Business – Brandon Sun

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with U.S. President Joe Biden at the InterContinental Presidente Mexico City hotel in Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. There's palpable affection between the two leaders, and those who know say it's authentic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Biden and Trudeau: 'There is warmth between them'

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 5 minute read 12:47 PM CDT

WASHINGTON - Hollywood has Ben and Jennifer. Music fans have Beyoncé and Jay-Z. But in Canadian politics right now, it's all about Justin and Joe.

OK, so maybe Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden don't capture the North American zeitgeist like a glitzy celebrity couple. But there's palpable affection between the prime minister and the U.S. president — and those who know say it's authentic.

"They relax around each other, and there is a warmth between them," said Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S.

"They laugh quite a bit, but they also are both sincerely interested in working through, with each other, the big issues facing our two countries and the world."

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Crumbl Cookies comes to Canada this month

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Crumbl Cookies comes to Canada this month

The Canadian Press 1 minute read 9:18 AM CDT

EDMONTON - Crumbl Cookies says it plans to open its first Canadian store later this month.

The Utah-based company that sells gourmet cookies will open its first international location in Edmonton on March 31 with several more to follow in Canada later this year.

Crumbl says it chose to expand to Canada because its chief executive and co-founder Jason McGowan was born in Lethbridge, Alta., and felt Canada was "the obvious choice."

Crumbl's Canadian locations will sell some different flavours of cookies than their U.S. counterparts because the brand wants to cater to local palettes.

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9:18 AM CDT

Crumbl Cookies says it plans to open its first Canadian store later this month. The Utah-based company that sells gourmet cookies will open its first international location in Edmonton, shown in this undated handout photo, at the end of the month with several more to follow in Canada later in the year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Crumbl Cookies

Liberals plan to go after 'junk fees' in budget

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Liberals plan to go after 'junk fees' in budget

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press 2 minute read 3:03 AM CDT

OTTAWA - A federal source says the coming budget will detail how the Liberals plan to go after hidden or unexpected consumer fees, following the United States announcing its own crackdown on these charges.

Often referred to as "junk fees," they can include those tacked on to the initial price of a product or service that hide, and inflate, the total cost.

The government official, who was granted anonymity to discuss matters not yet public in next week's budget, says the Liberals plan to work with regulatory agencies, provinces and territories to cut down such fees.

These agencies would include the Competition Bureau, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

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3:03 AM CDT

Attendants hold their devices as they walk during the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. A federal source says the coming budget will detail how the Liberals plan to go after hidden or unexpected consumer fees, following the United States announcing its own crackdown on these charges. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Emilio Morenatti

POTUS and the PM, together at last in Canada

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 8 minute read Preview

POTUS and the PM, together at last in Canada

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 8 minute read Updated: 8:34 PM CDT

OTTAWA - U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.

The welcoming party for the president and first lady Jill Biden included Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, the American ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, and Canada's envoy in the U.S., Kirsten Hillman.

Biden began his time in Ottawa by meeting Gov. Gen Mary Simon.The U.S. president along with the first lady were then greeted byPrime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, at their home at Rideau Cottage.

"This will be the first true, in-person bilateral meeting between the two leaders in Canada since 2009," said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

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Updated: 8:34 PM CDT

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, not shown, at the Summit of the Americas, in Los Angeles, Calif., Thursday, June 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Lynx Air announces new destinations for summer

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Lynx Air announces new destinations for summer

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Yesterday at 4:54 PM CDT

CALGARY - Budget airline Lynx Air announced it's launching two new routes for the summer, one from Hamilton to Vancouver and one from Toronto to Kelowna, B.C.

The Calgary-based airline says it will offer seasonal summer flights between Toronto Pearson International Airport and Kelowna International Airport starting April 13, and between Hamilton’s John C. Munroe International Airport and Vancouver International Airport starting April 16.

Lynx, which first launched in April 2022, says both flights will be "through flights" through the Calgary airport, giving passengers a single boarding pass and the ability to check bags through to their final destination.

The airline says fares start as low as $85 one way for the Toronto and Kelowna flight, and as low as $89 for the Hamilton and Vancouver flight.

