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No deal at union deadline; federal workers hit the picket lines as talks continue

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

OTTAWA — Negotiations are expected to continue despite thousands of members with Canada’s largest federal public-service union walking off the job this morning at 12:01 a.m. ET.A late Tuesday news release from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says the government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada are still at odds when it comes to key contract issues for both sides. The bargaining groups involve some 155,000 federal public servants, including 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers.With picket lines expected to be set up this morning at some 250 plus locations, the union is calling the strike action one of the largest in Canadian history. National President Chris Aylward said during a brief news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday night that despite the move, union officials are still hopeful and the goal is to get a tentative agreement.A handful of federal ministers, including Mona Fortier, president of the Treasury Board, are expected to address the media later today...

‘Slap in the face’: Freeland’s Disney Plus comment made her a villain, records show

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

OTTAWA — Once upon a time, Chrystia Freeland attempted to relate to Canadians’ cost-of-living concerns with a personal anecdote — and it didn’t produce a fairy-tale ending. “I personally, as a mother and wife, look carefully at my credit card bill once a month, and last Sunday I said to the kids, ‘You’re older now. You don’t watch Disney anymore. Let’s cut that Disney Plus subscription,'” Freeland told Global News in an interview that aired on Nov. 6.She went on to say: “I believe that I need to take exactly the same approach with the federal government’s finances, because that’s the money of Canadians.”Maybe Freeland meant to show that managing a $430-billion budget is not all that different from handling a household one. But as word of the clip spread throughout the land, and was viewed nearly a million times in just a couple of days, so did outrage.Emails sent to her office and obtained by The Canadian Press ...

Competition Ltd.: Why big banks dominate Canada’s financial landscape

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

TORONTO — Whether you’re catching a flight, opening a new bank account or picking up groceries, a small group of big names takes up most of the market share. Competition Ltd. is a Canadian Press series that explores what this means for products — and prices — in the country.———At the end of last year, Canada’s Big Six held about 93 per cent of all banking assets in the country. It’s the same share they held a decade earlier, and a decade before that. The tight hold on the market of RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, Scotiabank and National Bank is not from a lack of others trying. “I’ve really defined my career over the last 15 years as sort of putting my foot in doors as they’re being slammed, because it’s really challenging,” said Andrew Moor, chief executive of EQ Bank, whose tag line is “Canada’s Challenger Bank.”EQ is one of the many alternatives in Canada’s financial industry that have been working to diversify the landscape, but while they have made inroads, and there are struct...

Former consultant to wind industry warns of turbines’ toll on migrant birds in N.S.

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

HALIFAX — Environmental researcher John Kearney says the whirring blades of a proposed 13-turbine wind farm in Nova Scotia may cut greenhouse gases, but the risks they pose to migrating birds are too high.The 74-year-old former consultant to the wind industry has in recent years set up acoustic monitoring in southwestern Nova Scotia, documenting species ranging from black-capped chickadees to spotted sandpipers as they call out during autumn flights.“I’m speaking from the perspective of a person who supports both the objectives of wind power and preserving biodiversity, and here they come in conflict,” he said in a recent interview, shortly after submitting written submissions to the province objecting to the proposed project on a peninsula west of Yarmouth.“To me, it’s quite clear this wind farm should never happen.” Kearney has a PhD in environmental anthropology — which involves relationships between humans and nature. He came to his conclusion...

Daily horoscope for April 19, 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping from 9 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. PDT today. After that, the Moon moves from Aries into Taurus.Happy Birthday for Wednesday, April 19, 2023:You have perseverance and ambition — a marvelous combo that helps you achieve success in whatever you pursue. You are also competitive and will protect your independence. This is a wonderful year to socialize and enjoy yourself. Have fun, but don’t lose sight of your goals. Old friends might reappear.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★★This is the best day of the year to take a realistic look in the mirror and check out what you project to your world. How does it stack up? Can you make improvements? Haircut? Wardrobe? Shoes? Remember: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Tonight: Money quarrels.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★On this special New Moon Day, you have an opportunity to think about the spiritual dimensions of your life. What do you believe when the lights are out? The New Moon is the perfect t...

