Woman shot with less-lethal shotgun by Toronto police, SIU investigating
Officers were responding reports of a woman assaulting someone near Woodbine Park. Arlyn McAdorey The Canadian Pres
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Calgary Herald
18 minutes ago
- Calgary Herald
Mayors form 'Bow Valley Corridor Alliance,' urge federal support for passenger rail link to Banff under Bill C-5
Article content The CABR project ticks all those boxes, Graham argued, as it involves collaboration with First Nations groups and financial viability once it connects to Calgary's airport. It would also create 'a unique asset' for Canadians and tourists alike to visit Banff National Park, while also reducing traffic congestion along the Trans-Canada Highway. Article content Gondek, at an unrelated news conference Wednesday, agreed with Graham, adding a passenger rail line would also help alleviate the housing crisis in Banff and Canmore by allowing the mountain towns' workforce to commute more easily. Article content 'Obviously, it's best if people can live in the community where they're working, but if we can help until they've got enough affordable housing solutions by having regional rail, that would be great,' she said. Article content Article content While the project will face engineering, financing and logistical hurdles, Graham argued it appears to have widespread public and governmental support and should not be an 'insurmountable' challenge. He noted that Canada's federal transportation minister, Chrystia Freeland, was in Banff this June to discuss the project with the Waterous family, who is behind Liricon Capital, as well as Town of Banff representatives. Article content Article content Including the initiative as a national interest project under Bill C-5 would help accelerate the lengthy approval and construction process, Graham added. Article content 'We hope it's a project that will complement other priorities of the province,' he said. 'We know they have priorities to build pipelines to tidewater on the West Coast and elsewhere. We believe this project actually provides an environmental counterbalance in light of the fact it's taking vehicles off the roads and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Article content 'It can be a showcase for energy transition.' Article content Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen, who is CCed in the mayors' joint letter, said the province's regional passenger rail master plan will be rolled out later this month, with the aim of informing government decisions before the government's 2026 budget is tabled. Article content Article content 'I know all provinces were asked to put together a list of what their priorities are, but to my knowledge, it's still unclear how many, if any, projects from any provinces are going to be included in this Bill 5 workaround,' he said. Article content Article content Although they expressed support for a passenger train from Calgary to Banff, the four mayors also said in their letter to Carney that it is essential to pursue a conventional rail line, rather than a high-speed rail project. A conventional passenger rail model would be delivered sooner and provide more flexibility for commuters while also providing economic opportunities to the Stoney Nakoda First Nations, the mayors said. Article content 'High-speed rail would adversely affect local economies between Calgary and Banff and provide no potential benefit whatsoever to the Stoney Nakoda First Nations,' they wrote. Article content Genung, the mayor of Cochrane, said a high-speed train that travels directly from Calgary's airport to Banff would miss out on the opportunity to create a regionalized line that serves both tourists and commuters.
National Observer
18 minutes ago
- National Observer
More Republican lawmakers demand legal action over Canadian wildfire smoke
More Republican lawmakers are calling out Canada because of wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states. "If Canada can't get these wildfires under control, they need to face real consequences," said Wisconsin state Rep. Calvin Callahan in a news release Wednesday. "We won't sit back while our air becomes a health hazard." Callahan joined other Republican state lawmakers from Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota in filing a formal complaint against Canada to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and the International Joint Commission, a binational organization that resolves disputes on shared water and air quality. The Republican lawmakers called for an investigation of Canada's wildfire management practices and for potential remedies under international law. Callahan joins a chorus of Republican politicians at other levels of government who have been voicing concerns about Canada's wildfires. Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman sent a letter to Canadian Sen. Michael MacDonald on Monday calling for stronger forest management policies and more accountability from Canadian officials. Both are members of the Canada—United States Inter-Parliamentary Group. "It is critical that forest management and wildfire mitigation be treated as a bilateral environmental and public health priority," the letter said. "If Canada can't get these wildfires under control, they need to face real consequences," said Wisconsin state Rep. Calvin Callahan in a news release Wednesday. "We won't sit back while our air becomes a health hazard." Michigan Rep. John James sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney last week saying his constituents are choking on toxic wildfire smoke. Citing a letter other Republican members of Congress sent to Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman in July, James said that "since then, rather than progress, we have seen escalation." James said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's declaration of a second state of emergency in that province "confirmed