N.B. minister makes 3 changes to LGBTQ-related policy

Bill Hogan, New Brunswick's minister of education, unveiled three changes to Policy 713 related to LGBTQ students.

🔹It is no longer mandatory for teachers and staff to use 'preferred' names and pronouns of students under 16 without parental consent. Bill Hogan said this will allow teachers to "maintain professionalism," and not have to "do something contrary to parents' wishes."

🔹Sports and other activities are decoupled from gender identity. The updated policy says all students will be able to participate in curricular and extracurricular activities, removing the phrase "consistent with their gender identity." Hogan said the organizations that govern sports and extracurricular activities already have guidelines on this, and there's no reason "to get into the middle of that."

🔹The new policy specifies that the previously available gender-neutral washrooms are now required to be private. The same goes for universal changing rooms.

The changes to Policy 713 will come into effect on July 1.

#NewBrunswick

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🇨🇦🇺🇸🇲🇽 Canada joins US in trade dispute hearings against Mexico's proposed ban on GM corn

Canada said Friday it will join a trade dispute panel that the United States requested over Mexico’s proposed limits on imports of genetically modified corn.

The U.S. government asked that the dispute process be formally opened on June 2, after talks with the Mexican government failed to yield results.

The panel of experts would have about half a year to study the complaint and release its findings. Trade sanctions could follow if Mexico is found to have violated the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.

Mexico wants to ban GM corn for human consumption, and perhaps eventually ban it for animal feed as well, something that both its northern partners say would damage trade and violate USMCA requirements that any health or safety standards be based on scientific evidence.

Mexico is the leading importer of U.S. yellow corn, most of which is genetically modified. Almost all is fed to cattle, pigs and chickens in Mexico, which doesn’t grow enough feed corn. Corn for human consumption in Mexico is almost entirely domestically-grown white corn.

🔎 Source
#Mexico #US #Canada

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Bill 96 rules may be adjusted in wake of complaints, Legault says

Premier François Legault says he is willing to entertain adjustments to some of the new Bill 96 language law identification regulations that have irritated minorities.

“The strong signal we have to send is that services need to be given in French in Quebec except for the anglophone community and except for health-care services,” Legault said at a news conference wrapping up the winter sitting of the National Assembly.

Some English-speaking Quebecers are encountering difficulties accessing government website data that used to be readily available in English or finding government workers willing to speak English now that the law is in place.

#Quebec

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Canada's visaless entry system crashes, leaving many travellers stranded

The collapse of the website that processes Canada's Electronic Travel Authorizations (eTAs) has caused missed flights, stress and financial pain to many travellers trying to reach Canada.

This week, Canada expanded the number of countries eligible for the eTA system, which replaces a full visa requirement for countries whose citizens are considered at lower risk of overstaying. Travellers from these countries pay a $7 Cdn fee and fill out an online application in a process that would normally take just minutes.

IRCC appears not to have anticipated that adding 13 new countries with a combined population of over a quarter of a billion people would lead to a sudden surge in applications, but that's what happened.

A spokesperson for IRCC said the biggest spike in applications came from the Philippines.

Servers were overwhelmed and the collapse of the system affected not only applicants from the 13 new countries, but from others that were already in the eTA system.

According to passengers, the eTA site stopped working properly on Thursday. IRCC posted a tweet around noon on Friday acknowledging the problem.

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🔥Tracking air quality and smoke from wildfires

The New York Times released a smoke and air quality forecast map.

#wildfires

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Nova Scotia identifies thousands of stolen records in global security breach

Officials in Nova Scotia have identified thousands of files stolen in a global data breach affecting the personal information of at least 100,000 people in the province.

Cybersecurity and Digital Solutions Minister Colton LeBlanc said Friday that a number of current and former teachers were victims of the hack, as were students, inmates and even some newborn babies.

The breach of the MOVEit file transfer system, which the province uses to transfer employee payroll information, had affected current and former employees of the public service, including those at Nova Scotia Health and the IWK hospital. The information stolen included social insurance numbers, addresses and banking information.

The stolen information includes 55,000 records with names, addresses, dates of birth and years of service involving past and present teachers. Some 26,000 students aged 16 and older had information stolen, including their dates of birth, student ID numbers and civic and mailing addresses — data that was stored in a database shared with Elections Nova Scotia.

#NovaScotia

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🔥 Smoke from Canada’s wildfires has reached as far as Norway

Over the last few days, plumes of smoke have stretched from Canada across Greenland, Iceland and made their way to Norway.

Scientists at the Climate and Environmental Research Institute in Norway (NILU) have been able to detect the increase in smoke using very sensitive instruments and then confirm its origin using forecast modeling.

People in Norway may be able to smell and even notice the smoke as a light haze but, unlike parts of the US that have seen hazardous pollution, they should experience no health impacts, said a senior scientist at NILU.

Over the coming days, the plume is expected to spread across swaths of Europe but it’s unlikely people will be able to smell or notice the smoke.

#wildfires

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Supreme Court judge quits amid probe over alleged drunken fight

A Canadian Supreme Court judge being probed for alleged involvement in a drunken fight resigned on Monday, marking the first time a member of the top court has resigned amid questions of misconduct.

Russell Brown, appointed to the nine-judge court in August 2015, had stepped aside in February after reports emerged of a confrontation with a U.S. Marine veteran in an Arizona resort in late January.

The veteran told reporters that Brown had been drunk and made women at the resort feel uncomfortable. Brown denied this, saying the veteran was intoxicated and had punched him several times in the face without warning.

