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Airline celebrates Pride month with 'all-2SLGBTQIA flight'

Airline celebrates Pride month with 'all-2SLGBTQIA flight'

Yahoo2 days ago

Air Canada celebrated its "first all-2SLGBTQIA+" in posts on social media Monday.
"Our first all-2SLGBTQIA+ flight was a heartfelt celebration reflecting our unwavering commitment to inclusivity and equality, in the air and on the ground," Air Canada said in a post on X, accompanied by a video.
2SLGBTQIA+ stands for two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual. The plus sign is meant to show the various ways people express themselves under the 2SLGBTQIA+ name.
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"I thought it was a great initiative for the whole community," Jean-François, identified as a station attendant, said in the video. "It's somewhat of a thrill being on this flight today."
Another station attendant, René JR, felt similarly.
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"I'm here to support my daughter," he said. "One of my four children is part of this community. When I saw there was an opportunity to support her even more, I signed up for it right away."
Juan, a first officer, also featured in the Air Canada video, said, "What this means today is that this is a really special moment. It has to do with visibility, with the possibility of telling everyone that we truly feel welcome and accepted for who we are."
Some reactions to the post on X, however, were not as positive.
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Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters, posted on X, "This is a parody, right?"
Canadian blogger Mark Slapinski said, "Air Canada has gone FULLY WOKE. Raise your hand if you'll never fly on their airlines AGAIN."
Fox News Digital reached out to Air Canada for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.Original article source: Airline celebrates Pride month with 'all-2SLGBTQIA flight'

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Fact check: More people leave than arrive on current youth mobility schemes
Fact check: More people leave than arrive on current youth mobility schemes

Yahoo

time37 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Fact check: More people leave than arrive on current youth mobility schemes

On the BBC's Today programme on May 19, from around two hours and 21 minutes, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the UK's youth mobility arrangements with other countries reduce net migration. Asked 'how do you know there will be fewer people coming here than leaving?' Mr Reynolds said: 'Well, I've got 13 schemes in action already and that's the evidence of them.' He later added: 'I tell you the evidence of the current schemes just so you know is that they're a net negative on immigration.' Around 24,400 youth mobility visas were issued to people wanting to come to the UK in 2024. Although figures are patchy for how many Britons go abroad, data from just three countries – Australia, New Zealand and Canada – suggests that 68,495 British citizens travelled to those countries in 2024 (the Australian data is for the 12 months to the end of June 2024). That would suggest that Mr Reynolds is right. However it does not take into account that Britons going abroad on these temporary visas will sooner or later come back, as will those who come to the UK. It is also not clear that this pattern will repeat in any similar deal with the EU. The UK population is much larger than those of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, so there are more Britons who can go to those countries than can come here. With the EU that is reversed. How many people come to the UK on a youth mobility visa? Government data shows there were 24,437 people who were handed a youth mobility visa last year. Most of these were from one of the 13 countries with which the UK has a reciprocal arrangement. A small handful of visas – 131 in total – were for people from countries other than the 13. The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford has suggested that these are the result of errors in data recording, or due to people having dual nationalities. The top three countries that sent people to the UK on youth mobility visas between January and December 2024 were Australia (9,754 visas), New Zealand (4,304 visas) and Canada (3,060 visas). How many Britons go abroad on youth mobility type schemes? Figures are patchy on how many British people have gone abroad on a youth mobility scheme. The Department for Business and Trade was unable to share data. Australia publishes a twice-yearly report into what it calls its working holiday visa programme. That is the Australian equivalent to the UK's youth mobility scheme. The latest such report covered the 12 months to the end of June 2024. That report showed that Australia issued 48,973 working