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Vancouver Sun
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Man walks into Nova Scotia forest, walks out with $28K fine: 'I want to challenge this order in court'
A Nova Scotia man who intentionally violated the province's ban on entering the woods says he plans to fight his $28,000 fine. Jeffrey Evely, a veteran and former candidate for the People's Party of Canada, recorded a video over the weekend of him first going to the Department of Natural Resources in Coxheath, N.S., and informing officers he was going into the woods to protest the ban. 'I want to challenge this order in court, and the only way to do that is to get the fine,' Jeffrey Evely says in the video. 'So, I'm not trying to make trouble for you guys, I just want a piece of (Premier) Tim Houston and I want to be as accommodating and nice as I can be.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. One of the officers asked him not to enter the woods, but he followed through with his plan. When he left the forest, he was handed a fine of $28,872.50, according to an image of the document. The new policy came into effect on Aug. 5, and will remain until Oct. 15. It bans people from hiking, camping, fishing and the use of vehicles like ATVs in the woods due to the elevated wildfire risk. People are not even allowed to enter the woods. The fine for violating the ban is $25,000. Evely's fine includes taxes, fees, and surcharges. 'I know it's the height of summer vacation and people want to do all the activities that we enjoy,' Houston said when the ban was announced. 'But we have to stay out of the woods. It's a small price to pay to avoid the devastation that we saw from wildfires in 2023.' The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced that they will be representing Evely in his legal fight against the 'Orwellian' ban. Evely said it punishes ordinary people instead of focusing on restricting the activities that actually spark fires, according to a JCCF press release. 'This law views people as the problem – not dangerous activities. This law is anti-human, and should someone find themselves on the wrong end of a charge – a massive charge, $25,000 dollar fine, for going into the woods, you can expect a constitutional challenge and a judicial review of this order,' said Marty Moore, a constitutional lawyer with JCCF. 'Premier Houston would be wise to immediately review his overly broad order to avoid further legal action.' Evely will argue that 'banning citizens from enjoying nature on the assumption they could start a fire is unconstitutional,' JCCF said. Evely is not the only one asking for the ban to be reconsidered. The Ecology Action Centre, Dal Legal Aid and the Canadian Constitution Foundation have also said the ban should be overturned. The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources has fined six people since the ban was put into effect, Global News reported. Nova Scotia just handed me a fine for $28,872.50 for walking into the woods. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Global News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Global News
N.S. man gets ticket on purpose for walking in woods to fight fire-safety ban
A week has passed since the Nova Scotia-wide ban on entering the woods came into effect — and some citizens are already testing its limits. A Cape Breton man's videos went viral over the weekend after he went to the Department of Natural Resources office in Coxheath and announced he was going to go into the woods in protest. 'I want to challenge this order in court, and the only way to do that is to get the fine,' Jeffrey Evely said in the video. 'So I'm not trying to make trouble for you guys, I just want a piece of Tim Houston and I want to be as accommodating and nice as I can be.' One of the officers replies: 'Okay, so I'm ordering you to not.' 'Okay, roger that,' Evely replied in the video. Story continues below advertisement Evely, who stood as a political candidate for the People's Party of Canada, received thousands of comments on his videos. Some called his actions a cry for attention, and others were outraged on his behalf. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'If I defy their orders to go into the woods, then I will be fined,' he explained in his video. 'So I'm gonna walk down here… And go into these woods.' Wayne McKay, a professor at Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law, said the way Evely had gone about making the video could harm his defence. 'It's very clear and explicit both on the video and to the officers that he knows full well that this is a violation and in fact wants to be involved in a violation as a way of making a point,' he told Global News. 'So he certainly removed some of his defences.' The video follows a push from several groups, including the Ecology Action Centre and Dal Legal Aid, to have the ban overturned. The Canadian Constitution Foundation has threatened legal action to have the ban removed. When Evely exited the woods, he said he was handed a ticket for $28,872.50. The government confirmed a fine had been issued A spokesperson for Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources said a man from the eastern region was given a ticket, but did not address the question of his identity. Story continues below advertisement 'Since the wildfire prevention measures were put in place, the Department of Natural Resources has issued six fines to folks violating those measures,' the government said. McKay suggested it could be hard to make those fines stick. 'My personal feeling is that the government would be able to uphold the law,' he said. 'So it's both a risk to him — on a financial level — and a risk to the general public for that kind of conduct to be widespread.'
