Premiers meeting with Indigenous leaders to discuss big infrastructure projects
CTV's Rachel Aiello reports from Huntsville, where premiers are expected to speak with Indigenous leaders in Ontario cottage country.
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CTV News
34 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘It was really easy': Alberta byelection advance polls open with more than 200 candidates
Residents of Battle River-Crowfoot began casting advanced votes in the byelection where over 200 candidates are registered. CTV's Kathy Le has more. Residents of Battle River-Crowfoot began casting advanced votes in the byelection where over 200 candidates are registered. CTV's Kathy Le has more. Advanced polls open in Battle River-Crowfoot for byelection, as Poilievre hopes to win seat A steady stream of people have shuffled in and out of the lone advance voting station in Drumheller, Alta., one of the towns in the sprawling rural riding of Battle River–Crowfoot, where federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre hopes to win and restore his position in the House of Commons. The voters CTV News spoke with say the process has been easy. 'It was pretty straightforward. I had done my preparation. I knew where the different candidates were coming from,' said Roger Hanm. Another voter, Brad Luchak, was in agreement. '(It was) really easy today,' he said. 'It was no problem at all.' There are 214 candidates registered in the byelection, making it the largest number of candidates on a federal ballot in Canadian history. Those running include Poilievre, Liberal candidate Darcy Spady, NDP candidate Katherine Swampy, Jonathan Bridges of the People's Party of Canada, Ashley MacDonald of the Green Party and independent candidate Bonnie Critchley. To ensure the voting process goes smoothly, Elections Canada created an adapted ballot, meaning for the first time ever, voters must fill out a blank ballot with the name of their preferred candidate. Voter Thomas Laffin says they had references to ensure they got the name of the candidates spelled correction. 'You've got your big book there on the side that has all the 214-some-odd names, and then they have the small one that has the ones that are connected to a party,' he said. The majority of candidates running in the traditionally Conservative Alberta riding are sponsored by the advocacy group the Longest Ballot Committee, who are protesting the First-past-the-post (FPTP) system and wanting electoral reform. The group ran a campaign in Poilievre's former Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, where he lost his long-held seat during the general election in April. The ballot had 91 candidates. The Conservative leader is looking to get back into Parliament, given a chance after former MP Damien Kurek, who won the riding in a landslide with 83 per cent of the vote, stepped aside. Lori Williams, political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, says it's expected that Pierre will win the byelection. 'Nobody's expecting him to lose the by election. But if he doesn't win it by close to 83 per cent, then questions are starting or going to start being raised,' she said. 'That will feed into his return to the house in the fall and into his leadership review in the new year.' Poilievre has long expressed frustration about the Longest Ballot Committee, calling its actions a 'blatant abuse' of electoral democracy. During an unrelated press conference in Calgary Thursday, the Conservative leader said his party is proposing to change electoral laws to 'make sure that this longest stunt never happens again. While voter Adrine Giles thought the voting process was simple, she wasn't too keen with all the candidates running. 'I wasn't happy to have, you know, so many candidates. It's just not really a good idea. You just confuse people,' she said. Giles wouldn't reveal who she voted for, but confirmed it wasn't Poilievre. 'We need a local person to represent us,' she said. 'We're not going to see him. He's not going to do anything for us here.' Some other voters, like Art Bonaguro, disagree. 'I know he doesn't live in the riding, but the leader of the party really needs a seat in the house to do anything,' he said. 'So that's where my vote went.
CBC
35 minutes ago
- CBC
Is Nova Scotia going too far by banning people from woods during dry weather? Some think so
Critics of a drought-driven woods ban in Nova Scotia say it's an instance of government overreach. Provincial officials say the ban — which came into effect Tuesday and prohibits hiking and camping in the forest — is necessary given hot, dry conditions throughout the province and the heightened risk of wildfires. "I don't think it's reasonable to restrict people from going into the woods at all. I don't think that it's reasonable to put a blanket ban on outdoor activity, especially activities that don't pose a fire risk," Julissa Stewart of Louisdale, N.S., told CBC News in an interview on Thursday. "You know, it's one thing for somebody to go outside and light up a cigarette and throw a butt on the ground. It's another thing for somebody to want to take a hike in the woods." Stewart feels the ban violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She has started a public call to action to see who might be interested in supporting her in bringing the issue forward to initiate a Charter challenge or constitutional question. She has also reached out to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms and the Canadian Constitution Foundation. The latter is circulating a petition to have the ban rescinded and the woods kept open. Since the ban went into effect, Stewart says she can't take her puppy for a walk on a trail near her home. The fine for breaking Nova Scotia's woods ban is $25,000. While Stewart said she isn't opposed to restricting fire-risk activity due to the conditions, "to put a ban on everything going into the woods, to me, that's extreme overreach. I think that is overstepping on mobility rights." Stewart isn't alone. Concerns for people sleeping rough in forested areas In a recent social media post, Dalhousie Legal Aid wrote that it had concerns with the woods ban and its impact on people sleeping rough in forested areas. It is urging the province and municipalities to "respond with care and to uphold the dignity and rights of those most affected." The group also pointed out that past court cases have shown forcibly removing people from spaces without providing a meaningful alternative can cause serious harm and could violate a section of the Charter. Woods ban pushback not surprising, legal expert says Wayne MacKay is professor emeritus of constitutional law at Dalhousie's Schulich School of Law. He said he's not surprised that some people are thinking of challenging the province's ban because it is a significant restriction on people's