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Municipalities say $600 billion in infrastructure needed to build 5.8 million homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

OTTAWA — The Federation of Canadian Municipalities says new research it commissioned finds municipalities would need $600 billion in infrastructure funding to help build 5.8 million homes by 2030.That’s the number of homes the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. says Canada needs to build to restore affordability.Canadian municipalities are voicing their disappointment that the federal Liberals didn’t include a new infrastructure funding model in its fall economic statement this week, despite the prime minister promising one would come in the fall. The federation held a news conference in Ottawa today to call on the federal government to convene provincial, territorial and municipal leaders to discuss a new funding framework that takes economic and population growth into better account. The fiscal update that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented earlier this week included few new housing policies, as the Liberal government acknowledges the pressure that high infl...

Pierre Poilievre says he has a plan to tackle hate — but without touching free speech

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he has a plan for how he would tackle a rise in hate-motivated crimes reported since the start of Israel-Hamas war, but it doesn’t involve touching what protesters say. Poilievre presented what he called “common sense Conservative measures” during a press conference at a Toronto synagogue today, including re-evaluating Canada’s terrorism threat level and creating an anti-hate network for faith communities. Jewish Canadians have reported a sharp rise in antisemitism and violence against synagogues and schools since Hamas militants’ surprise attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Muslim communities have reported a similar uptick in violence, as Israel continues to wage war in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the attacks. Politicians and Jewish advocacy groups have raised concerns about chants and signage at protests that they fear could incite violence, and they have also raised the alarm about a rise in ...

Myanmar military says drone attack by ethnic armed groups in northeast destroyed about 120 trucks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar ’s military-controlled government said Thursday that almost half of more than 250 cargo trucks stranded by fighting against ethnic minority armed groups near the northeastern border with China have been destroyed in a fire caused by bombs dropped by drones.Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson of the ruling military council, said in a statement phoned to state television MRTV that trucks parked in a compound near a trade zone in Muse township caught fire after drones belonging to ethnic armed organizations launched an attack at about 9:45 a.m. on Thursday.The action was one of the most dramatic, and in terms of property damage, most extensive since the self-styled Three Brotherhood Alliance of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army launched a coordinated offensive in northern Shan state on Oct. 27. The trucks are used to carry goods to and from China.Zaw Min Tun said about 120 of 258 trucks, which w...

Liberals, Tories argue over carbon pricing in update to Ukraine trade agreement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party didn’t vote against having a free-trade agreement with Ukraine, but is instead rejecting a bill that promotes carbon pricing.The House of Commons is debating government legislation that implements a negotiated update to an existing trade deal between Canada and Ukraine. It also adds a new environmental chapter in which both countries agree to “promote carbon pricing.”Ukraine has had a price on carbon in place for years, and its ambassador is urging Canada to pass the legislation to help lay the groundwork for an economic recovery when Russia ends its invasion.Conservatives unanimously voted against sending the bill to committee on Tuesday, despite all other parties approving it, and Poilievre says it’s “cruel” to hold Ukraine to a carbon tax as it tries to rebuild from a war.Liberal House leader Karina Gould says the Tories are abandoning Ukraine and not taking climate change seriously.T...

Malichita cantaloupes likely cause of salmonella outbreak in five provinces: PHAC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

OTTAWA — The Public Health Agency of Canada says Malichita brand cantaloupes have likely caused a salmonella outbreak acrossfive provinces. It says as of Wednesday, there have been 26 confirmed cases in B.C., Ontario, Quebec, P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador. Six people have been hospitalized. The agency says if people aren’t sure what brand of cantaloupe they have, they should throw it out. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued food recalls earlier this month, includingfor whole cantaloupes, pre-cut cantaloupes and fruit trays that used the Malichita brand.It has also recalled some pre-cut pineapples, honeydew melons and watermelons that were processed alongside Malichita cantaloupes. Canadian authorities are collaborating with the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S., where there have also been salmonella outbreaks linked to cantaloupes. Symptoms of salmonella infection include fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and stomach cramps....

