Canada In The News

[PlatinumPearl]

The latest news from across Canada.

Feel free to post any information you find that may be of interest to others.

[PlatinumPearl]

City of Edmonton offering mask bylaw exemption cards to those with conditions.

The City of Edmonton has launched a new program meant to help those with conditions that make it difficult to wear a mask identify themselves as being exempt from the city’s mandatory mask bylaw while in public spaces.

According to Ward 3 City Coun. Jon Dziadyk, the exemption card program was officially launched this weekend at a series of recreation centres around the city.

“What we have developed is a card system that will indicate to those challenging someone not wearing a mask that they indeed are exempt,” Dziadyk said Sunday. “A lot of people are quite happy to receive these cards.”

According to the city, while the new rules mean face masks are required indoors, there are exceptions to the bylaw, including those with physical or mental concerns. Those who have limitations in wearing a mask do not need to explain why, but Dziadyk explained the card program was launched after hearing about some tension in public spaces.
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“A lot of people have medical or other exemptions, and it might not be clear to the naked eye what those exemptions are, so there has been reports of some friction amongst customers,” he said.

“I think that we can trust the public to ask for the card if they require one.”

However, one Edmonton physician says that he believes there are actually very few people with legitimate medical exemptions.

“There are very, very few medically indicated reasons for not wearing a mask,” Dr. Darren Markland, an intensive care physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, said Sunday. “And they all tend to revolve around neurological or psychiatric conditions.

“I’m not saying these aren’t real things, but they are the minority of cases.”

Markland said that he was not surprised to see masks come out as a political issue in many regions of the world, including in Edmonton.

“Mask policy was going to be contentious no matter how we brought it out,” he said. “Masks work because people want to use them. If you are concerned about your fellow citizen, and you are concerned about keeping the pandemic in check until we have a cure or a vaccine, then you’re going to do a mask and you’re going to do it properly.

“Once you go to mandating masks, that changes the situation dramatically,” Markland said. “Suddenly you are imposing your will on somebody.

“And if they disagree with that then there will be technical issues with wearing a mask improperly.”

Markland added that he believes the new exemption card program “completely invalidates the bylaw.”

Coun. Dziadyk said Sunday that he believes the majority of people will still be wearing masks, even with the card system. “Everyone needs to wear a mask indoors unless you are exempt,” Dziadyk said, adding that Edmontonians should also be following public health orders including social distancing and frequent hand washing.

Markland said that he wants all Edmontonians to realize that COVID-19 is still a very real risk.

“I see the worst-case scenario as an intensive care physician,” he said. “I see young people who die from this. We know it can affect every organ in the body,” Markland said. “It can leave people with permanent forms of arthritis or kidney failure.

“Just like everyone was thinking they were going to win the 50/50, no one thinks they’re going to lose the COVID game.

“We’ve got to keep on, we’ve got to keep being strong about this. Because come fall, we’re going to see the second resurgence.”

Mask exemption cards are available at the following locations in Edmonton:
Terwillegar Community Rec Centre
Clareview Community Rec Centre
The Meadows Community Rec Centre
Commonwealth Community Rec Centre
Kinsmen Sports Centre, Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre
The Jasper Place Leisure Centre

Those who request a card will not be expected to provide proof of why they need it.

City council approved the bylaw in a 10-3 vote on July 29. Councillors Jon Dziadyk, Tony Caterina and Mike Nickel voted against the bylaw. It came into effect Aug. 1.



Source: globalnews.ca
Website: https://bit.ly/30JLAdZ
Date: August 9, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

KFC Canada introduces their plant-based sandwhich and plant-based popcorn and when asked if the plant-based items are cooked separately this response was given...

"Our plant-based sandwich and popcorn are cooked in a designated fryer, HOWEVER, it may be cooked in the same oil or using the same equipment as our Chicken. Our specialty is Kentucky Fried Chicken after all! We’ll let you decide if that’s suitable for you."

For more information go to: https://www.kfc.ca/plant-based

Source: Twitter
Date: August 10, 2020

[Stone-Butch]

Well, of late we have acquired the West Nile Virus found in mosquitoes about 1/2 hr from where I live. We have also had and are having over 400 people ill from eating onions with samonella from the U.S. (one company) This includes red, white, sweet onions. We don't need any more from Mother Nature ty.

