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Secret Canada: Over the coming months, The Globe and Mail will dig into problems at the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal levels and explore solutions to the country’s culture of secrecy.

Federal Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard warned a House of Commons committee that her office was on track for a record 10,000 complaints this year, as Canada’s freedom-of-information systems have buckled under a surge of access requests and inadequate resources.

Every government department is struggling to keep up with its legally required access-to-information duties, Maynard told the House of Commons standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics yesterday.

“Nobody’s doing great,” Maynard said. Last year, 30 per cent of requests were completed after their legislated deadlines, according to data from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Maynard’s office is responsible for mediating access disputes on the federal level. For 90 minutes in front of the House committee, she discussed the litany of issues that have plagued Canada’s system: long delays, excessive redactions and outdated legislation. “We need more resources, we need more innovation, and we definitely need more leaders that believe in access,” she said.

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The Confederation Building reflects off the windows of a building in downtown Ottawa on Wednesday, April 7, 2020.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

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ArriveCan app spending projected to top $54-million, double the amount Ottawa first divulged

Total federal spending on the ArriveCan app is on pace to reach in excess of $54-million this year – more than double what the government recently said has been spent to date – and Ottawa’s approach to related outsourcing is raising transparency concerns.

A Globe and Mail analysis of ArriveCan contracts found that the company that received the most federal work on the app – GCstrategies – is an Ottawa-area company with fewer than five employees that relies heavily on dozens of subcontractors. Yet the government and the company say they cannot reveal the identities of those subcontractors because of confidentiality provisions in federal procurement rules.

The Canada Border Services Agency has provided contradictory responses in recent weeks related to the number of companies that have received contracts connected to ArriveCan. After providing media outlets this summer with a list of five companies that had received contracts, the agency recently submitted documents in Parliament that list 27 contracts involving 23 unique companies.

Pressure mounts on Hockey Canada as Tim Hortons, Scotiabank back out of sponsorship and Quebec, Ontario hockey associations pull support

Two of Hockey Canada’s highest-profile sponsors, and two of the country’s largest provincial hockey associations, are pulling their support for the sport’s governing body as pressure mounts over how it handled an alleged sexual assault involving Team Canada players.

Tim Hortons and Bank of Nova Scotia both said yesterday that their decision to suspend sponsorship of Hockey Canada this summer would be extended for all men’s hockey for the 2022-23 season.

The decision means the national coffee chain and one of the country’s biggest banks will have no sponsorship presence at the World Junior championship tournament, which is being held this winter in Halifax.

That announcement followed a decision by Hockey Quebec to immediately withhold player registration fees from Hockey Canada, while the Ontario Hockey Federation began laying the groundwork for a similar move.

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Also on our radar

Thailand mass shooting kills 34 at daycare centre: Police identified the attacker as a former member of the force who was dismissed from his post last year over drug allegations. After attacking the daycare, he killed his wife and child at their home before turning his weapon on himself, police said.

French author Annie Ernaux wins Nobel Prize in Literature: Ernaux won “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory,” the Nobel committee said.

Ontario fire chiefs press province for action after gas explosion: Ontario’s fire chiefs are pushing the provincial government to take action on potentially dangerous abandoned oil and gas wells after an explosion last year in Wheatley, Ont., ripped through its downtown and injured 20 people.

Putin asserts control over Ukraine nuclear plant: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his government yesterday to take control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, as the UN nuclear watchdog warned that power supply to the site was “extremely fragile.”

Rising costs, labour shortages stand in way of Fiona rebuild: The desire to quickly rebuild after post-tropical storm Fiona is running up against challenges that existed before the hurricane-force winds left a trail of destruction in Nova Scotia: the rising cost of construction material and widespread skilled labour shortages.

Tech giant ups stakes on Bill C-11: As tensions mount in Parliament over Bill C-11, YouTube e-mailed thousands of people yesterday who make money posting on its platform to mobilize their support to combat the online streaming bill, warning them the bill could harm their livelihoods.

