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Free access to 23 million+ rows of public interest data for journalists starts today. Yes, free.
Today, we launched the Free Access for Journalists program: free access to the IJF’s 23 million+ rows of public interest data for reporters across Canada.
This program will give thousands of working journalists across Canada unlimited, free access to all of our public interest databases. That means no government red tape, no weeks-long waits, and no cost to access this data.
That’s an investment in Canadian democracy.
Learn more about this program and check your eligibility today: theijf.org/free-access-for-j…
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Doug Ford’s government has quietly increased the amount of government money going to two private hospitals run by his donors, according to a new investigation by @HannahC245
theijf.org/doug-ford-quietly…
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The federal #Conservatives have regularly taken aim at Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s former company, Brookfield Asset Management. But an IJF analysis found seven Conservative MPs said they owned stock in that company as of last year.
buff.ly/bafNByH
#election2025 #cdnpoli #MarkCarney
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A majority of senior members on Ontario’s major tribunals appear to have connections to a Canadian conservative party, according to a new IJF analysis.
theijf.org/doug-fords-indepe…
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The mayor of Airdrie, Alberta and a group of city staff secretly provided help with developing a proposal for a controversial private health care centre despite the city’s public claim that it did not, the IJF has discovered. Read our exclusive story to find out more.
#abpoli #healthcare
buff.ly/SIId0Uf
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Canadian medical supply manufacturers want an investigation into former Liberal minister Sheila Copps’ alleged role in helping importers land government meetings. One importer later received billions in pandemic contracts. Find out more.
buff.ly/NusiegH
#cdnpoli #pandemic
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Today, we’re launching the Investigative Journalism Foundation.
We’re building a new journalism model. Data-driven. Radically transparent. Laser-focused on serving the public and speaking truth to power.
Here’s what you need to know🧵: theijf.org/
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After months of investigating, IJF reporter @seeingread found a connection between the mayor of Airdrie, Alberta and the plan to build a controversial health care centre—even though the city initially claimed it did not help develop the proposal.
#abpoli #healthcare
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🧵 Canadians can now freely access over 2.6 million pages of internal government documents never before made publicly available with our newest dataset, Open By Default. Explore the huge database of internal government documents: theijf.org/open-by-default
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Last month Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she would double the number of charter school spaces in the next four years.
We decided to look into who has been lobbying for charter schools, and how they're connected to the government.
Read our latest: theijf.org/several-alberta-c…
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Doug Ford is now a strong advocate for a faster drug approval process, following a lobbying push by his former senior staffers who are now working for giant drug companies. theijf.org/ford-pushes-for-f…
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Shouldice Hospital and Don Mills Surgical Unit got a combined $13.2 million from the Ontario government last year. That’s a 60 per cent increase from the $8.3 million they received every year between 2011 and 2019.
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More on Alberta’s book ban: government staff used an index of America’s most banned books and a controversial American website to create lists of specific books deemed “inappropriate” for school libraries.
theijf.org/alberta-used-list…
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Several federally appointed judges sitting on high-level provincial courts may have paid to meet Justin Trudeau or Chrystia Freeland at Liberal Party fundraisers before their appointments, an analysis from the IJF and the @nationalpost has revealed.
theijf.org/high-level-judges…
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Executives from both Clearpoint Health Network, owner of Don Mills Surgical Unit, and Shouldice have donated to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and both organizations have registered to lobby the provincial government.
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We’ve learned that conservative activist groups gave Alberta officials examples of “inappropriate” books now facing a ban in K-12 school libraries under new government guidelines. The education minister initially said he was approached by concerned parents.
Here’s what we know.
#abpoli #bookban #education
buff.ly/zau8Bez
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The increased funding to private hospitals “has occurred at a time when in real terms, funding for the public hospitals has been reduced,” said president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions @HurleyOCHUCUPE
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Despite the law mandating a “competitive, merit-based [selection] process,” six of the nine senior chairs of Tribunals Ontario appear to have donated money to, served as a high-ranking staffer for, or run for office under the banner of a Canadian conservative party.
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A previous investigation by the IJF found that private healthcare donors have given at least $34,033 to the Ontario PC Party since Ford was elected.
theijf.org/doug-fords-donors…
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Alberta’s government quietly transferred responsibility of the province’s Communications and Public Relations wing to the premier’s office—meaning Premier Danielle Smith is now overseeing the branch. Find out more.
