'We do not want him to go': Toronto students rally to reinstate principal
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National Post
37 minutes ago
- National Post
From Alberta to Stephen Colbert: An imagined look at who Mark Carney will offer statehood to next
This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney promise to recognize a Palestinian state provided that its leaders can abandon violence and become a liberal democracy — and do so by the end of the summer. Article content Carney's conditions are basically impossible: Gaza remains in control of a literal terrorist organization that refuses to surrender, while the Palestinian areas of the West Bank are in the hands of a Palestinian Authority that has suspended elections since 2005. Article content Article content The other easy critique — and the one being made by the Conservatives — is that it rewards terrorism. For decades, Canada has explicitly rejected unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, including in a House of Commons vote held just last year. The only reason Carney is breaking with this precedent is because of a series of events that kicked off with the slaughter and mass-rape of hundreds of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. Article content Article content At a time when Canada faces threats unlike any since the Second World War, complete national unity is an imperative. This may include the extension of self-determination to regions such as Alberta which pose barriers to this. However, this is predicated on Alberta's agreement to much-needed social and political reforms. If, in the next six weeks, the province can suspend its oil sector, transition its vehicle fleet to 50 per cent EVs and phase out its environmentally destructive beef sector in favour of more sustainable nutritive options such as quinoa or jicama we will recognize a State of Alberta at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Article content Article content Afghanistan Article content Article content The worsening condition of Afghan women and girls leaves no room for delay in a co-ordinated international action to extend peace and security in the recently established Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. For this reason, Canada will recognize Afghanistan and its Taliban government and urge our European partners to do the same. That is, if the Taliban government can sign a memorandum of understanding to recognize the systemic equity-hostile dogma of its current policies and commit to hiring marginalized Afghans in at least 11.5 per cent of civil service positions. Article content Puerto Rico and Stephen Colbert Article content Bullies like Donald Trump only understand strength. This is why, in a bold show of diplomatic convening power, Canada will unilaterally recognize Puerto Rico as the 51st U.S. state, and immediately petition Washington to make space for Puerto Rican representatives in its Senate and House of Representatives. We will also be instructing our diplomats to indefinitely continue recognizing Stephen Colbert as host of The Late Show.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Everything you need to know about Ontario's bike-lane ruling
Article content With that, individual cyclists and an organization that advocates for cyclists in Toronto filed a lawsuit in January 2025, claiming that this amendment is a violation of Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it would infringe the right to life and security of the person by putting cyclists at greater risk of injury and death. They also argued that restoring the lanes for motor vehicles will not alleviate traffic congestion, which was the provincial government's stated purpose with its legislative changes. Article content The government said that if the applicant's position was found correct, it would make all traffic decisions subject to Charter scrutiny. The Ontario government also argued that if bike lanes were removed, it would help solve traffic issues in Toronto. Article content In April 2025, Schabas granted an injunction, which prevented the government from removing the bike lanes until a decision had been reached. Article content In June 2025, the amendments announced in November 2024 were changed by the government. Now, instead of requiring that the bike lanes be removed, the amendment stated that it would 'restore a lane for motor vehicle traffic … by reconfiguring the bicycle lanes.' With that, the provincial government said the lawsuit was no longer relevant, as the amendment was differently worded. Article content Article content (The court only found out a month after the changes were enacted.) Article content However, according to Schabas, the new changes made no meaningful change to the law or the dispute between the parties. Article content After reviewing the evidence from both parties, Schabas said that evidence shows that restoring lanes for cars will not result in less congestion, as it will induce more people to use cars and any reduction in congestion would only be over a short distance and, eventually, will lead to more congestion. The evidence provided by cyclists also showed that bike lanes can actually help alleviate traffic congestion, as it offers another safe option of transportation in the city. Article content 'The evidence presented by the (Ontario government) consists of weak anecdotal evidence and expert opinion which is unsupported,' said Schabas in his decision. Article content According to Schabas, the government has the right to make decisions about roads and traffic infrastructure, but if it puts people at risk, its actions can be restricted by the Charter. Article content Article content That has been one of the main criticisms of the ruling. However, Bruce Ryder, a professor emeritus of law at Osgoode Hall Law School, says that's not quite accurate. Article content 'We don't have a right to bike lanes … but we do have a right to not have governments taking actions, including the removal of bike lanes, that put lives and safety at risk,' said Ryder. Article content Ryder said that if there was evidence showing that removing bike lanes actually helped improve traffic flow, there would be no issue with having them removed. But because that is not the case, the government cannot prove that the decision achieves its goals. Article content 'If they (the government) did have evidence that removing the bike lanes would improve traffic flow, and if they did take steps to ensure that there were alternative routes that would protect people's safety, there would be no problem. There would be no constitutional issue,' said Ryder. Article content Schabas also said that the cyclists are not asking for the whole bill to be changed or for more bike lanes to be built, but just that these specific bike lanes are kept in the way they are. Article content When did Toronto build these bike lanes? Article content Since 2016, the city of Toronto has been expanding bike lanes in the city. In a 2024 report, the city outlined the investment for bike lanes and bike share, and said that by having that, Toronto would be a more successful city by giving people more choices to get around. Article content Since the bike lanes project started, there has been a decrease in traffic accidents involving cyclists, and an increase in the number of people using bikes to get around, according to the evidence presented in