Via Rail on-time performance plunges after CN imposes new speed rules
By Christopher Reynolds Via Rail’s on-time performance hit new lows in recent months, internal documents show, a decline the Crown corporation blames largely on new rules from Canadian National Railway Co. Files obtained through an access to information request show that Via trains, which run mostly on CN tracks, arrived late along its Windsor-Quebec City corridor 80 per cent of the time in February and two-thirds of the time in January. That’s a significant leap from late-arrival numbers below 30 per cent during the same two months last year, though the heavy snowfall was also a factor in last month’s figures. In court filings in November, Via said that recently imposed speed restrictions on its Venture passenger trains were causing delays along its busiest corridor, affecting thousands of customers daily....
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Reclaiming the Navajo language — through English: A conversation with poet Esther Belin
By Dionne Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Diné poet Esther Belin has noticed the unique way writers from her community often engage with the English language. “Originally forced on us, English is now being reconstructed with Diné sound and thought,” she writes in the March issue of Poetry magazine. “Indigenous poetics is growing in numerous directions as writers continue to re-embody Indigenous thought and sound — in new and repatriated forms.” This idea is at the core of this month’s issue, which she guest-edited, of the 113-year-old “Chicago” magazine published by the Poetry Foundation. Belin worked with more than 20 Indigenous authors — most of them also Diné — to create a collection of poetry and prose that capture the essence of Diné bazaad (the Navajo language). Diné bazaad...
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Advocates and family of man shot by RCMP launch ‘people’s tribunal’ to probe police
By Nono Shen Legal advocates and relatives of an Indigenous man shot dead by RCMP officers in Campbell River, B.C., in 2021 have launched what they call a “people’s tribunal” to investigate crimes committed by police. Laura Holland, the mother of Jared Lowndes, says she’s “tired of waiting” for justice for her son, who was shot twice in the back in his car at a Tim Hortons drive-thru. The B.C. Prosecution Service last year declined to lay charges against any of the three officers involved in the incident, which the service says included Lowndes reversing his car into a police vehicle, trying to bear-spray police and stabbing a police dog to death. A group including Wet’suwet’en First Nation member Holland and her supporters, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and Pivot...
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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government terminates consumer carbon price
By Sarah Ritchie Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first move after taking office on Friday was to eliminate the consumer carbon price, undoing Justin Trudeau’s signature climate policy. Carney addressed members of the media after the Friday afternoon cabinet meeting, saying the government is “focused on action.” “We will be eliminating the Canada fuel charge, the consumer fuel charge, immediately, immediately,” he said. The order-in-council Carney signed in front of cabinet ministers and the press actually stipulates that the “the fuel charge be removed as of April 1, 2025.” That’s when the price was scheduled to rise again. Instead, it will be eliminated for consumer purchases. The price for big industrial emitters remains in place. Carney also said people who have been getting rebates on the carbon price will get one...
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Trump pledges to ‘expose’ his enemies in political speech at Justice Department
By Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer And Zeke Miller WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trumppledged to “expose” his enemies during a norm-breaking political speech Friday at the Justice Department in which he aired a litany of grievances about the criminal cases he faced and vowed retribution for what he described as the “lies and abuses that have occurred within these walls.” The speech was meant to rally support for Trump administration policies on violent crime, drugs and illegal immigration. But it also functioned as a triumphant forum for the president to boast about having emerged legally and politically unscathed from two federal prosecutions that one year ago had threatened to torpedo his presidential prospects but were dismissed after his election win last fall. Though other presidents have spoken from the...
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SpaceX launches a new crew to the space station to replace NASA’s stuck astronauts
By Marcia Dunn CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts launched to the International Space Station on Friday night, paving the way for the pair’s return after nine long months. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to get this relief team to the space station before they can check out. Arrival is set for late Saturday night. NASA wants overlap between the two crews so Wilmore and Williams can fill in the newcomers on happenings aboard the orbiting lab. That would put them on course for an undocking next week and a splashdown off the Florida coast, weather permitting. The duo will be escorted back by astronauts who flew up on a rescue mission on SpaceX last September alongside two empty seats reserved for...
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Advocates and family of man shot by RCMP launch ‘people’s tribunal’ to probe police
By Nono Shen Laura Holland’s voice shook with emotion as she talked about her smart and affectionate son, saying she is “tired of waiting” for justice for him. Jared Lowndes, or Jay as his family called him, was shot twice in the back by police as he sat in his vehicle at a Tim Hortons drive-thru in Campbell River, B.C., in July 2021. Holland said at a news conference on Friday that her family was torn apart following her son’s death at aged 38, and she has been doing everything she can to seek justice for him and other Indigenous people who have been killed by police in the province. “The only spark of life that we have is that our loved ones are pushing us because if we don’t...
