Federal government throws away millions of COVID vaccines due to lack of demand

The number of expired Moderna shots has risen to 7.7 million and the government has also now disposed of 3.1 million doses of the Novavax vaccine "due to drying-up demand in Canada and around the world."

@maplechronicles

Ontario to release 2022 economic outlook as province faces possible recession

Ontario is set to deliver its updated 2022 economic outlook Monday, as the province faces an uncertain fiscal environment in the months ahead. Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy is slated to table the document in the legislature.

In September, the government revealed it ended the last fiscal year with a $2.1-billion surplus, despite projecting a $13.5-billion deficit.

The outlook comes as governments around the world deal with economic headwinds like sticky inflation, rising interest rates and the increasing likelihood of a recession next year.

#Ontario

@maplechronicles

Report: Food banks recorded 1.66 million visits between April 2021 and March 2022

Toronto food banks recorded 1.66 million visits between April 2021 and March 2021, up from 1.45 million visits the year before, according to the Who's Hungry report from the Daily Bread and North York Harvest food banks.

More people who have jobs as their primary source of income are now turning to food banks as cost of living continues to climb and put pressure on food support programs, a new report finds.

As food banks saw another record year of visits and new users, the strain on their resources is also at record levels with no signs of slowing, according to this year's Who's Hungry report from the Daily Bread and North York Harvest food banks.

Not only are food banks seeing existing clients more often, but there is also a growing number of people turning to food banks for support for the first time. The increased need is "straining food banks' resources and capacity to keep pace with demand," the report notes.

@maplechronicles

🇨🇳China has links to dozens of Canadian miners tied to critical minerals

China has built up stakes in more than two dozen Canadian mining companies, including some of the industry’s biggest names. Canada’s latest crackdown on foreign investments in critical minerals is about to put a chill on such activity.

At least 27 public companies including Teck Resources, Ivanhoe Mines and First Quantum Minerals have shareholders with ties to China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Attracting such investors -- or encouraging them to increase their holdings -- will now be much harder given Canada’s latest efforts to protect its minerals wealth.

Chinese firms have been involved in 89 announced acquisitions and investments in Canadian metals and mining companies in the past decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The value of those transactions is $14-billion. Many deals involve companies tied to the 31 critical minerals identified by Canada.

#China

@maplechronicles

Earthquake strikes north of Montreal

An earthquake of magnitude 3.0 was recorded at 9:23 p.m. Monday night, north of Montreal.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the earthquake was located 5 kilometers northeast of Bois-des-Fillions.

No damage has been reported at this time, in Montreal or closer to the epicenter.

@maplechronicles

Canada implements UN Security Council sanctions against Haitian gang leader

Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that Canada implemented a recent UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions resolution into Canadian law under the United Nations Act. The measures are in response to the egregious conduct of armed criminal gangs in Haiti.

The sanctions under UNSC resolution 2653 impose a dealings prohibition against Jimmy Chérizier, the leader of the so-called G9, an alliance of Haitian gangs. This effectively freezes any assets he may hold in Canada and imposes a travel ban and arms embargo.

@maplechronicles

Federal government rejects returning Canadians from ISIS camps in Syria

According to the Canadian government, it would be “unprecedented and unprincipled” to help Canadian ISIS suspects detained in Syria.

The families want the Federal Court to order Ottawa to bring the detainees back to Canada from prisons and camps run by U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters.

But federal lawyers argued the case should be dismissed, since accepting the families’ claims would improperly extend the Charter of Rights beyond Canada’s borders.

Lawrence Greenspon, the Ottawa lawyer representing many of the families, declined to comment.

#Syria

@maplechronicles

🇨🇳Trudeau complained to Xi Jinping about China's meddling in Canadian internal affairs

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed "grave concern" about alleged Chinese interference in domestic affairs in his first meeting in more than three years with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

The mentioned "interference" is probably a reference to a November 7 Canadian media report that quoted Canadian intelligence officials as saying that they suspected China had interfered in the Canadian election. Also last Monday, Canadian police arrested and charged an employee of the largest local power producer on charges of trying to steal trade secrets for the benefit of China.

#China

@maplechronicles

🇨🇳 ❌️ 🇨🇦 Xi Jinping scolding Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau during the G20 conference: "Everything we discussed has leaked to the newspaper, that's not appropriate. That's not how we do things."