[homoe]

Originally Posted by Stone-Butch

Well, of late we have acquired the West Nile Virus found in mosquitoes about 1/2 hr from where I live. We have also had and are having over 400 people ill from eating onions with samonella from the U.S. (one company) This includes red, white, sweet onions. We don't need any more from Mother Nature ty.

For a complete list, visit the FDA website.
For some reason it won't let me post the link!

[Stone-Butch]

Yes moe I see that 50 states are also affected but I was just putting in Canada news sorry bout that. All of North American is under attack from one way or another and Mother Nature shows no mercy. These things have to include floods, tornadoes, fires, and both countries wanting to ditch their country heads. I guess it has to be to try to make sense of all the years the world has been used and abused by us.

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by homoe

For a complete list, visit the FDA website.
For some reason it won't let me post the link!

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-m...-safety-alertshttps://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-m...onions-because

states included too

[PlatinumPearl]

img Globe and Mail


Air Canada discontinues service on 30 routes across the country.

Air Canada has announced it’s discontinuing service on 30 domestic routes and closing eight stations at airports across the country amid weakened demand for travel due to the novel coronavirus and measures put in place to limit its spread.

Canada’s largest airline said in a statement Tuesday that most of the route suspensions will occur in the Maritimes, Ontario and Quebec, with a handful of closures affecting western routes between Saskatchewan and Ottawa.

“Air Canada expects the industry’s recovery will take a minimum of three years,” the airline said in a statement. “As a consequence, other changes to its network and schedule, as well as further service suspensions, will be considered over the coming weeks.”

READ MORE: Air Canada has more refund complaints in U.S. than any other foreign airline

The airline industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as governments implemented travel restrictions, which included limiting non-essential travel.

Since the pandemic began, Air Canada reported a net loss of $1.05 billion in the first quarter of 2020, including a net cash burn in March of $688 million. The carrier also announced in mid-May that it would have to lay off about 20,000 employees, representing more than 50 per cent of its staff.

2:17 [Video on main page] Coronavirus: Air Canada cutting domestic routes.

Air Canada said affected customers will be contacted and offered options by the airline.

3:47 [Video on main page] Coronavirus outbreak: Why won’t airlines give me my money back?

Here are the routes affected:

Maritimes/Newfoundland and Labrador
Deer Lake-Goose Bay
Deer Lake-St. John’s
Fredericton-Halifax
Fredericton-Ottawa
Moncton-Halifax
Saint John-Halifax
Charlottetown-Halifax
Moncton-Ottawa
Gander-Goose Bay
Gander-St. John’s
Bathurst-Montreal
Wabush-Goose Bay
Wabush-Sept-Iles
Goose Bay-St. John’s

Quebec and Ontario
Baie Comeau-Montreal
Baie Comeau-Mont Joli
Gaspé-Iles de la Madeleine
Gaspé-Quebec City
Sept-Iles-Quebec City
Val d’Or-Montreal
Mont Joli-Montreal
Rouyn-Noranda-Val d’Or
Kingston-Toronto
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London-Ottawa
North Bay-Toronto
Windsor-Montreal

Western Canada
Regina-Winnipeg
Regina-Saskatoon
Regina-Ottawa
Saskatoon-Ottawa



Source: globalnews.ca
Website: http://bit.do/fHo4X
Date: June 20, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

The government awarded this contract to Medicom—a Montreal-based company who do not have any factories in Canada.


Quebec contractor that was given $382 MILLION by Trudeau has failed to ship any masks so far.

A Trudeau-appointed contractor who was tasked by the government to ship masks has failed to ship any. This came in spite of the contractor being awarded $382 million by the Trudeau government.

The government awarded this contract to Medicom—a Montreal-based company who do not have any factories in Canada, according to Blacklock's Reporter.

"To date the Public Health Agency has not received surgical masks from Medicom’s Canadian production facility," said a Public Health Agency spokesperson.

Medicom hubristically asserted that these masks would arrive quickly. Despite this having proven untrue, the Trudeau government is yet to pull the contract.

Medicom were awarded an unprecedented ten-year contract. All of this took place without bidding. The reason for this (if one is to be generous) is due to the Trudeau government's decision to speed up post-pandemic policy.

The government, with the help of the NDP, partially suspended the power of parliament—meaning the ability to scrutinize dodgy legislation was lost.

In June, government officials testified that there was a necessity for Canadian-made medical products and that these products would arrive in the summer.

"We would hope that very soon, I would say in the summer period, it would be up and running and beginning manufacture in Canada," said the Liberal deputy minister for industry.