#abpoli
buff.ly/rNiViGR
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Donors with connections to private health facilities have given at least $34,033 to the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario since Premier Doug Ford was elected in 2018, according to donations data analyzed by IJF reporters @HannahC245 and @kylzhu
theijf.org/doug-fords-donors…
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Read the full story here:
theijf.org/doug-ford-quietly…
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The funding increase started in 2020, years before Doug Ford proposed his new law designed to increase the role of private healthcare facilities in Ontario’s healthcare system.
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The IJF has now found even more donations to Ford from private healthcare donors. Shouldice Hospital managing director John Hughes donated $1,000 to the Ontario PC party on the same day as CEO Shelley Shouldice also donated $1,000.
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Mayor Ken Sim's business Nurse Next Door and its franchises got over $13 million from Vancouver Coastal Health over the past five years, with funding increasing significantly since Sim's mayoral campaign. theijf.org/vancouver-mayor-k…
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In two years, complaints of Toronto police officers not doing their job have more than doubled. Analysis from the IJF shows internal investigations haven't kept pace with complaints.
theijf.org/toronto-cops-accu…
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Vancouver mayor’s private company and its franchises received 83 per cent more government funding in the year he became mayor. Here’s what we found: theijf.org/vancouver-mayor-k…
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Since taking office, Sim has voted twice to send millions of dollars to Vancouver Coastal Health, which awards significant contracts to his company. One critic believes that this creates a conflict of interest.
theijf.org/vancouver-mayor-k…
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“I have not seen this level of obvious blatant politicization, especially with senior appointments, in my 30 years in both the Ontario and federal governments,” said Yee.
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Open By Default builds upon the collective effort of journalists and researchers, as well as a history of people trying to fill the gaps created by the government. Learn more about Open By Default and what inspired its creation: theijf.org/the-ijf-launches-…
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The name, Open By Default, comes from a promise made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2015 about government transparency shortly after being elected. The database shares more than 20,000 (and growing) completed federal Access to Information requests. theijf.org/open-by-default
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Today, we're launching with eight public interest databases that will be updated in real-time. These databases are just the beginning. With your support, we will roll out dozens of public interest databases in the coming years.
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Gary Yee, a former chair of three Ontario tribunals and current member of the non-partisan organization Tribunal Watch, says staff shortages are linked to “unprecedented” politicization of the tribunal appointment process.
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Tomorrow, we’re launching the Investigative Journalism Foundation, a new nonprofit media outlet committed to keeping Canada’s most powerful accountable through fair, accurate and responsible journalism.
Join us on January 4.
ALT White text on a black background reads"Investigative Journalism Foundation: 1 day to go! Data-driven investigative journalism. Covering stories Canadians care about from coast to coast to coast. Join us on January 4.
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“The access to information system in Canada is widely criticized for being inefficient, outdated, and overly secretive,” said Matt Malone, a professor who initiated the database. It could take months to get the requested documents from the government. theijf.org/open-by-default
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Tribunals are designed to be less formal and faster than criminal courts in resolving disputes. But several tribunals, including the Landlord and Tenant Board and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, are facing lengthy delays due to a backlog of cases and staff shortages.
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Exciting news! The IJF is getting US$40,050 to build Canada’s first-ever database showing the stocks, real estate and other financial assets owned by politicians at the federal level and in every province and territory.
datadrivenreporting.medill.n…
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Meet @bethanylindsay, our new reporter! Lindsay is a Vancouver journalist who will help us cover white collar crime. She is passionate about any story that involves a thick stack of documents and accountability for people with power and influence.
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👋 Hello world! We're the Investigative Journalism Foundation.
We're a nonprofit media outlet building the future of Canadian journalism.
Our goal is to expand the breadth, depth, and long-term financial sustainability of investigative journalism. theijf.org
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We are so excited to announce that @zakvescera is joining our team as a reporter! Vescera is a Vancouver-based journalist who loves digging into a big story. Through his work, he hopes to keep the powerful accountable and shine a light on what matters in his home province.
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EXCLUSIVE: A joint investigation between the IJF’s @kteschneider and the @nationalpost’s @ChrisGNardi shows that the federal Liberals appear to be stacking the courts with their supporters.
theijf.org/trudeaus-law-soci…
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Natalie Mehra, executive director at the @OntarioHealthC, which advocates for public healthcare, said seeing significant donations from private clinic owners going towards the government raises questions.
