
Mark Carney's government reviewing suggested changes to infrastructure bill
OTTAWA — The Liberal government is reviewing a series of changes to add oversight and restrain some — but not all — of the extraordinary powers created under its controversial legislation to fast-track major development projects.
The proposed law, Bill C-5, has sparked warnings of Indigenous resistance in the coming weeks, along with condemnation from environmental groups, and some reservations within the Liberal caucus. But the government insists the legislation is necessary in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, after the Liberals won a minority government in the April 28 election while promising to supercharge economic growth and reduce Canada's reliance on the unpredictable United States.

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Canada News.Net
3 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Nasdaq Composite rises 25 points in lackluster day for U.S. markets
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks made only minor moves in both directions,Thursday, as investors fretted about the Israel-Iran conflict and speculation the U,S. may once more be going to war in the Middle East. The U.S. dollar gained ground as European shares fell sharply after a sell-off in travel-related stocks. Skies over Europe were less crowded Thursday as flights were cancelled. United Airlines announced it would stop flying to Dubai. Meantime the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 4.25 percent on Thursday. "Underlying UK GDP growth appears to have remained weak, and the labour market has continued to loosen, leading to clearer signs that a margin of slack has opened up over time," the central bank said in a statement Thurrsday. "Measures of pay growth have continued to moderate and, as in May, the Committee expects a significant slowing over the rest of the year," the bank said. In the U.S., President Donald Trump slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates a day earlier, a decision made by the Fed's FOMC committee. Nonetheless the president , who believes rates should be 2.5 percent lower, referred to Mr Powell, as "not a smart person," and "a real dummy," in a midnight post on Truth Social. U.S. Markets Show Resilience Thursday The Standard and Poor's 500 (^GSPC) edged slightly lower, closing at 5,980.87, down 1.85 points or 0.03 percent, as trading volume reached 2.942 billion shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dipped 44.14 points, or 0.10 percent, settling at 42,171.66, with 487.536 million shares traded. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC) bucked the trend, rising 25.18 points, or 0.13 percent, to 19,546.27, on a heavy volume of 7.151 billion shares. U.S. Dollar Split, Major Currencies as Euro and Pound Gain Ground Thursday's foreign exchange market saw the U.S. dollar firming against several major currencies, while the euro and British pound posted modest gains. Euro and Pound Edge Higher The euro (EUR/USD) rose 0.12 percent against the US dollar, trading at 1.1492, as investors weighed recent economic data from the Eurozone. Meanwhile, the British pound (GBP/USD) climbed 0.35 percent to 1.3464, supported by expectations of a more hawkish Bank of England stance, after the central bank left interest rates unchanged at 4.25 percent at its monthly meeting on Thursday. The U.S. dollar (USD/JPY) strengthened 0.26 percent against the Japanese yen, reaching 145.47, as traders anticipated further divergence between Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan policies. The greenback also advanced 0.08 percent against the Canadian dollar (USD/CAD), settling at 1.37042, amid stregthening oil prices. The U.S. dollar (USD/CHF) dipped 0.12 percent against the Swiss franc, trading at 0.8164, as the safe-haven currency found some support. However, the Australian dollar (AUD/USD) fell sharply by 0.51 percent to 0.6474, pressured by weaker commodity demand. The New Zealand dollar (NZD/USD) also declined 0.66 percent to 0.5987, reflecting broader risk-off sentiment. Global Markets Close Mixed on Thursday as European and Asian Indices Lag Thursday's trading session saw a mixed performance across global stock markets, with UK, European and Asian markets closing with significant losses. Canadian Markets Canada's S&P/TSX Composite (^GSPTSE) dipped 53.85 points, or 0.20 percent, to 26,506.00, with 86.945 million shares traded. UK and European Markets Slide Indices struggled, with the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) dropping 51.67 points, or 0.58 percent, to 8,791.80. Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) tumbled 260.43 points, or 1.12 percent, to 23,057.38, while in France Thursday, the CAC 40 (^FCHI) fell 102.67 points, or 1.34 percent, to 7,553.45. The broader EURO STOXX 50 (^STOXX50E) declined 69.88 points, or 1.33 percent, closing at 5,197.03. Belgium's BEL 20 (^BFX) saw a modest drop of 14.28 points, or 0.32 percent, ending at 4,411.71. Asian and Pacific Markets Under Pressure Asian markets faced broad declines, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (^HSI) plunging 472.95 points, or 1.99 percent, to 23,237.74. In China, the Shanghai Composite ( dropped 26.70 points, or 0.79 percent, to 3,362.11, with 2.878 billion shares traded. Japan's Nikkei 225 (^N225) declined 396.81 points, or 1.02 percent, to 38,488.34. In Singapore the STI Index (^STI) slipped 26.63 points, or 0.68 percent, to 3,894.18, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 (^AXJO) dipped 7.50 points, or 0.09 percent, to 8,523.70. The broader Australian All Ordinaries (^AORD) fell 16.50 points, or 0.19 percent, to 8,741.40. India's S&P BSE SENSEX (^BSESN) retreated 82.79 points, or 0.10 percent, to 81,361.87, while in Indonesia, the IDX Composite (^JKSE) dropped sharply by 139.15 points, or 1.96 percent, to 6,968.64. Malaysia's KLSE (^KLSE) lost 10.51 points, or 0.70 percent, closing at 1,501.44. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 (^NZ50) declined 58.27 points, or 0.46 percent, to 12,569.05, while South Korea's KOSPI (^KS11) managed a slight gain of 5.55 points, or 0.19 percent, ending at 2,977.74. Taiwan's TWSE (^TWII) fell sharply by 353.23 points, or 1.58 percent, to 22,003.50. Middle East and Africa Egypt's EGX 30 (^CASE30) suffered a steep decline, losing 590.60 points, or 1.92 percent, to 30,248.40, with 169.507 million shares changing hands. Israel's TA-125 (^ a standout, rising 28.40 points, or 1.00 percent, to 2,868.81. South Africa's JSE Top 40 (^ fell 52.25 points, or 1.00 percent, to 5,178.99.