As of August 10, this medical equipment is yet to arrive.

Medicom closed their last Canadian factory last year. Despite this, the Quebec firm were given $4 million by the Trudeau government to set up a factory in Montreal.

"Today, Canada has no domestic N95 or surgical mask production capacity and is completely reliant on imports," said a Trudeau government official.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a pressing and critical need to build domestic capacity, mitigating the risk of shortages in the near and long term."



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: http://bit.do/fHo7q
Date: August 10, 2020

[Stone-Butch]

Trudeau should be shot and pi^^ed on twice. He is a real crook and is bleeding the Canadian people in more ways than one. (No I did not vote for him)

[PlatinumPearl]

The COVID Alert app, launched Friday July 31, 2020 in Ontario, tracks the locations of phones relative to other phones, and notifies users if they have been in proximity to another app user who has been confirmed to have COVID-19.


New COVID-19 notification app rolls out in Ontario.

The new app, called COVID Alert, will warn users if they have been near someone who has tested positive.

Residents of Ontario can now download a new app that can tell them whether they have been near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 over the previous two weeks.

But while government officials say the goal is to make the COVID Alert contact notification app available across the country and are in talks with other provinces, they can't state yet when it will be available outside Ontario. The Android version can be found here.

They also haven't explained why only one province has agreed to adopt what was supposed to be a national app.

COVID Alert is the federal government's latest move in the battle to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as Canada's economy gradually reopens. Here's how it works:

* You start by downloading the app to your smartphone.
* That will allow the phone to use Bluetooth technology to exchange signals with nearby phones.
* If someone tests positive for COVID, their public health authority will give them a one-time key to enter into the app.
* The app will then send out notices to every phone that has been within two metres of the infected person's phone for at least 15 minutes over the previous 14 days — as long as those other phones also carry the app.
* Those who receive a notification will receive instructions on what to do next.

Officials say that the app will become more effective as more people download it — and they stress that it's a notification app, not a contact-tracing app.

App is voluntary.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has downloaded the app.

"I want to be clear — this app isn't mandatory," he told reporters. "It's completely voluntary to download and to use."

Watch: [Video on main page] Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explains new COVID Alert app.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa how the new federal COVID app will warn Canadians if they have been near someone who has tested positive for the virus. 2:32

Other provinces, such as New Brunswick, have worked to develop their own apps. Alberta launched a contact tracing app called ABTraceTogether on May 1.

Trudeau said the federal government is close to working out an agreement with the Atlantic provinces to integrate their systems with the app. The federal government says it is also talking with other provinces and territories about integrating their systems but hasn't indicated when other provinces might adopt the app.

While anyone across Canada can download the app, they will receive alerts only if they have been near someone who has tested positive in a province that has integrated the app with its testing system, and who has downloaded the app.

While the Android version requires users to turn on their location settings, officials maintain the app will not know a user's location, name or address. It also won't track exactly when the user was near someone who tested positive, or whether they are currently near someone who has tested positive.

For users of Apple devices, the app works on the iOS 13.5 operating system and newer systems. That means the app might not work on some older smartphones, and some users might have to upgrade their operating systems or purchase new phones. Several readers contacted CBC News Friday to say they were unable to download the app on an iPhone 5 or iPhone 6.

Officials said the government has been working with federal Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien's office to address any privacy concerns.

Therrien endorsed the app on Friday, saying that he plans to download it himself.

"Canadians can opt to use this technology, knowing it includes very significant privacy protections," he wrote in a statement.

Voluntary nationwide contact tracing app coming soon, says Trudeau.

New COVID-19 contact tracing app to be tested in Ontario starting in July.

Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim agreed, saying her office's review found strong measures to protect privacy.

"I support the use of exposure notification technology to help control the spread of COVID-19, provided it is used in the way it's been designed to respect the privacy of Ontarians," said Kosseim. "This app will only work if people trust their personal information will be protected and choose to use the technology."

Therrien and Kosseim said, however, that their endorsements are conditioned on the app's use being voluntary and the government continuing to monitor it.

Cybersecurity expert Steve Waterhouse said Canada joins about 40 countries around the world that have launched apps to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

He said Canada's Bluetooth-based app is less invasive than the GPS-based tracking apps some other countries have adopted.

"It is designed to simply detect how close we are to another device and then report if we have been so much time in close proximity of that device," Waterhouse told Radio Canada.

He said some questions remain unanswered — such as how portable the app will be.