A crane operator has rescued a man from a burning high-rise in England

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A crane operator played down tributes paid to him on Thursday after he lifted a man to safety from a burning high-rise building in England. Video from the scene in the town of Reading in southern England showed a man being rescued by a crane cage from the roof of a building under construction as thick plumes of dark smoke and flames billowed around him. A crowd that had gathered near the building broke out in applause as the man was lifted in the air and then lowered to the ground.Crane operator Glen Edwards, 65, described the situation as a “close call” because of windy conditions. “I was no more than 20 meters up in the air and I looked out my left-hand window and saw a guy standing on the corner of the building,” said Edwards, who had been working at the site before the blaze broke out.“I’d only just seen him and someone said ‘can you get the cage on,’ so that was it, I got the cage on and got it over to him the best I could,” he added.He said he tried to posi...

Defence chief, minister to meet House committee about military capacity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

OTTAWA — The defence minister and Canada’s top soldier are set to speak to a House of Commons committee later today about the rising number of domestic military operations and the challenges that poses for the Canadian Armed Forces. A recent Defence Department report says the response to this year’s record wildfires and other natural disasters put a strain on the military’s operational readiness.Gen. Wayne Eyre, the chief of the defence staff, has said the federal government needs to call in the troops less often and return to the practice of making them a last resort.But Defence Minister Bill Blair has made it clear he believes the military’s mandate includes responding to natural disasters in Canada. The department’s latest results report says efforts to respond to natural disasters and support Ukraine are compounding long-standing personnel shortfalls and equipment issues in the Armed Forces.The House defence committee is also expected hear from Emer...

French military to contribute 15,000 soldiers to massive security operation for Paris Olympics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s military is planning to contribute 15,000 soldiers to the massive security operation for next year’s Paris Olympics, an army general involved in the preparations said Thursday.The bulk of the military force — nearly 10,000 troops — will be deployed in the Paris region, where most Olympic events will be concentrated, said Gen. Christophe Abad, the military governor of Paris who serves as military adviser to the French capital’s police chief.Military forces will also be employed for the games as far as 15,000 kilometers (nearly 10,000 miles) away in Tahiti, where navy vessels will safeguard the venue there for Olympic surfing.In Paris, a temporary military camp for 5,000 troops will be set up in a park in the southeast of the capital, putting the force close to the city’s Olympic sites, Abad said.The security operation for the July 26 to Aug. 11 Olympics, and Paralympic Games that follow, is unprecedented in scale for France. Tens of thousands o...

Body camera footage shows man shot by Tennessee officer charge forward with 2 knives

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — A police officer shot and killed a man who tried to rob an armored car employee in Tennessee and then charged at the officer with two knives, authorities said.Murfreesboro Police on Thursday released body camera footage of the shooting the day before, blurring out the face of Steven James Murphy and stopping the video just before he was shot.Police were called after Murphy, 44, tried to rob a worker refilling cash in an ATM around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, Murfreesboro Police spokesman Larry Flowers said at a news conference.The worker pulled a gun on Murphy, who then ran inside a nearby deli, Flowers said.The body camera footage shows officer Adam Claiborne opening the door of the deli and say “hey” at Murphy, who is behind the counter. Murphy then turns and charges at the officer with knives in both hands above his head.Claiborne yells at Murphy to drop the knives before firing several times. Murphy died at the hospital a short time later, Flowers said.The of...

11 charged in hate-motivated investigation after vandalism at Toronto Indigo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:52 GMT

Toronto police have charged 11 people in a hate-motivated mischief investigation after the Indigo store at Bay Street and Bloor Street West was vandalized with red paint and posters two weeks ago.It’s alleged that a group of suspects approached the bookstore at the corner of Bay Street and Bloor Street West and proceeded to glue posters to the doors and windows of the business.Police said the suspects then poured red paint on the windows and sidewalk. No injuries were reported.On the day of the incident, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) said the Indigo was found “vandalized with red paint and posters plastered on its front windows wrongfully accusing its Jewish founder and CEO, Heather Reisman, of ‘Funding Genocide.'”On Nov. 14, police charged 41-year-old Nisha Toomey of Toronto with mischief over $5,000. She’s expected to appear in court on Jan. 8, 2024. Various search warrants were executed by members of Toronto’s hate crime unit at res...