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Yesterday at 4:54 PM CDT

Merren McArthur, CEO of Lynx Air, announces the startup of the new airline at a news conference announcing Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Highlights from the Saskatchewan budget

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Highlights from the Saskatchewan budget

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Yesterday at 4:29 PM CDT

REGINA - Saskatchewan Finance Minister Donna Harpauer tabled the province's 2023-24 budget on Wednesday. Here are some of the highlights:

-- Forecast surplus of nearly $1 billion, with almost all going to pay down debt.

-- No new taxes and no tax increases.

-- Revenues of $19.7 billion, a 15 per cent increase from last year's budget.

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Yesterday at 4:29 PM CDT

Finance Minister Donna Harpauer presents the Saskatchewan budget inside the legislature in Regina, on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

Liberals to create corporate ownership registry

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Liberals to create corporate ownership registry

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:03 PM CDT

OTTAWA - The federal Liberals are moving ahead with plans to create an ownership registry after promising to increase transparency about who owns and controls corporations.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne has tabled legislation that would create a corporate beneficial ownership registry.

The prospective registry is expected to have the goal of making it easier to identify owners of corporations who launder money, commit financial crimes or evade taxes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's mandate letter to Champagne after the last federal election included instructions to create such a registry.

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:03 PM CDT

François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry speaks at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference regarding the future of critical metals and investing in Canada in Toronto, Monday, March 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

GM to stop making the Camaro but a successor may be in works

Tom Krisher, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

GM to stop making the Camaro but a successor may be in works

Tom Krisher, The Associated Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:31 PM CDT

DETROIT (AP) — The Chevrolet Camaro, for decades the dream car of many teenage American males, is going out of production.

General Motors, which sells the brawny muscle car, said Wednesday it will stop making the current generation early next year.

The future of the car, which is raced on NASCAR and other circuits, is a bit murky. GM says another generation may be in the works.

“While we are not announcing an immediate successor today, rest assured, this is not the end of Camaro's story,” Scott Bell, vice president of Chevrolet, said in a statement.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:31 PM CDT

FILE - This is a 2020 Camaro on display at the 2020 Pittsburgh International Auto Show, Feb. 13, 2020, in Pittsburgh. The Chevrolet Camaro, for years the dream car of many teenage American males, is going out of production. General Motors, which sells the brawny muscle car, said Wednesday, March 22, 2023, that it will stop making the current generation early next year. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Manitoba to raise minimum wage above $15 an hour

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Manitoba to raise minimum wage above $15 an hour

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:38 PM CDT

WINNIPEG - Manitoba's minimum wage is to rise to $15.30 an hour on Oct. 1 to help low-income earners deal with the rising cost of living, the provincial government announced Wednesday.

The wage, normally adjusted every fall in line with inflation, is currently $13.50 an hour. It's already set to rise to $14.15 on April 1 as part of an inflation-fighting measure the government announced last fall.

With the further rise in October, Manitoba will be in the top three provinces when it comes to minimum wage, Labour and Immigration Minister Jon Reyes said.

"To balance the financial realities of Manitoba workers and the economic challenges for small businesses, we implemented a phased-in approach that will help more Manitobans get ahead," Reyes said in a news release.

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:38 PM CDT

Labour and Immigration Minister Jon Reyes is sworn in at the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Tuesday, January 18, 2022. The Manitoba government says the province's minimum wage will rise to $15.30 an hour on Oct. 1. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

Activist investor targets Parkland Corp.

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Activist investor targets Parkland Corp.

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:29 PM CDT

CALGARY - A U.S. activist investor has set its sights on Calgary-based Parkland Corp., urging the fuel retailer to consider selling or spinning off its Burnaby, B.C., refinery.

But Parkland is pushing back, announcing late Wednesday that the company's current board and managementhavethe support of its largest shareholder, Simpson Oil Ltd.

Parkland said it has entered into an agreement with Simpson Oil that will give it the right to designate up to two nominees for election to Parkland's board.

Simpson Oil currently owns 19 per cent of Parkland's stock.

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Updated: Yesterday at 6:29 PM CDT

An activist investor wants Parkland Corp. to explore strategic alternatives for what it says are the company's non-core assets with the goal of becoming a more focused fuel and convenience store retailer. A boat travels past the Parkland Burnaby Refinery on Burrard Inlet at sunset in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday, April 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Boyd Group Services reports US$14.2M Q4 profit

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Boyd Group Services reports US$14.2M Q4 profit

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Yesterday at 6:45 AM CDT

WINNIPEG - Boyd Group Services Inc. says it earned US$14.2 million in its fourth quarter, up from US$4.9 million a year earlier.

