Judge approves bid to revoke Canadian citizenship over man’s hidden role in massacre

2026/02/07 2 Comments

Right call. Misrepresentation prior to becoming a citizen clear grounds for revocation but crimes committed after becoming a citizen are Canada’s responsibility:

A judge has approved a federal bid to revoke the Canadian citizenship of a former member of the Guatemalan military who took part in the murder of villagers.

In a ruling Thursday, Federal Court Justice Roger Lafrenière said Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes deceived Canadian immigration officials throughout the permanent residence application process and obtained his Canadian citizenship by fraud. 

The federal government went to court in 2017 seeking declarations that would effectively strip Sosa of his citizenship and make him inadmissible to Canada.

Lafrenière granted both declarations.

A bloody, decades-long conflict between Guatemalan government forces and guerrillas intensified in the early 1980s. 

Canada said Sosa, now 67, was a senior member of a military special forces group that led a mission to the Guatemalan village of Las Dos Erres in December 1982 to interrogate residents about some missing rifles. …

Source: Judge approves bid to revoke Canadian citizenship over man’s hidden role in massacre

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Saunders – Carney’s choice: Ice out illegal migrants, or treat them like the assets they are

2026/02/07 Leave a comment

Useful portrayal of the options but of course, the more realistic option from a political and economic perspective is one that is more selective in its application such as those in priority areas. A government that had not frittered away confidence in immigration would have been able to adopt a more expansive approach:

…One approach is to regard the undocumented as a liability. That’s what the United States is doing, to an extreme degree – last year, the Trump administration deported more than 600,000 people.

A Canadian version would be hugely expensive. The estimated cost of deporting one individual from Canada is as high as $14,000 – and that ignores the opportunity cost of depriving the economy of labour, skills, entrepreneurship and investment. Of course, some should be removed: failed refugee claimants, people with criminal or extremist backgrounds, and perhaps undocumented people who are perpetually without employment. Effective deportation is part of a functioning selective-immigration system.

But it would be economically wasteful. The construction industry says it’ll need 300,000 more tradespeople than Canada can provide by the end of the decade – and Mr. Carney’s nation-building megaprojects will raise that number. Healthcare and eldercare have even larger shortfalls. It would be absurd, in this environment, to ship away of hundreds of thousands of processed, screened, settled, integrated and jobsite-trained workers.

That brings us to the other approach: to regard the undocumented as an asset. Under this thinking, the most effective solution to the problem of illegal immigrants is simply to make them legal immigrants.

That’s what Spain did this month, giving permanent residence and eventual citizenship to half a million undocumented immigrant workers all at once, as it has done on a similar scale several times this century with stellar economic results. It’s what many European countries did last year on smaller scales. It’s what Colombia has done for about 3 million Venezuelans who illegally crossed its border. It’s what the United States has done several times in the last half-century, regularizing millions of “illegals.” And it’s been a Canadian policy move, too – a sizable share of Portuguese-Canadians, for example, were undocumented until legislation in the 1970s and 1980s naturalized them….

Source: Carney’s choice: Ice out illegal migrants, or treat them like the assets they are

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Face à la dévitalisation, les régions plaident pour l’immigration

2026/02/07 Leave a comment

Of note. Seeing some similarities in English Canada:

« Abolir le Programme de l’expérience québécoise, c’est fermer nos régions. C’est triste, la façon de voir du ministre de l’Immigration Jean-François Roberge », laisse tomber Vincent Bérubé, maire de La Pocatière.

Comme bien d’autres élus municipaux, il est aux premières loges pour voir les dégâts causés par l’abolition du Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ) et le resserrement des permis de travail au fédéral : des entreprises sont en difficulté, des commerces risquent de fermer et des services à la population sont menacés.

M. Bérubé est personnellement touché. Comme propriétaire d’un restaurant, il risque de perdre un chef cuisinier venu s’établir au Québec avec sa famille. « Son contrat de travail finit en décembre 2026. Avec tout le brouhaha… Ça génère chez lui tellement d’anxiété, et chez nous aussi », laisse-t-il tomber.

À quoi bon convaincre un immigrant de s’établir en région avec sa famille, lui trouver un logement et l’aider à s’intégrer, si on ne peut pas lui garantir qu’il pourra rester pour de bon ? se demande le maire de La Pocatière.

Vincent Bérubé, comme les 46 autres membres du conseil d’administration de la Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM), a signé une lettre ouverte à François Legault, à Jean-François Roberge, et qui s’adresse aussi aux politiciens qui convoiteront un poste de premier ministre aux élections d’octobre1….