"If one travels across Canada with different provinces, will the application be supported by all of the various jurisdictions across the country?"



Source: cbc.ca
Website: http://bit.do/fHo9T
Date: July 31, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

Air travellers must now provide medical proof when refusing to wear masks.

Canadians boarding flights without wearing a mask now have to provide medical proof showing that they are unable to wear one, says a federal travel order.

Since April 20, it has been mandatory to wear non-medical masks on flights unless passengers said they had “breathing difficulties unrelated to COVID-19,” according to CTV News.

Passengers are no longer able to simply say they can’t wear a mask under a revised Transport Canada order that was issued on Friday. The order states that travellers have to show a medical certificate proving they cannot wear a mask due to a medical reason.

Wearing a mask is also required while travellers are making their way through airports, other than when going through security.

Some exceptions include infants and people who do not have the ability to remove their mask by themselves.

The order defines a mask as: “Any non-medical mask or face covering that is made of at least two layers of tightly woven material such as cotton or linen, is large enough to completely cover a person’s nose and mouth without gaping and can be secured to a person’s head with ties or ear loops.”

The new update to the federal order is one of many that have been made throughout the pandemic. Mandatory temperature checks were also implemented under the order.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2PM15Me
Date: August 11, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

Trudeau Liberals gave biomed lab $149 MILLION for faulty COVID-19 test kits.


The test kits were given the $149 million green light on March 27. By May 1,
the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg reported that the kits were testing poorly.

The Trudeau government dished out nearly $150 million in taxpayer dollars on COVID-19 test kits that did not work, the Department of Health admitted yesterday.

According to Blacklock's Reporter, the Department of Health, the "Spartan Cube," funded by the government and designed by Spartan Bioscience Inc., "successfully detected positive samples only 47 percent of the time using samples tested in three different provinces."

The test kits were given the $149 million green light on March 27. By May 1, the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg reported that the kits were testing poorly.

"This device will no longer be authorized for sale," said staff in a memo. "No distribution is allowed. The Cube is authorized for research use only."

The company was given high praise by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at his daily press conferences, telling reporters on March 20 that Spartan was among the "many businesses" that stepped up during the pandemic's starting phases.

Industry Minister Navdeep Bains also praised the company's potential, with the government hoping that the biomedical company would be able to design tests that would be used nation wide.

"If successful, its diagnostic platform and COVID-19 test could be used in airports and clinics," said Bains. "The device could read the test results within thirty minutes. We're working with Spartan to ensure Canadian supply of this equipment."



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2Clky3j
Date: August 12, 2020

[Cin]

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is expected to mark a political milestone today: his final time rising in the House of Commons as leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

Today's Commons sitting is one of two scheduled for August, but the second comes after party members will elect Scheer's replacement, bringing an end to the long and sometimes painful process for Scheer that began just after last fall's federal election.

...His failure to defeat the Liberals was linked in part to Scheer's personal inability to clearly articulate his position on social conservative issues. There were also factors that ate away at his credibility -- a claim to being an insurance salesman when he never completed the licensing requirements and not disclosing he was a dual American-Canadian citizen.
It was also discovered that he had billed the Conservative party for his kids’ private Catholic school, private security, an extra housekeeper, his minivan and clothes for his family.

As leader of the Opposition, Scheer made about $264,000 a year. He also receives a $2,000 car allowance. He and his family live rent-free in the official Opposition leader’s residence, Stornoway, although they continue to maintain a home in Regina.

The vote for Sheer's replacement is taking place by mail, and all ballots must be back by Aug. 21. A winner is expected to be announced within days, and very likely before the next sitting of the Commons on Aug. 26.
Candidates Erin O'Toole and Derek Sloan are both MPs, so could easily slide into the Opposition leader's seat -- and the official residence of Stornoway -- if they win.

Neither of the other two candidates, Peter MacKay and Leslyn Lewis, currently holds a seat in the Commons. Should either of them win, they would likely appoint someone to lead the party in the Commons until they could win their own spot.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/andr...ader-1.5060754

[PlatinumPearl]

Video Link



Source: The Post Millennial on Facebook

[PlatinumPearl]

WATCH: Quebec may detain citizens at COVID-19 isolation facility, public health authority says.


It has been reported that authorities in Quebec City, Canada, intend to isolate unruly citizens
in a COVID-19 facility, though the precise location is not know.

