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In the news today: Freedom Convoy trial resumes and GM workers launch strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…‘Freedom Convoy’ trial to resume WednesdayThe evidence put forward by the Crown and defence in the criminal trial of two prominent “Freedom Convoy” organizers is so similar, in that it reflects something of a Rorschach test for how people feel about the massive protest, said criminologist Michael Kempa.The trial is set to reconvene Wednesday after a two-and-a-half-week break, and has so far focused largely on the social media posts of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber. The two are co-accused for their role in organizing and allegedly orchestrating the events that unfolded in the streets of Ottawa in early 2022.Videos played by both the Crown and the defence show appeals by Barber and Lich to keep the protest peaceful, calling it a movement motivated by love and thanking police for ensuring public safety as they demonstrated against COVID-19 p...

IMF outlook worsens for a world economy left ‘limping’ by shocks like Russia’s war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The world economy is losing momentum in the face of higher interest rates, the ongoing war in Ukraine and widening geopolitical rifts, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.The IMF said it expects global economic growth to slow to 2.9% in 2024 from an expected 3% this year. The forecast for next year is down a notch from the 3% it predicted back in July.The deceleration comes at a time when the world has yet to fully mend from a devastating but short-lived COVID-19 recession in 2020. A series of shocks, including the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has slashed worldwide economic output by about $3.7 trillion over the past three years compared with pre-COVID trends.“We see a global economy that is limping along,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told reporters ahead of the IMF and World Bank’s fall meetings this week in Marrakech, Morocco. The IMF expectation of 3% growth this year is down from 3.5% in 2022 but unchanged from i...

‘We want to be able to decide’: Inside the battle over the Ring of Fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

NESKANTAGA FIRST NATION, ONT. — On a rock-covered beach in the heart of the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, Alex Moonias gazes east, then north. All he sees is undisturbed land, water and air. Some 100kilometres from where he stands, the province plans to build a road as part of its pledge to mine the area, which is said to be rich in metals needed for electric vehicle batteries. Moonias, an elder from Neskantaga First Nation, and many in his community see the provincial government’s ambitions for the Ring of Fire as an existential threat to their way of life. “Mother Earth is hurting,” the 70-year-old says. “If a big needle is pushing into your body, how would you feel?”The survivor of a residential school and, later, alcohol addiction, has heard government promises of prosperity related to developing the territory before. And he’s not convinced. “The government has to come and see the land, or at least spend time with us,” he says,...

Saskatchewan legislature resumes over pronoun policy, looming notwithstanding clause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

REGINA — The Saskatchewan Party government is prepared to introduce legislation this afternoon and invoke the notwithstanding clause over its pronoun policy in schools. Premier Scott Moe has said the government’s legislation is to prevent those under the age of 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without parental consent. He says using the notwithstanding clause of the Charter ensures the policy remains in place even though a judge granted an injunction to pause it.Elected officials are to arrive at the legislature today to debate the government’s bill.The Opposition NDP has said it may filibuster by sharing letters from people affected by the policy and what it calls Charter attacks.A rally urging the government to respect people’s rights is scheduled to take place outside the legislature before politicians return. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2023.The Canadian Press

P.E.I. piping plover numbers see a tiny bump this year from effects of Fiona

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

Post-tropical storm Fiona left behind a trail of destruction and crumbling shorelines on Prince Edward Island, but the cataclysmic tempest seems to have been a big help to a tiny bird, the piping plover.Lily McLaine, a spokeswoman for Parks Canada, said the number of piping plover chicks has seen a small increase this year. There were 17 chicks born from 10 breeding pairs on the shores of P.E.I. National Park this year, she said. Parks Canada is cautiously optimistic because the birth rate for the birds is slightly above target, with numbers slowly increasing over the last three years after a long period of decline.The piping plover is listed as endangered in Canada under the Species at Risk Act. The birds arrive in Canada to nest from the end of March to early May and fly south by early September.McLaine said a number of factors could have helped these tiny birds bounce back.While some of the beaches traditionally used by piping plovers as habitat were destroyed as Fiona swept thro...

