Video of Mississauga Diwali fight goes viral

A video showing a brawl between scores of Sikhs and Hindus on Diwali in Mississauga has gone viral.

Hundreds of people gathered outside Westwood Square Mall in Malton on Sunday to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Light.

Peel Regional Police have confirmed that officers were called to the mall shortly before 9 p.m. for reports of a “disturbance.” Police said they received multiple calls related to the plaza, but did not say whether any charges were laid.

#Ontario

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Poilievre works to ratchet up pressure on Liberals to pass farming carbon tax carve-out

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a "massive pressure campaign" to push the governing Liberals to help pass a piece of legislation that would remove the carbon tax from fuels used in some agricultural activities.

"My message to Canadians is: Call your Liberal MP, tell them to get Justin Trudeau out of the way,"

Poilievre said about the prime minister, during a news conference in Vancouver on Monday.

Poilievre was speaking in favour of a private member's Bill C-234 put forward by Conservative MP Ben Lobb.

The bill would remove the carbon tax on natural gas and propane used in such activities as irrigation, grain drying, feed preparation, and heating and cooling barns and greenhouses.

#Poilievre

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Ontario to ban unpaid restaurant trial shifts; part of new labour law coming today

Ontario is planning to explicitly ban unpaid trial shifts for restaurant and hospitality workers, while also strengthening rules against deducting employee wages in the event of customer theft.

The latest proposed changes are set to be announced today by Labour Minister David Piccini ahead of legislation expected to be tabled this afternoon that contains a host of new labour laws.

Piccini says that while it is already the law that employees must be paid for all hours worked, unpaid trial shifts are still happening as part of the interview process in some restaurants, so the practice will be specifically prohibited.

#Ontario

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A video of Minister Chrystia Freeland behaving unhinged has gone viral.

#Freeland

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Montreal police investigating after at least 16 Metro stations vandalized

Montreal police are investigating a string of vandalism incidents overnight at more than a dozen Metro stations across the city.

At least 16 different stations were targeted, Montreal's transit authority confirmed. Doors, walls and some bus stops at the stations were plastered with pro-Palestinian posters and some graffiti.

Many posters read, "Genocide in Palestine, Canada complicit" and some of the graffiti calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as the destruction and death toll in Gaza continues to climb. Posters also advertise another protest in support of people in Gaza this Sunday.

#Quebec #Palestine

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🌱 Trudeau, Eby announce $1 billion battery plant in Maple Ridge, B.C.

A billion-dollar battery cell production plant in Maple Ridge, B.C., will produce up to 135 million batteries each year as part of Canada's push toward clean technology, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday during a stop in Metro Vancouver.

Trudeau was joined by B.C. Premier David Eby to announce federal and provincial financial support for the E-One Moli lithium-ion battery cell production plant.

It will be the largest factory in Canada to manufacture such high-performance batteries, Trudeau said.

The B.C. government will contribute up to $80 million, while $970 million is set to come from a combination of the federal government, E-One Moli and private sources. The federal commitment announced Tuesday is up to $204.5 million.

#BritishColumbia #energy

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PM Justin Trudeau leaves Vancouver restaurant after Pro-Palestine demonstrators arrive

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators confronted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a restaurant in Vancouver on Tuesday night.

Video shows Trudeau sitting at a table at a restaurant called Vij’s when demonstrators arrive and begin chanting. Demonstrators yelled, “Ceasefire now,” and told Trudeau he had blood on his hands as he made his way out.

#Trudeau #BritishColumbia

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✈️ Air Canada flight narrowly avoids crash landing in Toronto

Passengers on an Air Canada flight from Tokyo to Toronto got the scare of a lifetime on Monday when their plane touched down in strong winds and narrowly avoided catastrophe at Pearson Airport.

A video shows the incident unfolding on Pearson's runway 06L/24R on November 13.

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🏠 Feds give Calgary $228M for housing

Canada's federal government is providing the City of Calgary with $228 million from its Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).

The HAF is focused on creating higher-density housing, student housing, homes near transit and affordable housing.

Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser said the agreement with Calgary will fast-track the development of 6,800 housing units over the next three years and spur the construction of more than 35,000 homes over the next decade.

Tuesday’s funding announcement comes after a contentious debate at city council in September over Calgary's new housing strategy. The plan calls for blanket rezoning to R-CG in Calgary, which would allow for a wider range of housing types in every neighbourhood.