court. Article content The bike lane on Bloor Street. was completed in late 2016. The bike lanes on both University Avenue and Yonge Street. were first installed through ActiveTO, a project created by the city during the COVID-19 pandemic. About $27 million was spent to install these target bike lanes in three of the main roads of Toronto. Article content What were the reactions to the plan to remove the bike lanes in Toronto? Article content In statements, comments and open letters, Ontario Traffic Control, Ontario Professional Planners Institute, 120 physicians and researchers from the University of Toronto, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and Toronto Parking Authority were all concerned about the bike lanes removal, claiming it would actually make traffic worse and give less transportation options to citizens. Article content The City of Toronto released reports showing why bike lanes are important and how there was nowhere to put them in the city without redesigning the road system. Mayor Olivia Chow also asked the provincial government to respect the local government's decision making around cycling infrastructure. Article content At the request of the provincial government, CIMA, an engineering company, provided a report on the matter. In the report, they said that while restoring a lane of motor vehicle traffic may seem to reduce traffic over a short distance, over a longer distance the benefits of it could not even be noticed due to other factors that influence traffic, like on-street parking, transit stops, bridges, and delays at intersections. Article content Schabas noted that just like internal advice before Bill 212 was passed, the CIMA report was only produced by the government when required in this court application and not before the bill was passed. Article content At the same time, the provincial government provided evidence explaining how the restoration of a lane for motor vehicles would help fix traffic in Toronto. However, Schabas said in his decision that the statements of Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, the minister of transportation, and Premier Doug Ford are not supported by any data or internal analysis or advice. Article content Article content The government also claimed that only 1.2 per cent of trips are made by bicycle, which is inconsistent with the data the government had at the time. Just in June 2024, there were more than 760,000 trips made with bike share in the city. Article content The counsel for the provincial government argued that the experts consulted by the cyclists in this case are cycling advocates and that would make them biased. However, all the claims made by the experts in the case were made based on research, Schabas concluded. Article content What it might mean for other provinces/cities with similar plans Article content Following in Ontario's footsteps, the Alberta government is looking into making some changes in bike lanes in both Calgary and Edmonton. Article content Despite the recent developments in Ontario, Devin Dreeshen, Alberta's transportation minister, said that it's not ruling out the removal of bike lanes. The minister had a meeting with Calgary's mayor, Jyoti Gondek, to discuss the future of bike lanes in the city. Differently from Ontario, the two seemed to keep the conversation open to finding a solution for it.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Jordan's Principle office in Brandon shuts down over federal funding cuts
Social Sharing A Jordan's Principle office serving urban children and families from Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation and Birdtail Sioux First Nation in Brandon, Man. has shut its doors, citing a major reduction in federal funding. Canupawakpa Chief Raymond Brown told CBC News the First Nation saw federal funding for Jordan's Principle cut by millions. "We couldn't afford to keep that office open," Brown said. The Dakota Urban Jordan's Principle office, located at 1209 Richmond Ave., opened in October 2024 and closed in the spring, forcing Canupawakpa to lay off five employees. Brown said the closure of the urban office marks a significant blow to the delivery of services under Jordan's Principle — an initiative to ensure First Nations youth can access essential health and social services without delay or disruption, with jurisdictional questions over which government should pay to be worked out later. In February, the federal government announced changes to Jordan's Principle that narrow the range of eligible requests. Indigenous Services Canada, which has been handling funding requests, says it's dealing with an enormous backlog of about 140,000, and in March announced operational and eligibility changes, amid concerns the funding was not being used as intended. CBC contacted Indigenous Services Canada for comment, but did not receive a statement by publication time. The federal government's funding cuts have left the Dakota Urban Jordan's Principle office unable to continue operations, despite growing demands, Brown said. He estimates around 100 families consistently visited the office. The closure means families and children will lose access to essential services like school lunches, teaching assistants and transportation, Brown said. The decision to close the office and lay off around five workers happened before her election in April, said Birdtail Sioux First Nation Chief Tréchelle Bunn. She said Jordan's Principle funding is still being processed and Birdtail is still receiving notices of how much the community will receive this year. While there's still a Jordan's Principle office in Birdtail Sioux First Nation, the funding cuts are making some supports and services inaccessible for urban members, she said. "It's really unfortunate and it's kind of out of our control at this point," Bunn said. New funding model needed, says chief Bunn said First Nation leaders, communities and families were not fairly consulted when it comes to Jordan's Principle funding changes. She said the government needs to be held accountable for this. "A buzzword, I think, that is often used is a 'nation to nation relationship,'" Bunn said. "For that to happen, there needs to actually be communication and consultation with the leaders and community members." The funding changes to Jordan's Principle are part of a long history of the federal government imposing their own ideas of what First Nation children need, cutting out First Nation leadership and families who know first-hand what's best, said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. "These conversations are not happening with our leadership, with our families," Wilson said. "These conversations are happening in government offices where they are not seeing the direct impacts of the lack of services and support ... that's also very frustrating." Canupawakpa still has an on-reserve Jordan's Principle office, Brown said, but it is considerably smaller with fewer services. He warned any medical help through the service will now need to come with doctors' approval. That will make life harder for families, he said. In Canupawakpa, they want their own funding service that's specific to the Dakota people, Brown said. Jordan's Principle had too many restrictions and they need something that works better for the community. "We can handle our own funding and our own finances how we want," Brown said. "This is our country."
