3 leaders in Ottawa's House of Commons hail from Alberta
NDP Health Critic Don Davies and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announce the NDP's Canada Pharmacare Act during a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
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CTV News
32 minutes ago
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U.S. ambassador pushes back against Canada's travel advice
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra poses for a portrait at the U.S. Embassy, in Ottawa, Friday, June 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — The American ambassador to Canada is pushing back on Ottawa's travel advice, saying his country doesn't search phones at the border and arguing some Americans travelling here are having a tough time. 'We welcome Canadians to come in and invest, to spend their hard-earned Canadian dollars at U.S. businesses,' U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday. 'If a Canadian has had a disappointing experience coming into the United States, I'm not denying that it happened, but I'm saying it's an isolated event and it is not a pattern.' In April, Ottawa updated its advice to Canadians travelling to the United States to warn them about the possibility they might be detained if denied entry. 'Expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices,' reads the new guidance. There have been reports of Canadians facing intensified scrutiny at the border, having phones searched and, in some cases, being detained. Hoekstra insisted concerns about device searches are not grounded in reality. 'Coming to the U.S., that's a decision for the Canadians to make. Searching devices and all of that is not a well-founded fear. We don't do that. America is a welcoming place,' he said. He said some Americans have expressed similar concerns about Canada. 'I've heard that from Americans coming into Canada as well, OK? Saying, 'You know, we've not received a warm reception when we've gotten to Canadian customs,'' he said. When asked if these reports from American travellers involve arbitrary phone searches and lengthy detainment, Hoekstra said there are consular cases of Americans complaining to the embassy about the Canada Border Services Agency. 'We've said, 'OK this may have been an isolated event. There may have been a Canadian border person who was having a bad day, and thought they'd take it out on, you know, somebody across the border,'' he said. In a statement, the CBSA said its officers follow a code of conduct and the federal ethics code that both require them to treat everyone equally, and the agency investigates any complaints of mistreatment. 'Employees are expected to conduct themselves in a way that upholds the values of integrity, respect and professionalism at all times,' wrote spokeswoman Karine Martel. 'Treating people with respect, dignity and fairness is fundamental to our border services officers' relationship with the public and a key part of this is serving all travellers in a non-discriminatory way.' Hoekstra said travel to the U.S. is up to individuals. 'If you decide that you're not going to come down or whatever, that's your decision and you're missing an opportunity. There are great things to see in America,' Hoekstra said. He also noted the case of CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, who recently said she prepared to visit the U.S. last month as if she was 'going to North Korea' — with a 'burner phone' that didn't carry any personal information — only to experience a warm welcome. 'It's like, (let's) get past the rhetoric and let's look at the real experiences that people are having here,' Hoekstra said. Airlines have been cutting flights between Canada and the U.S. due to a slump in demand, and Flight Centre Travel Group Canada reported a nearly 40 per cent drop in flights between the two countries year-over-year in February. A survey in early May conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies found 52 per cent of respondents feel that 'it is no longer safe for all Canadians travelling to the United States,' with 29 per cent disagreeing and 19 per cent saying they were unsure. Roughly the same proportion said they personally feel unwelcome in the U.S. LGBTQ2S+ groups have opted against attending World Pride events in Washington and United Nations events in New York, citing scrutiny at the border as the Trump administration scales back protections for transgender and nonbinary people. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
CTV News
32 minutes ago
- CTV News
Air quality statement issued for Calgary: ECCC
An air quality statement was issued for Calgary Sunday morning. An air quality statement was issued for Calgary Sunday morning as wildfire smoke rolled into the region. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) posted on its website at 8:06 a.m. that 'wildfire smoke is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility in some areas." It said that conditions were expected to improve later in the day Sunday. The air quality index Sunday at 9:23 a.m. was 7, or 'high-risk.' For more information about wildfire smoke and its impact on your health, go here.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Ontario anti-encampment law punishes the homeless, avoids long-term solutions: critics