The autobody repair shop chain, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the profit amounted to 66 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 23 cents per diluted share for the last three months of 2021.

Sales totalled nearly US$637.1 million, up from US$516.2 million a year earlier.

Same-store sales for the quarter rose 20.7 per cent compared with a year earlier.

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Yesterday at 6:45 AM CDT

WINNIPEG - Boyd Group Services Inc. says it earned US$14.2 million in its fourth quarter, up from US$4.9 million a year earlier.

The autobody repair shop chain, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the profit amounted to 66 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 23 cents per diluted share for the last three months of 2021.

Sales totalled nearly US$637.1 million, up from US$516.2 million a year earlier.

Same-store sales for the quarter rose 20.7 per cent compared with a year earlier.

Canada's digital measures offside: tech industry

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Canada's digital measures offside: tech industry

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 2:17 PM CDT

WASHINGTON - A high-tech industry coalition in the United States is urging President Joe Biden to take a hard line against Canada's approach to digital services.

The group says the proposed digital services tax unfairly targets U.S. companies and is offside with international efforts to establish a global standard.

In a letter to Biden, they also complain about two controversial federal bills: the Online Streaming Act, known as Bill C-11, and the Online News Act, or Bill C-18.

They warn C-11, which is meant to protect Canadian content providers, could backfire and ultimately increase costs to consumers.

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Updated: Yesterday at 2:17 PM CDT

Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez prepares to appear before the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications on Bill C-11 in the Senate of Canada Building in Ottawa on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. The bill, also known as the Online Streaming Act, is one of several problematic Canadian initiatives tech leaders in the U.S. want President Joe Biden to raise with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Look for U.S. 'goodwill' on border treaty: envoy

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Look for U.S. 'goodwill' on border treaty: envoy

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:26 PM CDT

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden's administration is not dismissing out of hand the idea of renegotiating the bilateral 2004 treaty that governs the flow of asylum seekers across its northern border, says Canada's ambassador to the U.S.

Kirsten Hillman, in Ottawa to prepare for Biden's impending arrival on Thursday, said the administration understands how the Safe Third Country Agreement impacts the flow of migrants across the Canada-U.S. border.

Since those migrants are travelling in both directions, taking steps to discourage would-be refugees from slipping over the border undetected would be in the interest of both countries, she acknowledged.

"I think it does benefit both countries, and I actually think they do recognize that," Hillman said in an interview.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:26 PM CDT

A family of asylum seekers from Colombia is met by RCMP officers after crossing the border at Roxham Road into Canada Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023 in Champlain, New York. President Joe Biden’s administration is not dismissing out of hand the idea of renegotiating the bilateral 2004 treaty that governs the flow of asylum seekers across its northern border, says Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Highlights of Quebec 2023-24 budget

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Highlights of Quebec 2023-24 budget

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard presented his fifth budget on Tuesday, for the province's 2023-24 fiscal year. Here are some highlights:

— Income tax cuts of one percentage point on the first two income tax brackets, starting in 2023, which will save a single earner up to $814 per year.

— GDP growth is projected to fall to 0.6 per cent in 2023 from 2.8 per cent in 2022, before rising to 1.4 per cent in 2024.

— Government spending will be about $148 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year, with a deficit of about $1.6 billion. The deficit rises to $4 billion after accounting for legally required payments into a fund dedicated to paying down debt.

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Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard walks into the legislature to present his budget speech in Quebec City on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Saskatchewan budget surplus expected

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Saskatchewan budget surplus expected

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 4:42 PM CDT

REGINA - With the Saskatchewan government expected to deliver a big budget surplus, various groups are hoping for more cash or tax cuts amid struggles to afford food and access health care.

The Saskatchewan Party government is to introduce its 2023-24 budget Wednesday, revealing plans the finance minister says will address cost-of-living and health-care pressures.

Finance Minister Donna Harpauer told reporters Tuesday the budget contains a substantial surplus.

“You're going to see more targeted supports that (aren't) necessarily for everyone,” she said. “You're also going to see a very strong and aggressive health budget to address the pressures that we are all hearing (about) in health, not just in the major centres, but also across Saskatchewan in our rural and remote areas.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 4:42 PM CDT

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks to a reporter in his office at the Legislative Building in Regina on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell

Federal minimum wage rising to $16.65 per hour

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Federal minimum wage rising to $16.65 per hour

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

OTTAWA - The federal minimum wage is rising to $16.65 per hour on April 1, up from $15.55.

