Downtown businesses association demands bail reform to restore public safety on urban streets

Businesses in cities and main streets across the country say a "humanitarian crisis is playing out in" Canada's communities and they want the federal government to act swiftly to tackle the crime, addiction and social issues they say are hurting businesses and downtowns.

Repeat offenders are significant drivers of crime and the current bail system does not protect Canadians or small businesses. Every single day in communities across Canada there are stories of crime perpetrated by an individual who was on bail or breached bail conditions. This cannot continue.

Kate Fenske, chair of International Downtown Association Canada (IDA Canada).

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Killer who left pregnant victim's body on side of road granted unescorted leave for 'personal development'

The woman who helped kill a young Inuit student from Labrador a decade ago in Halifax and dumped her body in a hockey bag beside the highway has been granted 30 days of unescorted leave to take “personal development” courses at a halfway house.

Victoria Lea Henneberry is serving a life sentence for the second-degree murder of Loretta Saunders in February 2014.

Henneberry, now 39, and her boyfriend, Blake Leggette, were subletting a room in Saunders’ Cowie Hill Road apartment when the couple killed the Saint Mary’s University student, who was pregnant, after she came to collect their rent.

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Victims of Communism memorial faces call to remove over 330 names linked to Nazis, fascists

The Department of Canadian Heritage is being told that more than half of the 550 names on the Memorial to the Victims of Communism should be removed because of potential links to the Nazis or questions about affiliations with fascist groups, according to government records.

A 2023 report for Canadian Heritage recommended more than 330 names be excluded to be on the safe side, the records noted. Some of the entries could also be removed because they have no direct link to Canada.

The memorial, which is located near the corner of Wellington and Bay streets, is supposed to honour those who suffered under communism.

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🚅Canada 'seriously' considering high-speed rail link between Toronto and Quebec City: minister

The federal government is "seriously" considering building the country's first high-speed rail link between Quebec City and Toronto, says Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.

Ottawa announced plans back in 2021 to build what it called a "high-frequency" (HFR) rail corridor with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Laval and Quebec City. At the time, the government estimated the cost at between $6 billion and $12 billion.

Duclos said Monday the government expects to name the successful bidder soon and to release more information about how the new rail corridor would work.

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🎓Quebec government will slap ceiling on number of international students

The Quebec government is to table legislation Thursday limiting the number of international students allowed to study in the province.

Immigration, Francization and Integration Minister Jean-François Roberge Wednesday gave notice of the government’s plan to table a bill designed to curb the arrival of out-of-province students in Quebec’s educational institutions.

There are currently about 120,000 international students in Quebec. In 2014 there were 50,000.

Quebec argues that with 600,000 temporary immigrants in Quebec including students, its public services and housing are being overtaxed and the French language is threatened because about 40 per cent of the temporary immigrants do not master the language.

#Quebec #immigration
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Liberals’ refusal, opposition’s demands over documents for spending scandal has created a government backlog

Wednesday was the eighth day of debate on the opposition’s demand for documents related to the now-defunct Sustainable Development Technology Canada agency, a standoff that’s led to a backlog of government bills and cross-partisan finger-pointing.

In 2022, whistle-blowers alleged government money flowing through SDTC was going to organizations with direct ties to management. That revelation prompted an internal government probe and SDTC’s work was suspended.

The federal ethics commissioner found the chair broke the rules and the Auditor-General also launched an investigation, concluding there were “significant lapses” in governance and stewardship of public money meant for bolstering green technology.

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🎓Canada’s rent growth slows as international student enrolment drops

Average asking rents for all property types across the country just saw their slowest rate of growth since October 2021 — largely due to falling international student enrolment, a new report says.

Last month, rents across Canada reached an average of $2,193 per month.

The report pointed to falling numbers of international student enrolments as being behind the trends.

#housing
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Ontario companies allegedly charging foreign workers tens of thousands of dollars for jobs

Thousands of firms across all sorts of industries in Ontario have been marketing administrative, retail, food service, trucking and other roles exclusively to foreign workers though the federal government stipulates that LMIAs are only to be used when "there is a need for a foreign worker" because "no Canadians or permanent residents are available to do the job."

New layers to what the government has now deemed "abuse and misuse" of the system have continued to come to light, including the fact that some of these foreign workers were duped into paying tens of thousands of dollars just to secure these positions.

Some jobs have even allegedly been auctioned off to the highest and most desperate bidder to be used as a bridge to a more long-term stay in Canada, and to gain points toward permanent residency.

