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CAQ looks to hang on to hotly contested Jean-Talon riding in Quebec byelection today

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

QUEBEC — Residents of the hotly contested Quebec City riding of Jean-Talon are voting in a byelection today.Coalition Avenir Québec’s Joelle Boutin triggered the byelection when she quit politics this summer.Premier François Legault went door knocking in the riding one week ago with his candidate, Marie-Anik Shoiry.Shoiry is facing off against Pascal Paradis of the Parti Québécois, whose party is polling second to the CAQ provincewide.Leftist Québec solidaire is represented by Olivier Bolduc, who finished second to Boutin in last year’s general election.The Quebec Liberals have put up Élise Avard Bernier in the riding, which was a former stronghold for the party before Boutin’s byelection win in 2019.More than one-fifth of eligible voters — 22 per cent — cast early ballots on Sept. 24-25.The Coalition Avenir Québec holds 89 seats in the 125-seat legislature, followed by the Liberals at 19, Québec solidaire with 12 and the PQ with three. There is one Independent mem...

Promise tracker: What Manitoba’s main parties would do if they win the election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

WINNIPEG — Manitobans go to the polls on Tuesday. Here’s a look at some of the promises announced by the province’s three major parties over the past month:Progressive Conservatives— Stand firm in the government’s decision not to search the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of slain First Nations women Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, citing safety concerns.— Cut in half the rate applied to the bottom personal income-tax bracket, saving the average person earning $50,000 in annual income $1,900 per year when fully implemented in 2028. — Remove the federally imposed carbon price on the natural gas portion of hydro bills.— Eliminate the land transfer tax for first-time homebuyers, saving about $5,700 on the average home.— Spend $120 million over four years to recruit health-care workers.— Provide up to $10 million in capital funding to develop of a First Nations-operated addiction centre in Winnipeg.  New Democrats— Commit to searching the Prairie Green landfil...

Imperial, Alberta regulator knew for years about tailings seepage at mine: documents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

EDMONTON — Documents filed by Imperial Oil Ltd. show the company and Alberta’s energy regulator knew the Kearl oilsands mine was seeping tailings into groundwater years before a pool of contaminated fluid was reported on the surface, alarming area First Nations and triggering three investigations.“They knew there was seepage to groundwater,” said Mandy Olsgard, an environmental toxicologist who has consulted for area First Nations.“The (Alberta Energy Regulator) and Imperial decided not to notify the public and just manage it internally.”Imperial said in a statement that seepage was anticipated in Kearl’s original design. Spokeswoman Lisa Schmidt said the company has kept both the regulator and area communities informed.“We have been working to address the areas of shallow seepage from our operating lease area,” she said. “We recognize there are concerns regarding water quality, and we take this very seriously.”Alberta Ener...

Homeowners brace for mortgage payment shock amid higher-for-longer rate outlook

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

TORONTO, Australia — From ultra-low interest rates that led to a huge spike in real estate demand to the speed with which interest rates shot up to levels not seen in a generation, it’s been hard to keep up with the shifting landscape for mortgage holders.Now, with interest rates increasingly expected to stay higher for longer, many of the homeowners who locked in low rates years ago are likely bracing themselves for financial pain as their mortgage comes up for renewal. “Each month that passes, roughly two per cent of mortgage holders face renewal at sharply higher interest rates,” Royce Mendes, managing director and head of macro strategy at Desjardins, wrote in a Sept. 19 note to clients.Borrowers with fixed rates are expected to see an average payment increase of between 14 per cent and 25 per cent next year compared with early 2022 costs, according to the Bank of Canada. In 2025 and 2026, payments should rise between 20 per cent to 25 per cent.Those with full variable rates hav...

NextGenerationEU: Commission disburses second payment of €2.76 billion to Romania under the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

The 29 September payment of €2.76 billion in grants and loans was made possible by Romania's fulfilment of 49 milestones and targets linked to the second instalment. They cover key reforms in the areas of the green and digital transition, such as the adoption of the decarbonisation law and the entry into force of the law for the governance of cloud services deployed in the public sector. Romania has also put forward reforms to improve its public policy delivery, promote tourism and culture, develop human resources in the health sector, improve tax collection and the sustainability of pensions, modernise the education system's infrastructure, as well as to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption.Payments under the RRF are performance-based and contingent on Romania implementing the investments and reforms outlined in its recovery and resilience plan.On 16 December 2022, Romania submitted to the Commission a second request for payment of €2.8bn un...