It has been reported that authorities in Quebec City, Canada, intend to isolate unruly citizens in a COVID-19 facility, though the precise location is not known.

Dr. Jacques Girard, leader of the Quebec City public health authority, stated during a press conference that a number of customers at a bar were ordered to wait for the results from their COVID-19 test, but decided to leave the premises before the results came back.

This is what Girard claims to have "led to them being taken and forcibly placed into isolation by the state."

“[W]e may isolate someone for 14 days,” Girard noted during the press conference. “And it is what we did this morning… forced a person to cooperate with the investigation… and police cooperation was exceptional.”

Girard went on to say that if a person is told to stay in isolation, public health officials have the duty to go to their home and force the person to comply. And if they do not comply, the state is permitted to pick them up and force them to adhere to the protocols.

Girard then continued by going into detail that prompted the action, saying: "The order targeted two people who were not cooperating. And it is great that we can finally work with that provision. You know, before, if we were not in a health crisis, the Public Heath Director could use this provision for 72 hours while waiting for the judge’s confirmation of such a provision."

"In the COVID-19 case, we may isolate someone for 14 days. And it is what we did this morning, and we have done in the past, and, such as this morning, forced a person to cooperate with the investigation, and we’ve done it in the past with success, and police cooperation was exceptional. Thank you all, have a great day. When you order someone to not leave home for 14 days, does it happen in their home…"

Someone replied with "it is not at home... 14 days at home ..."

Girard said that "it is in a prison ... Do you feel like you are in a prison? Because that’s it. Often, it is what we do. It is a location; we at the CIUSS [Government agency] have the power to provide for preventative isolations. It’s happening. Finally, it is a much easier provision when someone is not cooperating, and it becomes more difficult."

Girard asked if these people were under watch—to which he answered in the affirmative. When pressed on where these people were being held, Girard stated: "It is not at home. It depends on the person. Because we have had people isolated at home. And then, we saw the person was not at home. So, we went to their home, and then told them, we are isolating you where we want you to be."



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://thepostmillennial.com/watch-...Y2JKoSJ3S9NFQw
Date: September 9, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

Enough fentanyl to 'kill five million people' seized by Halton, Ontario police force in $4 MILLION bust.


img src hamiltonnews.com

Halton Police say they seized 10 kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of cocaine, MDMA,
and six kilograms of an unknown drug they have yet to identify.

Halton Police seized the $4 million worth of drugs, which include cocaine and a record amount of fentanyl.

This comes after investigators of the Halton Regional Police Service dedicated themselves to pursuing two people who were suspected of trafficking drugs in Oakville.

The investigation was dubbed “Project Mover” and ended up finding evidence in many jurisdictions across the GTA. Since June, Police have arrested nine people in connection to this.

Halton Police say they seized 10 kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of cocaine, MDMA, and six kilograms of an unknown drug they have yet to identify.

Two firearms and two vehicles were also seized by police. The weapons were a semi-automatic shotgun and 40 calibre handgun with an extended magazine. The vehicles were a 2019 Dodge Durango and a 2016 Acura RDX.

Deputy HRPS Chief Jeff Hill said that the 10 kilograms of fentanyl seized was enough to kill five million people. Adding "As little as 2mg of fentanyl can kill a person,"

Charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime, and firearms offences have been laid against the individuals.

All the individuals except one were released with the promise to appear in court.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://thepostmillennial.com/fentan...e1S0Nfd7VvaXQY
Date: September 28, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

Parliament headed for showdown, possible election, Wednesday over Conservative motion.

The Liberals say they will treat the proposal to create a new committee designed to look into the WE charity scandal as a confidence motion.


Erin O'Toole, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. PHOTO BY BLAIR GABLE / REUTERS.

OTTAWA — The Liberals face a high-stakes game of chicken Wednesday, as they stare down the opposition parties over a confidence motion that could force the country into an election as the second wave of a pandemic rages.

The Conservatives fired the first shot Tuesday, moving ahead with their proposal to create a new committee designed to look into the WE Charity scandal, and other allegations of inappropriate lobbying and spending.

It is set to come to a vote Wednesday afternoon after Question Period. The Liberals took the rare move of making that motion a confidence issue, making clear if the Conservatives pass the motion through Parliament, the country will be headed to the polls.

Liberal House Leader Pablo Rodriguez said the motion is partisan and will hinder the government’s ability to respond to the pandemic.