#immigration #Ontario
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💸Corrected PBO report finds carbon tax leaves most Canadians worse off even as they get more back in rebates

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux found the Liberals’ claim that most Canadians receive more in rebates than they pay in carbon taxes is accurate. Only people in the highest income brackets in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia will pay more in taxes than they receive in rebates.

But Giroux also went further, examining the economic impact of the carbon tax, which his analysis found slightly reduces Canada’s overall GDP and adds other costs to the economy. He found in that case, taking in both the direct and indirect cost of the carbon tax, most households are worse off.

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Poilievre says he supports involuntary addiction treatment for minors, prisoners

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he supports involuntary drug addiction treatment for minors and prisoners when they are found to be incapable of making decisions for themselves — but is still looking into whether he can support it for non-incarcerated adults.

#Poilievre
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🏠 Rents could exceed $7.5K in Vancouver, $5.6K in Toronto without massive spike in building: Study

Average monthly rent could reach $7,500 in Vancouver and $5,600 in Toronto by 2032 if current trends in construction and population growth continue, a study by Concordia University and development company Equiton projects.

The research used machine learning to model growth in rents using housing and census data and immigration and population projections. The model suggests “rents will continue to grow rapidly” if both the addition of new supply and population growth remain at status quo levels, indicating the need for a massive increase in building.

It shows average rents in Toronto hitting $4,100 by 2027, up from $3,250 in March 2023, and reaching $5,600 by 2032. Average rents in Vancouver are projected to reach $5,200 by 2027 and $7,750 by 2032.

#housing #BritishColumbia #Ontario
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‘Enough is enough’: nervous Liberal MPs push for Trudeau’s exit before the next election

Liberal MPs have been holding discreet meetings in small groups over the past few weeks to come up with plans to urge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down, according to multiple Liberal MPs sources.

👀🍿
#Trudeau
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📊If an election were held today, 43% of committed voters would vote Conservative, while 22% would vote for the Liberals, 19% for the NDP, and 4% for the Greens. The BQ has 36% of the vote in Quebec.

15% of Canadians are uncommitted at this point.

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🐢Woman who tried to smuggle 29 turtles into Canada by kayaking across lake pleads guilty

A woman from China pleaded guilty on Friday to attempting to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, across a Vermont lake into Canada by kayak.

Wan Yee Ng, 41, was arrested on June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan as she prepared to board an inflatable kayak with a duffle bag on Lake Wallace, according to an affidavit filed by a US Border Patrol agent in federal court.

Eastern box turtles are reportedly sold on the Chinese black market for $1,000 each, the affidavit stated.

#US
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🇮🇳❗️Indian government officials allegedly linked to homicides, extortions and coercion in Canada, pose threat to public safety, says RCMP

Agents of the government of India are taking part in criminal activity in Canada that is leading to serious threats to the safety and security of Canadians, the RCMP alleged in a Monday press conference just hours after Canada expelled six Indian diplomats.

The Mounties, working with other Canadian police forces, have obtained evidence allegedly tying India government agents to homicides and violent acts in Canada, Commissioner Mike Duheme said. He did not provide information on the number of alleged slayings, or how many Indian officials were allegedly involved but said other criminal acts include extortion, intimidation, coercion and harassment.

Commissioner Duheme alleged that police investigations reveal that Indian diplomats and consular officials in Canada have leveraged their official positions to “engage in clandestine activities,” that include collecting information for the Indian government either directly or through proxies and that other individuals participated voluntarily or through coercion.

#India
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🇮🇳India withdraws envoy, diplomats named "persons of interest" in Canada probe

India withdrew its envoy to Canada on Monday along with other officials and diplomats whom Ottawa named as persons of interest in a matter related to an investigation in the country, the Indian foreign ministry said.

New Delhi rejected the "preposterous imputations" of the Canadian assertion, made in a diplomatic communication on Sunday, saying it was part of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "political agenda" centered around "vote bank politics."

#India
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📊Canadian support for Donald Trump higher than in last U.S. presidential election, poll finds

The Environics Institute research found Canadians three times more likely to prefer Democratic nominee and current Vice-President Kamala Harris to win the Nov. 5 presidential election over Mr. Trump – 60 per cent to 21 per cent.

But Mr. Trump’s total has risen from similar research conducted in 2020, when he had 15-per-cent support among Canadians surveyed compared with 67 per cent for the eventual winner, President Joe Biden.

#US
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