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Maple Chronicles 🇨🇦
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🚙🌱Canada to announce all new cars must be zero emissions by 2035

Canada expects to announce this week that all new cars will have to be zero emissions by 2035, a senior government source said.

The new rules, known as the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, would help ensure supply is available to the Canadian market and shorten wait times to get an electric vehicle. The Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Quebec already have the same regulated sales targets.

Zero-emission vehicles - which include battery electric, plug-in and hydrogen models - must represent 20% of all new car sales in 2026, 60% in 2030 and 100% in 2035, according to sources.

Officials at Canada's environment ministry declined comment.

#energy
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Chrystia Freeland “definitely running in the next election” amid Liberal freefall in polls

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland confirmed her plans to run in the next federal election.

Freeland, who has been a member of Parliament since 2013 and a member of Trudeau’s cabinet since 2015, deflected questions about her ambitions for the Liberal party’s leadership.

Recent polling by Ipsos shows that 72% of Canadians think Trudeau should step down as party leader. Even 33% of Canadians who plan to vote Liberal want Trudeau to step down, up from 28% in September. Of all potential replacements, Freeland received the most positive reviews in the poll.

Freeland sidestepped the question but said the Liberals can “absolutely” win the next election.

#Freeland #Trudeau
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CRA has fired 185 employees for 'inappropriately' claiming COVID-19 CERB benefits

The Canada Revenue Agency says 185 employees have been fired to date for claiming a federal COVID-19 benefit when they were not eligible for it.

That's an increase of 65 since the CRA last updated the public on its review in September.

The CRA is reviewing approximately 600 cases in which current employees received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The benefit was worth $2,000 a month to Canadians whose jobs were lost or downgraded as a result of public-health restrictions.

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🚙🌱Alberta to fight federal mandate banning sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035

The province of Alberta says it will do everything within its legal jurisdiction to prevent the federal government from banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

Premier Danielle Smith says the federal government has no legal or moral authority to tell Albertans what vehicles they can and cannot buy.

Smith added that there simply isn’t infrastructure to uphold the mandate. She also cited a lack of electric vehicle charging stations, no plans for rural and remote areas, and that the province’s electrical grid isn’t equipped to handle the surge in demand that would come with a full-scale electric vehicle transition.

#Alberta #energy #Smith
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Head of RCMP's advisory board resigns, citing frustrations with federal government

Pointing to his frustrations with the federal government, the head of the RCMP's Management Advisory Board has resigned after less than a year in the chair. Kent Roach was appointed chair of the 13-member civilian body in January.

Roach argued he was left out of a crucial conversation about the future of RCMP contract policing.

The federal government is reviewing the RCMP's contract policing obligations. Some municipalities have been considering ditching the Mounties for their own police forces.

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💉Just 15% of Canadians got updated COVID vaccines this fall, new figures show

Federal figures show only 15 per cent of the population aged five and up had received an updated vaccine by Dec. 3.

Pandemic fatigue, muddled messaging and complex vaccination timelines might be dissuading Canadians from getting another round of vaccines, experts note.

Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said the door is still open for another spring vaccination push, though she noted uptake last spring was also relatively low.

#healthcare
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🏦 Freeland approves RBC's $13.5B takeover of HSBC Canada with conditions

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has approved RBC's $13.5-billion takeover of HSBC Canada, despite calls from opposition politicians and other groups to block it over concerns of reduced competition.

Freeland's approval was the last hurdle for the deal after the Competition Bureau approved it in September.

The minister's approval comes with conditions on RBC, including that none of HSBC Canada's 4,000 employees be fired within six months of the closing date, or two years for front-line staff, and that banking services continue to be provided at a minimum of 33 HSBC branches for four years.

#Freeland
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B.C. premier vows to improve cancer care system amid pressure from patients

Premier David Eby concedes that B.C. has to do more to respond to unacceptable cancer care wait times that are currently among the longest in the country.