Canada News.Net
3 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Israel to continue attacks on Iran while Trump takes time out
WASHINGTON, DC - In a bid to defuse speculation, U.S. President Donald Trump says he will make his decision on whether to have the U.S. go to war with Iran within two weeks. The delay will also allow negotiations to take place, the president said late Thursday. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," the president said in his statement, which was relayed to reporters by press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the White House briefing room on Thursday.. It is not known whether Itan will agree to such talks, or who the U.S. will negotiate with as Israel last Friday assassinated the lead negotiator in the U.S.-Iran negotiations, in its first wave of airstrikes. Israel also assassinated the lead negotiator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, also brokered by the United States. In that event, the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, took place in Iran. Haniyeh was in Iran for the funeral of the former president who had died in a plane crash, described at the time as an accident. The events that have followed have thrown suspicion on that account. Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas politicalm bureau, was even believed by Israel not to have known of the 7 October 2023 attacks in advance. Nonetheless, as he endeavoured to reach a ceasefire, Israel assassinated his two sons and 4 grandchildren, before deciding to take out the man himself. When ceasefire negotiations with Lebanon's Hezbollah got underway, as they made progress Israel assassinated the the main decision-maker, Secretary-General of that group, Hssan Nasrallah, killing more than 200 others in a massive bombing in Beirut in the process. Who will now take the lead in negotiations with the U.S. is not known, but it is likely he will need to put his oon affairs in order first. Meantime the pressure on Donald Trump to enter the war with Iran, and the pressure not to has escalated. While many of Israel's backers such as Senators Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz are on board, commentators such as Tucker Carlson and Steven Bannon are firmly opposed. Many critics question the validity of Israel's claims that Iran is close to having nuclear weapons when the country denies even having any ambitions for one. The IAEA has found no evidence of Iran pursuing nuclear weapons, nor does U.S. intelligence. It is only Israel that puts forward the case. Many in the U.S. fear Iran will be Trump's Iraq if he goes down tha track of attacking Iran, without there being any credible evidence that there are nuclear weapons, or even plans for them. Much of the intelligence that was presented by the Bush-Cheney administration to justify the Iraq invasion came from Israel. Some say now it was flawed, but most people around the world know it was largely fabricated and manipulated. Senator Bernie Sanders has warned the U.S, not to go down the same path and not to pay heed to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has been crying wolf on Iran's supposed nuclear weapons for more than 3 decades.. "In 2002, in testimony to Congress urging the United States to go to war in Iraq, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated: "There is no question whatsoever that Saddam is seeking… nuclear weapons…. If you take out Saddam's regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations,"" Sanders said in s statement Thursday. "Netanyahu was wrong. Very wrong. The war in Iraq resulted in 4,492 U.S. military deaths, over 32,000 wounded, and a cost of roughly three trillion of thousands of Iraqis also died as a result of that tragic war. Netanyahu was wrong regarding the war in Iraq. He is wrong now. We must not get involved in Netanyahu's war against Iran," Sanders said.


Calgary Herald
5 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Bruce Starlight honoured for work in preserving Tsuut'ina language with postage stamp
Starting June 20, Canadians buying stamps for their mail will notice new faces on the postage — including that of Indigenous leader Bruce Starlight. Article content Starlight will have his face on a stamp, alongside Julia Haogak and Sophie McDougall, as tribute for their work in preserving the culture and languages of their Inuit, Metis and First Nations communities. Article content Article content The stamps are to be unveiled separately, with the one featuring Starlight unveiled Thursday at the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex and Jim Starlight Centre in Tsuut'ina Nation. Article content The stamps featuring Haogak and McDougall were unveiled June 13 and 17, respectively. Article content Article content 'Not everybody gets the honour to be put on a postage stamp,' Starlight said during Thursday's unveiling. Article content One of the last remaining fluent speakers of the Tsúut'ínà language, Starlight founded an institution in 2008 dedicated to instructing others in the language and developing materials for Tsúut'ínà instruction, including dictionaries and recordings. He served numerous roles since the 1970s as councillor, language commissioner for the Tsúut'ínà chief and council, and the first elected Indigenous director on the Calgary Stampede board of directors. After his retirement in 2022, he continued to advocate and advise on Indigenous issues. Article content His most recent contribution is a collaboration on a collection of traditional narratives and historical accounts in Tsúut'ínà and a Tsúut'ínà-to-English glossary. Article content Article content 'There's very few of us left,' he said, of those who can speak the language. 'And of the 24, only 12 of us can get around. So we're saving an actual dead language.' Article content Article content Tyler Thomas, director of Indigenous and Northern Affairs at Canada Post, said the unveiling comes as part of the company's annual initiative to release an Indigenous leader stamp series. Article content Now in its fourth year, the company works with the Assembly of First Nations, Metis National Council and the Inuit Tapirit Kanatami to identify individuals worthy of being placed on the stamps. Article content