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NDP’s Jagmeet Singh rules out coalition government with Liberals after next election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is ruling out the possibility of forming a coalition government with the Liberals if no party wins a clear majority after the next federal election.Singh says in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press that the idea is off the table for the New Democrats, even though the two parties have been working closely together. They signed a deal in March 2022 in which the NDP agreed to support the minority Liberals on key votes in Parliament in exchange for action on NDP policy priorities.The collaboration has so far led to the introduction of a national dental-care program, one-time rental supplements for low-income tenants, a temporary doubling of the GST rebate and legislation banning replacement workers. The parties agreed to keep their agreement in place until 2025, with a federal election slated to take place by October of that year. Singh says New Democrats are focused on getting through this session of Parliament then running to win the next ele...

Montreal man seeks to launch class action over cantaloupe salmonella outbreak

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

MONTREAL — A Montreal man who spent almost a week in hospital with a salmonella infection after consuming cantaloupes is seeking permission to launch a class-action lawsuit against two food companies.Law firm Slater Vecchio LLP filed the application Dec. 12 in Quebec Superior Court alleging that Olivier Archambault got sick after he consumed melons produced by Mexico-based Malichita and distributed in Canada by Arizona-based Trufresh.In November the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued food recall warnings for melons produced by Malichita, and later in the month issued recalls for melons by Rudy brand, which are produced in the same area of Mexico.As of last week the Public Health Agency of Canada has reported 164 laboratory-confirmed cases and seven deaths from cantaloupe-linked salmonella across eight provinces; 111 of those cases are in Quebec.The lawsuit says the plaintiff received a cantaloupe in a subscription box in late October, and bought another at a grocery store in Mon...

Wisconsin university chancellor says he was fired for producing and appearing in porn videos

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow said Thursday that regents fired him because they were uncomfortable with him and his wife producing and appearing in pornographic videos.The regents voted unanimously during a hastily convened closed meeting Wednesday evening to fire Gow. After the vote, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and regents President Karen Walsh issued statements saying the regents had learned of specific conduct by Gow that subjected the university to “significant reputational harm.” Rothman called Gow’s actions “abhorrent” and Walsh said she was “disgusted.” But neither of them offered any details of the allegations.Gow told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday morning that regents had discovered that he and his wife, former UW-La Crosse professor Carmen Wilson, had been producing and appearing in pornographic videos. He maintained that he never mentioned UW-La Crosse or his role at the univ...

Hazel McCallion LRT tracks being installed, but line will likely miss 2024 contractual date

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

As the Hazel McCallion LRT construction project makes headway with the beginning of rail track installation, officials say it’s not likely the line will meet its September deadline for substantial completion.CityNews recently visited the 19-stop, $5.4-billion line that runs between Port Credit GO station in Mississauga and the Brampton Gateway Terminal at Steeles Avenue East to check out progress made throughout the past year and look ahead to what’s coming in 2024.“We’re well underway towards that, but we’re not quite there,” Metrolinx vice-president Duncan Law told CityNews during a tour, describing the line as currently being in the final third of the overall project.He said September is the contractual date for most of the civil and engineering work to be done. Law said crews on the 18-kilometre project, which began the tendering process in late 2016 and started construction in early 2020, encountered delays due to COVID-19 and aging infrastru...

More Ukrainian children from Ukraine’s Russia-held regions arrive in Belarus despite global outrage

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian president on Thursday attended a government-organized meeting with children brought from Russia-controlled areas of Ukraine, openly defying an international outrage over his country’s involvement in Moscow’s deportation of Ukrainian children. Speaking at the event marking the arrival of a new group of Ukrainian children ahead of the New Year holiday, President Alexander Lukashenko vowed to “embrace these children, bring them to our home, keep them warm and make their childhood happier.”Belarusian officials did not say how many Ukrainian children were brought into the country. A recent study by Yale University has found that more than 2,400 Ukrainian children aged 6-17 have been brought to Belarus from four Ukrainian regions that have been partially occupied by Russian forces. The Belarusian opposition has urged the International Criminal Court to hold Lukashenko and his officials accountable for their involvement...