In a year-end interview, Eby addressed the frustration and angst of cancer patients and their families who say they were let down by a cancer care system that is so backlogged, some patients have died while waiting for treatment.

While Eby committed to publicly release information on the wait times to see an oncologist and for chemotherapy, he dismissed the need for a public reporting tool that would measure how the province is doing nationally and internationally.

Asked about whether B.C. would consider a cancer quality council similar to what exists in Ontario, Eby said comparing B.C.’s cancer wait times to other provinces is “pretty cool comfort” to British Columbians “if you’re still not able to get the care.”

#BritishColumbia #healthcare
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🏠 Average asking rent price hit $2,174 in November

A report says the average asking price for a rental unit in Canada was $2,174 in November, relatively flat from the previous month but an 8.4 per cent increase year-over-year.

The data showed the annual rate of rent growth in Canada continues to slow, following increases of 9.9 per cent in October and 11.1 per cent in September.

The average cost of a one-bedroom unit in November was $1,911, up 13.6 per cent from the same month in 2022, while the average asking price for a two-bedroom was $2,260, up 10.5 per cent annually.

Vancouver saw asking rents rise 0.7 per cent from last year to $3,171, while average asking rents in Toronto decreased 2.4 per cent to $2,913.

#housing

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🩺 Quebec wait lists for cancer and other surgery set record highs

Quebec has again set two dubious records in health care: highest number of people waiting for non-urgent surgery and highest number of patients in need of cancer operations, according to the latest government data.

As of Oct. 10, nearly 164,000 Quebecers were on wait lists for elective surgery, up by about 2,000 since the start of the year and by more than 48,000 since January 2020. As for cancer surgery, the wait list has swelled to 4,401 from 4,160 since the beginning of the year.

Among oncology patients, 616 were waiting longer than the medically acceptable time limit of 57 days, increasing the likelihood their cancer may further spread.

Health Minister Christian Dubé last week blamed nurses who are on rotating strikes for indirectly lengthening surgical wait lists, estimating 500 operations have been postponed for each strike day.

#Quebec #healthcare

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🇨🇦🇺🇸 Canadian military buying armed drones for $2.49 billion

A fleet of 11 MQ-9B Reaper drones, built by U.S. defence contractor General Atomics, will be purchased in a $2.49 billion package, Liberal MPs announced on behalf of Defence Minister Bill Blair.

Delivery of the remotely piloted aircraft won't take place until 2028 and the air force doesn't expect to have the full fleet up and running until 2033.

The Reapers will be delivered through a direct contract with the U.S. manufacturer, with some components — such as weapons and other technology — purchased under the framework of U.S. foreign military sales.

#US

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Quebec teachers' strikes carry on despite one union nearing tentative deal

Teachers will keep striking after one union representing teaching staff and the Quebec government reached a tentative agreement Friday on non-monetary issues.

The Fédération des syndicats de l'Enseignement (FSE-CSQ) said it will present the potential deal to its federal council executives. Salaries are still up for discussion.

The union, representing 95,000 teachers, had rejected the government's last offer on Tuesday.

This week, the common front requested a 72-hour negotiation blitz with the government and threatened to launch an unlimited strike in January.

#Quebec
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Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Cheers to a wonderful season and a Happy New Year!

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📈 Alberta gains another 17,000 people from other provinces in 3 months, ends 'Alberta is Calling' ad campaign

Alberta gained another 17,094 people, on net, from other provinces and territories from July through September.

That continues a trend that started more than a year ago for Alberta: the province has now registered interprovincial migration gains of at least 10,000 people for five consecutive quarters.

Most of Alberta's population gains through interprovincial migration were due to its exchanges with Ontario and British Columbia, according to Statistics Canada.

Finance Minister Nate Horner said the "Alberta is Calling" campaign, launched in August 2022, had been successful in its goals but it was time to bring it to an end.

There are now 4,756,408 people living in the province, according to Statistics Canada's latest estimates, which marks a 4.3-per-cent increase in the past year.