Scroll.in
29-04-2025
- Business
- Scroll.in
How Trump's taunts helped Canada's flailing Liberals to a fourth-term election win
Canada's 2025 federal election will be remembered as a game-changer. Liberal Leader Mark Carney pulled off a dramatic reversal of political fortunes after convincing voters he was the best candidate to fight annexation threats from United States President Donald Trump. 'We are over the shock of the American betrayal; we have to take care of each other,' he told cheering supporters in his victory speech in Ottawa. 'Together we will build a Canada worthy of our values. Canada strong, Canada free, Canada forever, vive le Canada!' Canadians gave the Liberals their fourth mandate since 2015, although the race against the Conservatives was much closer than polls predicted. Nonetheless, only four months ago, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had a 25-point lead in public opinion polls and a fairly secure path to victory. Yet Poilievre's lead soon vanished due to shifting voter sentiments defined less by the official campaign period and more by the months that preceded it. Justin Trudeau's early January resignation announcement and Carney's confirmation that he was officially in the Liberal leadership race dramatically changed the political landscape. Within a matter of weeks, Liberal support surged when Carney became party leader and Trump continued to make threats about Canada becoming a 51st American state – and to levy punishing on-again, off-again tariffs against the country. The party went from being 20 percentage points behind the Conservatives to overtaking them, putting the party on track to secure its fourth consecutive victory. A shift described by longtime pollster Frank Graves as ' unprecedented.' Thank you, Canada. Our strength lies in our resolve to work together. United, we will build Canada strong. — Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 29, 2025 Poilievre's messaging The emerging 'Canada Strong' and 'Elbows Up' narratives, linked to the widespread anti-Trump sentiment, proved a major advantage for the Liberals, who made the most out of this political gift. This shift, alongside Carney's elimination of the carbon tax, left Poilievre on the back foot as his longstanding messaging on Trudeau and his 'axe the tax' slogan became largely irrelevant. The impact of these shifts in electoral fortunes extended beyond the two main parties. As the election became increasingly a two-party race between the Liberals and Conservatives, the smaller parties struggled for relevance. Election campaign polling and early results indicated steep losses for the New Democratic Party, with Jagmeet Singh losing his own seat in Burnaby, British Columbia, and then resigning as party leader. This could be due to voters on the left responding to calls to vote strategically to prevent Conservative victories in various ridings. The Bloc Québecois also lost ground, as did the Green Party of Canada and the People's Party of Canada. Neither the Greens nor the People's Party of Canada fielded full slates of candidates or participated in the leaders' debates and therefore played comparatively limited roles in this election. Advance voting Another notable feature of this election was the record advance voting turnout, which surged to 7.3 million Canadians, up sharply from 5.8 million in 2021. Early voting has now become a central part of party campaign strategy, with campaigns 'getting out the vote' at every opportunity, not just on Election Day. This trend raises questions not only about whether overall turnout will rise, but also whether party platforms remain as influential given so many votes were cast before all parties released their platforms. While many Canadians take in elections with a focus on party leaders and seat counts, there are other important ways to contemplate election outcomes in terms of inclusion and voice. What does this election tell us about gender and diversity representation in Canada's Parliament? This was a deeply gendered election. The major party leaders are all men, with the exception of Elizabeth May, the Green Party co-leader. Preliminary candidate data showed a decrease in the number of women candidates compared to 2021. The New Democratic Party nominated the highest proportion of women candidates – the majority of its candidates are women – and fielded the most diverse slate of candidates in terms of Indigenous people, Black people, racialised people and LGBTQ+ candidates. But the party's dramatic losses mean these gains will not translate into more diverse representation in Parliament. Furthermore, one of Carney's first actions as prime minister was to eliminate the sex-balanced cabinet and to reduce the size of the cabinet. He eliminated the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality as well as ministerial portfolios focused on youth, official languages, diversity, inclusion, disability and seniors. Donald Trump is the best Liberal™ campaign manager in the history of Canadian elections. — de Adder Canada (@deAdderCanada) April 28, 2025 These decisions reverse previous efforts taken to institutionalise gender and diversity leadership in Canada's Parliament. Party platforms also reflected diverging approaches when it came to women. The Conservative platform only mentioned women four times, and three of those mentions were in the context of opposition to transgender rights. Young working-class men Polling also revealed intersections of generation, gender and class are increasingly relevant. Like the last federal election, young working-class men are increasingly drawn to the Conservatives. This trend appears to be driven less by fiscal conservatism and more by concerns about rapid social change, a trend also observed in the 2024 American presidential election. Many of these young men are expressing frustrations over housing affordability and job security, and what they view as the Liberal and the New Democratic Party's 'woke culture,' which they view as eroding traditional values that have traditionally benefited men. In contrast, Canadian women of all ages continue to favour parties they view as more progressive – the Liberals and the New Democratic Party. Theoretical explanations for this include young men feeling left behind by the Liberals, while the Conservatives have seemingly figured out a way to connect with them. This may reflect campaign rhetoric about returning to traditional expectations and values around gender roles and men's rights to well-paying jobs, an affordable home and taking care of their families. Electoral reform needed? In the aftermath of the election, there are avenues through which current gaps in representation can be addressed. Organisations like the United Nations' Inter-parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, as well as gender and politics scholarship, propose various reforms to continue to strengthen diversity in Parliament. These reforms are understood to be essential for enhancing the legitimacy, responsiveness and effectiveness of Canada's parliamentary system. Research on gender-and diversity-sensitive parliaments consistently shows that when legislative bodies reflect the diversity of the societies they govern, they are more likely to produce policies that are equitable, inclusive and trusted by the public. Overall, this Canadian election was characterised by transformative twists and turns that shed more light on important ongoing questions about representation and the potential need for democratic reform if Canadians want to avoid a two-party system.
