economic score . Hotels, restaurants, transit services and local tourist hot spots will rake in millions of dollars in extra revenue when fans flock to Toronto for Games 1 and 2 of the Fall Classic, which starts Friday...

Canadian snowbirds are starting to flock south for the winter — but many are getting quite the surprise when they reach the American border.  U.S. officials have confirmed that anyone entering the country for more than 30 days, via land, must agree to be photographed and fingerprinted.  The new regulations stem from U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that requires many foreign vi...

Not so fast. That’s the message from a growing number of Ontarians trying hard to convince Premier Doug Ford to ditch his plan to outlaw speed cameras. Protesters in cities across the province rallied against Ford’s proposed speed camera ban on Monday morning, just as MPPs returned to Queen’s Park for a new legislative session.  Ford has called the devices nothing but a “cash grab,” and his govern...

In the face of so much economic uncertainty, is it time to rethink how we deliver postsecondary education in Canada? A new report says yes — and that the necessary changes must be “urgent and coordinated.” Released this week by the Royal Bank of Canada, the report calls for a “postsecondary pivot” to advance national goals, including a focus on defence and space exploration, artificial intelligenc...

An American has been sentenced to four years in prison for a mass cyberattack that targeted school boards across Canada, including Ontario. Matthew D. Lane appeared in a Massachusetts court this week, where he pleaded guilty to charges relating to the cyber extortion of two companies. One was PowerSchool , a software and cloud storage firm used by school boards across the province.  The cyberattac...

The Skipper and The Gipper? That’s one way of putting it. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is spending big bucks to try to convince Americans that tariffs aren’t the way to go — and he’s enlisting the unmistakable voice of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to help in the fight. Ford revealed Tuesday that his government is launching a $75-million advertising campaign across most major U.S. networks, hig...