Ottawa school board passes sweeping changes
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees voted 9 to 3 to approve French immersion and English in most schools. As the CBC's Natalia Goodwin reports, alternative schools were not saved.
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National Post
32 minutes ago
- National Post
Canada's on the brink of trade peace with Trump: Full Comment podcast
Article content Don't call it a done deal until it's done, but America's ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, tells Brian this week that negotiations between Ottawa and President Donald Trump's administration are making progress. He explains why he believes things are moving quickly in the right direction to settle the trade war between our two countries. Hoekstra also talks about why he's looking forward to the next phase of the longstanding bilateral relationship, when he thinks Canada and the U.S. will work harmoniously and productively again, allied in eliminating the fentanyl scourge from both countries and building the two strongest economies in the industrialized world — although he still thinks Canada will be eating America's dust. (Recorded June 6, 2025) Article content Article content Article content
CBC
35 minutes ago
- CBC
As Stephenville awaits airport's fate, residents rue unfulfilled promises
Social Sharing Bob Byrnes has been in business in Stephenville for decades, and once served on the board of the non-profit corporation that used to run the airport. He calls the current state of affairs in the west coast town a "desperate situation." People are concerned. "We've regressed from being an international airport to an aerodrome and now just a bit of pavement," Byrnes told CBC News. "It's a terrible travesty that carries a lot of negative weight on this town." A steady drip of bad news for the airport over recent months has gushed into a flood of misfortune. The airport and its owner face millions in legal claims. Earlier this year, Stephenville Dymond International Airport saw its status downgraded to a registered aerodrome. Finally, Newfoundland Power pulled the plug on electrical service, after issuing a notice of disconnection over what it called "outstanding account issues." The airport has been closed since last Tuesday. Some community leaders think things could have — and should have — been done differently. Byrnes — president of the Downtown Stephenville Business Improvement Association Corporation — believes the mayor shoulders the blame. "Tom Rose is the one who pushed this airport deal from day one," Byrne said. "He used the fact that Carl Dymond was looking at coming in here to get himself re-elected and he pushed this deal on that airport board. They were all volunteers and their backs were to the wall." For his part, Rose acknowledges that the current situation is dire, but says there were few other options. "Today we are at a point, at the worst point this airport has ever been in — the power was cut off," he said in a recent interview. "This is a devastating blow to the airport and the town. We have to find a path forward." The mayor rejects criticism of the path that led to Ottawa businessman Carl Dymond taking over the airport. He says there was no appetite for the town to continue funnelling tax dollars into the operation to keep it afloat. "At the end of the day, there was Carl Dymond, or there was nothing," Rose said. "I felt the airport was going to close." Looking back, does he think the town council served the community in the best way possible, given everything known now? "One thousand per cent," Rose said. "I'm very confident that we did the right thing at the right time because it's not as if we had Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. There was only one plan. There was only one thing in front of us. It was Plan A. There was no other option." Former town councillor Lenny Tiller is not sure about that. He served on council while the Dymond proposal was being debated. While most councillors were in lock-step with Rose in supporting the airport's sale, Tiller was often a lone dissenting voice. "It was very unfortunate because it was my understanding the role of a councillor was to be able to speak freely in a committee and in a public meeting," Tiller told CBC News. "At the end of the day I had two choices — toe the line or sleep at night — and I couldn't do both." Tiller resigned a year and a half ago. The airport debate was a major factor. Two other councillors left around the same time. Tiller says there were red flags about the Dymond plan, but town leadership exerted pressure to proceed. "It was something I wanted to be wrong on, when the mayor told me I couldn't possibly understand a file of this size," Tiller said. "I wanted the mayor to be right. I wanted him to be right. I wanted to be proven wrong because the price was too big. I said if what I'm seeing is right, we are going to pay dearly. And now we have." WATCH | Lights out at Stephenville airport as power disconnected, operations grounded 'The wrong guy took over': Residents frustrated as Carl Dymond's airport promises fall flat 4 days ago Duration 2:40 The day after the power company pulled the plug last week, people on the streets of Stephenville expressed dismay. "You had Carl Dymond coming to Stephenville with plenty of promises," Paul Green told CBC News. "Promised people all kinds of things in Stephenville — making donations to different organizations. And today we are without power. It's terrible." Michael Young also noted there were lots of promises. "But so far nothing's come to fruition with that," he said. Cecil Ryan said he was saddened by the situation. "I was hoping that somewhere down the road the airport would become a viable industry again here in Stephenville, because we could sure use one here," Ryan said. "I guess the wrong guy took it over, because it didn't happen." When he initially announced his intentions to acquire the Stephenville airport nearly four years ago, Dymond made an array of pledges that would have provided an adrenaline boost to the region. Hundreds of millions in private investment. Thousands of jobs. The return of scheduled passenger service. He took over two years ago. None of that has happened. Instead, there have been a cascading series of financial, legal, and operational challenges. The mayor says the town council wasn't responsible for vetting whether Dymond had the resources required. "Basically, it wasn't our job as a council to determine, did he have the proof?" Rose said. "That was the airport authority and the lawyer and the legal team. We trusted that. That was our due diligence." Rose, who served on the airport board as an ex officio member, does regret not requiring Dymond to post a bond for the new runway lighting system or a planned $10-million fire hall. Rose acknowledges there are concerns in the town, but says it's time to look for new opportunities. "We're hearing it and there's Facebook warriors and all that, and there's people that are pro council and negative council. And that's part of the game. I'm not too worried about that," Rose said. "But I do know this: Stephenville are proud citizens. The airport is the most pivotal political football that we have on our plate right now. It is who we are, has defined us as a town. We need to find a solution forward." N.S. company eyeing airport opportunity Celtic Air Services, which operates the airport in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., recently went public with its potential interest, saying it sees "great untapped potential in Stephenville." David Morgan, CEO of Celtic Air Services, says he doesn't want to buy the airport, but if an opportunity arises to run it, he's interested in that. "We're just waiting for certain pieces to take their course and to see if the situation changes and if it does, we'd be more than excited to bring in our team, engage with the folks that already work there, and get the place sort of back up and running," Morgan told CBC News last week. According to Morgan — and other media reports — Dymond is not interested in that arrangement. Celtic Air Services says it wants to collaborate with the town council and provincial government in exploring the airport's future. The province declined interview requests about that call for collaboration, instead issuing a one-line statement from Industry Minister Steve Crocker. "The airport in Stephenville is a privately owned facility, and the provincial government has not been engaged and has no active role in this matter," that written statement noted. Opposition Leader Tony Wakeham — who is MHA for Stephenville-Port au Port — says the province should play a role. "Right now, I think the province needs to work with the town of Stephenville to get this airport straightened out. Mr. Dymond has shown no evidence of his ability to meet any of the commitments that he has made over the last few years, and unfortunately right now, it's to the point where the lights have been turned off," Wakeham said. "So I think there's a situation right now where we need to get the government involved with the town and find out what are the options, and what do those options look like." Wakeham stopped short of providing details on exactly what options could be pursued, and what role the government could play. He stressed that air ambulance flights and the Marine Institute's safety and emergency response training program have been impacted by the current uncertainty. As for the person at the centre of all this, Carl Dymond has declined interview requests from CBC News since the initial reports broke last month about Newfoundland Power issuing a notice of disconnection. In a text message last week, he said he expected the power shutoff to only last a few days.
CTV News
42 minutes ago
- CTV News
PM Mark Carney set to make a defence announcement
Watch PM Mark Carney is set to make an announcement this morning. Colton Praill on what to expect.