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We're hiring summer reporters!
These are full-time roles and you can be based anywhere in Canada. The pay is $10,000 for 16 weeks.
We're looking for people who share our passion for long-form public interest journalism.
Apply by March 31:
vla1au0c652.typeform.com/to/…
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With the data made available, we found some interesting things in these government documents. From UFO sightings to thousands of monkeys, here are nine strange, surprising and fun finds from Open By Default: theijf.org/open-by-default-r…
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We hope Open By Default can help Canadians better understand how the government works behind closed doors. Put in a keyword and let us know what you find: theijf.org/open-by-default
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But with Open By Default, with a few clicks, you can now access over 2.6 million pages of documents released under the ATI program, searching and filtering by keywords, date received and organization. Try it out: theijf.org/open-by-default
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Prime Minister Mark Carney is the former head of Brookfield Asset Management. But now, Brookfield-linked companies are lobbying him for help with resource development. Is the PM in a conflict of interest?
Read more to find out.
buff.ly/LgcrLtL
#brookfield #markcarney #cdnpoli
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.@seeingread breaks down how the city is involved with One Health Associate Medical and developer Qualico Communities, and what this centre could mean for privatizing health care in Alberta.
#abpoli #healthcare
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Several of the donors have given money for the first time in the past three years. Others have registered to lobby the government on healthcare privatization while simultaneously giving Ford money.
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The documents from Open By Default also revealed a sophisticated money laundering scheme operating through online casinos that government officials are desperate to stop. theijf.org/gambling-sites-mo…
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More details in the story: theijf.org/doug-fords-indepe…
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The donations come as Ford is privatizing parts of Ontario’s healthcare system, changing regulations to allow more surgeries to be done in private, for-profit clinics and handing out licences to private companies for medical procedures.
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It’s not just the Phoenix pay system or the ArriveCan app, outsourced IT contracts have some of the highest cost overruns in the federal government, according to a new IJF analysis.
theijf.org/why-do-government…
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We're excited to announce that the IJF has been awarded $100,000 by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (@ciranews) to develop a program for post-secondary students to recognize and counter online misinformation.
Check out the full list of awardees below:
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We're hiring a full-time investigative reporter.
The base pay is $60,000-$70,000 and you can be based anywhere in Canada.
We're looking for someone who shares our passion for long-form public interest journalism.
Is that you? Apply today: vla1au0c652.typeform.com/to/…
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If built, the centre would be Alberta’s first non government-run urgent care centre and a major step in the United Conservative government’s goal of privatizing health care. Read the full story here.
#abpoli #healthcare
theijf.org/controversial-alb…
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The IJF is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media outlet, built around databases on who donates to politicians across Canada, who lobbies them, and how the government spends your money.
Want to support our work? The biggest thing you can do is subscribe. Here’s why (THREAD) 👇
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The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party is charging an average of $974 per person to attend one of their fundraisers despite claiming that they also host low-cost events.
theijf.org/doug-ford-only-he…
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Canadian journalism is in trouble.
In the last 15 years, 468 media outlets have closed. Over 2,000 full-time jobs are gone. The overall number of newspaper articles published every year has dropped by almost half, while the number on civic affairs is down by a third.
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Koch Companies has hired a lobbyist with deep ties to Alberta’s ruling United Conservative Party. The firm wants to increase “access to new and existing markets for Alberta’s natural resources.”
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Canadian companies usually have to hire local workers before they can recruit temporary foreign workers.
But in 2023, Lululemon got a special deal that lets it skip that step.
The IJF has the inside story on how they did it: theijf.org/lululemon-tfw-dea…
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Province-wide rules surrounding book restrictions were brought in after Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides’s office said materials with “mature content” were found on school library shelves. Three of the four books the government identified as having sexually explicit and inappropriate content had 2SLGBTQ+ characters and themes.
#abpoli #bookban #education
theijf.org/conservative-acti…
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Australia became the first country to repeal a carbon tax in 2014. How the decision played out might be instructive for Canadians today.
