CUPE's defiance of labour code sparks call to remove Section 107
What could CUPE's defiance of Section 107 mean for future strikes in Canada? Rachel Aiello has the latest.
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CBC
9 minutes ago
- CBC
Some housing projects in limbo after N.S. rejection of Halifax's regional plan, mayor says
Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore said Tuesday that the Nova Scotia government's rejection of the city's regional plan has paused some housing projects. "We've got projects, a significant number of units that have foundations poured or floors framed up that needed the regional plan amendments in the new version of the plan to be adopted in order to finish the project," Fillmore told reporters ahead of a staff presentation on the plan. "So we have a situation of limbo." Halifax's new plan to guide growth in the region was passed by council in June and would have changed a slew of bylaws and land-use planning documents across Halifax Regional Municipality, updating the 2014 regional plan that was last amended in May. But last week, Nova Scotia Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr rejected it, saying certain environmental rules would stall development. Thousands of units impacted During the staff presentation Tuesday evening, Halifax planning director Jacqueline Hamilton told council the province's rejection of the plan impacts thousands of housing units. Hamilton said in just one category, the delay affects 12 projects creating 2,000 housing units. "That's sort of the order of magnitude … it's in the thousands of units certainly that are impacted. That's sort of what we know today, that's the caveat. There would be folks who wouldn't even be talking to us yet that would be awaiting that. I'm sure that's only the tip of the iceberg." Some councillors expressed disappointment that the province rejected the regional plan, which took five years to create. 'I think the baby went out with the bathwater' "I think the baby went out with the bathwater here, very clearly, in terms of housing over the sake of setbacks around lakes and EV chargers," said Coun. Sam Austin. "We could have amended those rather than rejecting the whole thing and creating this level of chaos. I don't think this was helpful or productive." Lohr said he was specifically concerned with two items in the plan: expanding development setbacks around watercourses to 30 metres from 20 and requiring electric vehicle parking spaces in new homes and apartments. "We felt that the focus of the plan needed to be building up density and building affordability in — and those were two examples of things that were not doing that," Lohr told CBC News on Monday. Coun. Tony Mancini said he took issue with the province's objection to the 30-metre setback. "Coun. Austin and I represent the City of Lakes. As Dartmouthians, to hear that, that's just a kick in the teeth that they don't care. It's the protection of our lakes," Mancini said. "Our lakes are stressed. They're stressed because of two things: climate change, and they're stressed because of development." Fillmore said he is working with the provincial government to try to understand its objections to the plan. He's hoping council can make changes that will make the plan "palatable" to the province. Construction group wants consultation In a letter to the municipality on Aug. 5, three days before Lohr's rejection, the Construction Association of Nova Scotia raised the same issues that the minister addressed. The group told CBC News those changes could drive up housing costs and said it wants to be consulted moving forward. "It's always unfortunate when you see one government level having to kind of delve into the business of another government. Having said that, you know, the plan that was put forward really had no consultation with industry in terms of broad-based consultation," Duncan Williams, president and CEO of the association, said Monday. Williams said he doesn't necessarily object to the new regional plan, but he has questions about how it would be implemented, how appeals would be processed and how the public would be informed about cost implications of the changes. Mayor optimistic, hoping to improve regional plan "There's an opportunity here to set up a working group that has industry professionals at the table so that we could properly give input [and] guide the process. We can't continue to build plans in a vacuum. And that's really what it feels like," he said. Fillmore said he's optimistic about conversations he's had with provincial ministers about getting the regional plan approved and getting homes built. The mayor said Halifax has to be able to accommodate growth up to one million people while protecting the environment and making sure homes can be built. "The truth is, we need to be building 8,000 homes a year for the next number of years, as many as five or six years. Last year, we barely cracked 3,000," Fillmore said. He said he still believes in the regional plan, but that he's always interested in improving a plan. He said his goal is to "get it done as quickly as possible." Hamilton said staff will come back to council once they get direction from the province on next steps. Fillmore said he hopes to have a revised plan to the province before the Christmas holiday recess.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Trump to nominate top economic aide Stephen Miran to fill open spot on Federal Reserve board