Social Sharing A new provincial law that aims to clear encampments from public spaces does not address the root causes behind homelessness and punishes people who have no access to affordable shelter, critics say. The Safer Municipalities Act, which passed last Tuesday in the Ontario legislature, gives municipalities and police "enhanced tools they need to end encampments and clean up our parks and public spaces," according to a provincial news release from April. But the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), which represents all 444 municipalities in the province, says the law does not provide longer-term, permanent solutions for homelessness — an issue municipalities across the province have described as a top concern in recent years. "It doesn't really focus at all on the root causes of homelessness ... the lack of deeply affordable housing, the lack of mental health and addictions services at the levels that we need them, as well as some of these basic issues around income support," said Lindsay Jones, the AMO's director of policy and government relations. Under the legislation, the province will spend $50 million to help create 1,239 additional housing units, and $20 million to create 971 additional shelter and temporary accommodation spaces. It will also put $5.5 million toward the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit to "immediately free-up emergency shelter spaces for people living in encampments" by helping around 1,000 people living in shelters move into longer-term housing, the news release said. WATCH | Ford first introduced the legislation in December: 'Enough is enough': Ford details legislation aimed at dismantling homeless encampments 6 months ago Duration 2:02 While Jones called the spending encouraging, she said its "a drop in the bucket" compared to the nearly $2 billion the AMO estimates is needed to end encampments in Ontario. More than 80,000 people in Ontario were homeless last year, according to an AMO report. The association previously found there were about 1,400 encampments across the province in 2023. CBC Toronto has reached out to the province for comment. Law misdiagnoses problem: community worker Jones said the Safer Municipalities Act is particularly focused on enforcement. The law strengthens penalties for people who "deliberately and continually break the law by adding the new aggravating factors of continuous trespassing and the likelihood to reoffend," the provincial news release said. People convicted of a trespass offence may face a fine of up to $10,000, according to the bill. The legislation also allows police officers to issue a ticket or arrest people who do not comply with an order to stop using illegal substances in public and to leave the public place. People found guilty of violating the legislation may face fines of up to $10,000 or up to six months in prison. The province will explore "judicial approaches" that provide rehabilitation as an alternative to jail time for minor or non-violent drug crimes, the provincial news release said. When Ontario Premier Doug Ford first introduced the Safer Municipalities Act in December, he said encampments "are taking over public spaces, with illegal drug use happening out in the open, creating huge safety risks for people and communities." "Enough is enough, this has to stop and it will stop," Ford added. But Diane Chan McNally, a community worker in Toronto who works with people who live in encampments, says the Safer Municipalities Act is punishing those who have no access to affordable housing. "We're misdiagnosing the actual problem. We're suggesting that the issue is people using drugs in public when the issue is actually that people have nowhere affordable for them to live," she said. McNally said there is a stereotype that people who live in encampments are heavy drug users involved in criminal activity. The reality is that "every kind of person" lives in encampments because they cannot afford housing, she said. The people she has worked with include an 84-year-old woman who started living in an encampment after her spouse died and she could no longer afford housing. WATCH | Ford has said he is prepared to use notwithstanding clause to clear encampments: Is eviction the answer to Ontario's homeless encampment problem? | Canada Tonight 6 months ago Duration 12:38 The Ontario government plans to crack down on homeless encampments through new legislation, with Premier Doug Ford even pledging to use the notwithstanding clause if necessary. But is the dismantling of the encampments and eviction of their residents a long-term solution? Diana Chan McNally, community worker and advocate, and Cam Guthrie, one of the 12 mayors that asked Ford to use the notwithstanding clause to remove encampments from public spaces, discuss more. Many people who live in encampments are concerned they will be targeted under the new legislation regardless of whether they use drugs or not, McNally said. Catherine McKenney, NDP MPP for Ottawa Centre, said the legislation could also fuel a cycle where people who have been imprisoned will struggle to get housing once they're released because they have a criminal record, McKenney said. "Prison beds are not housing," McKenney said. Law could violate people's rights, CCLA says The legislation may also infringe on the rights of people who are trying to seek shelter, said Harini Sivalingam, director of the equality program at Canadian Civil Liberties Association. In Ontario, there is strong case law — meaning law based on previous judicial decisions — that establishes people have a right to seek shelter when there are no available shelter options for them overnight, she said. "'The government can't deprive them of that right by evicting them overnight when they have nowhere else they can go for safety and security," Sivalingam said. Last year, before the act was introduced, Ford pledged to use the notwithstanding clause that would override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms if the courts were to "interfere" with the legislation. He made the pledge in a letter to 12 mayors who asked him to use the clause to clear encampments. In April's provincial news release, 16 mayors across the province indicated their support for the Safer Municipalities Act. Community groups and advocates in the province are exploring legal avenues to stop the enforcement of the Safer Municipalities Act, Sivalingam said.