Source: Face à la dévitalisation, les régions plaident pour l’immigration

Abolishing the Quebec Experience Program is closing our regions. It’s sad, the way of seeing the Minister of Immigration Jean-François Roberge, “says Vincent Bérubé, mayor of La Pocatière.

Like many other municipal elected officials, he is in the front row to see the damage caused by the abolition of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) and the tightening of federal work permits: companies are in difficulty, shops risk closing and services to the population are threatened.

Mr. Bérubé is personally affected. As a restaurant owner, he risks losing a chef who came to settle in Quebec with his family. “His employment contract ends in December 2026. With all the noise… It generates so much anxiety in him, and in us too,” he says.

What is the point of convincing an immigrant to settle in the region with his family, find him housing and help him integrate, if we cannot guarantee that he will be able to stay for good? Wonders the mayor of La Pocatière.

Vincent Bérubé, like the other 46 members of the board of directors of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM), signed an open letter to François Legault, to Jean-François Roberge, and which is also addressed to politicians who will covet a position of Prime Minister in the October elections1…

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Asylum rulings made without a hearing raise security and fraud concerns, C.D. Howe Institute report says

2026/02/06 Leave a comment

Of note:

The federal refugee tribunal’s practice of assessing some asylum claims without first questioning applicants could heighten the risk of fraud and weaken security screening, a report by a former director of policy at the ImmigrationDepartment says. 

The report, to be published on Thursday by the C.D. Howe Institute, expresses concern that the Immigration and Refugee Board’s assessment of asylum claims from certain countries without hearings removes an important layer of scrutiny. 

An access to information request by the report’s author, James Yousif, found that between Jan. 1, 2019 and Feb. 28, 2023, the IRB accepted 24,599 asylum claims into Canada without personally questioning the applicants in hearings. 

Mr. Yousif, a former IRB adjudicator, says that practice accelerates decision making, but has not reduced the huge backlog of claims. 

By September, 2025, there was a backlog of almost 296,000 pending cases. 

Under a file-review policy established in 2019, the IRB drew up a list of countries, which was removed from public view in 2020, from where claims could be assessed without an interview, the report says. 

Mr. Yousif argues in the report that all asylum claims should be adjudicated through in-person hearings “without shortcuts.” 

He writes that approving asylum claims without a hearing “may facilitate fraud and encourage more fraudulent claims.”

“Asking questions is also a part of Canada’s security screening architecture and cannot be skipped without increasing national security risks.” …

Source: Asylum rulings made without a hearing raise security and fraud concerns, C.D. Howe Institute report says

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‘Birth tourism’ organizer jailed over scheme to bring pregnant Chinese women to US

2026/02/06 Leave a comment

Not aware of any similar cases in Canada in terms of charges given that there is no such prohibition. However, Richmond had an active cottage industry of services to pregnant Chinese women and any google search indicates a number of lawyers and consultants who offer their services:

A California woman was sentenced Monday to more than three years in prison in a long-running case over a business that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States to deliver babies who automatically became American citizens.

US District Judge R. Gary Klausner gave Phoebe Dong a 41-month sentence and ordered her immediately taken into custody from his federal court in Los Angeles. Dong and her husband were convicted in September of conspiracy and money laundering through their company, USA Happy Baby.

The sentencing came as birthright citizenship has been thrust into the spotlight in the US with the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. Since taking office, Trump issued an executive order to narrow the definition of birthright citizenship, a move quickly blocked by a federal judge who called it “blatantly unconstitutional.”

Dong and her husband, Michael Liu, were among more than a dozen people charged in an Obama-era crackdown on so-called “birth tourism” schemes that helped Chinese women hide their pregnancies while traveling to the US to give birth. Such businesses have long operated in various states catering to people from China, Russia, Nigeria and elsewhere.

Under the 14th Amendment, any child born in the United States is an American citizen. Many have seen these trips as a way to help their children secure a US college education and a better future – especially since the tourists themselves can apply for permanent residency once the children turn 21.

During her sentencing hearing, Dong wiped away tears as she recalled growing up without siblings due to China’s strict “one-child ” policy and told the court that the Chinese government forced her mother to have an abortion. Moving to the US was challenging, she said, but Dong grew hopeful after having children of her own and saw she could help Chinese women who want to have additional children in California.

“I don’t want to lose my kids,” she told the court. “I hope you can give me fair judgment. I will take all my responsibility.”