Learn about what happened after Australia killed its carbon pricing regime: theijf.org/axe-the-tax-austr…
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We’re dedicated to data-driven investigative journalism and we’re excited to introduce you to our team members who share this passion. First up, some of our reporters 🧵:
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Once again, we’re rounding up insights from our four lobbying databases in our newsletter. It’s your weekly dose of public policy news before it becomes news. Here are some of this week's insights. Sign up for our subscriber-only newsletter: theijf.org/koch-companies-re…
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Therme Group – the controversial developer behind a plan for a resort on the Toronto waterfront – is registering new lobbyists with the Ontario government.
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We're proud to publish our first co-production with @thewalrus.
It's a longread on the housing crisis with data visualization by our @robroc.
Read @jsrutgers’s deep dive into the state of housing in Canada here:
With data visualization from @IJFMedia and @robroc thewalrus.ca/no-place-to-liv…
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Justin Trudeau’s government is selling an average of $1.3 billion in weapons to authoritarian countries per year, according to an analysis by IJF reporter @Kteschneider (THREAD):
theijf.org/justin-trudeau-se…
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Government requests for Canadians' Google data have increased about ten times over the past five years, according to a new analysis by the Investigative Journalism Foundation.
theijf.org/government-reques…
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We found that Canada’s two biggest parties get less than half of their financial support from small donations. And the governing Liberal Party is the least successful at this, despite its claims that it’s “100% funded by grassroots donors” on its website. theijf.org/liberal-party-lea…
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Our investigative reporting seeks to strengthen public trust and accountability in our democracy. Meet our contributing editors, @fatimabsyed and @__m_pereira, who are working with us to achieve this goal.
ALT Photo and bios of Michael Pereira, award-winning journalist and lead developer of the Globe and Mail's Unfounded series and alumnus of CBC and the Winnipeg Free Press. Fatima Syed, reporter at the Narwhal, alumna of the National Observer, Canadaland, the Toronto Star and the Walrus.
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Microsoft, Lockheed Martin and Spotify are among the companies that have been lobbying Prime Minister Mark Carney since he took office—and they’re all firms he invested in before. Check out the full list of companies that have lobbied the PM, which he has invested in. buff.ly/28bqT88
#cdnpoli
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Exclusive: About half of the Airbnbs in major Canadian cities appear to be operating without a licence, according to a new analysis by IJF reporter @kylzhu
theijf.org/half-of-airbnbs-i…
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“Having the prime minister at an event and being able to show the prime minister how much you support his party, face-to-face, is something that everyone should be very concerned about,” said @DuffConacher of @DemocracyWatchr.
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Canadian AI company Cohere has spent about $1 million in the last two years lobbying policy makers in Canada, the E.U., the U.S. and the U.K. in an attempt to shape AI rules. It’s received nearly a quarter of a billion dollars from Canada over the past seven months. Find out what’s going on. buff.ly/77EdWQL
#cdnpoli
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We’ve discovered former Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day was involved in a secretive B.C. election advertising campaign.
Read our latest: theijf.org/stockwell-day-wes…
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We're publishing a few pieces today that represent the fearless kind of journalism you can expect from us.
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The IJF is a non-profit, nonpartisan media outlet, and our primary purpose is to serve the public. We're bringing together journalists, academics and developers to create a new collaborative journalism model.
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Since 2016, an overwhelming majority – 76.3 per cent – of judicial and tribunal appointees who previously made political donations had given to the Liberal Party of Canada.
ALT Bar graph made by Brice Hall of the National Post titled "Judges donating to each political party as a percentage of unique donors. Horizontal bar shows following percentages: NDP, 17.9%; Liberal, 76.3%; Green, 5%; Conservative, 22.9%; Other, a tiny sliver. Note at the bottom adds: "Totals exceed 100% due to small handful of judges who donated to more than one party,"
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We're thrilled to introduce the IJF's board of directors:
@ruffoloj, managing partner of @MaverixPe
@szamancanada, CEO of @InspiritFdn
@Brent_T_Jolly, president of the @CAJ
@karyn_pugliese, editor-in-chief of @NatObserver
Their wisdom and leadership are invaluable.
ALT Bio and photo of Brent Jolly: President of the Canadian Association of Journalists. Managing Director at National NewsMedia Council. Judge at National Newspaper Awards. Bio and photo of Karyn Pugliese: Editor-in-Chief of Canada's National Observer. Past managing editor of investigative journalism at CBC News, executive director of news at Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network and Harvard Nieman Fellow.