Currently, more than 60 per cent of residential properties in Calgary are zoned to only allow single-family homes as a default.

#Alberta #housing

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🌐 Social-media creators, podcasts won't be regulated under Liberal online streaming law

On Tuesday, Canadian Heritage issued its final direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on the legislation in order to scope in streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and Apple because they also broadcast commercial content.

The final policy direction, which is binding, will apply to broadcast services, not content creators. That means those producing content on social media, podcasts and video games will not be regulated under the law, the policy direction shows.

The Department of Canadian Heritage said the act targets the kind of professional, licensed commercial content that is found in traditional broadcasting, such as TV and radio.

The possibility that content creators would fall within the scope of the Online Streaming Act had sparked a strong reaction, including from the Opposition Conservatives, who had argued it would amount to censorship.

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$4B green hydrogen plant will be built in Quebec

TES Canada is investing $4 billion, without public funding, to build a Shawinigan, Que. plant producing "green" hydrogen, a fuel used to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons in industry and heavy transport.

"This is the first green hydrogen project in the country,"

said federal Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne at a press conference in Shawinigan.

The plant's main customer will be Énergir, which will use the hydrogen to produce around one-fifth of its 115 million cubic meters of renewable natural gas by 2030.

Construction of the plant is expected to create 1,000 jobs. The plant is scheduled to open in 2028.

#Quebec #energy

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🇨🇦🇺🇸 Justin Trudeau, who has arrived in San Francisco, shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom the Golden Gate Bridge socks he gave him the last time they met.

“You’re still doing those socks? Have you ever been caught with black socks on?"

Newsom asks.

Trudeau is attending the APEC summit in San Francisco.

#Trudeau #US

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Freeland touts need for grocery competition after Loblaw, Metro post higher profits

More competition is needed in Canada's grocery sector as consumers grapple with higher food prices, said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, after two of the country's largest grocers reported higher sales and profits in the most recent quarter.

Freeland said major changes need to be made to Canadian competition law in order to help stabilize food prices.

"We need to bring more competition into the Canadian economy, particularly in the grocery sector. We are prepared to use every tool in our toolbox, including tax policy, to make sure that prices stabilize."

Freeland said.

Loblaw reported a profit for the third quarter of $621 million, up from $556 million during the same quarter last year. Revenues for the quarter rose to $18.27 billion, up from $17.39 billion.

Meanwhile, Metro saw profit for its fourth quarter rise to $222.2 million, up from $168.7 million a year earlier, while sales were $5.07 billion, up from $4.43 billion last year.

#Freeland

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2 arrested after protesters surrounded Vancouver restaurant where Trudeau was dining

Vancouver police say an officer was injured after scuffles with protesters outside a restaurant in the city's Chinatown where the prime minister was dining on Tuesday night.

100 officers were deployed around 10 p.m. PT after protesters surrounded the restaurant. Police estimated 250 protesters were at the restaurant.

One officer was injured and taken to hospital for treatment after being punched in the face and having her eyes gouged. Police said they arrested a 27-year-old man from Coquitlam, B.C., in relation to the assault.

Officers also arrested a 34-year-old Vancouver man for obstructing police. He was later released from custody.

#Trudeau #BritishColumbia

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Poll suggests widespread dissatisfaction with Trudeau government

Almost two in three Canadians have a negative impression of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and half want him to resign before the next election, a new survey suggests.

The Leger poll suggests widespread dissatisfaction with the Liberal government on everything from housing affordability and inflation to health care, government spending and climate change.

🔹Nationally, 30 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with Trudeau's government, while 63 per cent said they were not.

🔹Half of Canadians surveyed said Trudeau should resign before the next election. One in four of those who identified as Liberal voters said he should quit. Only 28 per cent of all respondents said he should stay on.

🔹Almost three in four said it's time for a new prime minister because Trudeau's been in office too long, while two-thirds said they don't think he has a clear vision for the future.

#Trudeau

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💰Gold stolen from Toronto airport was not insured, Air Canada claims in denying responsibility

The cargo container stuffed with gold bars and millions in cash that was stolen from Toronto’s Pearson airport was not insured, according to Air Canada, as the airline denies responsibility for the shocking theft from its cargo facility.