🇺🇦Canada provides Ukraine with $500 million in military aid

Justin Trudeau has announced a $500 million military aid package for Ukraine. According to the prime minister's website, the funds will be used to purchase surveillance and communications equipment, fuel and medical supplies.

In addition, Canada will impose sanctions on 23 more Russian citizens for human rights abuses.

#Ukraine #Russia

@maplechronicles

Death threat against Trudeau sent to Canada Border Services Agency

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) received a death threat against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and inquiries about how to import bullets during last winter's convoy protests.

CBSA said two threats from the same client were sent online through the CBSA's "contact us" form.

One message sent to CBSA on Feb 7 reads: "We would like to come to Ottawa to support the protest and if you want a war on your people we are prepared to die to stop you. No border of yours will hold us back! Liberty or death. You Choose!"

A second email, sent to CBSA on Feb. 12., said that if the Canadian government continued on its "destructive path," the writers were prepared to come to Canada “to oppose government tyranny.”

@maplechronicles

🇭🇹 Canada police lay charges in alleged Haiti coup plot

Canadian federal police said they have charged a man in Quebec province for allegedly plotting to sow violence in Haiti and overthrow its government.

Gerald Nicolas, a 51-year-old resident of Levis, Quebec, is alleged to have “planned a terrorist act to overthrow the Haitian government of Jovenel Moise,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement.

The RCMP said an investigation started in July 2021 revealed that Nicolas actively planned “to stage an armed revolution in Haiti and ultimately seize power.”

Those “concrete actions,” it said, included traveling to Haiti to coordinate a group that was to take part in the coup.

#Haiti

@maplechronicles

Trudeau government feared truckers' freedom convoy would damage U.S. trade ties

Michael Sabia, the top civil servant in the finance department, told a public inquiry into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invocation of emergency powers that border blockades came at an especially bad time for Canada, which was already battling U.S. protectionist measures.

Convoy protesters shut down multiple border crossings in mid-February, including the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit that is Canada’s busiest trade corridor with the U.S. and a vital link for the auto manufacturing sector. They also gridlocked downtown Ottawa for nearly a month, denouncing Trudeau and federal COVID-19 restrictions that included vaccine mandates.

@maplechronicles

Canada had two earthquakes in a week, probably due to gas production

In British Columbia last week there were two earthquakes with a magnitude of over 4, which were probably caused by natural gas extraction by fracking.

These preliminary conclusions were reached by experts from the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission, the provincial regulator of the industry.

The first earthquake with magnitude 4,7 occurred on November 11 in 132 km to the North-West of the city of Fort Saint John. A second magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck at the same location four days later.

According to Seismic Canada, the earthquakes were felt in the surrounding region, but did not cause any damage.

@maplechronicles

A fire ravages a residential building in Quebec City on Saturday night

The third alarm fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. early Sunday at 4365 Léo Ayotte St. in Quebec City, according to a tweet from the Quebec City Fire Department.

The fire was brought under control around 2:37 a.m., after the intervention of about 50 firefighters. The Red Cross took charge of four people who were evacuated.

The Fire Commissioner's Office was dispatched to the scene to determine the causes and circumstances of the event.

#Quebec

@maplechronicles

Deadline looms as talks between province and Ontario education workers enter final hours

Representatives from the province and the union bargaining for some 55,000 education workers in Ontario are meeting as parents wait to find out if a strike will go ahead on Monday.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ford government are taking part in negotiations which have spanned the weekend as they try to find a last-minute deal that would avert a planned strike. A deadline of 5 p.m. Sunday has been set for both sides to find a deal or notify parents a strike is imminent.

Some school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, have said that would force them to close classrooms.

@maplechronicles

Legault and Trudeau meet in Djerba, the decline of the French language discussed

François Legault and Justin Trudeau discussed the importance of the French language in Quebec and around the world on Saturday at the 18th Francophonie Summit in Djerba, Tunisia. This is the first time the two men have met since Legault's re-election on October 3.

During the twenty-minute discussion, Justin Trudeau stressed that Quebec and Canada share the same democratic values, "which are rooted in the heart of La Francophonie," he added.

#Quebec

@maplechronicles