Politics

Margaret Atwood has been called prescient — particularly when it comes to her famous 1985 dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale and the recent rollback of reproductive rights in the United States — but the renowned Canadian author says her predictive powers failed her ahead of last week’s U.S. election, which delivered Donald Trump another White House win. “I searched. I invoked, ‘Oh God, let it be sun.’ But it was darkness all around,” she said to laughter Tuesday night at a forum hosted by the Alberta Teachers’ Association, Calgary Catholic Local 55 and Calgary Public Local 38.Calgary’s Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, with more than 2,500 seats, was nearly full for the discussion with Atwood about “democracy, public education and the common good.” She is to speak Wednesday at an event hosted...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the Canada carbon rebate for small businesses will be tax-free. In a statement posted to X late Tuesday, Freeland clarified the parameters of the program after an advocacy group for small business raised concerns that the rebate would be a taxable benefit.https://twitter.com/cafreeland/status/1856506100217954750Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, posted on X soon after that post that he had received a call from Freeland, who offered “assurance” that the rebate would be tax-free.In a letter to Freeland Nov. 6, the CFIB said it had initially been told by the Canada Revenue Agency th...

Donald Trump’s second administration is filling up with some of his most loyal supporters and many of the people landing top jobs have been critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and security at Canada’s border. One expert says there are not many Canadian allies, so far, in the president-elect’s court.“I don’t see a whole lot of friends of Canada in there,” said Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa and co-chair of the Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations.As the Republican leader starts making crucial decisions about his administration, designations for foreign policy and border positions have sent signals to Canada, and the rest of the world, about America’s path forward. ...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Two newly elected members of British Columbia’s Green Party will officially take their seats in the legislature following the first of three swearing-in ceremonies after last month’s provincial election. The two Greens, lawyer Rob Botterell, representing Saanich North and the Islands, and geological engineer Jeremy Valeriote, of West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, who were elected on Oct. 19 in a tight election race, could play pivotal roles in the legislature where the NDP holds a slim one-seat majority. 3:20 B.C. Premier David Eby expected to announce cabinet soon ...

Former B.C. premier John Horgan has died following a battle with cancer, his family confirmed on Tuesday. The 65-year-old has been in the hospital for much of the past five months after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in June.The long-time politician was living in Berlin with his wife Ellie while serving as Canada’s ambassador to Germany. He died at the BC Cancer Centre in Victoria, B.C. at Royal Jubilee Hospital after returning to the province for end-of-life care.His family said they received news last week that the cancer had spread through Horgan’s body and his family was with him on Tuesday when he passed.“The well-being of British Columbia and everyone in it was everything to him,” a statement from Horgan’s family reads.“He was surrounded by friends, family and live in his final ...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Tuesday suggested Mexico “shouldn’t have a seat at the table” in upcoming North American free trade talks if it doesn’t match Canadian and American tariffs on Chinese imports — and that Canada and the U.S. should focus on a new, bilateral deal instead. Ford’s statement comes as North America braces for the return of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to the White House and a scheduled review in 2026 of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which replaced NAFTA during Trump’s first term.Trump, and now Ford, have accused Mexico of allowing Chinese companies to bypass CUSMA rules and export vehicles and parts into the U.S. and Canada through Mexican-built manufacturing plants.“If Mexico won’t fight transshipment by, at the very least, matching Canadian...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size The federal labour minister ordered an end to work stoppages at Canada’s largest ports in British Columbia and Quebec on Tuesday, imposing “final and binding arbitration” on the parties. Dock workers at Canada’s busiest ports are both locked out after unions and employers failed to reach a deal at the table. Workers at the Port of Montreal took to the picket lines on Sunday night, joining their already locked-out peers at B.C. ports.The labour action has stymied the flow of more than $1.2 billion worth of goods flowing through those channels on a daily basis.Steve MacKinnon told reporters Tuesday that, despite directing the parties back to the table in recent days, there has been little pr...

The parliamentary ethics committee has called Liberal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault to testify for a third time as newly disclosed text messages raise more questions about his possible involvement in a medical supply business while in office. As part of an affidavit filed on Nov. 6 in an Edmonton court, WhatsApp correspondence shows Boissonnault’s former business partner, Stephen Anderson, texted a second client that he was updating ‘Randy’ on the status of another multi-million-dollar deal.The texts have reignited the ethics controversy that has plagued Boissonnault and the Liberals since May.On Thursday, the committee passed a motion calling for Boissonnault and a host of new witnesses to appear, effectively reopening the committee’s study into allegations Boissonnault broke confli...

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted November 12, 2024 7:49 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has given 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post. The notice is for both the union’s urban and rural and suburban bargaining units.In a release early Tuesday morning, the union says workers will be in a legal strike position as of Friday if negotiated settlements have not been reached.However, the union says its national executive board has yet to decide if a job action will happen at the deadline, saying that will depend on Canada Post’s actions at the bargaining tabl...

It was the first time that Canadian U.N. peacekeeper Michelle Angela Hamelin said she came up against the raw emotion of a people so exasperated with their country’s predicament. Seared in her memory from her eight-month tour of duty on the ethnically divided Cyprus in 1986 was the fury of Greek Cypriot protesters demonstrating against the first-ever visit by a Turkish head of government to the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.“I think that that was something that really stuck to my mind because of that anger and the people,” Hamelin told The Associated Press.She was one of among 100 other Canadian veterans who travelled to Cyprus as part of commemorations that culminated Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNFICYP, the longest such Canadian...