liberty and mobility. He said all Charter rights are subject to reasonable limits. In this case, the policy objective is to prevent or at least reduce the number of serious forest fires. "It's a pretty compelling objective. And then the only real question becomes, is it proportionate? "Is what they're doing restricting more than is necessary to achieve that objective? And that's really a kind of factual debate that would go on in the court challenge," MacKay said. "Is this the kind of thing that's really needed to achieve the results which everybody wants, which is to limit or eliminate forest fires before they get started. But is this the necessary way to do it, or does it sacrifice too much in doing it? "Almost certainly that would be the Charter question that would be raised, and it's hard always to predict what a court would do with that." Restrictions could be broader than necessary The Canadian Civil Liberties Association says the restrictions appear to be broader in scope than required. "In the event of a legal challenge, it will be up to the province to demonstrate that the measures chosen to achieve its objective are necessary and infringe as little as possible on the rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, failing which these measures will be invalidated by the courts," association lawyer Anaïs Bussières McNicoll said in a statement to CBC News. Houston responds to woods ban criticism Speaking to reporters at a news conference in Charlottetown on Friday, Premier Tim Houston briefly addressed criticism of the woods ban. "Conditions are really dry, there's no rain in sight, the risk is extremely high in Nova Scotia. Just a couple of years ago, we had devastating fire impacts, loss of homes, loss of properties," Houston said. The ban, he said, came as a result of expert advice. "The experts came to me and said their recommendation is we should restrict travel and put some serious fines on there to keep people safe, to keep properties safe and to really just support our firefighters and first responders," he said. "So the experts gave the advice, I agreed with it. I'm happy to make sure that we're doing everything we can to protect people, to protect property and try to just get through this fire season and really just pray for rain." Nearly all wildfires in N.S. started by human activity: DNR Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection with the Department of Natural Resources, said conditions are "as dry as we've ever seen," and drier than 2023 when two devastating wildfires broke out near Halifax and Barrington Lake, Shelburne County. Unlike other provinces that see more fires started by lightning strikes, Tingley said nearly all wildfires in Nova Scotia are the result of human activity. "That's why we can't run the risk of having people in the woods, because when people are in the woods, even if they don't intend to, we will have fires," Tingley said Friday. Since the ban began, he said his department has been "very, very busy" with enforcement and following up on complaints. 'We need everybody to pitch in' There was considerable confusion in the first few days as people tried to figure out what they could and could not do, Tingley said, but "more and more people" now understand the risks and are following the rules. Although Natural Resources and municipal crews across the province are still seeing fires popping up in wooded areas, Tingley said he is hopeful that number will "drop off to zero" over the coming days. "That's obviously what we want to see," he said. "We absolutely need everybody to pitch in, because that's where we're at … right now, in these conditions, there is a very significant risk of an uncontrollable fire starting." WATCH | How dry is it out there? Very, according to meteorologist Ryan Snoddon: How dry is it in Nova Scotia? Meteorologist Ryan Snoddon explains 1 day ago The last time Nova Scotia had substantial rain across the province was in early June. CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon says our next chance of rain likely won't come until late next week.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Housing crisis may get worse, new forecasts show
OTTAWA — Canada's housing crisis may get worse before it starts to show much relief, as new projections say that the number of housing starts will actually decrease this year and next. Article content These new estimates, from both public and private sector housing forecasts, contradict political promises from all levels of government to boost supply of homes across the country. Article content Article content Article content The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) forecasts that the total number of housing starts in Canada this year will be about 237,800, down from 245,367 in 2024. CMHC, a Crown corporation that acts as Canada's national housing agency, also forecasts a drop to no more than 227,734 next year and 220,016 in 2027. Article content 'Affordability remains a major issue and new construction is slowing,' the CMHC wrote in its recent update report on the country's housing market. Article content Many economists, meanwhile, say that more new builds would mean a number of positives: they create more places for people to live, put downward pressure on housing prices by boosting supply, and create economic activity and jobs through construction and the various purchases of furniture, appliances and other items that new homeowners typically make. New buildings are also a boon for government coffers at all three levels. Article content Article content The CMHC isn't the only voice sounding the alarm that the country's housing stock isn't growing fast enough. Article content Mike Moffatt, who was an economic advisor to former prime minister Justin Trudeau, wrote this week that governments 'do not appear to be getting the message, nor do they seem willing to take the necessary steps to address the crisis.' Article content During the recent federal election, all the major parties unveiled plans to boost the number of new homes, designed to make housing more affordable and to help deal with the increasing homeless problem in many cities. Article content Analysts say there's often a lag of a dozen years or more from when a plot of land has been identified for a new home, subdivision or apartment building to when people are living there. Housing analysts say that's especially the case when roads and key services — sewer, water, electricity — need to be added. Article content The current market is also being affected by increased interest rates, higher unemployment, higher labour costs and prices for steel, lumber and other materials, the uncertainty from trade tensions with the United States, slower population growth and a sharp decline in pre-sales. In most Canadian cities, finding convenient land to build on is also an ongoing challenge.
