Ottawa

The quiet cuts (that were supposed to be someone else’s fault)

The Canadian Press obtains the paper trail behind cuts to water-quality sampling in the North.

Speaking in Haines Junction, Yukon, the prime minister quickly doused the controversy by saying the move was “not authorized” and that Environment Minister Peter Kent had ordered water sampling to resume once he found out about it…

But a 600-page internal file on the controversy, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, shows the officials had in fact received a green light from senior levels at Environment Canada. They also indicate Kent was aware of the proposed cuts weeks before they were implemented.

See previously: The quiet cuts

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