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Israel PM Netanyahu rules out cease fire until Hamas frees hostages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a temporary cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying he will press ahead with a devastating military offensive until hostages held by the Hamas militant group are released.Netanyahu spoke Friday shortly after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who pressed Israel for a temporary pause in its offensive in order to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Blinken also urged Israel to do more to protect civilians from its attacks.In a statement to reporters Friday, Netanyahu said Israel is continuing with “all of its power” and “refuses a temporary cease-fire that doesn’t include a return of our hostages.”Hamas kidnapped some 240 people in its bloody Oct. 7 cross-border attack that triggered the Israel-Hamas war. The attack killed some 1,400 people, while over 9,000 people have been killed since Israel began striking Gaza the same day, according to Palestinian health officials.BLINKEN CALLS FOR PROTECTION OF PALESTINIAN CI...

Trans Mountain Corp. issued stop-work order for environmental non-compliance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

CALGARY — The company building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been issued a temporary stop-work order due to environmental non-compliance related to a wetland near Abbotsford, B.C.The Canada Energy Regulator said Thursday it issued the order on Oct. 25. It said its inspection officers found Trans Mountain Corp. had not installed sufficient fencing to protect amphibians in the area while work was going on.The regulator also said it found unapproved vegetation clearing had taken place in the area.The regulator has ordered Trans Mountain Corp. to stop work in the area until the issues are corrected and the company submits a safety inspection and report.The Trans Mountain pipeline is Canada’s only pipeline system transporting oil from Alberta to the West Coast. Its expansion, which is nearing completion, will boost the pipeline’s capacity to 890,000 barrels per day from 300,000 bpd currently and improve access to export markets for Canadian oil companies.This repo...

CP NewsAlert: New Brunswick Premier Higgs says he won’t call an election this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he won’t call an election this year, ending weeks of speculation that the governing Progressive Conservatives would go to the polls almost a year early.The premier had repeatedly said he needed a new mandate to quell the political drama that has gripped the province for months, but he squelched election speculation today, saying there would no vote in 2023.In June of this year, two of Higgs’s cabinet ministers quit, citing his inflexible leadership style and changes the majority government made to the province’s policy on gender identity in schools. Six Tory members of the legislature voted with the Opposition to call for an external review of the policy change, and Higgs responded by dropping dissenters from cabinet. Under the changes to Policy 713, students under 16 who are exploring their gender identity must get their parents’ consent before teachers can use their preferred first names or pronouns at s...

Conservation deal aims to protect 30 per cent of B.C. land by 2030

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

VANCOUVER — An environmental agreement to protect 30 per cent of British Columbia’s land by 2030 was signed today between the federal and British Columbia governments and the Indigenous-led First Nations Leadership Council.The target of the framework agreement means another 100,000 square kilometres of land must be designated, adding to the 20 per cent of B.C. that’s already protected, the most of any province or territory.A federal government statement says it’s the first agreement with a province to support Ottawa’s 30-per-cent-protection goal, which underpins Canada’s national biodiversity strategy.It says the federal government will invest up to $500 million over the life of the deal, with B.C. providing matching funds.Federal funding includes $50 million to protect 4,000 square kilometres of old-growth forest, and $104 million to restore the habitat of species at risk.Other targets include supporting the recovery of spotted owls, and protecting eno...

McGill says Quebec tuition hike threatens future of Schulich School of Music

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

MONTREAL — McGill University says Quebec’s $8,000 tuition increase for out-of-province students threatens the future of the renowned Schulich School of Music.Principal Deep Saini said Thursday that enrolment of Canadian students from outside Quebec could drop by between 20 and 80 per cent after the new $17,000 tuition takes effect next fall.He says such a loss would be “devastating” for the Schulich School, where nearly 40 per cent of students come from other provinces and territories.Saini also raises the possibility of cuts to varsity teams, a third of whose members come from elsewhere in Canada.McGill estimates the tuition increase, plus new government charges tied to international student enrolment, will deprive the university of between $42 million and $94 million every year.Job cuts numbering in the hundreds and suspensions of major infrastructure projects are among the other consequences Saini outlines.The Quebec government says it needs to double tuition fo...

Ontario auditor general launches probe into Ontario Place redevelopment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

Ontario’s auditor general has launched a pair of audits into the Ford government’s redevelopment plan of Ontario Place.CityNews has confirmed the provincial watchdog is looking into the government’s reimagined vision for the lakefront public space, which includes a private, for-profit spa as well as the decision to move the Ontario Science Centre down to Ontario Place.“As these audits are currently in progress, we cannot comment on them further,” read a brief statement from the auditor general’s office.The Ford government has faced mounting scrutiny over the timeline and the bidding process for the redevelopment of the iconic waterfront park, specifically a 95-year lease handed to Austrian-based Therme Group to to build and operate a water park and what is described as a European-style bathing centre. Critics have pointed to a lack of transparency surrounding the deal, pointing out that no environmental assessment is necessary on the design becaus...

Some 65,000 Quebec teachers to begin unlimited general strike Nov. 23

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec union representing 65,000 elementary and high school teachers is launching an unlimited general strike as of Nov. 23.Sixty delegates with the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement — known as the FAE — made the decision Thursday after they voted to reject the province’s latest contract offer.In September the union voted for a general strike but didn’t set a date, and its leadership says there are about three weeks left to reach a negotiated settlement.The government’s latest offer includes a 10.3 per cent salary increase over five years and a one-time payment of $1,000 to each worker.That offer applies to the FAE and to hundreds of thousands of other public sector workers, whose unions are negotiating at the same time with the province.A group of unions calling itself the “common front” has opted for a series of single-day strikes, the first of which will start on Monday and involve workers in the health and social services sector.Thi...

Prosecutors add hate crime allegations in shooting over Spanish conquistador statue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State prosecutors added hate-crime allegations Thursday to charges of attempted murder against a New Mexico man accused in the shooting of a Native American activist amid confrontations about aborted plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador in public, at a court hearing Thursday in northern New Mexico.Defendant Ryan David Martinez pleaded not guilty to all charges at the arraignment overseen by a district court judge from a courthouse in TierraAmarilla.Assistant District Attorney Tony Long indicated that his office will pursue sentence enhancements based on the use of a firearm and try to prove that the shooting was motivated by bias against a particular social group.Martinez was arrested on Sept. 28 after chaos erupted and a single shot was fired at an outdoor gathering in Española over canceled plans to install a bronze likeness of conquistador Juan de Oñate, who is both revered and reviled for his role in establishing early settlements along the...

Chicago's 110th Christmas tree donated by Darien family

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

CHICAGO — The City of Chicago's 110th Christmas tree is being donated by the De La Cruz family of Darien.The 45-foot Colorado Blue Spruce will be cut down Friday morning and arrive in Millennium Park on Monday.The tree will be illuminated during the Tree Lighting Ceremony on November 17.This year's tree lighting ceremony, presented by Powering Chicago with leadership support from the Millennium Park Foundation and the Pritzker Foundation, will include multiple viewing locations with screens and concessions in the Park.Please visit Chicago.gov/Holiday for full program lineup and schedule.

Girl God Comedy Duo Talks Upcoming Show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:55 GMT

Girl God Comedy Duo April Clark and Grace Freud are performing this Sunday at Lincoln Hall. girlgod.coSunday, November 5 at 7pmLincoln Hall - 2424 N Lincoln Avelh-st.comDaytime Chicago airs weekdays on WGN from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.