Pope Francis calls 'insinuations' against John Paul II unfounded

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

Pope Francis rejected on Sunday (16 April) as offensive and unfounded the insinuations made by the brother of a Vatican Schoolgirl who disappeared 40 years ago, about Saint John Paul II, one of his predecessors.Emanuela Orlandi was the daughter of a Vatican usher who failed to return home after a music lesson on June 22, 1983 in Rome. She was 15 years old at the time, and lived in the Vatican with her family. Her disappearance remains one of Italy's longest-lasting mysteries.On Tuesday, the case began a new chapter when Pietro met Alessandro Diddi the Vatican's chief prosecutor. Francis gave Diddi free reign to investigate the case.Pietro Orlandi, who had spent more than eight-hours with Diddi, appeared on a TV programme and played a part of the audio recording of a man he said was a member of an organized crime group. Italian media has speculated for decades that this man may have been responsible for his sister's disappearance.The voice of an alleged gangster claims that, more tha...

Miss Manners: Am I bad friend to ignore his bizarre dining practice?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I went out to dinner with a friend and he did something so odd and unappetizing when eating soup: He put a spoonful of soup in his mouth, then squirted some of it out (as a baby would), then scraped that excess soup from his lips with the spoon and loaded it in again.He did this over and over until the bowl was empty. It was as though he was both the baby being fed and the parent feeding the baby.He’s a dear friend, and I’m not sure if I should say something to him. I’m afraid it’ll embarrass him and could cause him to become defensive or even unfriend me. But I hate to think what other people are thinking of him when they see him eat soup. He goes out for meals frequently with clients and friends.Should I keep it to myself, knowing I’m maybe not being the best friend? Or point it out and take the real chance of losing his friendship? I’m torn.GENTLE READER: Ew. Still, correcting another person’s manners is rude.Related Ar...

Dear Abby: Given how my marriage ended, what should I do with the ring?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My wedding ring from my first marriage was perfect. My then-boyfriend asked my dad for my late mother’s ring to propose to me. He took the ring to a jeweler and had the stone put in a modern, beautiful setting that I loved.We are divorced now because my husband transitioned to female. We’re amicable, all things considered.I can’t imagine a lovelier ring if I want to remarry someday. If I do, can I use the same ring because of its sentimental value? I think I may want a fresh start and a different ring, but I can’t imagine anything better, and I feel stuck.THINKING ABOUT THE RINGDEAR THINKING: This is something you will need to discuss with the next person who expresses an interest in marrying you. Many men would not like the idea of you wearing the ring from your first marriage.A compromise might be to reuse the heirloom stone and have it placed in a setting you both agree is appropriate. (It would sure save someone a lot of money.)Related Articles...

English soccer coach gets longer ban for discrimination

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A manager in England’s lower soccer leagues had a ban for using discriminatory language toward his players increased to three years on Wednesday following an appeal by the Football Association.John Yems, the former manager of fourth-tier club Crawley Town, admitted to one charge and was found guilty of 11 others relating to comments made from 2019-22 that referenced ethnic origin, color, race, nationality, religion, belief or gender.Among the evidence heard by a disciplinary panel set up by the FA, the 63-year-old Yems was found to have used anti-Muslim language, as well as racial slurs and stereotypes toward Black players.He was handed a 15-month ban in January but the FA wanted a longer sanction, saying it “fundamentally disagreed” with the findings of a panel which sided with Yems’ lawyers, who argued he was “not a conscious racist” and did not “ever intend to make racist remarks.”An appeal board more than doubled the length of the sanction, which means he is banned...

Part of DC’s Fort Totten Park closes for investigation after discovery of metal canisters

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:15:17 GMT

A section of Fort Totten Park in D.C. has been closed after the discovery of two metal canisters on Tuesday.Fort Totten Park is closed just east of Fort Totten Drive, south of Gallatin Street, and north of Brookland Avenue Northeast/Farragut Street “out of an abundance of caution,” the National Park Service said in a news release.On Tuesday, a park employee found the metal canisters in a mound of soil at the park. It’s not the first time metal canisters have been found there.Back in 2020, the National Park Service discovered a World War I era metal canister on the ground in a different area of Fort Totten Park. It was removed from the site and inspected by the Defense Department to determine whether it could be an unexploded ordnance. The investigation determined that the munition was an “unfused and unused, empty canister”; its source is unknown.In a letter to the National Park Service in February, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton requested the agency t...