5 things you need to know this morning: June 24, 2025

Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.

Five things you need to know

1. Federal government payroll disaster has cost taxpayers more than $5 billion so far

Fixing the problems caused by the catastrophic deployment of the Phoenix payment system has so far cost taxpayers more than $5 billion, according to senior bureaucrat Alex Benay. He said Ottawa would continue to pay extra cash to run two systems simultaneously, adding that though the situation is "unfortunate," it's the option "that's going to impact employees the least."

Fixing problems with Phoenix payroll system cost taxpayers $5.1B: Official https://t.co/WAy9PR0WmG pic.twitter.com/iTxeDL79Li

— Toronto Sun (@TheTorontoSun) June 24, 2025

2. School councillor who objected to land acknowledgements suspended without explanation

An elected school councillor in Ontario has been suspended without explanation after she objected to the "quasi-religious practice" of land acknowledgements. Catherine Kronas, who has twice been elected to serve on the board at Ancaster High Secondary School, said she has not been told what offence she committed or when she can appeal.

Terry Newman: She objected to land acknowledgments. Now she's paying the price for her heresy https://t.co/UwJ9lMH8Rq pic.twitter.com/CdbUgrL3bP

— National Post (@nationalpost) June 24, 2025

3. Carney signs new defence deal with EU as NATO members to discuss 5% target

Mark Carney has signed a new security and defence deal with the European Union. Speaking in Brussels on Monday, the prime minister reiterated his now-familiar line about Canada being "the most European of non-European countries" and stressed the importance of maintaining what he calls "the rules-based global order." Today, meanwhile, the prime minister, who is accompanied by Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr, will be in the Netherlands to discuss whether NATO will commit to a new defence spending target of five per cent of GDP.

Carney to begin talks on NATO spending target as summit starts today in The Hague https://t.co/AN1cRSmriy

— CP24 (@CP24) June 24, 2025

4. Trump furious after saying Iran and Israel violated ceasefire

Donald Trump has reacted furiously to what he says are violations of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran that he helped to broker. The president said the countries "don't know what the f*** they're doing" after both sides reportedly attacked each other after hostilities were supposed to end.

President Trump on Israel and Iran: "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing." pic.twitter.com/xrztmebALZ

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 24, 2025

5. Number of Americans visiting Canada down 8.9%, Canadians visiting US down 18.9%: StatCan

The number of Americans coming to Canada to visit has declined once again, according to Statistics Canada. The agency's data for April show the number of trips into Canada by Americans was down 8.9 per cent year over year, the third consecutive month of declines. The number of Canadians heading into the US, meanwhile, has fallen for four consecutive months, with the April figures showing an annual decline of 18.9 per cent.

Canada sees drop in U.S. and overseas visitors: Statistics Canada https://t.co/DDXn34b8xr

— CTV News (@CTVNews) June 24, 2025

Thumbnail photo credit: Anita Anand/X