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The Trump administration on Tuesday released human rights reports for countries worldwide that eliminate mentions of discrimination faced by LGBTQ2 people, reduce a previous focus on reproductive rights and criticize restrictions on political speech by U.S. allies in Europe that American officials believe target right-wing politicians. The reports, which cover 2024 before President Donald Trump took office, reflect his administration’s focus on free speech and restricting access to abortion.However, the reports also offer a glimpse into the administration’s view of dire human rights conditions in some countries that have agreed to accept migrants deported from the United States under Trump’s immigration crackdown.“This year’s reports were streamlined for better utility and accessibility in...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government appears poised to announce details of how it will bail out tariff-hit businesses as opposition politicians demand a cohesive and urgent plan. On Wednesday morning, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy is scheduled to hold a news conference alongside Vic Fedeli, the trade minister.At an unrelated event the day before, Ford appeared to tease details of what the pair would unveil.“We’re releasing another $5 billion. I think we’re going to start a billion tomorrow and then just keep adding,” the premier said in Windsor, Ont.“We’re going to focus on helping small businesses, we’re going to really focus on the auto sector and the steel sector, they’re the ones that are really getting hit the hardest. So we’re rolling out the money — and I won’t hesitate to k...

“Here we go again. If it’s not one thing, it’s another, especially with China. They’ve always got something up their sleeve so they can drop our price.” That’s how John Guelly, a canola producer near Westlock, Alta., reacted to Tuesday’s news that China is slapping a 75.8 per cent tariff on imports of Canadian canola.Guelly, who is a former chair of Canola Alberta, an advocacy group for the province’s 14,000 canola farmers, estimates the value of the Canadian canola production at $12 billion annually, or about 15 per cent of the total income Canadian farmers receive from the sale of agricultural commodities each year. John Guelly, who grows canola near Westlock, Alta., said trading with China is like a revolving door because they always seem to find a new reason to ...

Despite the U.S. taking in record income from President Donald Trump’s tariffs in July — with a 273% increase in customs revenues (or $21 billion) from this time last year — the U.S. budget deficit is still higher, according to Treasury Department data released Tuesday. The government’s shortfall has climbed 20% this fiscal year compared to the same period in 2024.Even as Trump talks about America becoming rich because of his import tax hikes, federal spending keeps outpacing the revenues collected by the government. That financial picture might change as companies exhaust their pre-tariff inventories, forcing them to import more goods and generate even more in tax revenues that could whittle away at the deficit without meaningfully reducing it as promised.If tariffs fail to deliver on Tru...