
City closes compost giveaway early due to high demand
While Edmontonians eagerly plant their gardens this spring, the city announced it will be closing its annual compost giveaway early due to high demand.
Since the giveaway started on April 22, more than 11,000 Edmonton residents have collected over 1,900 tonnes of free compost.
Free compost will still be available at the Ambleside and Kennedale eco stations until May 31 while supplies last.
The city said that if more compost becomes available, it may reopen the giveaway program later this year.
Bulk horticultural and agricultural compost is still available for sale. The city said funds from the commercial sale of compost help maintain a steady waste utility rate and allow the city to offer excess compost to residents through the annual giveaway.
The city launched its green bin program in 2021.
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Fire at Yellowknife apartment that displaced public housing tenants caused by smoking
Social Sharing Improper disposal of smoking materials was found to be the cause of a fire that displaced tenants of public housing from a Yellowknife apartment building in March. Saxon Chung, a spokesperson for the City of Yellowknife, wrote in an email that an investigation by the city's fire department into the Sunridge Place apartments fire determined it was accidental. The city said after the incident in March that the fire was contained to a single unit on the first floor of the three-storey building and that no injuries were reported. Sunridge appears to still be closed, with the windows at the bottom of the building boarded up and a note on the door saying the building's owner, Northview, is working with contractors to ensure the building is "safe and restored in a timely manner." The note says that Northview changed the locks and that anyone needing to access the building could call either their public housing organization or Northview itself. A large vacuum truck was outside the building along with a large dumpster on Tuesday. Multiple units in the building were used for subsidized housing, and the organizations that ran them have been making alternate plans for their tenants. Housing First, a program run by the Yellowknife Women's Society, leased five Sunridge units, three of which had tenants. Hovannes Nazaryan, the team lead for Housing First, said the organization received three replacement units from Northview and has moved tenants to those. "The last time I was there [at Sunridge], we cleaned all of our units out, we moved all the furniture that was salvageable, and basically everything else went to the dump," he said. Shortly after the fire, before the replacement units were ready, Housing First moved its tenants into hotels for acccommodation. He said they're still waiting for two more units, one for emergencies and another to accommodate additional tenants. Nazaryan said he's not sure when, or even if, those tenants will move back into Sunridge when it reopens. Bob Bies is the CEO of the Yellowknife Housing Authority, which had five units at Sunridge. The Yellowknife Housing Authority runs the operation of public housing units that are leased by Housing N.W.T., the territory's housing agency. Bies said they have no plan to return to the building, and they've set tenants up in temporary accommodations with the plan to move them to Aspen Apartments when construction on it is complete. Julie Carter was a former tenant of Sunridge through the Yellowknife Housing Authority. She was planning to move out the day after the fire forced the evacuation. Carter said she was put up in a hotel the first night she was displaced and then was expected to move into her new apartment. But she didn't have access to any of her clothes, food, or other necessities. "I have a completely empty apartment, I have absolutely no funds. How am I supposed to feed myself, feed my dogs, change my clothes?" she said. Carter said she convinced the Yellowknife Housing Authority to put her up in a hotel and that it took weeks before she was allowed to enter her old unit to gather what was salvageable. When the Sunridge building will reopen is unclear. Each housing organization said they were unsure and redirected the question to Northview. Northview did not respond to multiple requests for an update by email, phone and in person.


Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
U.S. stocks edge toward records with inflation data, policy progress in focus
The U.S. stock rebound has driven key indexes to the cusp of record levels, with fresh economic data and trade and fiscal policy developments set to test whether equities will get an extra push higher in the near term. A monthly U.S. inflation report headlines the events for markets in the coming week. Equities have bounced back from a steep fall in April, sparked by concerns about the economic fallout from President Donald Trump's tariff plans. Stocks hit a speed bump on Thursday as a public rift between Mr. Trump and Tesla chief Elon Musk sent shares of the electric vehicle maker down 14 per cent. The benchmark S&P 500 ended on Thursday just over 3 per cent off its record closing high from February. It closed down 0.5 per cent on the day as Tesla's tumble offset news of progress in tariff talks between Mr. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 'I'd still say it's a cautious tone' in the market, said Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. Despite a 'recovery off the lows, I still think it's a market that is looking for greater clarity.' Some uncertainty stems from how the U.S. economy is weathering the shifting trade backdrop. Trump has eased back on some of the harshest tariffs since his April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement sent stocks tumbling, but investors are waiting to see how other levies may be rippling through the economy. The consumer price index report for May, due on Wednesday, could give insight into the tariff impact at a time investors are wary of any flare-ups in inflation. 'Consumers are feeling the impact of higher prices and if there are indications that near-term inflation could re-accelerate, that is going to put further pressure on discretionary spending and ultimately could lead to a more pronounced slowdown in growth,' Baird said. The CPI report will be one of the last key pieces of data before the Federal Reserve's June 17-18 meeting. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at that meeting, but traders are pricing in about two 25-basis point cuts by the end of the year. 'If we see inflationary data that defies what people are concerned about based on this tariff talk and it comes in cooler, then that could also be a catalyst to at least test those old highs,' said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. For the year, the S&P 500 is up about 1 per cent. But the index has stormed back over 19 per cent since April 8, at the depth of the stock market's plunge on concerns over the tariff fallout. Investors also are grappling with uncertainty over a sweeping tax-cut and spending bill under review in the U.S. Senate. Wall Street is monitoring how much the legislation could stimulate economic growth, but also inflate the country's debt burden as widening fiscal deficits have become a central concern for markets in recent weeks. 'As debt increases, it has a greater negative impact on growth,' said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group. The legislation also appeared to be the source of a severe rift between Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk, who had been his strong ally. Mr. Musk called the bill at the heart of Mr. Trump's agenda a 'disgusting abomination,' while Mr. Trump said he was 'disappointed' by the billionaire's public opposition. Trade talks also remain at the forefront of markets, with a 90-day pause on a wide array of Trump's tariffs set to end on July 8. 'When it comes to policy from Washington, D.C., there are still big question marks,' said Bob Doll, chief investment office at Crossmark Global Investments. Be smart with your money. Get the latest investing insights delivered right to your inbox three times a week, with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up today.

Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
What our forebears built, tariffs will break. We must defend the Canadian steel industry
Matthew Shoemaker is the mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. In the 1890s, a Maine entrepreneur backed by financiers from Philadelphia and New York arrived on the north shore of Lake Superior, seeking opportunity where others saw decline. That man, Francis Clergue, found it in a fur-trading post named Sault Ste. Marie. Though industry had yet to take root, Mr. Clergue saw potential in the rapids, and the promise they presented of cheap, renewable power. Over the next decade, his vision transformed the region. The half-finished hydroelectric dam was completed, and another was built across the river on the American side. A steel plant, a paper mill and a railway up to Wawa, Ont., and beyond to mine iron ore followed. What had been the Canadian hinterland became a hub of cross-border industry, powered by shared natural resources and ambition. Today, more than a century later, that legacy endures. The hydroelectric dams in both Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., still generate power. The steel plant has gone through many ups and downs but survives as Algoma Steel Group Inc. And the industrial bond across the Great Lakes remains one of North America's most tightly woven economic fabrics. But now, that shared prosperity is under threat. Carney faces pressure to retaliate against Trump's steel, aluminum tariffs Algoma Steel CEO says 50% tariffs threaten viability in the U.S. In his second presidency, Donald Trump has returned to steel tariffs – this time with greater ferocity. Initially reinstated at 25 per cent in March, the steel tariffs doubled to 50 per cent on June 4. The consequences for producers such as Algoma Steel could be devastating and trigger an economic crisis unlike anything seen in living memory. To prevent that, both the federal and provincial governments must act quickly – not just to negotiate a resolution with the Trump administration, but to support workers and industries in the meantime. When tariffs were 25 per cent, Ottawa and Queen's Park had time to deliberate. At 50 per cent, the luxury of time is gone. Immediate relief is essential for steel hubs such as the Soo, Hamilton and Regina – all cities that punch above their weight in the North American steel trade. Algoma sources much of its iron ore from producers in the United States. Dozens of freighters make the daily passage across the Great Lakes, delivering U.S.-mined ore through the locks at Soo Michigan to the Canadian steelworks. That steel then flows back south and gets manufactured into Ford Broncos, Teslas, water heaters, steel beams and countless products made and sold by American companies. The integration doesn't end there. Canadian steel worker wages ripple across the border, too, and get spent at Michigan restaurants, department stores and tourist destinations such as Mackinac Island, Petoskey and Traverse City. This is what an integrated and mutually beneficial economy looks like. A 50-per-cent tariff severs more than trade routes: it breaks supply chains, undermines jobs on both sides of the border and risks inflaming economic nationalism. The U.S. doesn't produce enough steel to meet its own needs. Therefore, unless capacity expands dramatically, tariffs will simply raise prices, reduce supply and shift job losses from one sector to another. We've seen this before. During Mr. Trump's first round of steel tariffs in 2018, the U.S. steel industry gained 8,000 jobs. But manufacturers that depend on steel shed 75,000. Put another way: the job losses were nearly 900 per cent more than the job gains – a painful price for a short-lived political win. Communities like Sault Ste. Marie have weathered hard times before. To use an apt pun, we've developed spines of steel. But a 50-per-cent tariff on our largest export could have a ripple effect on both the Canadian and American economies. If we don't protect this interconnected system now, we risk unravelling decades of economic integration. And we may find ourselves forced to adopt the same protectionist policies we currently condemn, simply to rebuild what we've lost. Mr. Clergue came to the Great Lakes to build industry on the Canadian shores that would enrich his American financiers. We should use the success he left behind as an example – one that can guide us toward continued mutual benefit.