S&P/TSX composite slips, U.S. markets tick up

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down in late-morning trading on broad declines, while U.S. stock markets were up slightly.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 77.59 points at 20,938.32.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 47.53 points at 37,704.05. The S&P 500 index was up 6.38 points at 4,787.96, while the Nasdaq composite was up 24.99 points at 15,124.69.The Canadian dollar traded for 75.76 cents US compared with 75.73 cents US on Wednesday.The February crude oil contract was down 49 cents at US$73.62 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up 12 cents at US$2.55 per mmBTU.The February gold contract was down US$8.60 at US$2,084.50 an ounce and the March copper contract was down four cents at US$3.92 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)The Canadian Press

US sanctions money network tied to the Yemen Houthi rebels blamed for shipping vessel attacks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on a group of money exchange services from Yemen and Turkey alleged to help provide funding to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have been launching attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the southern Red Sea. Included in the sanctions are the head of a financial intermediary in Sana’a, Yemen, along with three exchange houses in Yemen and Turkey. U.S. Treasury alleges that the people and firms helped transfer millions of dollars to the Houthis at the direction of sanctioned Iranian financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal.The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans.Thursday’s action is the latest round of financial penalties meant to punish the Houthis. Earlier this month, the U.S. announced sanctions against 13 people and firms alleged to be providing tens of millions of dollars from the sale and shipment of Iranian commodit...

TTC to be free with extended service on New Year’s Eve

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

The TTC will once again offer free and extended service overnight on New Year’s Eve so Torontonians can get to and from their celebrations safely.Service will be extended until 3 a.m. on Monday Jan. 1, with the last train from Union to Finch departing at 2:31 a.m. and 2:27 a.m. to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. The last southbound train from Finch to Union will depart at 2 a.m. and from Vaughan Metropolitan Centre at 1:50 a.m. The last northbound train on Line 1 will connect at Bloor-Yonge Station with the last westbound and eastbound trains departing the station on Line 2 at 2:40 a.m.For Line 2, the last eastbound train will depart Kipling Station at 2:15 a.m. and the last westbound train will depart Kennedy Station at 2:18 a.m. The last train for Line 4 will depart Don Mills Station to head westbound at 3:09 a.m. and Sheppard-Yonge at 2:57 a.m.Service will be free from 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 to 8 a.m. on Jan. 1 with regular Sunday schedule resuming on New Year’s Day. The Blue Night Netwo...

As tree species face decline, ‘assisted migration’ gains popularity in Pacific Northwest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — As native trees in the Pacific Northwest die off due to climate changes, the U.S. Forest Service, Portland, Oregon and citizen groups around Puget Sound are turning to a deceptively simple climate adaptation strategy called “assisted migration.”As the world’s climate warms, tree growing ranges in the Northern Hemisphere are predicted to move farther north and higher in elevation.Trees, of course, can’t get up and walk to their new climatic homes. This is where assisted migration is supposed to lend a hand.The idea is that humans can help trees keep up with climate change by moving them to more favorable ecosystems faster than the trees could migrate on their own.Yet not everyone agrees on what type of assisted migration the region needs — or that it’s always a good thing.In the Pacific Northwest, a divide has emerged between groups advocating for assisted migration that would help struggling native trees, and one that could instead see native species replaced...

Air Canada signs sponsorship deal with Professional Women’s Hockey League

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:00 GMT

MONTREAL — Air Canada has a sponsorship deal with the soon-to-launch Professional Women’s Hockey League.The airline says it is an inaugural premier partner and the official airline for the first six teams in the league, which is set to hold its first game on Jan. 1, 2024.Air Canada is launching an ad campaign along with the launch.As part of the deal, the airline says it has secured intellectual property rights for the teams in Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto, along with jersey branding rights for the Montreal team.The airline says the deal builds on its previous partnerships in professional women’s hockey, along with women’s sports including the Women’s National Basketball Association and the planned Project 8 professional women’s soccer league in Canada.The Professional Women’s Hockey League counts Canadian Tire as a founding partner, and has numerous official partner and official supplier partnerships. This report by ...