Federal prosecutors sought a more than five-year sentence for Dong and argued that she and Liu helped more than 100 pregnant Chinese women travel to the US. They said the pair worked with others to coach women on how to trick customs officials by flying into airports believed to be more lax while wearing loose-fitting clothing to hide their pregnancies.

“For tens of thousands of dollars each, defendant helped her numerous customers deceive US authorities and buy US citizenship for their children,” prosecutors said in court filings. They declined to comment after the sentencing.

In December, Liu was also sentenced to 41 months in prison. Dong’s lawyer, John McNicholas, asked that she be allowed to serve her term after Liu completes his sentence because of their three children. The youngest is 13.

Federal prosecutor Kevin Fu agreed to the delay but Klausner refused and had her taken into custody immediately. Dong removed a necklace and gave it to a family member before she was led away.

The USA Happy Baby case was part of a broader probe into businesses that helped Chinese women travel to give birth in California. The operator of another business is believed to have fled to China, McNicholas wrote in court filings, while another was sentenced in 2019 to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and visa fraud for running the company known as “You Win USA.”

McNicholas said he feels Dong was given a much longer sentence because the government and Klausner blame her for the babies that were born US citizens. That, he said, is unrelated to the allegations that she and Liu helped women travel to the United States to give birth.

“Our position was these children are born in America. They’re citizens,” McNicholas said, adding that Dong will appeal. “Implicitly, he’s saying being born here is not enough.”

Source: ‘Birth tourism’ organizer jailed over scheme to bring pregnant Chinese women to US

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L’interdiction des signes religieux affecte l’implication des parents dans les écoles alternatives

2026/02/06 Leave a comment

Reminder of the collateral damage related to laïcité:

L’interdiction de porter un signe religieux, imposée au personnel scolaire, risque de faire particulièrement mal aux écoles alternatives du Québec, puisque cette directive s’applique aussi aux bénévoles, a appris Le Devoir. C’est que, dans ces établissements, l’implication des parents dans la classe de leurs enfants est obligatoire.

Le 30 octobre dernier, le gouvernement Legault a fait adopter son projet de loi 94, qui visait à renforcer la laïcité dans le réseau scolaire québécois. Depuis, les élèves doivent fréquenter leur école à visage découvert, tout comme l’essentiel du personnel scolaire. Il est par ailleurs interdit aux employés de porter un signe religieux. Une directive qui s’étend « à toute personne qui fournit régulièrement des services » entre les murs d’une école, peu importe leur nature, ou encore qui fournit « des services aux élèves », même de façon ponctuelle et gratuite.

« Ainsi, pour fournir bénévolement des services dans l’école de son enfant dans l’une ou l’autre des situations qui précèdent, le parent doit respecter l’interdiction de port de signe religieux », confirme le ministère de l’Éducation, dans un courriel au Devoir. Une clause de droits acquis s’applique cependant aux parents qui fournissaient déjà bénévolement des services dans l’école de leur enfant avant le 30 octobre 2025, « sauf si l’entente en vertu de laquelle ces services sont offerts est renouvelée après cette date ». Ils devront alors retirer leur signe religieux ou cesser de s’impliquer dans leur école.

Dans de nombreux établissements, cette décision pourrait complexifier le travail du personnel scolaire, comme des directions d’école, la présence de parents bénévoles pour aider au rangement des livres dans les bibliothèques ou pour accompagner des enseignants lors de sorties scolaires permettant d’alléger, quelque peu, les effets de la pénurie de main-d’œuvre, évoquent plusieurs intervenants au Devoir.

« Discrimination par association »

Cependant, c’est dans les écoles alternatives — dont le nombre, en augmentation, approche la cinquantaine au Québec — que cette interdiction pourrait avoir le plus de répercussions. Car, dans ces établissements, l’implication bénévole des parents d’élèves, directement dans la classe de ces derniers, est obligatoire. Certaines écoles demandent d’ailleurs un nombre d’heures minimales d’implication bénévole aux parents.

Ainsi, si un parent ne peut plus s’impliquer dans une école alternative parce qu’il porte un signe religieux, « son enfant ne peut plus aller à cette école-là », relève le porte-parole du Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec, Sylvain Martel. « On va arriver à exclure des enfants de leur école en raison des croyances religieuses de leurs parents », déplore M. Martel, qui voit là « une sorte de discrimination par association ».

