CanadaNov 20, 2023
Economists expect inflation slowed again in October as high interest rates take hold
Forecasters anticipate Canada's inflation rate took another dip in October as gasoline prices fell from the previous month and grocery prices rise more slowly.Statistics Canada is set to release its consumer price index report tomorrow, coinciding with the federal government's fall economic statement. BMO expects the annual rate to come in at 3.2 per cent for October, while RBC is forecasting the rate fell to 3.1 per cent. Canada's inflation rate came in at 3.8 per cent in September. A further slowdown would be welcome news for the Bank of Canada as it looks for evidence of a sustained slowdo
CanadaNov 20, 2023
Quebec to appoint conciliator as labour unions prepare for major strikes this week
The province says it will appoint a conciliator to help bridge the gap in stalled contract negotiations with public sector unions ahead of major strikes this week.The conciliator's recommendations, however, won't be binding.A labour group representing about 420,000 public sector workers in education, health, and social services asked for a conciliator to help talks advance.The group, which calls itself the "common front" will hold a three-day strike starting Tuesday.The common front has rejected Quebec's latest contract offer — a 10.3 per cent salary increase over five years and a one-time
CanadaNov 20, 2023
No word on status of 135 Canadians cleared to leave Gaza Strip over weekend
Canadians with loved ones trapped in the embattled Gaza Strip are still waiting to learn whether the 135 people cleared to leave the territory on Sunday were able to make the journey.A daily list from Gaza's General Authority for Crossings and Borders, which contains the names of foreign passport holders cleared to cross into Egypt via the Rafah land crossing, expanded to include 135 people with ties to Canada on Sunday.But Global Affairs Canada did not provide any details on Sunday as to how many of those people were able to leave the war-torn enclave.The agency's last update, provided on Fri
CanadaNov 20, 2023
Canadian MPs spent $14.6M on travel in first half of 2023
Canadian Members of Parliament spent more than $14.6 million of taxpayer dollars on travel in the first six months of 2023, up nearly 10 percent from the previous six months. This amount works out to about $80,000 per day. This taxpayer money is spent on commercial airfare,, ground transportation, accommodation and meals for Members of Parliament and their families and staff. According to the report, from January 1 to June 30, 338 MPs spent an average of $43,000, or more than $7,200 per month, on work and constituency-related travel.Among them were the travel bills of Canada's two main opposit
BCNov 17, 2023
Here's the truth about plane wreckage found near Kamloops
Plane wreckage that made headlines this week when officials announced a hunter had stumbled on what police thought was a decades-old crash site in the B.C. Interior was actually placed there deliberately for training purposes.A notice posted Tuesday on the Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System says the RCMP inspected the site north of Kamloops and "verified" the wreckage was at least 20 to 25 years old, and it carried no registration or identifying marks.But Fred Carey, executive director with volunteer air safety group PEP-Air, says their group planted the fuselage there two years
AlbertaNov 17, 2023
Federal govt should accept SC decision regarding plastic ban: Alberta
Alberta has urged the federal government to accept the Supreme Court's decision regarding the plastic ban.
In fact, the Alberta government is pleased with the court's ruling that found Canada's plastic ban too broad when it came to determining what plastic is toxic to the environment.
The Federal Court on Thursday found the Cabinet order that all things made of plastic are harmful, not reasonable.
The decision may therefore lead to changes in the ban on six single-use plastic items, including straws, grocery bags and takeout containers.
The rules currently ban the manufacture and import of tho
AlbertaNov 17, 2023
Six top executives removed in Alberta Health Services
The board of Alberta Health Services says six of the organization's top executives are no longer in their positions.Last week, Premier Danielle Smith announced sweeping changes to dismantle the provincewide health-care provider, reducing it to one of four new service delivery organizations reporting directly to Health Minister Adriana LaGrange.She appointed Lyle Oberg, who's a doctor and former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, to run the AHS board.He says in a statement that the transition over the next 18 months requires new ideas, voices and leadership.Oberg says the board has made
BCNov 17, 2023
Number of Covid-19 patients in BC hospitals rises
New data suggest that COVID-19 activity in British Columbia is trending downward, while influenza and RSV are on the rise. A weekly update provided Thursday by the BC Centre for Disease Control says COVID-19 cases, new hospitalizations and deaths are all declining from a peak in the first week of October.It says there were 25 deaths of patients with COVID last week, down from 70 three weeks earlier. But the number of people in hospital with COVID-19, including new and previous admissions, has risen to 263 as of Thursday.The CDC says Influenza A is behind a rise in flu activity, accounting for
CanadaNov 17, 2023
Federal unit of RCMP faces staff crunch, many positions vacant
The RCMP's federal unit, which investigates Canada's serious crime cases, is facing staff shortages.According to RCMP spokesperson Marie-Eve Breton, the federal policing wing is short about 1,000 positions.At present, the wing has 507 fewer police officers than a decade ago and 500 more posts are vacant.Breton said federal policing currently has about 5,000 employees.The RCMP has two main policing units, one that provides local and regional law enforcement officers to the states and the other is a federal policing wing that investigates cases related to national and international crimes such a