ALT Bio and photo of John Ruffolo: Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity. Board Member at the Royal Ontario Museum and the CIBC Foundation. Co-founder of the Council of Canadian Innovators. Past CEO of OMERS Ventures. Bio and photo of Sadia Zaman: CEO of the Inspirit Foundation. Past Managing Director of the Royal Ontario Museum, Director at CBC News, and Executive Director of Women in Film and Television-Toronto.
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When Simon Fraser University’s teaching assistants went on strike, the school’s executives were concerned about safety.
Their solution? Hiring private investigators to secretly record striking workers. With @TheTyee: theijf.org/inside-sfus-surve…
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We’re making Edmonton’s full list of banned books completely searchable. Now, you can find all 221 books, including titles from Margaret Atwood, Aldous Huxley and more in one place. See which books will be removed from Edmonton school libraries this fall. buff.ly/LzkVnYw
#abpoli #bookban
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Earlier this month, an ad claiming the death of Jagmeet Singh appeared on multiple news outlets.
The IJF has found similar ads are pushing get-rich-quick schemes worldwide. Why is no one accepting responsibility for the publication of these fake ads?
Read our latest: theijf.org/fake-ads-jagmeet-…
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The Liberals are quietly allowing lobbyists to attend cash-for-access fundraisers despite pledging to stop, according to an analysis by IJF reporter @robroc (THREAD): theijf.org/liberals-quietly-…
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As a nonprofit, nonpartisan media outlet, our primary purpose is to serve the public. We do this by publishing in-depth investigative journalism that speaks truth to power. Meet our team members working to strengthen our democracy 🧵:
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The IJF is launching to help change all that. Our goal is to expand the breadth, depth, and long-term financial sustainability of investigative journalism in Canada.
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We will feature investigative reporting and constantly updating public interest databases on topics like political donations, lobbying and money the government gives to companies.
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For months, IJF reporter Carly Penrose has been following the relationship between a high-profile Canadian PR firm and the government of Rwanda.
#cdnpoli
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Former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps says her firm, Medipro Canada, is owed tens of millions of dollars for helping a medical equipment company win federal contracts during the pandemic. The company says if Copps’ firm did lobby on its behalf, "then it did so by illegal means." theijf.org/former-deputy-pri…
#cdnpoli
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@robroc is an award-winning journalist who specializes in computational methods for investigations. Before joining the IJF, he was a data journalist at CBC News and the Montreal Gazette.
ALT Photo and quote from Roberto Rocha: "I joined the IJF because I felt there was a burning need for an agile, non-profit, fiercely digital, data-driven news organization in Canada. Data journalism is a team sport, and the IJF has a stellar lineup."
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We’re thrilled to announce that IJF is a finalist for the @LIONPubs New LION Business of the Year and Product of the Year awards!
Thank you, @LIONPubs, for the recognition, and congrats to all the nominees! Learn more: tinyurl.com/LIONfinalists24
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The @NDP, @CanadianGreens, and @BlocQuebecois are condemning Justin Trudeau’s military exports to authoritarian regimes following last week’s IJF investigation.
theijf.org/opposition-partie…
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People with similar names and cities of residence as six judges on courts in Alberta, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador were found in the attendance lists of ticketed Liberal fundraisers.
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In May, Alberta’s Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced the province would be implementing new restrictions and guidelines on the kinds of books allowed in school libraries in Alberta. Find out how books were selected.
theijf.org/alberta-used-list…
#abpoli #bookban
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A joint investigation by Canada's @NatObserver and the IJF has found that over the last 11 years, lobbyists for some of Canada’s largest oil and gas corporations have netted their companies more than $2.6 billion in taxpayer dollars. 🧵 1/
theijf.org/oil-giants-lobbyi…
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A record number of complaints against Toronto police officers are going uninvestigated for unclear reasons, according to an IJF analysis. Lawyers, academics, and complainants describe the system to report police complaints in Ontario as "broken."
theijf.org/record-number-of-…
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Deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman and Walmart are linked. How? She lobbied on behalf of the company right before becoming an MP. Check out Lantsman and Pierre Poilievre’s other lobbying connections: theijf.org/who-knows-whom-in…
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A resort owner in B.C. hired a former NDP minister as his lobbyist to help with a business issue that he struggled with for years. Turns out, it’s not unusual for former public officials to lobby the government after they leave office. theijf.org/former-bc-politic…
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