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Written by Hanna Lee Copy Editor, Digital News
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Good morning. While the Liberals' Bill C-12 passed last month, the immigration legislation was rife with controversy. But it wasn't the party's first time attempting to push through such measures. We'll get into that below, as well as a new proposal on high school attendance from the Ontario government and a look into the chaos of retail washrooms in Canada.
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FEATURED STORIES
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(Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)
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Asylum crackdown passed under Carney was first requested by Trudeau's immigration minister
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In fall 2024, Marc Miller, who was immigration minister at the time, sought major changes to the Canadian asylum system — but the government, then under Justin Trudeau, largely did not act on them.
What's happening: At the time, Miller wrote to Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland, then deputy prime minister, asking for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to be allowed to bar asylum seekers from making refugee claims if they had been in Canada for more than a year, in a letter obtained by CBC News. Miller also wanted to stop them from making claims more than 14 days after crossing into Canada from an irregular port of entry on the Canada-U.S. border and mass-cancel groups of visas.
Why it matters: Bill C-12, passed last month under Prime Minister Mark Carney, appears to include similar provisions as what Miller was seeking back in 2024. His request was also retroactive to June 25, 2020, one day off from the date included in C-12. In his letter, Miller, who declined to comment to CBC News, cited the strain on the immigration system, leading to lengthy processing times and backlogs. He also said that making the rules stricter for irregular crossings would act as risk mitigation in anticipation of changes to U.S. immigration policies; it's not clear whether it was sent before or after Donald Trump's re-election as U.S. president.
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In other politics news: Carney said yesterday he will use his newly won majority to push through legislation that opposition parties have stymied in recent years. (On the flip side, having a majority also means the Liberals can more easily shut down opposition probes into missteps or alleged wrongdoing.) He said his next focuses will be affordability and a bill meant to boost home construction. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney no longer has excuses not to deliver results for Canadians.
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Ontario aims to tie high school attendance to grades and mandate final exams
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Ontario high schoolers with spotty attendance may have a problem. New provincial legislation is looking to count attendance and class participation as part of students' final grades and to mandate final exams.
What's happening: The requirement would count for 15 per cent of final grades for Grade 9 and 10, then 10 per cent in the senior years. It's meant to address chronic absenteeism, which has become a significant issue since the COVID-19 pandemic. One consultant said he sees families taking attendance less seriously, too, pulling kids out of school for vacations. But some experts say tying attendance to marks isn't based in evidence, and is likely to penalize students who may already have issues.
And once school's out: Young Canadians are set for another tough summer on the job market. Those aged 15 to 24 have been disproportionately affected by a weakening labour market, making up about half of all job losses in Q1, despite representing just 14 per cent of the workforce. Sectors that typically hire young people, like retail and food service, have been hiring less in recent years due to economic uncertainty. That's likely to continue for at least the rest of the year, writes my colleague Ina Sidhu.
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Did Winners close some of its bathrooms? Questions swirl amid debate over toilet access
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Frustrated shoppers are alleging Winners, HomeSense and Marshalls, owned by the company TJX, have recently shut down their bathrooms in some Canadian locations.
What's happening: There isn't a companywide bathroom closure, a spokesperson for Winners and HomeSense told CBC News, but fewer than 10 washrooms across Canada have been closed temporarily. Some employees of the chains have posted on Facebook groups describing finding used needles on bathroom floors and feces smeared on the walls, to which the spokesperson said they had nothing to add.
Why it matters: Private businesses that aren't restaurants typically have no legal obligation to provide bathrooms to customers. But an industry expert says there is a larger trend of retailers restricting access, as they try to balance customer needs with safety and operational realities. "Bathrooms have increasingly become higher-risk areas within stores," said Santo Ligotti of the Retail Council of Canada.
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