holiday visas to UK citizens. Data from New Zealand is available on the website of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Using its migration data explorer produces a spreadsheet which shows that there were 9,486 working holiday visas granted by New Zealand to UK citizens in between January and December 2024. Canadian data does not appear to be publicly available, but the figures were provided to the PA news agency by the Canadian Department for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. The data shows that in 2024 there were 9,972 work permits issued to UK and UK overseas territories citizens under the country's working holiday scheme, and a further 64 people had their permits extended. How do incoming youth mobility visas compare to outgoing? Net migration is a figure which subtracts the number of people coming into the country from the number of people leaving. The data cited above suggests that while 9,754 Australians came to the UK on youth mobility visas, 48,973 Britons went in the opposite direction. It must be noted that the time periods measured here are different, the Australian data is for the 12 months ending June 2024, while the UK data is for the 12 months ending December 2024. Meanwhile the data suggests that 4,304 New Zealanders came to the UK while 9,486 Britons went in the other direction. Data further shows that 3,060 Canadians came to the UK in 2024, while 9,972 Britons went in the other direction. This suggests that for each of these three countries the youth mobility schemes are – as Mr Reynolds suggested – reducing net migration. In fact Australia alone appears to receive twice as many Britons (48,973) as all people who the UK receives from all 13 countries added together (24,437). However, it should be noted that because youth mobility schemes are time-limited, Britons going abroad and people who have come to the UK on such visas will eventually be forced to return. This means the UK's inbound migration figures should take into account not just Australians and Canadians – for example – coming to the UK, but also Britons returning from Australia and Canada after their youth mobility visas expire. If it is assumed that everyone returns then over a longer time frame the youth mobility programmes will have a neutral impact on net immigration because every Briton who leaves the UK will come back and every non-Briton who comes to the UK will leave. This does not take into account the people – both Britons abroad and non-Britons in the UK – who apply for a different visa to stay in their adopted country. Do these conclusions also apply to the EU scheme? The impact on net migration of the potential EU scheme will depend on the details of the agreement between London and Brussels. Madeleine Sumption, director at the Migration Observatory, told the PA news agency that the size of the cap on the programme would be vital for the impact on net migration. She said the fact the UK sends more people to Australia, Canada and New Zealand than it receives from them 'probably results from the fact that the UK has a much larger population than they do, so we just have more young people potentially interested in moving'. With the EU scheme, Ms Sumption said, the population sizes are flipped – that is to say the EU's population is much bigger than the UK, leaving more young people who might be willing to come here. Therefore the smaller the cap on the number of visas is, the more likely both the EU and UK will fill their quotas. If both fill their quotas – and the quotas going both ways are the same – then the impact on net migration will be zero. However if the cap is large then it is more likely that there will not be as many Britons going to Europe as are coming in the opposite direction, which will bring up net migration. But, as with the existing schemes, both Britons in Europe and Europeans in the UK will eventually have to leave unless they find another visa, which over the long run should mean that the programme has a neutral impact on net migration. BBC – Today, 19/05/2025 Migration Observatory – What is the Youth Mobility Scheme and how does it work? (archived) – Entry clearance visas granted outside the UK (archived page and spreadsheet, using tab Data_Vis_D02) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Visitor visa statistics (archived) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Working Holiday Maker visa program report (archived) New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – Migration data explorer (archived page and downloaded spreadsheet. To download the correct spreadsheet, instructions can be found at (archived): In dataset select 'W1 work decisions', in time period select 'calendar year' and in variables select 'application substream', 'application criteria' and 'decision type') Canadian data provided to PA news agency (archived) Madeleine Sumption profile (archived)

