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Trial of ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber begins today

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

OTTAWA — The criminal trial of “Freedom Convoy” organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber begins today, as they answer charges related to their role in the protest that threw Canada’s capital city into chaos last year. Lich and Barber were part of the original group that mobilized a convoy of big rigs and other trucks and cars to drive to Ottawa in winter 2022 to protest COVID-19 public health restrictions and the Liberal government. Hundreds of vehicles blocked downtown streets and thousands of protesters entrenched themselves for three weeks, hosting all-night parties with open fires, honking their horns at all hours and filing the streets with the smell of diesel. The protest inspired similar demonstrations at several international border crossings and precipitated the first invocation of the federal Emergencies Act since the legislation was created in 1988. Lich and Barber are co-accused, both charged with mischief, obstructing police, counselling others to comm...

Students head back to school with climate change, AI and affordability top of mind

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

TORONTO — Many students are likely feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement today as they begin another school year.With disruptive pandemic measures seemingly behind them, parents and educators say a new crop of issues may affect classroom learning this year, including AI technology, affordability and climate change. While across much of the country it’s set to be a first day of school like any other, those in parts of Canada ravaged by wildfires return to a much different landscape. The government of British Columbia has said no schools were damaged by the fires that tore through parts of the province, but that doesn’t mean students will be unaffected. The flames passed close by some schools in Kelowna, B.C., leaving destruction in their wake. For residents of Yellowknife, however, summer break has been extended. Typically, students would have returned to their classrooms on Aug. 28, but the city is still under an evacuation order as fires continue their burn, so sch...

Quebec Facebook class action can go ahead after Supreme Court declines to hear appeal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

MONTREAL — A class-action lawsuit alleging Facebook illegally allowed advertisers to target users based on their race, age and gender can move forward after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the social media giant.Facebook had sought to have Canada’s highest court overturn a Quebec Court of Appeal decision authorizing the class action.Audrey Boctor, one of the lawyers behind the suit, said the top court’s ruling means the case can now move toward an eventual trial. “We know for sure now that the class action can go ahead,” she said in an interview Monday. “Facebook had asked the Supreme Court to hear the case and the Supreme Court declined, so that means that the Court of Appeal’s judgment stands and now we go forward to the merits.”The Supreme Court said Thursday it will not hear the case, declining to provide reasons for its decision as is customary. The suit was brought on behalf of Lyse Beaulieu, a 65-year-old woman who w...

Invasive species report outlines costs, solutions for world governments

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

An international organization has produced a report on alien invasive species which says the global problem costs billions of dollars annually and is, in some cases, being worsened by climate change.The executive summary of the report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was approved over the weekend in Bonn, Germany, by the organization’s 143 member states.It said that while 80 per cent of countries have targets related to managing invasive alien species in their national biodiversity plans, only 17 per cent have national laws or regulations specifically addressing these issues and about 45 per cent of all countries don’t invest in the management of biological invasions.“I would certainly give Canada strong marks in terms of its overall effort but it might be time for a re-think,” said Peter Stoett, a faculty member of Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ont., who was one of the report’s three co-auth...

Manitoba Tories seek third consecutive mandate in election set for Oct. 3

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson is expected to call an election today.The vote is already scheduled for Oct. 3 and Stefanson will make a campaign announcement this morning where she is expected to launch the 28-day campaign.Stefanson, who became premier two years ago, is aiming to lead the Progressive Conservatives to a third consecutive majority.Opinion polls have suggested it will be an uphill battle, as support for the Tories dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Opposition New Democrats have been leading in the polls, especially in Winnipeg where most legislature seats are concentrated.The Manitoba Liberal Party is seeking to add to the three legislature seats it currently holds, which is not enough for official party status.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2023The Canadian Press

Yellowknife evacuees hopeful they’ll be allowed to return home tomorrow as planned

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

Yellowknife residents are crossing their fingers that tomorrow’s scheduled lifting of a general evacuation order will go ahead as planned and they’ll be allowed to return home.The lifting of the order remains contingent on fire and highway conditions, but N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said yesterday that no challenges are expected for Highway 1 for the next few days.Yellowknife city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett says workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, home-heating providers, and even some taxi drivers and daycare providers are on their way back to the city in advance of tomorrow.Bassi-Kellett notes the city is getting ready for people clearing three weeks of food out of their refrigerators.Residents have already been advised they should prepare to be self-reliant for 72 hours upon their return. NWT Emergency Management Organization information officer Jay Boast says over 2,000 people have pre-registered for re-entry flights, following a call to do ...

The US sent cluster munitions to Ukraine but activists still seek to bolster a treaty banning them

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Backers of an international agreement that bans cluster munitions, which harm and kill many more civilians than combatants, are striving to prevent erosion in support for the deal after what one leading human rights group calls an “unconscionable” U.S. decision to ship such weapons to Ukraine for its fight against Russia. Advocacy groups in the Cluster Munitions Coalition released their latest annual report on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting next week of envoys from the 112 countries that have acceded to or ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the explosives and calls for clearing areas where they litter the ground — often during or after conflicts.A further 12 countries have signed the convention. The United States and Russia are not among them.Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch, who has long championed the 15-year-old convention, says the coalition was “extremely concerned” about the U.S. move in July, after an intense debate among U.S. leaders, ...

Daily horoscope for September 5, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 12:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. EDT today (9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Taurus into Gemini.Happy Birthday for Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023:You are imaginative and have innovative problem-solving skills. You think and act quickly, and are motivated by your goals. This is a lovely year to socialize and enjoy life! Nurture the happiness and beauty that you have within yourself. Loosen up a bit! Old friends may reappear to rekindle relationships.ARIES(March 21-April 19)★★★A realization, perhaps pertaining to your wealth, earnings or something that you own, might prompt you to repurpose something. You might see a better way of doing something or a better way of using something that you already own. (It’s not surprising, because you’re very resourceful.) Tonight: Stop worrying.TAURUS(April 20-May 20)★★★Whatever you do today, you will do with intensity and purpose. Oh yes, you’re on a mission....

Miss Manners: My husband was upset by my request at the restaurant

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When is it acceptable to ask for a different table when being seated at a restaurant?My husband and I have a favorite restaurant, which does not take reservations. In the past month, we have been seated once by the restrooms and once by the kitchen.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Am I really ‘trying too hard to be liked’? Advice | Miss Manners: Please decree that people should not knock on a bathroom door Advice | Miss Manners: They say they’d rather die than live like I do. How should I respond? Advice | Miss Manners: How should I warn my neighbors about months of noise? Advice | Miss Manners: I cringe when I picture my dear friend in our house The second time, I politely asked the hostess if we could have another table, and she gracefully complied. I thanked her profusely and made sure to leave a good tip for our waiter. The restaurant was busy, but there wer...

Dear Abby: She decided I can’t be near her children

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:15 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to “Frank” for 2½ years. We met and married quickly. Best decision ever.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: The wedding is on hold, but the bride is apparently keeping my money Advice | Dear Abby: When he thought I was dying, he revealed his role in this painful deception Advice | Dear Abby: I don’t want to hear her fantasies about the priest Advice | Dear Abby: She offered no remorse for grabbing the spotlight at the engagement party Advice | Dear Abby: My friend’s personality changed, and now she’s stalking me We each had raised two daughters as single parents with different parenting styles. Our girls now range in age from 30 to 33. They are adults with lives and children of their own.My daughters have accepted and come to love Frank. They have always been respectful and inclusive.In the beginning, his daughters treated me OK. But after six ...