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Alberta wildfires increase again, threatening air quality and energy production

The number of wildfires burning in Alberta is on the rise again, hurting air quality across the region and threatening oil and gas production.

The province had 76 active wildfires, up from 71 on Friday, with 23 burning out of control, according to provincial data on Monday. Smoke from the blazes — which are most active in the central and western parts of the province — was set to drift south to Calgary on Tuesday, worsening the air quality into the “high risk” category, according to Environment Canada.

Some relief is expected in the coming days, with rain and cooler weather set to help firefighters.

The amount of land burned has risen to a record 1.4 million hectares in the province.

#Alberta #wildfires

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Majority side with N.B. premier on gender identity: poll

The numbers from a national poll collected by market research firm Leger in May show that Premier Blaine Higgs appears to be on the right side of public opinion.

🔹The poll suggests that 57 per cent agree that schools should have to tell parents about their child’s desire to change their gender or pronouns. Meanwhile, less than a fifth — 18 per cent — feel schools shouldn’t tell parents.

🔹The same poll also asked respondents whether schools should have to place classroom materials on gender identity and sensitive race-related topics on their websites ahead of time so that parents could view them. Roughly 47 per cent polled nationally said “yes.”

🔹Meanwhile, 51 per cent of respondents feel the public school system is “moving in the wrong direction” when asked generally about education.

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Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie to run for leader of Ontario Liberal Party

Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie has officially registered to run for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.

Crombie is expected to formally announce her run at a press conference on Wednesday.

Earlier, Ontario Premier Doug Ford addressed the speculation that Crombie was considering a run, saying it would be a “slap in the face” to Mississauga residents for her to remain as mayor while running for Liberal leader.

Crombie later explained that exploring a leadership bid with the Ontario Liberal Party while remaining mayor would not present any conflicts — she would not back down from Ford either way.

#Ontario

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NDP tables pharmacare bill to pressure government

The NDP has tabled legislation to establish a universal single-payer pharmacare system in Canada.

"We believe no one should have to choose between buying their medication or buying their groceries, and this bill will move us towards that," party leader Jagmeet Singh said.

The creation of a national universal pharmacare program by the end of the year is a condition of the House of Commons supply-and-confidence agreement between the Liberals and the NDP.

#healthcare

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Notley to stay on as NDP leader, but will take time to consider future role

Alberta New Democratic Party Leader Rachel Notley said Tuesday that while she is staying on as leader, she’s also considering her future as the party begins evaluating its election campaign and performance.

She added she’ll review “a whole range of factors” in deciding on her future.

Notley said her party’s shadow cabinet could be announced next week following a party caucus meeting in Calgary this Thursday.

#Alberta

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President of Calgary's Black Lives Matter movement charged with hate crime

The head of the Black Lives Matter movement in Calgary has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly impeding access to a Catholic school.

Court records show Adora Nwofor was charged with mischief on June 2, in connection with an incident on May 26, for allegedly “wilfully obstructing and interfering” with the use of a property “primarily used for religious worship and educational purposes.”

It’s alleged she interfered with people’s use of St. Thomas Aquinas School on 26 Avenue S.W. “for reasons of bias, prejudice, or hate based on race or ethnic origin.”

#Alberta

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RCMP opens investigation into claims China intimidated MP Chong

The head of the RCMP says the national police force is investigating allegations China attempted to target and intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family.

Commissioner Mike Duheme also told MPs on the procedure and House affairs committee Tuesday morning that he only learned about the matter recently, despite the fact that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) drafted a memo on the matter back in 2021.

The committee is studying an alleged 2021 Beijing plot to amass information on Chong's family in retaliation for his efforts to recognize the persecution of Uyghurs as genocide. Duheme said Chong's case is one of more than 100 investigations the RCMP has opened on foreign interference.

#China

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Raises for hospital workers who fought Doug Ford’s pay cap

Hospital workers whose unions battled Prime Minister Doug Ford’s unions Bill 124 The wage cap legislation — limiting raises to one percent annually — led to a 3.75 percent wage increase last year and 2.5 percent this year.

On Tuesday, arbitrator William Kaplan awarded raises for 45,000 registered practical nurses, personal care workers, cooks, laboratory technicians and other occupations, including food service aides.

While the increases are below inflation, which peaked at 8 percent last year, “I think they will be well received,” said Michael Gurley of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions.

#healthcare

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Top Toronto mayoral candidates to attend debate in final campaign stretch

The seven leading candidates in Toronto's mayoral byelection are participating in another debate tonight as the race to lead Canada's most populous city enters its final stretch.

The debate will air live at 7 p.m. and focus on key campaign issues including housing, affordability, public safety and traffic congestion.

Among invited candidates are NDP parliamentarian Olivia Chow, city councillor Josh Matlow, ex-police chief Mark Saunders, former deputy mayor Ana Bailão, councillor Brad Bradford and former Liberal provincial education minister Mitzie Hunter.

Journalist Anthony Furey was also invited: he had not been included in a number of previous mayoral debates but has gained some traction among voters according to recent polling data.

The byelection to replace John Tory, who resigned in February after admitting to an affair with a staffer, is set for June 26.

#Ontario

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🇨🇦🇷🇺 Russia threatens to cut relations with Canada over cargo plane seizure

Moscow is warning that relations with Canada are "on the verge of being severed" after the federal Liberal government moved to forfeit a massive Russian cargo plane.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Ukraine on the weekend, where he announced that Canada officially seized an airplane that had been sitting on the tarmac at Toronto's Pearson International Airport since February 2022.

"We perceive this act as cynical and shameless theft," Russia's foreign ministry said in an English-language statement posted Tuesday.

#Russia #Trudeau

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