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Judge won’t review case involving officer who kicked teen’s head like a soccer ball
By Aaron Sousa An Alberta judge won’t review the Crown’s decision not to charge an Edmonton police officer who kicked an Indigenous teenager five years ago. In a recent decision, Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Kraus dismissed a judicial review by Pacey Dumas, who was given a severe “soccer ball” style kick to the head by Edmonton Police Service Const. Ben Todd. Kraus dismissed the review because he found no evidence to support Dumas’s argument that failing to prosecute constituted an abuse of power. “The applicant has failed to point to any evidence of Crown conduct bordering on corruption, violation of the law, bias against or for a particular individual or offence, flagrant impropriety, improper motives, or bad faith,” he wrote. “Nor has the applicant established that the conduct...
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Reconciliation and a flourishing future with Jaime Fiddler
By Laura Mushumanski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter (ANNews) – Take your left hand and place it at the back of your head and now take your right hand and place it on top of your tailbone — the distance between your two hands is the longest running nerve in your body, the vagus nerve. The lower end of this nerve is where your nervous system allows you to feel safe and connected — whole. And when we feel like ourselves, that is what being grounded and connected to our spirit is. It takes an incredible amount of courage and leaning into doing things that feed our spirit — despite feelings of uncertainty, doubt or fear. This was the course of action our Métis sister Jaime Fiddler walked with that eventually...
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Carney says his government starts in a moment of crisis in Canada-U.S. relations
By Sarah Ritchie and Catherine Morrison Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister in a ceremony at Rideau Hall on Friday morning, along with a leaner Liberal cabinet that he said is focused on “meeting the moment” and facing down the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump. In his first press conference as prime minister, Carney said his government will concentrate on growing the economy, making life more affordable and making the country more secure. “One of the top issues, of course, is the crisis with respect to the United States, and the opportunity with respect to trade diversification,” he said. He said keeping together the core team of ministers who have been dealing with Trump’s tariff threats was very important. François-Philippe Champagne has been named...
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Nova Scotia identifies five areas for development of offshore wind
-CP-The Nova Scotia government has identified five areas that it deems suitable for the development of offshore wind farms. The government issued a statement Friday saying the next step is seeking input from Nova Scotians before official designations are granted, a process that will wrap up April 14. “Canada, with the world’s longest coastline, a stable regulatory environment and decades of experience in offshore energy development, is well-positioned to enter the $1-trillion global offshore wind market,” the provincial government said in a discussion paper released Friday. “Nova Scotia’s offshore is particularly promising, with strong winds and favourable underwater conditions — including water depth and geology — to support offshore wind energy projects.” The province’s goal is to issue licences for up to five gigawatts of electric offshore wind energy by...
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Via Rail on-time performance plunges after CN imposes new speed rules
By Christopher Reynolds -CP-Via Rail’s on-time performance hit new lows in recent months, internal documents show, a decline the Crown corporation blames largely on Canadian National Railway Co. Files obtained through an access to information request show that Via trains, which run mostly on CN tracks, arrived late along its Windsor-Quebec City corridor 80 per cent of the time in February and two-thirds in January. That’s a significant leap from late-arrival numbers below 30 per cent during the same two months last year. In court filings in November, Via said that recently imposed speed restrictions on its Venture passenger trains were causing delays along its busiest corridor, affecting thousands of passengers daily. It is seeking an injunction to have the restrictions lifted. CN responded that it implemented the new rules...
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Judge won’t review decision not to charge Edmonton officer who kicked Indigenous teen
By Aaron Sousa An Alberta judge won’t be reviewing the Crown’s decision not to charge an Edmonton police officer who kicked an Indigenous teenager in the head five years ago. Pacey Dumas, then 18, sustained life-threatening injuries after he was given a “soccer ball” style kick to the head in 2020 by Edmonton Police Service Const. Ben Todd. Dumas filed a judicial review after the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team found reasonable grounds to suggest that Todd had committed an offence. But Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Kraus dismissed the review because he found no evidence to support Dumas’s argument that failing to prosecute constituted an abuse of power. Kraus says the ruling isn’t to minimize what Dumas suffered or the lasting impact of his injuries. Dumas’s lawyer says...
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Nova Scotia identifies five areas for development of offshore wind
The Nova Scotia government has identified five areas that it deems suitable for the development of offshore wind farms. The government issued a statement today saying the next step is seeking input from Nova Scotians, a process that will wrap up April 14. A regional assessment conducted by federal and provincial officials had initially recommended eight potential areas for offshore wind development, but a further review shortened the list to five. Four of the areas are south of Nova Scotia’s eastern shore: French Bank, Middle Bank, Sable Island Bank and Emerald Bank. The fifth area, known as Sydney Bight, is northeast of Cape Breton. After the areas receive official designation, expected later this year, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator will manage a competitive licensing process. While offshore areas are...
