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Dominic Leblanc on U.S. policies and building infrastructure at home

Dominic Leblanc on U.S. policies and building infrastructure at home

CTV News30-05-2025

Amanda Lang discusses U.S. tariffs, building infrastructure, and changes in investment taxes with Canada's Minister of International Trade, Dominic Leblanc. And in her Takeaway, Amanda looks at the need for the new federal government to convince business to help achieve fiscal goals.

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Lufa Farms partners with Walmart to grow and sell greenhouse produce
Lufa Farms partners with Walmart to grow and sell greenhouse produce

CTV News

time22 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Lufa Farms partners with Walmart to grow and sell greenhouse produce

With Walmart Canada, Montreal's Lufa Farms will grow produce under a 127,000 square foot greenhouse roof. Lufa Farms partners with Walmart to grow and sell greenhouse produce A partnership involving Lufa Farms is giving buying local a whole new meaning. 'We want to use free space in the cities where the people are and live,' says Lionel Trombert, Lufa Farms vice-president of finance. With Walmart Canada, the food company is taking produce from local to hyperlocal under one 127,000 square foot greenhouse roof. 'Whatever is being grown here is being picked and harvested at night and given to our customers either through the Lufa websites and, in this case, through the Walmart kiosk downstairs on a fresh basis every morning,' Trombert says. From cucumbers to peppers, it's the first time Lufa Farms produce is being sold through a retailer. This is also the first time that Walmart Canada is selling produce from its own roof. On top of filling a demand to buy locally, the partnership is a solution that offers sustainability. Lufa Farms greenhouse Lufa Farms is teaming up with Walmart to grow produce under a 127,000 square foot greenhouse roof. (Anastasia Dextrene/CTV) 'Land and water have become scarce resources and hydroponic systems usually typically consumes only about 5 to 10 per cent of the water of a land farm,' says Trombert. Their site at Marché Central is pesticide-free and you won't find soil or dirt. Instead, you'll find a hydraulic system that's responsible for producing four tonnes of crops each day. The location was chosen as the perfect basis for the project's roots, due to its size and proximity to neighbourhoods. Walmart Canada market leader Jacinthe Langevin says the company purchased more than $3.8 billion worth of products from 460 Quebec retailers last year. 'We are so proud to add Lufa Farms officially to that list,' she said. The hope is that the project will keep growing. 'There's an ask from customers and we've experienced that when we first sold those products ... we sold out almost every day,' Langevin told CTV.

U.S. ambassador pushes back against Canada's travel advice
U.S. ambassador pushes back against Canada's travel advice

CTV News

time23 minutes ago

  • CTV News

U.S. ambassador pushes back against Canada's travel advice

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra poses for a portrait at the U.S. Embassy, in Ottawa, Friday, June 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — The American ambassador to Canada is pushing back on Ottawa's travel advice, saying his country doesn't search phones at the border and arguing some Americans travelling here are having a tough time. 'We welcome Canadians to come in and invest, to spend their hard-earned Canadian dollars at U.S. businesses,' U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday. 'If a Canadian has had a disappointing experience coming into the United States, I'm not denying that it happened, but I'm saying it's an isolated event and it is not a pattern.' In April, Ottawa updated its advice to Canadians travelling to the United States to warn them about the possibility they might be detained if denied entry. 'Expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices,' reads the new guidance. There have been reports of Canadians facing intensified scrutiny at the border, having phones searched and, in some cases, being detained. Hoekstra insisted concerns about device searches are not grounded in reality. 'Coming to the U.S., that's a decision for the Canadians to make. Searching devices and all of that is not a well-founded fear. We don't do that. America is a welcoming place,' he said. He said some Americans have expressed similar concerns about Canada. 'I've heard that from Americans coming into Canada as well, OK? Saying, 'You know, we've not received a warm reception when we've gotten to Canadian customs,'' he said. When asked if these reports from American travellers involve arbitrary phone searches and lengthy detainment, Hoekstra said there are consular cases of Americans complaining to the embassy about the Canada Border Services Agency. 'We've said, 'OK this may have been an isolated event. There may have been a Canadian border person who was having a bad day, and thought they'd take it out on, you know, somebody across the border,'' he said. In a statement, the CBSA said its officers follow a code of conduct and the federal ethics code that both require them to treat everyone equally, and the agency investigates any complaints of mistreatment. 'Employees are expected to conduct themselves in a way that upholds the values of integrity, respect and professionalism at all times,' wrote spokeswoman Karine Martel. 'Treating people with respect, dignity and fairness is fundamental to our border services officers' relationship with the public and a key part of this is serving all travellers in a non-discriminatory way.' Hoekstra said travel to the U.S. is up to individuals. 'If you decide that you're not going to come down or whatever, that's your decision and you're missing an opportunity. There are great things to see in America,' Hoekstra said. He also noted the case of CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, who recently said she prepared to visit the U.S. last month as if she was 'going to North Korea' — with a 'burner phone' that didn't carry any personal information — only to experience a warm welcome. 'It's like, (let's) get past the rhetoric and let's look at the real experiences that people are having here,' Hoekstra said. Airlines have been cutting flights between Canada and the U.S. due to a slump in demand, and Flight Centre Travel Group Canada reported a nearly 40 per cent drop in flights between the two countries year-over-year in February. A survey in early May conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies found 52 per cent of respondents feel that 'it is no longer safe for all Canadians travelling to the United States,' with 29 per cent disagreeing and 19 per cent saying they were unsure. Roughly the same proportion said they personally feel unwelcome in the U.S. LGBTQ2S+ groups have opted against attending World Pride events in Washington and United Nations events in New York, citing scrutiny at the border as the Trump administration scales back protections for transgender and nonbinary people. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