“Erin O’Toole and the Conservative Party don’t care,” he charged. “They’ve turned their backs on Canadians. They don’t care about working together to find solutions to the many challenges in this crisis.”

But Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole claimed the Liberals were trying to avoid scrutiny of controversial deals.

“In many parts of Canada kids can’t go trick-or-treating but the Liberals think Canadians should go to the polls rather than their answering several simple questions,” he said.

“They don’t want the truth to come out.”

The proposed committee would have the ability to call ministers, including the prime minister as they see fit and summon documents. It would be structured differently than other committees with a clear majority of opposition party members and it would be chaired by an opposition MP, rather than someone from the government.

Such opposition day motions are not typically confidence matters, but Rodriguez said the very nature of the committee suggests that if it was passed then the House of Commons would have lost confidence in the government.

“They’re saying that the government is corrupt. That means they don’t have confidence in the government.”

O’Toole rejected the suggestion that creating a new committee could possibly be a confidence vote.

He offered amendments to his own motion to change the name of the committee, which was initially called the “anti-corruption committee” and he offered a specific amendment that made clear there was no need if the motion passed to call an election.

“I think Canadians see what’s going on here,” he said. “The Liberal Party would rather send people to the polls during the second wave of a pandemic, then answer a few reasonable questions and Canadians should be concerned by that.”

Rodriguez said the Conservatives can’t have it both ways. He said they also can’t simply change the name of the committee and pretend this isn’t an issue of confidence.

“If you write a book about Frankenstein and you call it Cinderella, it’s still a book about Frankenstein.”

COVID-19 case numbers are continuing to rise and the country reached over 200,000 cases Tuesday and was nearing 10,000 deaths.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said no one wants the election, but said the Conservatives are clearly expressing they have lost confidence in the government.

“We hope that opposition parties will decide that they want to make Parliament continue to work for Canadians and not side with the Conservatives, who’ve decided that they no longer have confidence in this government.”

O’Toole was joined by Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet who loudly proclaimed in the House of Commons that he had lost confidence in the government.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is the Liberals only potential partner and he was evasive Tuesday on how his party will vote.

While he declined to be specific on how his party will vote, he said if an election comes of this motion it will be the prime minister’s fault.

“The only way there is an election right now is because the prime minister chooses to have one. If he wants to then he should just come out and say, ‘I want an election’.”

Singh said the Liberals seem to want an election, but he is focused on the issues in front of him.

“The prime minister is looking for an excuse to go to an election, and I will not give the prime minister an excuse to go to an election,” he said. “I will not be any part of this farce. As this prime minister is suggesting that this is what’s important.”

If the NDP joins the Liberals in voting against the Conservative motion, it will fail. But the NDP could also abstain and give the Liberals a majority against the Conservatives and the Bloc.



Source: nationalpost.com
Website: https://nationalpost.com/news/politi...igger-election
Date: October 20, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

Canada to welcome 1 million immigrants over three years despite fears of recession.

Canada is set to welcome more than 1 million new immigrants over the next three years, with an annual intake that could reach as high as 390,000 in 2022.

On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino released the much anticipated multi-year immigration plan, which will see the country usher in as many as 1.14 million newcomers between 2020 and 2022.

Despite fears of a global recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toronto-based immigration policy analyst Kareem El-Assal said the high immigration intake is justified with more than 9 million Canadians reaching retirement age in the next decade.

“We need to be proactive in immigration policies. New immigrants are not here just to fill immediate job vacancies. With baby boomers retiring in the next 10 years, we need to put ourselves in healthy economic standing by increasing the immigration level,” said El-Assal, director of policy and digital strategy at CanadaVisa, an immigration website run by a Montreal-based law firm.

According to the plan, Canada will bring in about 341,000 newcomers this year, 351,000 in 2021 and 361,000 in 2022. The majority will come under one of the economic immigration streams, which make up about 58 per cent of the intake; followed by those sponsored by Canadians as spouses and parents/grandparents (about 26 per cent); with the remaining 16 per cent as refugees or on humanitarian grounds.

In response to the labour market needs of an aging population, especially in remote communities, Ottawa will also raise the annual intake of caregivers, agri-food workers and immigrants willing to settle in smaller communities in Canada’s north, from 5,200 in 2020 to 9,500 in 2022.

However, the overall targets will remain the same for family-class immigration, meaning only 70,000 spouses and children and 21,000 parents and grandparents will be admitted in each of the next three years.