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How one research project is ‘re-neighbouring’ two Indigenous communities
By Vanessa Watts ,Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies and Sociology, McMaster University December 2025 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report and its Calls to Action. Other forms of reconciliation are also happening among Indigenous communities that had previously been unconnected but share common experiences of systemic removal at the hands of powerful institutions. This new reconciliation includes two Indigenous groups that narrowly missed one another at a very specific and dark time in Canadian history now coming back together under new terms — their own. In southern Ontario, the similar yet distinct experiences of two groups of Indigenous people, both displaced from their homes and families and compelled to live in colonial institutions, played out separately, just 40 kilometres apart: First Nations children...
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Judge won’t review decision not to charge Edmonton officer who kicked Indigenous teen
By Aaron Sousa -CP-An Alberta judge won’t be reviewing the Crown’s decision not to charge an Edmonton police officer who kicked an Indigenous teenager in the head five years ago. Pacey Dumas, then 18, sustained life-threatening injuries after he was given a “soccer ball” style kick to the head in 2020 by Edmonton Police Service Const. Ben Todd. Dumas filed a judicial review after the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team found reasonable grounds to suggest that Todd had committed an offence. But Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Kraus dismissed the review because he found no evidence to support Dumas’s argument that failing to prosecute constituted an abuse of power. Kraus says the ruling isn’t to minimize what Dumas suffered or the lasting impact of his injuries. Dumas’s lawyer says...
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Mark Carney sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister
By Sarah Ritchie and Catherine Morrison -OTTAWA-CP-Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister in a ceremony at Rideau Hall on Friday morning — along with a leaner Liberal cabinet that he said is focused on confronting the immediate threat of U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariffs. Breezing past reporters on his way into the ceremony about an hour after Justin Trudeau stepped down, Carney said his team was ready to go. “We’re a very focused government, focused on action. We’re going to get straight to work,” he said. The new government includes 20 Trudeau-era ministers along with three new faces from the Liberal caucus. Carney has kept the core members of the team that has been handling U.S.-Canada relations since Trump returned to the White House,...
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Here are the people making up Mark Carney’s new Liberal cabinet
-OTTAWA-Prime Minister Mark Carney has named a 24-member cabinet, a team of ministers who will lead during the coming federal election campaign. Here’s a list of ministers and their portfolios: Dominic LeBlanc, minister of international trade and intergovernmental affairs and president of the King’s Privy Council for Canada • Mélanie Joly, minister of foreign affairs and international development • François-Philippe Champagne, minister of finance • Anita Anand, minister of innovation, science and industry • Bill Blair, minister of national defence • Patty Hajdu, minister of Indigenous services • Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of energy and natural resources • Ginette Petitpas Taylor, president of the Treasury Board • Steven Guilbeault, minister of Canadian culture and identity, Parks Canada and Quebec lieutenant • Chrystia Freeland, minister of transport and internal trade • Kamal...
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Trade war turmoil topples Canada’s main financial market from its all-time high
By Damian J. Troise NEW YORK (AP) — Trade war turmoil is weighing heavily on financial markets in Canada. Canada’s main stock index has been tumbling along with U.S. indexes since President Donald Trump initiated a trade war with his North American neighbors. Mexico’s main stock index has remained relatively steady following measures from the Mexican government to stabilize financial markets. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index reached an all-time high on Jan. 30. It started sliding a day later following the first salvo in the form of announced 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico. Since then, Trump has rattled markets with uncertainty as he changes his mind on implementing or delaying tariffs on a seemingly daily basis. The S&P/TSX composite has shed about 5% since...
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Here’s the latest as Mark Carney prepares to become Canada’s 24th prime minister
Mark Carney will be sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa today. Here’s the latest on today’s events — which also include the introduction of a new cabinet (all times Eastern): ——— 10:45 a.m. Guests begin to be admitted to Rideau Hall. ——— 10:35 a.m. Carney arrives at Rideau Hall. He tells reporters that his government is focused on action and will get “straight to work.” ——— 10:30 a.m. Former prime minister Jean Chrétien speaks to reporters outside of Rideau Hall. He says he supports Carney and that he thinks the incoming prime minister will do “very well.” ——— 10:20 a.m. Member of Parliament Karina Gould, defeated by Carney in the Liberal leadership race, congratulates Carney and his cabinet members on social...
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