N.B. premier looking for 'elimination' of tariff uncertainty in meeting with PM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
20 minutes ago
- National Post
Newcomers face rising racism in Alberta as province debates immigration policy
Alberta resident Shamaila Akram says she can handle the increase in racial slurs and derogatory comments being thrown at her, but she worries about her newcomer and immigrant clients. Article content As debates unfold over Canada's immigration system, those who provide help to newcomers in Alberta say there has been an uptick of hostility toward immigrants. Article content 'I hear from people in my own communities — women specifically who wear hijabs — many bad things and we realize there is a need to educate people,' said Akram, with Calgary's Centre for Newcomers. Article content Article content 'Clients are coming with severe anxiety and sometimes panic attacks after hearing racial slurs outside our door. We have instances where they're being harassed while walking in (the) downtown.' Article content Article content People have also screamed, 'Go back to where you came from!' at Akram while she has been with her children multiple times this year, she said, and some have been aggressive. Article content The Canadian Anti-Hate Network says charged debates about immigration in Canada and the United States are behind the rise in hostility toward immigrants online and in person. 'We have been noticing a large increase in online hatred towards migrants, and especially towards South Asian communities lately,' said Evan Balgord, the organization's executive director. Article content 'We are seeing classically racist narratives being spread that groups of people are dirty, criminal, incompatible with society and dangerous.' Article content In Calgary, Kelly Ernst, the Centre for Newcomers' chief program officer, says it has had to increase building security, reduce its online program marketing and bolster the number of workers on its crisis line for newcomers. Article content Article content Article content He said the ongoing Alberta Next panel led by Premier Danielle Smith that's touring the province to hear public grievances with the federal government is stoking that anger. Article content 'Since (the) Alberta Next panel raised its ugly head, it's also created additional hostility with some of the comments associated to that,' he said. Article content Ernst said he agrees that the population of newcomers in Canada and Alberta has exploded, but said governments need to stop using immigrants as scapegoats for housing and infrastructure issues. Article content 'It's not the people themselves that are creating that particular strain,' Ernst said. 'The problem is government policy.' Article content The Alberta Next panel has already made stops in Red Deer and Edmonton and will return to Edmonton again, with visits to Fort McMurray and Lloydminster in August. Article content Six surveys launched on the panel's website help inform what questions the government is putting to locals, and one of them is about immigration. Article content 'If Alberta isn't satisfied with the number or economic qualifications of newcomers moving to our province, we may have the option to withhold provincial social programs to any non-citizen or non-permanent resident who does not have an Alberta-approved immigration status,' says a video participants are required to view before taking the immigration survey.
CBC
21 minutes ago
- CBC
U.S. slaps 20.56% anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber
Social Sharing The U.S. Commerce Department has decided to hike anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood to 20.56 per cent, with B.C. lumber organizations calling them unjustified, punitive and protectionist. The hiked softwood lumber duties come amid the growing trade war between Canada and the U.S., and represent the latest blow to B.C.'s beleaguered forestry industry. B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar described the long-awaited rate hike as a "gut punch" for B.C.'s forestry industry which has seen thousands of workers laid off over the last few years. "U.S. President Donald Trump has made it his mission to destroy Canada's economy, and there is no sector that has faced more of that than the forestry sector," he told CBC News. "This is a big deal for our workers. This is going to have a significant impact. It will lead to curtailments," he added. The B.C. government has been urging the federal government to prioritize the softwood lumber industry in trade discussions with the U.S., and Parmar said the hiked duties would also impact U.S. homeowners needing lumber to rebuild or renovate their homes. "This is going to mean that Americans, in particular middle-class Americans, are going to be paying more to the tune of $15,000 to $20,000 more USD to purchase or to build a home." The B.C. Lumber Trade Council says in a statement that if the U.S. department's pending review on countervailing duties is in line with its preliminary results, the combined rate against Canadian softwood shipped to the United States will be well over 30 per cent. In April, the preliminary combined rate on Canadian softwood lumber was reported to be 34.45 per cent, up from the previous 14.54 per cent. Friday's decision is a final determination, with Parmar saying it would go into effect in the U.S. Federal Register shortly. WATCH | Duties hiked on softwood lumber: U.S. hikes anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber | Hanomansing Tonight 17 hours ago U.S. lumber producers have long maintained that Canadian stumpage fees, for harvesting on Crown land, are an unfair government subsidy. B.C.'s Independent Wood Processors Association says in a statement that the U.S. Commerce Department's decision this week to raise duties also includes a requirement for Canadian companies to retroactively remit duties for products shipped to the United States since Jan.1, 2023. WATCH | B.C. premier urges feds to prioritze lumber deal: Will a softwood lumber deal be part of Canada-U.S. trade negotiations? | Power & Politics 5 days ago As premiers meet ahead of a briefing from the prime minister on the state of Canada-U.S. trade negotiations on Tuesday, B.C. Premier David Eby tells Power & Politics there may be 'an opportunity' for Canada to strike a deal on long-standing softwood lumber disputes with the Americans. Association chair Andy Rielly says in a statement that the requirement to pay duties on products shipped in the last 31 months could not only force small B.C. producers to shut down, but may also threaten operators' personal assets as they may have to risk using their homes as collateral to secure bonds to pay. Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier this month that a future trade agreement with the United States could include quotas on softwood lumber, an area that has caused friction between the two countries for years before the latest trade war. Producer urges province to change conditions The United States has long been the single largest market for B.C. lumber exports, representing over half the market for the approximately $10-billion industry. But amid a series of challenges for the province's forestry industry — including a mountain pine beetle infestation that has killed hundreds of thousands of trees — mills have been closing around the province in recent years, and major forestry companies are opening up new mills in the United States. In 2023, numbers from Statistics Canada showed B.C. had lost more than 40,000 forest-sector jobs since the early 1990s. Kim Haakstad, the CEO of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries, said the B.C. government should work to improve the production environment in the province to prevent future mill closures. In a statement, the council said that by activating timber sales, fast-tracking permits and cutting through regulatory gridlock, the province could send a signal that it is serious about rebuilding a sustainable forest sector. WATCH | B.C.'s forestry industry struggles amid tariff war: Trump's tariff war could collapse B.C.'s struggling forest industry 4 months ago B.C.'s forest industry is already in serious trouble, and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war is pushing it closer to the brink of collapse. CBC's Lyndsay Duncombe breaks down what's at stake for lumber producers and how they're looking to adapt. Haakstad argued that if the industry could get production levels back to historic levels, it could help keep forestry-dependent communities vibrant into the future. "That will bring more than $300 million to the provincial government, as well, to help address the deficit situation we're in," Haakstad said. Kurt Niquidet, the president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, highlighted that Trump also has initiated a federal investigation into the U.S. imports of lumber and timber citing "national security," which could further impact B.C.'s forestry industry when combined with the tariffs. "Softwood lumber is quite important for the United States. They can only supply about 70 per cent of their softwood lumber demand, and they're importing 30 per cent from elsewhere," he told CBC News.
CBC
21 minutes ago
- CBC
Beloved Dartmouth bookstore to remain open after surge in community support
Social Sharing An iconic bookstore in Dartmouth, N.S., that faced eviction over two months of unpaid rent was able to raise the money it needed to get caught up, thanks to an outpouring of support from the community. John W. Doull, Bookseller has been an institution in the city since 1987. It specializes in rare and out-of-print books, but carries a wide selection of literature on almost every topic imaginable. The deadline for the bookstore to get caught up was Friday. It was previously estimated the store needed to bring in $15,000 to $20,000 to raise enough revenue to pay for outstanding rent and next month's rent. Books were discounted by 40 per cent to entice people to come out. In a post on its website, the business thanked the public for the surge in support and said it would reopen Monday. "It has been enough to keep us open for another month, has given us a HUGE boost to our morale, and we have great plans for the future!" it said. CBC News contacted the business for comment, but has not heard back. The business was previously located on Barrington Street in Halifax, but moved to Main Street in Dartmouth in 2012. Its landlord, Yellowstone Commercial Developments, confirmed the bookstore paid what was owed. "We were very surprised and kind of happy to see how many vehicles were in the parking lot and how many people were coming in through the building. It hasn't been like that for as long as we can remember," said controller Will Radford. With nearly four decades in business, owner John W. Doull estimated in 2023 that the store has between two million and three million books in its collection.
