Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
As passport processing delays and long lineups persist at Service Canada offices, the federal government is looking to buy 801 chairs for people standing in line by the end of this week.
On June 30, Employment and Social Development Canada issued a tender, titled "URGENT FOR PASSPORT OFFICES," seeking 535 armrest-free chairs and 266 chairs with armrests.
For both varieties, the government wants hard-surfaced chairs "to facilitate maintenance," and is requiring the chairs be black in colour, have lumbar support, and come assembled.
The order specifies that the chairs are to be delivered to a Montreal-area Passport Canada office, as well as another government building in the city.
For weeks Canadians have reported chaos at passport offices, resulting in people waiting in line for hours, some bringing their own chairs and camping out overnight as they try to beat the rush in applying for, renewing, or picking up the key piece of travel documentation.
The request for the additional seating was posted just days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the formation of a special cabinet committee "task force to improve government services."
The 10 ministers on the committee have been tasked with tackling the "unacceptable" backlogs with immigration and passport applications, though with no clear timelines attached to this task.
Last week, co-chair of the task force Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien told reporters she'd like to see "tangible" improvements "in the next several weeks."
The tender is set to close mid-day on Thursday, with the government expecting delivery by Friday.
An unnamed potential supplier had asked if the deadline could be extended by a week, citing the Canada Day holiday, but the government said no.
“Due to the urgent requirement to provide chairs to passport offices we cannot extend the solicitation," was their reply.
So far there are no publicly listed "interested suppliers," according to the posting.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.