Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra is demanding immediate reforms at the NNDSB after a report revealed “deep-rooted dysfunction and mismanagement” and “governance problems” in the board.

The government plans to raise the annual donation limit from $3,400 to $5,000 starting next year and tie future increases to inflation. Attorney General Doug Downey says the move modernizes Ontario’s political finance system, but critics say it gives an edge to parties with deep-pocketed donors, such is the case of Ford’s Progressive Conservatives.

“We need to be clear that this government and its partner are not engaged with us,” said Chief Brandon Rae from North Spirit Lake First Nation. “They push us, overload us with information we can’t process, and drag us through their process.”

Northwestern Ontario miner hopes to obtain permits for its proposed mine and processing plant by 2027.

Sources who spoke to trade representative David Paterson after the incident at an event Monday in Ottawa but were not authorized to speak about it publicly told The Canadian Press that Pete Hoekstra yelled at Paterson over an ad Ontario was running in the U.S.

"It's an opportunity for us and we'd like to make that opportunity flourish," Chief Cornelius Wabasse said.

The savings, equivalent to the provincial portion of HST, apply only to new construction, meaning they won’t help those buying resale homes, which make up the majority of transactions. Nor does it tackle supply-side barriers like construction costs, labour shortages, zoning delays or high borrowing rates that have kept housing starts below target.