Une situation que dénonce le porte-parole du Réseau des écoles publiques alternatives du Québec, Pierre Chénier, qui a été mis au fait de cette situation par Le Devoir.

« Je trouve ça vraiment déraisonnable », lance-t-il, déplorant que cette interdiction vise ainsi des parents motivés par leur « bonne volonté » et leur « désir d’aider ». « Vraiment, je n’en reviens pas », poursuit M. Chénier. Selon lui, cette directive menace de « faire disparaître le modèle » unique des écoles alternatives, qui cherche « l’inclusion plutôt que l’exclusion ». 

Source: L’interdiction des signes religieux affecte l’implication des parents dans les écoles alternatives

The ban on wearing a religious sign, imposed on school staff, may particularly harm alternative schools in Quebec, since this directive also applies to volunteers, Le Devoir learned. It is because, in these institutions, the involvement of parents in their children’s class is mandatory.

On October 30, the Legault government passed its Bill 94, which aimed to strengthen secularism in the Quebec school network. Since then, students have had to attend their school with their faces uncovered, just like most of the school staff. Employees are also prohibited from wearing a religious sign. A directive that extends “to anyone who regularly provides services” within the walls of a school, regardless of their nature, or who provides “services to students”, even on an ad hoc and free of charge.

“Thus, to voluntarily provide services in his child’s school in any of the above situations, the parent must respect the prohibition of wearing a religious sign,” confirms the Ministry of Education, in an email to Le Devoir. However, an acquired rights clause applies to parents who were already voluntarily providing services in their child’s school before October 30, 2025, “unless the agreement under which these services are offered is renewed after that date”. They will then have to withdraw their religious sign or stop getting involved in their school.

In many schools, this decision could complicate the work of school staff, such as school principals, the presence of volunteer parents to help store books in libraries or to accompany teachers on school outings to lighten somewhat the effects of the labor shortage, say several speakers at Le Devoir.

“Discrimination by association”

However, it is in alternative schools — whose number, increasing, is approaching fifty in Quebec — that this ban could have the most repercussions. Because, in these institutions, the voluntary involvement of parents of students, directly in their classroom, is mandatory. Some schools also require a minimum number of hours of volunteer involvement from parents.

Thus, if a parent can no longer get involved in an alternative school because he wears a religious sign, “his child can no longer go to that school,” says Sylvain Martel, spokesman for the Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec. “We will be able to exclude children from their school because of the religious beliefs of their parents,” laments Mr. Martel, who sees this as “a kind of discrimination by association”.

A situation denounced by the spokesman for the Réseau des écoles publiques alternatives du Québec, Pierre Chénier, who was made aware of this situation by Le Devoir.

“I find it really unreasonable,” he says, deploring that this ban is aimed at parents motivated by their “good will” and their “desire to help”. “Really, I can’t believe it,” continues Mr. Chenier. According to him, this directive threatens to “make the unique model” disappear from alternative schools, which seeks “inclusion rather than exclusion”.

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Carney government replacing Islamophobia and antisemitism envoys with advisory council

2026/02/05 2 Comments

Can’t claim credit but it has been something I have been advocating for some time, as separate envoys tend to accentuate differences:

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government said Wednesday that it is eliminating Canada’s special envoy positions on fighting Islamophobia and antisemitism.The positions, which Carney had pledged to keep when he ran for Liberal leadership, will be replaced by a new advisory council on “Rights, Equality and Inclusion,” Culture and Identity Minister Marc Miller said in a news release.

“The Advisory Council will be comprised of prominent Canadians from academia, experts and community leaders with a mission to foster social cohesion, rally Canadians around shared identity, combat racism and hate in all their forms, and help guide the efforts of the Government of Canada,” Miller said, without immediately announcing its membership.

First reported by the Star, the move comes as the Liberal government had been looking to fill the special envoy position on combating antisemitism and Holocaust remembrance after former representative Deborah Lyons retired in July, several months before her term was set to end.

Speaking to reporters following a Liberal caucus meeting, Miller said the new council will address rising polarization and division coming in part due to the war in Gaza, but will still recognize the “specificities” of Islamophobia and antisemitism.

“I think we have to give the opportunity to people to be upset,” Miller said. “I think the focus here, though, is to make sure that we are focusing on the unity of the country, on the division that we know is there that’s been fuelled by a lot of things, and making sure that we have a group of experts that will focus precisely on trying to bring people together.” …

Source: Carney government replacing Islamophobia and antisemitism envoys with advisory council

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“Légiférer sur la laïcité met à risque les guignolées, craignent les évêques du Québec”

2026/02/05 Leave a comment

Reminder of the risks of overly broad approaches:

“Les activités caritatives, comme les guignolées ou les comptoirs alimentaires, pourraient-elles devenir des victimes collatérales du projet de loi du gouvernement Legault « sur le renforcement de la laïcité » ? C’est du moins ce que craignent les évêques catholiques québécois.