#Alberta

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Ottawa ready to pay financial settlements to the two Michaels over their ordeal in Chinese prisons

Ottawa is willing to sign off on multimillion-dollar settlement packages for Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig to compensate them for the nearly three years they were incarcerated under harsh conditions in Chinese prisons, two government sources say.

Mr. Spavor alleges that China arrested and imprisoned him and Mr. Kovrig because he unwittingly provided information to Mr. Kovrig that was shared with Canadian and other Western spy services.

The government has offered around $3-million to each but the sources say Mr. Spavor’s lawyer is seeking $10.5-million, alleging gross negligence on how Ottawa handled GSRP operations in China.

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Despite a difficult 2023, Trudeau says he's not ready to 'walk away'

While it hasn't been a terrific year for the Liberal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has no intention of stepping aside.

Trudeau told CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton in a year-end interview that he's determined to stay on as Liberal leader.

With the challenges that people are facing right now, with the way the world is going now and everything that we are doing that's making positive differences in a very difficult time that isn't done yet, I wouldn't be the person I am and be willing to walk away from this right now.

he said.

#Trudeau

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💸Federal government posts $15.1 billion deficit

The federal government recorded a budgetary deficit of $15.1 billion between April and October, $7 billion of which was in October.

The finance department says in its monthly fiscal monitor that the deficit between April and October compared with a deficit of $0.2 billion during the same period last year.

Government revenues increased by $3 billion, or 1.2 per cent, a reflection of higher interest revenues and other non-tax revenues.

Program expenses excluding net actuarial losses were up $11.8 billion, or 5.4 per cent, from the same period a year earlier, as spending across all major categories rose.

Public debt charges were up $7.5 billion, or 38.1 per cent, largely due to higher interest rates but partly offset by lower consumer price index adjustments on real return bonds.

Net actuarial losses decreased by $1.3 billion, or 23.2 per cent, compared with the same period last year.

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🇨🇦🇹🇼Canada inks landmark bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan

Taiwan and Canada signed a bilateral investment deal.

Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said the deal, on which the two sides completed talks in October, was a milestone of “great historical significance.”

The Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Arrangement is part of Canada’s plan to increase trade and influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Taiwan has said it hopes the agreement will help with Taipei’s bid to join a major pan-Pacific free trade pact, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.

Canada holds the rotating chair of the CPTPP next year, a grouping China has also applied to join.

#Taiwan
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Canada’s homicide rate is at the highest level in 30 years

Canada’s homicide rate is at the highest level in 30 years, as police-reported crime continues to rise in the country.

For the fourth year in a row, the national homicide rate went up in 2022, according to Statistics Canada data.

The homicide rate increased by nearly eight percent to 2.25 homicides per 100,000 population. This was the highest homicide rate since 1992, according to the agency.

Across Canada, a total of 874 people were killed in 2022.

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🇨🇦🇮🇶 Trudeau government to spend nearly $10M to support unemployed youth in Iraq

The Canadian government has announced it will spend nearly $10 million to support the “deepening unemployment crisis” among youth in Iraq.

International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said the investment supports stability in the region overall and ultimately will help Canada.

Our biggest focus in our Middle East strategy is Iraq … and the way Iraq goes is the way the rest of the region will go.

Hussen said.

Hussen said the $9.9 million in funding will help pay for vocational and technical training for five years through a partnership with two groups, the World University Service of Canada and the Canadian Leaders in International Consulting. Both organizations have offices in Ottawa.

#Iraq
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Immigration Minister to ‘rein in’ number of temporary foreign workers coming into Canada in 2024

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he plans to control the number of temporary foreign workers coming to Canada in the new year, adding the system has “run a bit rampant for far too long.”

Mr. Miller said the issues of housing and an influx of temporary residents have been “increasingly tied together and there is obviously a correlation.” He said he is planning to announce reforms to tackle the influx at the start of 2024.

Temporary foreign residents enter Canada through various routes, including as international students, who then gain postgraduate work permits to stay on, or as temporary agricultural workers.

#housing #immigration
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