The government says the increase is based on the consumer price index, which rose 6.8 per cent in 2022.

The federal minimum wage applies to the federally regulated private sectors, including banks, postal and courier services, and interprovincial air, rail, road, and marine transportation.

Ottawa set a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour in 2021 and increases it each year based on inflation.

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Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

The federal minimum wage is rising to $16.65 per hour on April 1, up from $15.55. The government says the increase is based on the consumer price index, which rose 6.8 per cent in 2022. Bank towers are shown from Bay Street in Toronto's financial district, on Wednesday, June 16, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrien Veczan

Climate group urges 'made-in-Canada' response

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Climate group urges 'made-in-Canada' response

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

OTTAWA - As the federal government readies its spring budget, a climate group is urging Ottawa to pursue a "made-in-Canada" response to U.S. clean energy incentives.

The Canadian Climate Institute published a report on Tuesday with recommendations for the federal government on how to respond to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer.

The institute says the government shouldn't try to match the incentives and subsidies offered by the U.S., and should instead tailor its measures for Canada.

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last August by U.S. President Joe Biden, invests nearly US$400 billion in everything from critical minerals to battery manufacturing, electric vehicles and clean electricity, including hydrogen.

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Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, February 13, 2023. As the federal government readies its spring budget, a climate group is urging Ottawa to pursue a

N.W.T. mine reports 450M-litre wastewater spill

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

N.W.T. mine reports 450M-litre wastewater spill

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

YELLOWKNIFE - The Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories says 450 million litres of wastewater spilled due to a broken pipeline.

The spill took place on Feb. 7 but wasn't reported to the Northwest Territories government until late last week.

The territorial government says pipeline operators did not initially believe it needed to be reported as the wastewater leaked into a containment pond that was its final destination.

The government says its inspectors have confirmed the spill is within the pond and none has been released into the environment.

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Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Lac de Gras surrounds the Diavik mine pit about 300 km northeast of Yellowknife, N.W.T. on July 19, 2003. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Quebec budget: Income tax cuts, low GDP growth

Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Quebec budget: Income tax cuts, low GDP growth

Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard on Tuesday kept his party’s election promise to cut income taxes, as he projected economic growth to drop dramatically in 2023.

The minister’s budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year cuts taxes by one percentage point on the first two income tax brackets, saving an individual earner up to $814 a year. Quebec workers should start benefiting from the new rates in early July, when Girard said he expects the economy to be at its weakest point of the fiscal year.

Girard said the tax cuts — other than being a central plank in the Coalition Avenir Québec’s election platform last fall — were included in the budget to stimulate the economy and attract workers to the province.

“The personal income tax cuts are designed for those who make between $30,000 and $90,000 — those are the ones who pay 36 per cent more income tax than in Ontario,” Girard told reporters in Quebec City.

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Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard holds a copy of the 2023-24 budget speech as he responds to reporters at a news conference on March 20, 2023, in Quebec City. Quebec Families Minister Suzanne Roy, centre, and Dr. Gilles Julien look on. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Brace for familiar Canada-U.S. trade anxiety

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Brace for familiar Canada-U.S. trade anxiety

James McCarten, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

WASHINGTON - It's been less than three years since the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA as the law of the land in continental trade, and there are already hints of the existential anxiety that preceded it.

That's because of the so-called "sunset provision," a clause that reflects the lingering working-class distrust of globalization in the U.S. that helped Donald Trump get elected president back in 2016.

Article 34.7 of the agreement, the "review and term extension" clause, establishes a 16-year life cycle that requires all three countries to sit down every six years to ensure everyone is still satisfied.

That clock began ticking in the summer of 2020. If it runs out in 2026, it triggers a self-destruct mechanism of sorts, ensuring the agreement — known in Canada as CUSMA — would expire 10 years later without a three-way consensus.

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Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador listen to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speak during a joint news conference at the North American Leaders Summit, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. It’s been less than three years since the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA as the law of the land in continental trade, and there are already hints of the existential anxiety that preceded it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

No security risks with McKinsey: Defence minister

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

No security risks with McKinsey: Defence minister

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

OTTAWA - Defence Minister Anita Anand is dismissing opposition concerns about millions of dollars in contracts between her department and McKinsey & Company, saying the company's work was "not a matter of state secrets."