Ask Anna: How to make LGBTQ+ friends as an adult
Ask Anna: How to make LGBTQ+ friends as an adult

Chicago Tribune

timean hour ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Ask Anna: How to make LGBTQ+ friends as an adult

Dear Anna, My girlfriend and I (both 28, together for three years) have a solid group of friends from college and work, but we're the only queer couple in the bunch. While our friends are supportive and inclusive, we're craving connections with other LGBTQ+ people who just 'get it' without explanation. The problem is, we're not sure how to branch out at this stage of our lives. We're past the club scene and dating apps obviously aren't the right tool for friendship. We've tried a few LGBTQ+ meetups but they skewed much older than us. How do we find our queer chosen family without it feeling forced or like we're abandoning our current friendships? We want to expand our circle, not replace it, but we're struggling to know where to start. — Bad at Finding Friends Dear BFF, The struggle is real. Regardless of sexual orientation, the older we get, the harder it is to make friends. This isn't your fault. When we're younger, socialization is built into a lot of our activities. As we age, that becomes less and less true. And depending on where you live, finding friends can be especially challenging, particularly if you're in a monogamous relationship, aka not doing the dating-to-friends pipeline. I have vivid memories of being 22 and making lifelong friends with random people on the sidewalk at Pride, getting swept into their friend group like some beautiful gay fairy tale. (Fairy gayle?) Alas, those days are over. Is it because I'm too jaded to strike up conversations with strangers on sidewalks? Or because everyone's buried in their phones? Probably both, plus the fun crushing weight of adult social anxiety. But fear not! Alternatives do exist. However, like getting abs or learning TikTok dances, a certain amount of effort must be invested to get anything worthwhile out of it. Let's talk apps, because as the cliche goes, there's an app for everything now, including queer friendship. Lex has a friendship/community component that (in my opinion) works way better than using it for dating. It's text-first, so you actually get to know people's personalities instead of judging their bathroom mirror selfie game. Plus, you can join group chats based on your interests — comedy shows, writing fan-fiction, rock climbing, erotic crochet (I mean, one can dream), etc. HER also lets you switch to 'looking for friends' mode, though you'll still get the occasional person who clearly didn't read your profile and propositions you anyway. And Bumble BFF exists too — not exclusively queer, but you can be pretty obvious about what you're seeking. For IRL connections, think beyond those generic 'LGBTQ+ Meetup' events where everyone stands around awkwardly eating gluten-free wafers. Look for activity-based groups where friendship happens naturally while you're distracted by actually doing something fun. What would you enjoy doing anyway that just happens to be better with other queer humans? Book clubs where you can argue about whether that character was actually gay or just 'really good friends,' hiking groups, volunteer work that doesn't make you want to cry. Many cities have queer sports leagues ranging from serious competition to less serious. (Drunk pickleball, anyone?) Gay bar trivia nights are clutch — nothing bonds people like collectively failing to remember who won Eurovision in 2019. Pro tip: Become the lesbian social coordinator you wish existed in the world. Host a casual Pride potluck and make each of your straight friends bring one queer person they know. Your allies probably have LGBTQ+ coworkers, cousins or that person from their yoga class who has a labret piercing and a rainbow carabiner. You'd be amazed how connected we all are through the gay grapevine. Check out local LGBTQ+ centers too — many have age-specific events so you don't end up feeling like someone's mom at a college mixer or someone's granddaughter at a retirement home bingo night. (Though I've done both and can say these events also have their charms.) Remember: Building chosen family is a marathon, not a sprint (unless you're really lucky and stumble into a friend group at karaoke night/a magical sidewalk). Start with one genuine connection and let it take as long as it takes to bloom. The beauty of queer friendship is real — that instant 'finally, someone who gets it' feeling when you don't have to explain why your heart quickens during certain Chappell Roan songs or watching Cate Blanchett do literally anything. Be patient and keep searching. Happy Pride. ___

Insider buying of Canadian oil and gas stocks at 'some of highest levels we've seen' in 5 years: BMO
Insider buying of Canadian oil and gas stocks at 'some of highest levels we've seen' in 5 years: BMO

Yahoo

timean hour ago

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Insider buying of Canadian oil and gas stocks at 'some of highest levels we've seen' in 5 years: BMO

Insider stock buying among executives at Canadian oil and gas companies is near five-year highs, according to a BMO Capital Markets analyst who tallied up $54 million in open-market purchases in the 90 days since March 1. Canadian oil and gas stocks have been a rollercoaster ride for investors over the past three months. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs created unprecedented uncertainty for the industry, which relies on America as its top buyer of crude. At the same time, fears of a weaker economy due to global trade are weighing on forecasts for demand. BMO analyst Jeremy McCrea says $54 million in purchases over 90 days represents 'some of the highest levels we've seen over the past five years,' while demonstrating confidence for stocks at current prices. BMO says Canadian oil and gas company insiders purchased $12 million and $20 million worth of stock, respectively, in the same periods in 2024 and 2023. 'Although there are many reasons why insiders sell (tax implications, restricted stock units, etc.), there is one reason they buy,' McCrea wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday. 'That in turn should help build investor confidence, especially as it relates to investing alongside management, and ultimately, reassurance that there are no 'skeletons in the closet.'' He found the largest purchases by CEOs were from the top executives at PrairieSky Royalty ( Whitecap Resources ( and Tourmaline Oil ( 'The CEO of PrairieSky made one of his largest purchases within the sector, buying 72,000 shares or $1.68 million worth of stock at an average price of about $23.40 per share,' McCrea wrote. 'With the stock trading slightly below that price today, it grants investors the rare opportunity to come in alongside the CEO." According to BMO, Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose recently purchased about $2.21 million worth of his company's stock at an average price of about $63, and has been a regular buyer over the last several years. Whitecap CEO Grant B. Fagerheim reportedly added $1.34 million worth of his company's stock in the last week, following the close of the company's merger with Veren. 'This would also be one of the larger quarterly purchases made by Grant Fagerheim in his role as CEO of Whitecap,' McCrea wrote. Fagerheim has been CEO since 2009. In terms of total buying from insiders, BMO says Obsidian Energy ( ($16.8 million), Peyto Exploration & Development ( ($10.1 million), and Strathcona Resources ( ($7.2 million) were the top companies included in its analysis. Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

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