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate a top economic adviser to the Federal Reserve's board of governors for four months, temporarily filling a vacancy while continuing his search for a longer-term appointment. Mr. Trump said he has named Stephen Miran, the chair of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, to fill a seat vacated by governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee who is stepping down Friday. Mr. Miran, if approved by the Senate, will serve until January 31, 2026. The appointment is Mr. Trump's first opportunity to exert more control over the Fed, one of the few remaining independent federal agencies. Mr. Trump has relentlessly criticized the current chair, Jerome Powell, for keeping short-term interest rates unchanged, calling him 'a stubborn MORON' last week on social media. Mr. Miran has been a major defender of Mr. Trump's income-tax cuts and tariff hikes, arguing that the combination will generate enough economic growth to reduce budget deficits. He also has played down the risk of Mr. Trump's tariffs generating higher inflation, a major source of concern for Mr. Powell. Trump calls on Federal Reserve board to usurp Powell and take control of central bank The choice of Mr. Miran may heighten concerns about political influence over the Fed, which has traditionally been insulated from day-to-day politics. Fed independence is generally seen as key to ensuring that it can take difficult steps to combat inflation, such as raising interest rates, that politicians might be unwilling to take. Federal Reserve governors vote on all the central bank's interest-rate decisions, as well as its financial regulatory policies. Mr. Miran's nomination, if approved, would add a near-certain vote in support of lower interest rates. Ms. Kugler had echoed Mr. Powell's view that the Fed should keep rates unchanged and further evaluate the impact of tariffs on the economy before making any moves. Mr. Trump has said he will appoint a Fed chair who will cut interest rates, which he says will reduce the borrowing costs of the federal government's huge US$36-trillion debt pile. Mr. Trump also wants lower rates to boost moribund home sales, which have been held back partly by higher mortgage costs. Yet the Fed doesn't directly set longer-term interest rates for things like home and car purchases. At its most recent meeting last week Fed officials kept their key rate unchanged at 4.3 per cent, where it has stood after three rate cuts late last year. But two Fed governors – Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman – dissented from that decision. Both were appointed by Mr. Trump in his first term. Opinion: A scary chart shows why diminished Fed independence may outlast this administration Still, even with Mr. Miran on the board, 12 Fed officials vote on interest-rate policy and many remain concerned that Mr. Trump's sweeping tariffs could push inflation higher in the coming months. Mr. Miran could be renominated to a longer term on the Fed once his initial appointment is concluded, or replaced by another nominee. Mr. Powell's term as chair ends in May 2026. Yet, Mr. Powell could remain on the board of governors until January 2028, even after he steps down as chair. That would deny, or at least delay, an opportunity for Mr. Trump to appoint an additional policymaker to the Fed's board. As a result, one option for Mr. Trump is to appoint Mr. Powell's eventual replacement as chair to replace Ms. Kugler once the remaining four months of her term are completed. Leading candidates for that position include Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor from 2006 to 2011 and frequent critic of Mr. Powell's chairmanship, and Kevin Hassett, another top Trump economic adviser. Another option for the White House would be to select Mr. Waller, who is already on the board, to replace Mr. Powell, and who has been widely mentioned as a candidate. Marco Casiraghi, senior economist at investment bank Evercore ISI, noted that the choice of Mr. Miran could be a positive sign for Mr. Waller, because Mr. Trump did not take the opportunity to nominate someone likely to become chair once Mr. Powell steps down. After the July jobs report was released last Friday, Mr. Miran criticized the Fed chair for not cutting benchmark interest rates, saying that Mr. Trump had been proven correct on inflation during his first term and would be again. The President has pressured Mr. Powell to cut short-term interest rates under the belief that his tariffs will not fuel higher inflationary pressures. 'What we're seeing now in real time is a repetition once again of this pattern where the president will end up having been proven right,' Mr. Miran said on MSNBC. 'And the Fed will, with a lag and probably quite too late, eventually catch up to the President's view.' Last year, Mr. Miran expressed support for some unconventional economic views in commentaries on the Fed and international economics. Last November, he proposed measures that would reduce the value of the dollar in order to boost exports, reduce imports and cut the U.S. trade deficit, a top priority for Mr. Trump. He also suggested tariffs could push U.S. trading partners, such as the European Union and Japan, to accept a cheaper dollar as part of a 'Mar-a-Lago Accord,' an echo of the Plaza Accord reached in the 1980s that lowered the dollar's value. As a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, Mr. Miran in March, 2024 also proposed overhauling the Fed's governance, including by making it easier for a president to fire members of its board of governors. 'The Fed's current governance has facilitated groupthink that has led to significant monetary-policy errors,' Mr. Miran wrote in a paper with Dan Katz, now a top official at the Treasury Department.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Letters to the editor, Aug. 20: ‘Complaints about the inconvenience caused by the Air Canada strike … inconvenience was the point'