what many Americans have feared: that Canada is not doing nearly enough to stop these fires before they start." The American lawmaker also criticized Kinew's comments in response to the initial letter. "This is what turns people off from politics," Kinew said in July. "When you have got a group of congresspeople trying to trivialize and make hay out of a wildfire season where we've lost lives in our province, there's no place for that in politics," the premier added. "If you can't get likes on Instagram from your own skills as a politician, don't bother trying to throw other people under the bus during a state of emergency." A husband and wife were killed by a fast-moving wildfire northeast of Winnipeg in May and thousands have been evacuated from their communities. James said Kinew's comments dismiss the health impacts the wildfire smoke has on neighbouring states. The Republican said the smoke amounts to a public health emergency "and it is actively damaging the U. S. — Canada relationship." The increasing pressure from Republicans comes as the bilateral relationship between the two countries remains tense. On Aug. 1, U.S. President Donald Trump boosted tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 per cent after a new security and economic agreement failed to materialize ahead of the president's deadline. The duties do not apply to goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. Canada is also being hit with Trump's steel, aluminum, copper and automobile tariffs. Natural Resources Canada said in July that wildfires are a global problem caused by the effects of climate change, including prolonged drought. The president has called climate change a "hoax" and his administration dismissed all of the scientists working on a flagship climate report. Many Republicans point to the 2023 Canadian wildfire season, which was the worst on record. Fires blazing across the country that year sent thick smoke into the United States and even across the Atlantic Ocean to northern Europe. Canadian officials have warned that this year's wildfire season could shape up to be the second-worst on record. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, a non-profit owned and operated by federal, provincial and territorial wildland fire management agencies, said on its website that 744 active wildfires were burning across Canada on Wednesday. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said Tuesday that Canada's recent wildfires offer a "stark reminder" of the countries' shared challenges. In a statement shared by the U.S. Embassy, Hoekstra said the United States and Canada have "a long history" of supporting one another in times of crisis. "Canadians stood with us during the tragic California wildfires earlier this year, and we are committed to standing with Canada now," he said. Wildfires burning across multiple American states, including California, have been sending smoke into nearby communities.
National Post
18 minutes ago
- National Post
‘He's not waiting until 2026': Trump likely to reopen CUSMA trade pact in the fall, Doug Ford warns
OTTAWA — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is warning that U.S. President Donald Trump could choose to suddenly 'pull the carpet out from underneath us' by opening up the trade agreement his administration negotiated with Canada during his first term. Article content He said Ottawa needs to prepare for that to happen this fall. Article content Article content Ford made the comments after the country's premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney met in private for the first time since Trump escalated his trade war by hitting Canada with a baseline 35 per cent tariff last week. Article content The new tariff, which took effect on Friday after the two countries failed to hit an Aug. 1 deadline to secure a new trade agreement, applies only to goods not covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement on free trade, better known as CUSMA. Article content Article content Ford said Trump likely won't wait for the scheduled review of the agreement next year. Article content 'He's not waiting until 2026. At any given time, President Trump — not that he even follows the rules — he can pull the carpet out from underneath us on CUSMA tomorrow with one signature,' Ford told reporters at Queen's Park in Toronto Wednesday afternoon as he called for swift action to bolster the economy. Article content 'So let's be prepared. I think it'll be coming in November. He's going to come at us with double barrels, so we better be ready and throw everything and the kitchen sink at this.' Article content Ontario is at odds with Saskatchewan over Canada's response to the escalating trade war. Ford has called for immediate retaliation, while Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is urging Ottawa to dial down its retaliatory tariffs. Article content Article content 'Maybe it's time for Canada even to at least not add additional counter-tariffs in this space, but to even consider removing some of the counter-tariffs that are harmful to Canadian businesses and Saskatchewan businesses today,' Moe said during a radio interview earlier Wednesday, adding the country is currently largely 'protected' under the CUSMA trade pact. Article content Article content Ahead of the meeting with Carney, Ford said he's frustrated by the impacts of high U.S. tariffs on his province's economy and called again for retaliatory tariffs. Article content 'You can't have tariffs on one side and not the other. I still stand by what I say — dollar for dollar, tariff for tariff. They understand strength, not weakness, and we should never, ever roll over and be weak,' Ford told reporters at a news conference Wednesday in Thornhill, Ont. Article content Ford said he told Carney and the premiers that if Ottawa chooses not to hike tariffs in its response, the threshold at which steel products become subject to tariffs should be lowered.