Dans un mémoire qui sera présenté mercredi en commission parlementaire, l’Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec (AECQ) lève un drapeau rouge : « la définition des “pratiques religieuses” qui est utilisée dans le projet de loi est trop large et doit être précisée, car elle risque de limiter l’action charitable de plusieurs organismes de bienfaisance ».

Déposé en novembre, le projet de loi 9 « sur le renforcement de la laïcité au Québec » prévoit l’interdiction, dans une panoplie d’édifices publics, de toute « pratique religieuse ». L’usage de la voie publique ou d’un parc à des fins de « pratique religieuse collective » est également proscrit, à moins d’obtenir une autorisation exceptionnelle de la municipalité.

“Quand je me réfère à notre expérience ici, à Saint-Jérôme, au centre-ville, la cathédrale a donné plus de 20 000 $ pour des paniers de Noël. Elle a réalisé ça, entre autres, avec une guignolée au coin des rues par les Chevaliers de Colomb », a observé l’évêque de Saint-Jérôme-Mont-Laurier, Raymond Poisson, en entrevue avec Le Devoir en prévision du passage en commission de l’AECQ. « S’il fallait qu’on arrête de faire ça… »

Devant le ministre responsable de la Laïcité, Jean-François Roberge, mercredi, l’AECQ défendra l’idée que, plutôt que la « pratique religieuse », ce soit « l’enseignement religieux et le culte de toute profession religieuse » qui soient interdits dans les édifices publics et dans les rues. Sans quoi, estime Mgr Poisson, cela pourrait sonner la fin des activités caritatives pour plusieurs regroupements.

« Il y a des organismes qui nous offrent des subventions pour nos comptoirs alimentaires et vestimentaires. On en a dans beaucoup, beaucoup de nos églises », a-t-il ajouté. « Pendant la pandémie, ici, on a continué à livrer 200 boîtes de nourriture aux familles et ce sont les employés municipaux qui les livraient. On ne voudrait pas perdre ça. »

“Dans les neuf recommandations contenues dans leur mémoire, les 23 évêques membres de l’AECQ demandent le maintien des locaux de prières dans les universités et cégeps. Ils souhaitent aussi le retrait d’une disposition du projet de loi 9 prévoyant rendre conditionnel le financement public d’écoles religieuses.

« On a une liberté d’expression et c’est reconnu par des chartes. Je pense que l’État, peut-être, déborde de sa juridiction, ou a un peu trop d’ambition », a affirmé Mgr Poisson au téléphone cette semaine.”

Source: “Légiférer sur la laïcité met à risque les guignolées, craignent les évêques du Québec”

“Could charitable activities, such as puppets or food counters, become collateral victims of the Legault government’s bill “on strengthening secularism”? At least that is what Quebec Catholic bishops fear.

In a report that will be presented on Wednesday in the parliamentary committee, the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec (AECQ) raises a red flag: “the definition of “religious practices” that is used in the bill is too broad and must be clarified, because it risks limiting the charitable action of several charities”.

Tabled in November, Bill 9 “on the strengthening of secularism in Quebec” provides for the prohibition, in a range of public buildings, of any “religious practice”. The use of the public road or a park for the purpose of “collective religious practice” is also prohibited, unless exceptional authorization is obtained from the municipality.

“When I refer to our experience here in Saint-Jérôme, downtown, the cathedral gave more than $20,000 for Christmas baskets. She achieved this, among other things, with a puppet around the corner of the streets by the Knights of Columbus, “observed the bishop of Saint-Jérôme-Mont-Laurier, Raymond Poisson, in an interview with Le Devoir in anticipation of the passage through the AECQ commission. “If we had to stop doing this…”

Before the Minister responsible for Secularism, Jean-François Roberge, on Wednesday, the AECQ will defend the idea that, rather than “religious practice”, it is “religious education and the worship of any religious profession” that are prohibited in public buildings and on the streets. Otherwise, according to Bishop Poisson, this could ring the end of charitable activities for several groups.

