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NDP seeks bigger tax break for volunteer firefighters as fire chief warns of crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

OTTAWA — New Democrats are calling on the federal government to increase the tax credit for volunteer firefighters as they combat wildfires raging across the country. MP Gord Johns held a news conference on Parliament Hill Wednesday alongside Paul Boissonneault, a board member from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, to call for an increase to the volunteer firefighter and search and rescue tax credit from $3,000 to $10,000. Johns introduced a bill in the House of Commons late last year to make the change. “The federal government (has) found billions of dollars to help make economic development investments across the country,” Johns said. “They should be able to find $30 million for the 90,000 plus volunteers right now.”Volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers are currently eligible for the tax credit if they have completed 200 hours of service. The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs says volunteers made up 70 per cent of firefighters in ...

Retail sales grow 1.1 per cent in April as consumer resiliency continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian retail sales came in stronger than initially estimated, as analysts say consumers proved resilient amid an economically challenging environment but that momentum is expected to slow.Retail sales rose 1.1 per cent to $65.9 billion in April, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday, topping its initial estimate for the month that pointed to an increase of 0.2 per cent.Gains at general merchandise retailers and food and beverage stores led the way higher.The agency’s advance estimate for May suggested a gain of 0.5 per cent for that month, though it cautioned the figure would be revised.BMO economist Shelly Kaushik said the figures show Canadian consumers continued to spend but “higher prices drove most of the increase as spending volumes rose at a much slower pace.”In volume terms, retail sales rose 0.3 per cent for April.“Looking ahead, momentum in consumer spending is expected to slow in the second half of the year, as yet higher interest rates ...

21 passengers injured in a collision between train and truck in northern Czechia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — A passenger train collided with a truck in northern Czech Republic on Wednesday, injuring at least 21 people, officials said.The national rescue agency said nine passengers on the train sustained moderate injuries. The other 12 passengers, including two schoolchildren were lightly injured.Police said that 19 schoolchildren were among 65 passengers aboard.The accident took place before 2 pm (1200 GMT) at a crossing in Straz nad Nisou near the city of Liberec, 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) north of Prague.Authorities have been working to determine how the collision took place.The Associated Press

Death toll from Manitoba bus crash rises to 16

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

The death toll from last week’s fatal bus crash in western Manitoba has risen to 16 after a woman who was in critical condition died of her injuries in hospital Tuesday.Manitoba RCMP confirmed the woman’s death in a brief update Wednesday.Nine people remain in hospital following the June 15 crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, west of Winnipeg. Four of those patients are in critical condition.“Shared Health and Prairie Mountain Health would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of the patient involved in the collision who succumbed to her injuries yesterday (Tuesday),” Manitoba’s Shared Health said in a statement.A minibus was carrying a group of seniors from Dauphin, Man., and the surrounding area to a casino when it went into the path of an oncoming semi-trailer truck.The province is scheduled to share the names of those killed on Thursday.

Paris firefighters battle blaze spewing smoke over Left Bank, after reported explosion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Firefighters fought a blaze on Paris’ Left Bank on Wednesday that is sent smoke soaring over the domed Pantheon monument and prompted evacuation of buildings in the neighborhood, police said.Local media cited witnesses describing a large explosion preceding the fire, and saying that part of a building collapsed. Paris police spokeswoman Loubna Atta said it was too early to determine the source of the fire and could not confirm reports it was a caused by a gas explosion.The Associated Press

In latest crackdown on critics, Russia declares World Wide Fund for Nature ‘undesirable’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities on Wednesday declared the World Wide Fund for Nature to be an undesirable organization, effectively banning it from operating in the country, in the latest move to stifle dissent.The global organization, which promotes wildlife preservation and works to reduce human impact on the environment, encourages activities that are “a cover for the implementation of projects that pose security threats in the economic sphere,” the Russian prosecutor-general’s office said, according to Russian news reports.“Under the pretext of preserving the environment, WWF is carrying out activities aimed at preventing the implementation of the country’s political course for the industrial development of the Arctic, natural resources in the Arctic territories,” it said.Last month, the environmental pressure group Greenpeace was forced to close its Russian division after Moscow declared it to be an undesirable organization. In recent years, Russia has methodi...

CP News Alert: Woman in Manitoba bus crash dies in hospital, death toll climbs to 16

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

DAUPHIN, Man. — Manitoba RCMP say a woman injured in last week’s crash between a minibus and a transport truck has died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 16.More coming.The Canadian Press

A Hungarian helicopter crashes during training in Croatia, killing at least 2 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — A Hungarian military helicopter crashed on Wednesday during a training mission in neighboring Croatia, killing at least two people on board, the country’s defense ministry said.Two Hungarian Air Force’s Airbus H145 helicopters were on a training flight when one of them crashed, the Defense Ministry told the MTI news agency.Three people were on board the helicopter that crashed in the area of the Cikola River canyon, some 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of the capital, Zagreb. Rescue teams have recovered bodies of two people while a search was underway for the third member of the crew.Officials said an investigation will determine why the helicopter crashed. Croatia media said it might have hit a zip line in the canyon area used by adventure-seeking visitors.“The flying rule is look and avoid,” Croatian Air Force commander Michael Krinazec said at a news conference. “One can never be certain that nothing is in the air when flying below 300 meters (984 fe...

Poet Stuart Ross wins Trillium Book Award for ‘The Book of Grief and Hamburgers’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

TORONTO — An unflinching meditation on loss and mortality has won Ontario’s top book prize.Stuart Ross took home the $20,000 Trillium Book Award on Tuesday night for “The Book of Grief and Hamburgers.”Ross wrote the book — which is described as a hybrid between essays, memoir and poetry — after his brother died and his closest friend was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Meanwhile the $10,000 Trillium Book Award for Poetry went to Sanna Wani for “My Grief, the Sun.” Gilles Lacombe won the French-language Trillium Book Award, also worth $20,000, for “Circé des hirondelles.”“Le secret de Paloma” by Michèle Laframboise was awarded the $10,000 prize for the best French-language children’s book.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2023.The Canadian Press

MASN agrees to payment in dispute over Nationals-Orioles TV rights, AP source says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:37:24 GMT

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network has agreed to pay the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles around $100 million each following a protracted dispute over the value of the Nationals’ television rights from 2012 to 2016, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither team had made an announcement. The Washington Post first reported the settlement, which removes one hurdle in the Lerner family’s efforts to potentially sell the Nationals franchise.When MLB purchased the Montreal Expos and moved them to Washington in 2005, the Orioles said another team nearby would harm them financially. MLB and the two teams negotiated an agreement under which MASN would televise both teams’ games, with the teams receiving equal rights fees.The Orioles, who control MASN and have a significantly larger ownership stake in the two-team regional sports network, stand to benefit from lower rights fees. MASN paid the Nationals for 2012...