Hamilton Spectator
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Liberal incumbent Adam van Koeverden wins Burlington North—Milton West
Burlington North—Milton West is staying red. Liberal incumbent Adam van Koeverden won against second-time Conservative candidate Nadeem Akbar. A new riding created in 2023 by redistribution of federal electoral districts, it includes about half of urban Milton from west of Ontario Street South, a northern section of Burlington from roughly Upper Middle Road, and a sizeable section of rural Milton in the north extending to Highway 7. The former Olympic sprint kayaker's win Monday follows his 2021 and 2019 victories, when he captured more than 50 per cent of the vote. Meanwhile, Akbar, an IT consultant specializing in infrastructure and cybersecurity, got just 33.1 per cent of the vote in the riding's 2021 race. The race also included the NDP's Naveed Ahmed and the People's Party of Canada Charles Zach.
CBC
29-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Incumbents re-elected in northwestern Ontario, CBC News projects
Voters in northwestern Ontario ridings have re-elected the incumbents in the 2025 federal election, CBC News projects. Liberal Patty Hajdu, who served as Minister of Indigenous Services during the previous term, is projected to retain her seat in Thunder Bay-Superior North., while fellow Liberal Marcus Powlowski is projected to hold onto Thunder Bay-Rainy River. In the west of the region, Conservative Eric Melilo was also projected to keep his seat in Kenora-Kiiwetinoong. With 162 of the riding's 204 polls reporting, Hajdu had just over 51 per cent of the vote, ahead of Conservative Bob Herman, who had about 38 per cent. "I'm really excited for our riding," Hajdu said. "Obviously, the country has re-elected a Liberal government. That's really good news for the country." Hajdu was first elected as MP in 2015. "It is such an honour to get to know this riding from corner to corner," she said. "It expanded this year, there are an additional five First Nations communities that have been added to Thunder Bay-Superior North." "We have challenges, obviously, but we have such opportunity in this region, and such incredible, resilient human beings." John Stephenson, a supporter of Hajdu, said he was thrilled to see her re-elected on Monday. "There's so many things that we need to focus on in this country," he said. "Homelessness, in particular, and affordable housing ... are high on my list of priorities." "But higher than anything else, I think, my concern is about climate change, and the fact that we're not doing enough as a country to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions." "I think, of all the parties, the Liberal government offers the most in that respect," he said. "I just hope it follows through." The NDP's Joy Wakefield, People's Party of Canada (PPC) candidate Amos Bradley, and Green John Northey rounded out the field. Kenora-Kiiwetinoong With 120 out of 157 polls reporting, Conservative Eric Melillo was projected to remain as MP for Kenora-Kiiwetinoong; with about 50 per cent of the vote. That put him well ahead of his closest competitor, Liberal Charles Fox, who had about 34 per cent. The NDP's Tania Cameron was at about 13 per cent, and was followed by the Green Party's Jon Hobbs, People's Party of Canada's Bryce Desjarlais and independent Kelvin Boucher-Chicago. Thunder Bay-Rainy River CBC News has also called the Thunder Bay-Rainy River race, with Liberal Marcus Powlowski projected to return to Ottawa as a member of parliament. With 190 out of 210 polls reporting, Powlowski had just over 48 per cent of the vote. Conservative Brendan Hyatt was at just over 43 per cent, while the NDP's Yuk-Sem Won had received just under seven per cent. The PPC's Sabrina Ree and Green Eric Arner are sitting in fourth and fifth spot, respectively.