Mendicino said the plan strikes a balance between meeting Canada’s economic needs and obligation to reunite families and shelter refugees in need of protection. The increased annual immigrant intake also allows him to turn a pilot project to attract immigrants to the Atlantic provinces into a permanent program.

“It’s vitally important that we continue to leverage immigration as a way of creating economic opportunity and growth,” Mendicino told the Star in an interview. “The vast majority of Canadians support immigration. My message to the doubters is to believe in immigration because it has proven to be a net positive to our economy and to our country.”

Canada also slightly raised the number of refugees the federal government is sponsoring from 10,700 this year to 11,450, while the target for those sponsored by church and community groups remains unchanged at 20,000 a year.

“Canada continues to demonstrate leadership at a critical time when refugee needs are growing worldwide,” said Rema Jamous Imseis, the representative in Canada for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “This is great news not only for the Canada of today, but also for future generations to come, as refugees make essential contributions to our country’s economy and our communities.”

In 2019, Canada welcomed the highest number of new immigrants in more than a century last year, opening its doors to 341,180 people from 175 different countries, exceeding Ottawa’s initial target of 330,000. A whopping 45 per cent — or 153,340 newcomers — settled in Ontario, followed by British Columbia (50,845), Alberta (43,685) and Quebec (40,545).



Source: thestar.com
Website: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...00%20in%202022.
Date: March 12, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Img Google

Canadians can’t afford to pay an extra $27 each time they fill up their minivans, but that’s what it will soon cost as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jacks up his carbon tax.

The feds made the announcement Friday that they will hike the federal carbon tax to $170 per tonne by the year 2030.

What would that mean for everyday household budgets across Canada?

Right now, the federal carbon tax is at $30 per tonne, resulting in a tax of 6.6 cents per litre for gasoline and 8 cents per litre for diesel.

Natural gas carries a federal carbon tax of 5.8 cents per cubic metre.

At those rates, filling up a minivan costs nearly $5 extra in the carbon tax, filling a light duty pickup truck costs $8 more and a super duty diesel pickup costs $14 more.

When it comes to heating a home with natural gas, the carbon tax often costs more than the actual fuel being used.

Homeowners in British Columbia sent the Canadian Taxpayers Federation their natural gas bills to show the costs.

One of the bills showed an average-sized home in Gibsons using 466 cubic metres for one winter month last year, resulting in a carbon tax bill of $35. The homeowners had only used $27 worth of natural gas.

Keep in mind, Gibsons is a mild spot in Canada where the sunny Beachcombers TV show was filmed. Folk there don’t get the punishing minus 30 temperature plunges that people in Moose Jaw, Winnipeg and Arnprior endure.

The government says the average sized new Canadian home uses 2,700 cubic metres of natural gas in a year. That means it costs $156 extra in the carbon tax at the current national rate.

So, now that the feds are going to increase the carbon tax to $170 per tonne, what happens to these everyday costs?

Buckle up.

This hike will put the carbon tax up to more than 37.5 cents per litre for gasoline, 45 cents per litre for diesel and 32.8 cents per cubic metre for natural gas.

That means that very soon it will cost you $27 extra to fill up a minivan, $45 extra for a light duty pickup truck and $204 extra to fill just one diesel fuel cylinder on those big rig trucks that deliver everything from furniture to food across the country.

Remember: this is just for the carbon tax. This doesn’t include the cost of the fuel, other taxes, the GST or the incoming second carbon tax that Trudeau’s government is creating.

How many people have an easy extra $45 to fill up their trucks to go to work?

What about heating our homes?

With a carbon tax of 32.8 cents per cubic metre of natural gas, it would cost that homeowner in Gibsons $150 extra in the carbon tax for just one winter month’s worth of natural gas. Based on the average annual use of natural gas in new Canadian homes, it would cost homeowners more than $885 extra in the carbon tax.

Canadians cannot afford this.

The feds are shrugging off worries about affordability and promise to rebate the money. But those rebates are already shrinking. And British Columbia, which has the longest history with carbon taxes, long ago abandoned the idea of a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

While politicians and top bureaucrats like to say that we are all in this together, we most certainly are not. The MNP debt index reports 47% of Canadians being $200 away from insolvency, meaning they can’t pay all of their monthly bills.

The carbon tax is an expensive failure, and it should be scrapped, not hiked.



Source: torontosun.com
Website: https://torontosun.com/opinion/colum...6WZwL0j5Mcr2kU
Date: December 14, 2020