The airline breaks its silence on the alarming theft — the cargo container of $20 million in gold and US$2 million in cash was taken shortly after it arrived on an Air Canada jet from Switzerland — in a statement of defence filed in court in response to a lawsuit by Brink’s, a secure transport company.

Air Canada denies allegations by Brink’s of lax security and negligence in allowing the cargo to be collected by an unknown and unauthorized person less than an hour after arriving at its warehouse on the periphery of the airport.

The airline alleges Brink’s shipped the cargo without declaring its value, without insurance, and without paying extra for additional security.

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Ethics commissioner investigating chair of federal green fund

The federal ethics commissioner has launched an investigation into the chair of the board of directors of a federal green fund after she participated in the approval of more than $200,000 in grants to a private firm she directed.

Ethics Commissioner said he will examine the conduct of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) board chair Annette Verschuren.

Verschuren is also chair and chief executive officer of NRStor Inc., an energy storage firm. She confirmed to a parliamentary committee last week that as SDTC's chair, she participated in approving grants to NRStor totalling $217,000 in 2020 and 2021.

The grants were part of the federal green fund's efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic to send money to companies with existing funding arrangements with SDTC.

Verschuren has chaired the board of directors of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) since 2019. She told committee that she receives an annual salary of $120,000 from NRStor in addition to her remuneration from SDTC.

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Drug investigation leads to largest cocaine and meth seizure in Toronto Police Service's history

Toronto police say an investigation into a drug trafficking network operating in the GTA has led to seven arrests and the “single largest seizure of crystal methamphetamine and powdered cocaine in the service’s history.”

Police said 551 kilograms of cocaine and 441 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine were seized as part of Project Finito, a 3.5-month investigation into a “major” drug importation and distribution network in the GTA.

During a news conference on Friday, Toronto police said the drugs had an estimated street value of $90 million.

#Ontario

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Carbon tax pause on home heating oil will cost federal government $755M: PBO

The federal government will forgo $755 million in carbon taxes from Atlantic Canadians over the course of its three-year pause on the heating oil tax, according to a new report from Ottawa’s spending watchdog.

That’s as it gives Ontario a $295-million reprieve, but hardly any break for the western provinces.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has costed out the Trudeau government’s suspension of the carbon tax on home heating oil and doubling of the rural rebate.

While the temporary pause applies across the country, the new data show how the move clearly favours Atlantic Canada over elsewhere.

Nova Scotians are expected to benefit the most: roughly $372 million in carbon taxes now won’t be collected, while $185 million won’t be collected in Newfoundland and Labrador, $135 million in New Brunswick and $63 million in Prince Edward Island.

#energy

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Canadian-made fentanyl is an international problem, RCMP says

The head of the RCMP unit responsible for fighting organized crime says Canada is not just a significant producer of fentanyl — Canada exports it.

Mathieu Bertrand, chief superintendent of Serious and Organized Crime & Border Integrity at RCMP Federal Policing, said that while Canada has a problem with fentanyl imports, domestic production is what alarms police most at the moment.

Most of the 600-plus organized crime groups assessed by the RCMP's criminal intelligence branch are involved in the drug trade, Bertrand said.

Bertrand cited Australia and New Zealand as known destinations for Canada-made fentanyl. Some Asian countries supply key ingredients for Canadian-made fentanyl via shipments through South American countries or the United States, he said.

A law enforcement roundtable in 2021 noted a tenfold increase in precursor chemicals seized by the Canada Border Services Agency, and said that most of the chemicals come from China and Hong Kong.

The toxic drug crisis is killing an average of 21 people every day in Canada. Fentanyl is involved in the vast majority of those deaths.

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🇨🇦🇨🇴🇭🇹🇻🇪Canada launches new humanitarian migration pathway for Colombians, Haitians and Venezuelans

Amid the ongoing refugee crisis in the Americas, the federal government has announced the launch of a new humanitarian pathway for 11,000 Colombians, Haitians and Venezuelans to find residency in Canada.

Marc Miller, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, announced that this humanitarian pathway, which is now open for applications, will provide “permanent residence to Colombian, Haitian and Venezuelan foreign nationals.”

In order to qualify for the humanitarian pathway, the applicant must be affiliated with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who agrees to support them and their family members for the first year of Canadian residency.

#immigration

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