‘Freedom Convoy’ trial evidence a Rorschach test for attitudes about protest: expert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

OTTAWA — The evidence put forward by the Crown and defence in the criminal trial of two prominent “Freedom Convoy” organizers is so similar, it reflects something of a Rorschach test for how people feel about the massive protest, said criminologist Michael Kempa.The trial is set to reconvene Wednesday after a two and a half week break, and has so far focused largely on the social media posts of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber. The two are co-accused for their role in organizing and allegedly orchestrating the events that unfolded in the streets of Ottawa in early 2022.Videos played by both the Crown and the defence show appeals by Barber and Lich to keep the protest peaceful, calling it a movement motivated by love and thanking police for ensuring public safety as they demonstrated against COVID-19 public health measures.The videos also show Lich and Barber call for people to come to Ottawa and “hold the line,” even as police ordered protesters to leave downtown...

‘Pawns in this chess game’: Questions remain about CPA Canada split

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

TORONTO — Chartered Professional Accountants in Quebec and Ontario are still looking for answers about how the decision for their provincial oversight bodies to split from CPA Canada was made and what it means for the future of their profession. “It makes me feel that there’s politics involved, and we’re just … pawns in this chess game,” said Ryan Lazanis, founder of Future Firm and a member of the Quebec CPA Order. The two departing organizations say the unification of the accounting profession will not be undone, and that they’re doing what’s best for their members, but CPA Canada says the decision puts the profession at risk.CPA Canada was created in 2013 to unify the various professional accounting organizations and designations. The national organization, which is not a regulatory body, is responsible for standards and coordinates education and exams. Its counterparts are the provincial, territorial and Bermudian bodies, known collectively as the PTBs, which regulate and ...

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer makes his pitch to UK voters with a speech vowing national renewal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — U.K. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer delivers a speech on Tuesday that amounts to a public job interview for the post of prime minister. He’ll set out to answer the question in many voters’ minds: “Why Labour?”Starmer is addressing the opposition party’s annual conference, likely the last before a national election next year. He needs to persuade voters fed up with economic stagnation and political turmoil to switch allegiance to his party, which has been out of office since 2010.He plans to pledge “a decade of national renewal,” after what he depicts as 13 years of decline under the Conservatives.“What is broken can be repaired, what is ruined can be rebuilt,” Starmer will say, according to the party. Starmer’s speech to the conference in Liverpool is a key moment for a politician who has managed to unite a fractious party and gain a substantial lead in opinion polls, but remains a blank slate to many voters. A barrister and former head of the...

Commission approves €132.3 million Polish state aid scheme to support cereal and oilseeds producers in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

The European Commission has approved an approximately €132.3 million (PLN 610m) Polish scheme to support the cereal and oilseeds production sectors in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State Aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 to support measures in sectors which are key to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies. The new Framework amends and prolongs in part the Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022 to enable member states to support the economy in the context of the current geopolitical crisis, already amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022.Under the scheme, the aid will consist in limited amounts of aid in the form of direct grants. The scheme will be open to cereal and oilseed producers that fulfil the criteria established under the emergency measures Poland implemented to support these sectors in accordance with the provisions of EU Regul...

Israel “A democracy under threat”.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:42 GMT

Taiwan's Representative to the EU and Belgium has voiced concern about the latest bloody unrest in the Middle East.Speaking on Monday (9 October), Alexander Tah-ray Yui described Israel as “another democracy under threat”.His comments came in the wake of the deadly outbreak of violence in the region at the weekend.He told an audience of EU and Belgian policymakers he wanted to express “our condemnation in the strongest terms against the terrorist acts perpetrated by Hamas against the State of Israel and its people, and our deepest condolences to the Israeli families who have lost dear ones during these senseless attacks.”He added: “It is during these moments when you realize who really are your friends and we stand beside Israel during these difficult times.”He added: “Likewise, Taiwan has supported Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s invasion since the beginning and continues to do so, as it is also a democracy under threat. We do what we can in the relief of humanitarian assista...