“There are organizations that offer us subsidies for our food and clothing counters. We have them in many, many of our churches, “he added. “During the pandemic, here, we continued to deliver 200 boxes of food to families and it was municipal employees who delivered them. We wouldn’t want to lose that. ”

“In the nine recommendations contained in their report, the 23 bishops members of the AECQ ask for the maintenance of prayer rooms in universities and CEGEPs. They also want the withdrawal of a provision of Bill 9 to make the public funding of religious schools conditional.

“We have freedom of expression and it is recognized by charters. I think the State, perhaps, overflows its jurisdiction, or has a little too much ambition, “said Bishop Poisson on the phone this week.”

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Renforcement de la laïcité: Les villes dénoncent des obligations « coûteuses et déconnectées »

2026/02/05 Leave a comment

Of note, when ideology meets reality:

Ces critiques virulentes proviennent de l’Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), qui représente des villes totalisant plus de 85 % de la population québécoise. Ses représentants ont témoigné mardi en commission parlementaire, dans le contexte où le projet de loi 9 est l’une des nombreuses pièces législatives que la Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) souhaite adopter d’ici au déclenchement des élections.

« En politisant des enjeux ponctuels et en détournant des ressources essentielles, il compromet la capacité des gouvernements de proximité à répondre aux priorités concrètes de la population », déplorent les villes. De plus, « les situations impliquant des enjeux de laïcité sont décrites comme rares, ponctuelles et généralement réglées à l’aide des pouvoirs et outils déjà disponibles en vertu du droit municipal existant », ajoutent-elles.

L’adoption de nouvelles obligations législatives apparaît non seulement injustifiée, mais profondément déconnectée des réalités administratives et opérationnelles municipales. Le projet de loi 9 semble ainsi répondre à des préoccupations marginales, plutôt qu’à des situations concrètes nécessitant une intervention législative additionnelle.

 L’Union des municipalités du Québec

Le projet de loi 9 prévoit aussi que les municipalités devront permettre les prières de rue ou dans les parcs pour les groupes qui en font la demande « de façon exceptionnelle », par résolution du conseil municipal, si la pratique religieuse en question « ne compromet pas la sécurité des personnes, est de courte durée, est accessible à tous et n’entrave pas indûment l’accès à toute personne au domaine public ». Les prières individuelles ne sont pas visées.

« Cette orientation est inadaptée à la réalité municipale : les villes disposent déjà des pouvoirs nécessaires pour gérer ces usages de manière efficace, proportionnée et neutre, sans qu’un resserrement législatif uniforme ne soit requis », affirment les municipalités représentées par l’UMQ.

Source: Renforcement de la laïcité: Les villes dénoncent des obligations « coûteuses et déconnectées »

These virulent criticisms come from the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), which represents cities totaling more than 85% of the Quebec population. Its representatives testified on Tuesday in the parliamentary committee, in the context that Bill 9 is one of the many pieces of legislation that the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) wishes to adopt between now and the elections are launched.

“It undermines the ability of local governments to respond to the population’s concrete priorities,” the cities lament. In addition, “situations involving secularism issues are described as rare, punctual and generally resolved using the powers and tools already available under existing municipal law,” they add.

The adoption of new legislative obligations appears not only unjustified, but deeply disconnected from municipal administrative and operational realities. Bill 9 thus appears to respond to marginal concerns, rather than concrete situations requiring additional legislative intervention.

The Union of Municipalities of Quebec

Bill 9 also provides that municipalities will have to allow prayers on the street or in parks for groups that request it “exceptionally”, by resolution of the municipal council, if the religious practice in question “does not compromise the safety of people, is short-lived, is accessible to all and does not unduly hinder access to the public domain for anyone”. Individual prayers are not targeted.

“This orientation is inappropriate for municipal reality: cities already have the necessary powers to manage these uses in an effective, proportionate and neutral manner, without uniform legislative tightening being required,” say the municipalities represented by the UMQ.

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Order of Canada Appointments: 2025 and historical

2026/02/04 Leave a comment

The deck below highlights 2025 appointments and compares them with previous years since 2013.

Over this period, women’s representation has increased slightly, with ups and downs; visible minority representation has more than doubled, with Indigenous representation remaining overall stable but with considerable ups and downs. Indigenous are overrepresented at the companion and officer levels.

Women and visible minorities are underrepresented in relation to their share of the population. Sector representation has considerable year-to-year variation. Ontario has the highest degree of overrepresentation, with Atlantic Canada and the North being slightly overrepresented.

Order of Canada 2013-25 Diversity – Key slidesDownload

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