Re 'Trump's Ukraine talks show how the global order is changing' (Aug. 19): Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump's art of the deal has been nowhere to be seen. To add insult to Ukraine's injury, a wanted war criminal was welcomed on U.S. soil akin to a normal head of state deserving of respect. Meanwhile, Russia continues its indiscriminate attacks against Ukraine's critical infrastructure and civilians. By bending to Mr. Trump's ill-considered manner of 'negotiating,' the West, including Canada, is debasing further its values and ceding international leadership to thugs. All this to say that power rules, not fairness and justice. That the United States is no longer a force for good in the world is depressing. As a middle power, Canada, sadly, cannot do much but watch with disgust. Stéphane Lefebvre PhD; former federal strategic and intelligence analyst; Ottawa In 1994, the Budapest Memorandum was signed. In exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons, Russia, the United States and Britain provided security assurances, including promises not to use force against its sovereignty and borders. But Russia walked into Crimea in 2014 and neither the U.S. nor Britain did much. There were ongoing skirmishes in the Donbas region from 2014 to 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine again. The U.S. and Britain provided some weapons, but only ever just enough to keep the fight going. It is now two decades that tiny Ukraine has been trying to force mighty Russia to leave its territory. I feel ill when hearing about the need for Ukraine to give up territory. Why? I was not surprised Russia broke its Budapest promise, but now the U.S. has as well. Is there any paper signed by an American president that is worth anything? Marilyn Dolenko Ottawa Ukraine should reduce its dependence on Western aid and move swiftly toward self-sufficiency. Bill Browder, former major investor in Russia and longtime Kremlin critic, has urged the West to empower Ukraine by seizing frozen Russian state assets. Yet the G7, controlling about US$300-billion, has agreed only to use the interest as collateral for a US$50-billion loan. I find legal and financial objections to seizing the full assets overstated. Russia's invasion is indisputably illegal, the resulting devastation undeniable. And the financial system has already absorbed the freeze with minimal disruption. If the United States retreats, European countries should seize their $200-billion-plus share and transfer it to Ukraine with full discretion to pursue a just and lasting peace. Patrick Bendin Ottawa Re 'Path to peace?' (Letters, Aug. 19): A letter-writer concludes that reparations were not imposed on Germany after the Second World War 'to create a client state for U.S. industry and to prop up an ally in the face of the Soviet Union.' George Kennan, the U.S. diplomat and architect of postwar Soviet containment policy, recognized that the war-devastated Soviet Union posed no immediate military threat, but rather would try to take advantage of devastated Western European economies to insinuate itself into that sphere. France and Italy, for example, had large communist parties ripe for Soviet influence. Hence the Marshall Plan, perhaps the most successful U.S. foreign aid program ever implemented. In this sense, Western security considerations trumped narrow U.S. economic self-interest. Kathryn Vogel Toronto Re 'Air Canada set to resume operations after flight attendants' strike ends' (Online, Aug. 19): In response to complaints about the inconvenience caused by the Air Canada strike and at the risk of dealing in the obvious: Inconvenience was the point. Craig Sims Kingston I'm from New Waterford, a coal-mining town on Cape Breton famous for unionization and its fight for workers' rights. My grandfather was a coal miner. I was lucky: I got an education and a good job with Air Canada. Many think I live a life of luxury because I travel for a living. The reality is I've missed weddings, anniversaries and most holidays. There is higher risk of some cancers because of my work environment and a lack of sleep throwing off my circadian rhythm. I'm not asking for pity. I'm grateful to Air Canada, but it's not about me. It's about the working conditions for our entire group. We cannot sacrifice our futures for expediency. As it turns out, being miles underground or up in the air are not dissimilar. The one constant is that I'm from Cape Breton, and I vow to fight the good fight. In solidarity. Blair Boudreau Toronto Once again, Canada's unwillingness to become more globally competitive within an industry punished the Canadian consumer. If some foreign airlines were able to transport travellers within the country on at least select routes to begin with, we would have seen how quickly collective agreements could be reached in the first place. Stephen Flamer Vancouver Re 'To recognize aboriginal title is not to abolish property rights, but to uphold them' (Opinion, Aug. 16): The trial judge refused to let British Columbia argue 'bona fide purchasers for value' on behalf of third-party private landholders, whose interests were thus unfairly unrepresented at trial. The Section 35-based legal concepts of 'the honour of the Crown,' 'consult and accommodate' and the sui generis Crown fiduciary duty were only developed after Section 35 was enacted in 1982. Yet the trial judge applied them retroactively to all Crown conduct going back to 1853, a long period of Canada's development as a modern nation when these legal concepts were unheard of. The city of Richmond, B.C, puts the value of its private and public municipal infrastructure at $100-billion. There are only about 8,000 citizens of the Cowichan Nation, thus raising the prospect of each one claiming windfall compensation of more than $12-million each. The above and many other reasons compel Canada, the province and Richmond to appeal this judgment. Peter Best Sudbury Re 'A land-claims ruling shakes the foundation of property rights in B.C.' (Aug. 15): 'Indigenous groups have laid claim to vast swaths of the province, including land occupied by millions of homeowners.' No doubt similar thoughts have occurred to First Nations, which might be phrased thus: 'Settler groups have laid claim to vast swaths of the province, including land occupied by millions of people.' The sanctity of title is based on the seizing of unceded traditional territory by the Crown and Hudson's Bay Company. The foundation for property rights in British Columbia, as interpreted by settler law for less than 200 years, is indeed tenuous. I find the judge correct in her ruling. I do not support the appeal by the provincial government. Charlotte Masemann Victoria Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@