Equity deals, M&A activity slow sharply in third quarter: Traffic on Bay Street has slowed to a crawl. Takeover activity and sales of equity and debt, the lifeblood of investment banks and law firms, has dropped sharply so far this year compared with 2021. Rising interest rates, recession fears and a stock-market sell-off cooled what had been a hot market for deal-making.


Morning markets

Global shares rose today as the U.S. dollar eased ahead of jobs data that could offer a signal on the outlook for interest rates, while oil prices surged after OPEC+ agreed to cut output. The MSCI All-World index of global shares was up 0.3 per cent on the day, heading for a week-on-week gain of 5.3 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei stock index climbed 0.7 per cent to 27,311.30, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.42 per cent to 18,012.15.

In Europe, stocks were mixed. In early trading, Britain’s FTSE slipped 0.1 per cent to 7,045.55, Germany’s DAX rose 0.21 per cent to 12,543.49 and France’s CAC 40 was flat at 5,985.52.

The loonie was trading at 73.24 U.S. cents.


What everyone’s talking about

Campbell Clark: “In both Quebec and Ontario, the fear for health networks in a pandemic has now given way to regular talk about finding a family doctor, or getting an appointment, or waiting lists. The fact that opposition politicians in the two provinces didn’t seize on that is an obvious failing. Some had political reasons for that, but that doesn’t make it less of a problem. Politics are disconnected from the thing Canadians most want from government.”

Rob Carrick: “Construction of new houses, condos and rental units is much needed and should help with affordability. But let’s not overpromise young adults about their chances of owning houses without compromises that previous generations did not have to make.”

Cathal Kelly: “So the gauntlet has been thrown – Denmark has done absolutely nothing meaningful to protest the World Cup. What meaningless, headline-grabbing thing will every other country do to one-up it? It seems no sports can happen anywhere these days without some sort of protest, but what a sad sort of protest most of it is.”


Today’s editorial cartoon

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Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail


Living better

Thanksgiving dinner doesn’t have to be stressful: A fool-proof guide to hosting

Even before COVID-19, Thanksgiving – well, any major holiday really – could be a major stressor for hosts. The pandemic has amplified that. To alleviate some of the pressure, we asked experts to weigh in on how to host a safe and fun gathering with a minimum of stress and worry. The overriding message is clear: Embrace the re-establishment of connections but don’t go overboard.


Moment in time: Oct. 6, 1993

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DEERFIELD, : Chicago Bulls basketball star Michael Jordan answers reporters' questions during a press conference 06 October 1993, in Deerfield, IL, as he announces his retirement from the game. Jordan said he "had reached the pinnacle of his carreer" and had nothing else to prove. (Photo credit should read CHRIS WILKINS/AFP via Getty Images)

Chicago Bulls basketball star Michael Jordan answers reporters' questions during a press conference 06 October 1993, in Deerfield, IL, as he announces his retirement from the game.AFP/Getty Images

Michael Jordan announces first retirement

Michael Jordan had done it all. Three National Basketball Association MVP awards, three NBA championships, three NBA Finals MVP awards, two Olympic gold medals, sponsorship deals and the riches of Croesus. But on this day in 1993 in Chicago, the Bulls star – only 30 and at his prime – shockingly announced his retirement. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard called his career “a treasure” and said: “I just don’t have anything else to prove. I’m very happy about my decision.” He was also influenced by the recent murder of his father, saying that he understood life was short and precious. Still, he left the door open a crack. “If I desire to come back and play again, maybe that’s what I want to do.” After a short-lived minor-league baseball career, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995, won two more league MVP awards, three more Finals MVP awards and led the Bulls to titles from 1996 to 1998. He retired again on Jan. 13, 1999, and this time, he really meant it. But he joined the Washington Wizards lineup in 2001 and at the end of the 2002-03 season, retired again. And this time he really, really meant it. Philip King


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