Anand made the comments on Monday while testifying to the House of Commons government operations committee, which is looking into the federal contracts awarded to McKinsey and other consulting firms since 2011.

The Department of National Defence has awarded about $30 million in work to McKinsey through 15 contracts since 2011, Anand told committee members. Most of that work dealt with improving the management of human resources and data, she added.

"All of the subject matters of the contracts were in relation to corporate improvement, improvements in the way in which the institutions function," she said. "This was not a matter of state secrets that were being provided."

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Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

Minister of Defence Anita Anand arrives at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Government Opearions and Estimates in Ottawa, Monday, March 20, 2023. Anand says there are no security risks from her department's contracts with McKinsey. Anand told a parliamentary committee this afternoon that the Defence Department has signed about $30 million in contracts with the consulting firm.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Nexus traveller program to resume by April 24

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Nexus traveller program to resume by April 24

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

MONTREAL - The Nexus trusted-traveller program will fully ramp back up within five weeks, allowing frequent border crossers to complete their applications and speed up their trips, the federal government said Monday.

Registration for the program has been on hold in Canada for nearly a year even after Nexus enrolment centres unlocked their doors in the United States, due in part to a clash over U.S. agents' right to carry guns on Canadian soil, among other legal protections.

The standoff led to a massive backlog in applications for the program, which allows pre-approved travellers to cross the border more quickly.

A compromise cemented at a summit in January established that Canadian border agents will now interview Nexus applicants separately from U.S. agents at eight Canadian airports, rather than together like before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

A NEXUS card and a Canadian passport are pictured in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. The federal government says the Nexus trusted-traveller program will fully ramp back up within five weeks, allowing frequent border crossers to complete their applications and speed up their trips. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Regina tourism agency apologizes for slogans

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Regina tourism agency apologizes for slogans

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

REGINA - A women's organization is asking Regina's tourism agency for another rebrand after the city used slogans criticized for having sexual overtones.

Experience Regina, the agency responsible for tourism in Saskatchewan's capital, apologized on the weekend and removed the phrases online that seemed to make light of the city’s name rhyming with vagina.

The RaiseHER Community in Regina says the tourism agency needs to take further action.

“Saskatchewan has the highest rate of intimate partner violence in the country, and so to sort of lean on that as something that is perceived as funny is not OK,” the group's co-founder Talitha McCloskey said Monday.

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Monday, Mar. 20, 2023

A man and a dog walk the path around Wascana Lake, flanked by downtown Regina on Thursday Feb. 18, 2021. An agency responsible for tourism in Regina has apologized for using slogans that have been criticized for their sexual overtones. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell

Poilievre calls for test to speed doctor licences

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Poilievre calls for test to speed doctor licences

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Sunday, Mar. 19, 2023

OTTAWA - Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a countrywide standardized testing process that would speed up licence approvals for doctors and nurses.

Poilievre says his proposed “blue seal” testing standard would allow qualified health-care professionals to work in any province or territory that volunteers to be part of the program.

He described his plan at a press conference today, saying a model that allowed professionals to take a test and get an answer within 60 days would address Canada’s ongoing shortage of health-care professionals, such as family doctors and emergency-room nurses.

Under the existing licensing system, each province and territory has its own processes to be licensed as a doctor or nurse.

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Sunday, Mar. 19, 2023

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a press conference at the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre wing of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, on Sunday, March 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Indigenous people leading clean energy transition

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Indigenous people leading clean energy transition

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Sunday, Mar. 19, 2023

CALGARY - On a wintry day last November, Daphne Kay looked up at an expanse of gleaming solar panels located on Cowessess First Nation reserve land just east of Reginaand cried.

It was the mix of past and present that moved her, watching her fellow community members hold a traditional round dance to mark the grand opening of Cowessess' newly completed 10 MW solar farm.

"I thought about my grandfather, who has passed away, and how during his time he wanted us to live in a healthy way that honoured our traditions, but also brought prosperity for future generations," said Kay, who grew up on Cowessess and, in her role as community energy specialist with Cowessess Ventures Ltd., played an instrumental role in the development of the new solar farm.

"So I thought about him, I thought about my mom, I thought about all the people who were affected by residential schools. I thought about all the people who came before me, and all the people who will come after me.”

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Sunday, Mar. 19, 2023

March 23, 2023