Mike Johnson downplays Musk's influence and says Republicans will pass Trump's tax and budget bill
Mike Johnson downplays Musk's influence and says Republicans will pass Trump's tax and budget bill

CTV News

time24 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Mike Johnson downplays Musk's influence and says Republicans will pass Trump's tax and budget bill

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., wraps up a news conference on U.S. President Donald Trump's bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) With an uncharacteristically feistiness, Speaker Mike Johnson took clear sides Sunday in U.S. President Donald Trump's breakup with mega-billionaire Elon Musk. The Republican House leader and staunch Trump ally said Musk's criticism of the GOP's massive tax and budget policy bill will not derail the measure, and he downplayed Musk's influence over the GOP-controlled Congress. 'I didn't go out to craft a piece of legislation to please the richest man in the world,' Johnson said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'What we're trying to do is help hardworking Americans who are trying to provide for their families and make ends meet,' Johnson insisted. Johnson said he has exchanged text messages with Musk since the former chief of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency came out against the GOP bill. Musk called it an 'abomination' that would add to U.S. debts and threaten economic stability. He urged voters to flood Capitol Hill with calls to vote against the measure, which is pending in the Senate after clearing the House. His criticism sparked an angry social media back-and-forth with Trump, who told reporters over the weekend that he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk. The speaker was dismissive of Musk's threats to finance opponents — even Democrats — of Republican members who back Trump's bill. 'We've got almost no calls to the offices, any Republican member of Congress,' Johnson said. 'And I think that indicates that people are taking a wait and see attitude. Some who may be convinced by some of his arguments, but the rest understand: this is a very exciting piece of legislation.' Johnson argued that Musk still believes 'that our policies are better for human flourishing. They're better for the US economy. They're better for everything that he's involved in with his innovation and job creation and entrepreneurship.' The speaker and other Republicans, including Trump's White House budget chief, continued their push back Sunday against forecasts that their tax and budget plans will add to annual deficits and thus balloon a national debt already climbing toward $40 trillion. Johnson insisted that Musk has bad information, and the speaker disputed the forecasts of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that scores budget legislation. The bill would extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts, cut spending and reduce some other levies but also leave some 10.9 million more people without health insurance and spike deficits by $2.4 trillion over the decade, according to the CBO's analysis. The speaker countered with arguments Republicans have made for decades: That lower taxes and spending cuts would spur economic growth that ensure deficits fall. Russell Vought, who leads the White House Office of Budget and Management, said on Fox News Sunday that CBO analysts base their models of 'artificial baselines.' Because the 2017 tax law set the lower rates to expire, CBO's cost estimates, Vought argued, presuming a return to the higher rates before that law went into effect. Vought acknowledged CBO's charge from Congress is to analyze legislation and current law as it is written. But he said the office could issue additional analyses, implying it would be friendlier to GOP goals. Asked whether the White House would ask for alternative estimates, Vought again put the burden on CBO, repeating that congressional rules allow the office to publish more analysis. Other Republicans, meanwhile, approached the Trump-Musk battle cautiously. 'As a former professional fighter, I learned a long time ago, don't get between two fighters,' said Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin on CNN's 'State of the Union.' He even compared the two billionaire businessmen to a married couple. 'President Trump is a friend of mine but I don't need to get, I can have friends that have disagreements,' Mullin said. 'My wife and I dearly love each other and every now and then, well actually quite often, sometimes she disagrees with me, but that doesn't mean that we can't stay focused on what's best for our family. Right now, there may be a disagreement but we're laser focused on what is best for the American people.' Bill Barrow, The Associated Press Associated Press journalist Gary Fields contributed from Washington.

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