Miss Manners: At what age should one start picking up the tab?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Without being rude, how do I convey to my adult, employed children that it is OK for them to pick up the tab once in a while when grabbing a meal of convenience?Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Am I out of line in asking people not to hide during video meetings? Advice | Miss Manners: I confronted the bride about the exclusion, and she got defensive Advice | Miss Manners: I was annoyed by the fuss over the cost of my dinner Advice | Miss Manners: They stormed off and forgot the cooler. Do I have to keep it for them? Advice | Miss Manners: What am I allowed to say about a stranger’s hair? I’m not talking about an invitation to dinner, but the times when, after a long day of whatever, we decide to order delivery together. Or when we are out shopping and it gets to be lunchtime. They have this general expectation that the elder will pay the bill.We can all afford it, but...

Los incendios forestales de Canadá envolverán la ciudad de Nueva York y el noreste en una neblina de humo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

(CNN) — Se espera que el humo de los incendios forestales que aún arrasan Canadá cubra parte del noreste de Estados Unidos este lunes, generando neblina en las ciudades de Nueva York y Massachusetts, dicen los meteorólogos.“Los pronósticos actuales indican que una columna de humo de incendios forestales puede llegar a la ciudad de Nueva York alrededor del amanecer de este lunes por la mañana, causando cielos notablemente brumosos”, dijo el alcalde de la ciudad de Nueva York, Eric Adams, en una advertencia a los residentes este domingo.El Departamento de Conservación Ambiental del estado de Nueva York pronosticó condiciones de calidad del aire moderadas en 55 en su índice de calidad del aire, alertando a los residentes que tienen condiciones de salud preexistentes a tomar las precauciones necesarias a la luz de la calidad del aire prevista.“Los incendios forestales en Canadá continúan produciendo algunos impactos de humo en el estado de Nueva York y el humo a ...

WTOP’s Neal Augenstein: My first year with stage 4 lung cancer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

You probably remember about this time last year I started coughing. I didn’t stop coughing until I was diagnosed and began treatment for stage 4 lung cancer.By now, you likely know that after a couple months of coughing, I was surprised to learn in November 2022 that I had cancerous tumors and lymph nodes in both lungs, at age 63, with no history of smoking.Fast forward, after five months of one-pill-a-day targeted therapy, and a robot-assisted lobectomy, my oncologist said I had no evidence of disease — or NED.I’ll be the first to acknowledge I’ve had good doctors, good medicine, good insurance and good luck on my side — not to mention countless warm wishes and prayers from folks who know my work at WTOP.My hope is sharing my journey may make the experience a little less scary for others diagnosed with the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.So, one year in, I decided to interview three key members of my treatment te...

Luke Donald urged to stay as European captain for Ryder Cup defense as new generation emerges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — European captain Luke Donald was delivering his Ryder Cup victory speech in front of a giddy crowd at Marco Simone when his celebrating players standing beside him started a chant that quickly swept through the grandstands.“Two more years” was the cry, seemingly led by Rory McIlroy and drawing a broad smile from Donald.As the party continued into the night in Rome, Donald tempered any talk of him staying on as captain after orchestrating Europe’s 16½-11½ victory over the Americans that won back the 17-inch golden trophy on Sunday.For Donald, any thoughts of leading the Europeans into what will be a febrile atmosphere at Bethpage Black in New York in 2025 could wait.Not so for McIlroy.“I think everyone sitting here,” the four-time major winner said in the post-competition team news conference, “would be very happy to have him again.”No one has captained Europe in back-to-back Ryder Cups since Bernard Gallagher did so, three times in a row in fact, in...

EU foreign ministers arrive in Kyiv to talk weapons

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:42 GMT

The EU’s foreign affairs ministers and chief diplomat Josep Borrell meet Monday for a special session with their Ukrainian counterpart — but instead of Dmytro Kuleba coming to Brussels or dialing in, this time they’ve gone to Ukraine.“We are convening a historic meeting of EU foreign ministers here in Ukraine, candidate country and future member of the EU. We are here to express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people,” Borrell said Monday.“The fact that this Foreign Affairs Council is coming to Ukraine is a message in itself,” showing that Ukraine is moving closer to EU accession, Kuleba told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook in a phone call. “The message is that Ukraine is becoming a member of the European Union, the process is taking place right as we speak and hold these meetings,” Kuleba added, underlining that he expects “to open accession talks by the end of the year.” There’s hope the EU-Ukraine talks on Monday yield tang...