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Ontario budget to bring ‘targeted investments’ but no more paid sick day program

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

TORONTO — It’s budget day in Ontario and the finance minister says he’s prepared a plan with “targeted investments” to ensure the province’s economy stays resilient in the face of uncertainty.One investment that won’t be in the budget, however, is a sick day program.Government sources told The Canadian Press on the eve of the budget that a program to give workers three paid sick days during the pandemic won’t be renewed after it expires at the end of this month.The Opposition NDP has pushed for the establishment of 10 permanent paid sick days and leader Marit Stiles says people should never be forced to go to work sick just to put food on the table.  Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy has been signalling that his budget will feature restraint, after years of big spending on COVID-19-related programs, but has said that won’t equal program cuts.Bethlenfalvy says the budget will be a plan to attract jobs and build – he and the premier ha...

Firm handshakes, hard lines: Trudeau, Biden to talk protectionism, Haiti, migration

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

WASHINGTON — He’s hell-bent on restoring blue-collar American manufacturing to its former glory, considers free trade a dirty word and wants Canada to wade voluntarily into a failed, gang-ravaged state that’s a quagmire waiting to happen. To be sure, Joe Biden is no Donald Trump. But he doesn’t always make it obvious. The U.S. president arrives in Ottawa tonight on a whirlwind 24-hour visit — a significantly less elaborate itinerary than first envisioned in the Prime Minister’s Office — two full years since becoming commander-in-chief.“This will be the first true, in-person bilateral meeting between the two leaders in Canada since 2009,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. The first year of Biden’s term focused on rebuilding Canada-U.S. relations following Trump’s divisive term in office. The second focused on meeting obligations, “including prioritizing orderly and safe migration through regular path...

Budget 2023 to detail crackdown on ‘junk fees’ for consumers: federal source

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

OTTAWA — A federal source says the coming budget will detail how the Liberals plan to go after hidden or unexpected consumer fees, following the United States announcing its own crackdown on these charges.Often referred to as “junk fees,” they can include those tacked on to the initial price of a product or service that hide, and inflate, the total cost.The government official, who was granted anonymity to discuss matters not yet public in next week’s budget, says the Liberals plan to work with regulatory agencies, provinces and territories to cut down such fees.These agencies would include the Competition Bureau, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. No legislative changes regarding the charges are expected in the budget, which Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has said will include “targeted inflation relief” as part of efforts to make life more affordable.While the budget is expe...

Pope Francis’ tour came with a minimum $55-milliion price tag for Ottawa

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

A family member of residential school survivors says the minimum $55-million price tag for Pope’ visit to Canada last year feels like another slap in the face for Indigenous people. “Think of all the money that could have gone to survivors, all of the money that could have gone to healing, all of the money that was rightfully supposed to be given to folks who survived genocide,” Michelle Robinson, who is Sahtu Dene, said from Calgary. Documents obtained by The Canadian Press under freedom of information laws show the federal government spent a minimum of $55,972,683 for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church to visit Canada over six days last July.   Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in residential schools during stops in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut.Indigenous Services Canada earmarked about $30 million. Those funds were to be used for travel, local programs and healing initiatives.Crown-Indigenous Relations spent $5.1 million, the majority for a $3.9-million c...

Parks Canada says new reservation system working well as bookings open in busy Banff

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

CALGARY — Parks Canada says its new online reservation system to book camping sites and other activities at national parks appears to have worked well during its first week of operations.The site was recently updated to fix an older one that was prone to crashes and glitches.The new system has different reservation dates from mid-March to mid-April at each national park, historic site and marine conservation area, which are listed on the Parks Canada website.Bookings started in British Columbia, some of the eastern provinces and for Jasper National Park in Alberta last week, while reservations for Ontario sites opened Tuesday.Camping reservations in Parks Canada’s busiest location — Banff National Park, also in Alberta — are set to open this morning, and shuttle reservations to visit the park’s popular Moraine Lake and Lake Louise start on Apr. 13.Parks Canada says it has observed mostly positive comments from users so far and any dissatisfaction appears to be people not...

Israel passes law protecting Netanyahu as protests continue

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Thursday passed the first of several laws that make up its contentious judicial overhaul as protesters opposing the changes staged another day of demonstrations aimed at ringing an alarm over what they see as the country’s descent toward autocracy.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition approved legislation that would protect the Israeli leader from being deemed unfit to rule over his corruption trial and claims of a conflict of interest surrounding his involvement in the legal changes. Critics say the law is tailor-made for Netanyahu, encourages corruption and deepens a gaping chasm between Israelis over the judicial overhaul.The legal changes have split the nation between those who see the new policies as stripping Israel of its democratic ideals and those who think the country has been overrun by a liberal judiciary. The government’s plan has plunged the nearly 75-year-old nation into one of its worst do...

Daily horoscope for March 23, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT today (10 a.m. to noon PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Aries into Taurus.Happy Birthday for Thursday, March 23, 2023:You are curious and adventurous, which means you want to learn as much as you can. You are an entertaining person and fun to be with. This year service to others is your theme. In order to benefit others, it’s important to take care of yourself. Time for a makeover?ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★Like Obi-Wan, today you might feel a great disturbance in the Force as Pluto changes signs. This might signal that your friends will change. Likewise, you might decide that goals you have been pursuing are no longer worth pursuing. Shallow friendships will end. Tonight: Useful money decisions.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★A major change taking place today will empower you to achieve your life goals, and possibly change your life direction or your career path. Take all the time you need t...

French parliament votes nuclear plan with large majority

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

France's parliament voted with a large majority in favour of the government's plan for nuclear investment on Tuesday (21 March). This vote came just days after the government narrowly survived a non-confidence vote on its pension reform plan.With 402 votes for and 130 against, the nuclear renewal plan was approved. Its key component is the construction of six more nuclear reactors. 278 lawmakers supported an opposition-led motion of no confidence on Monday. This was nine votes shy of the 287 required to bring down the government.Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne tweeted: "After the Senate last Month, the lower house tonight by a large majority voted for the nuclear plan...the result of a co-construction, which aims to combat climate change and ensure our energy sovereignty."After his government almost collapsed over the pension reform plan and his government was forced to resign, President Emmanuel Macron wants to regain the initiative through new reforms within the next weeks. Nuclear...

Miss Manners: How can I make them stop being rude about my employee’s hair?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am the manager of a gift store where my clientele mostly ranges from 40 to 70 years old. I have an employee in her early 20s who is sweet, super helpful and professionally courteous — everything you’d want in a worker.She has her own unique style, and changes her hair with fun colors or highlights; right now it’s a very pretty shade of light green.Several customers have made inappropriate comments to her about it, including laughing. One woman pointed at my employee, saying to her daughter, “See? I told you she had green hair. Isn’t that nuts?”My employee takes it in stride, smiling through it all, but I feel terrible. I’ve wanted to say something to these customers, but I don’t want to lose their business. Nor can I afford to lose my employee.I’m not sure what I can say to get them to stop being so rude to a human being in public.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Should I call people to expla...

Dear Abby: My wonderful relationship has gone bad, and I’m scared

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I have been in a relationship for five years. It started out wonderful, but now I’m having second thoughts.He keeps putting my kids down and telling me I’m a bad mother. It’s so bad he has even put a knife to my throat. And, yes, he hits me.I am not an angel, but I always stand up for him and have his back. However, I don’t see him having mine.There’s so much more I could say, but I am scared if he knew I was writing to you it would end up bad for me. I need help, but I don’t know what to do. He has isolated me from my family and friends. Please help me. LOST AND AFRAID IN THE EASTDEAR LOST: The man you are involved with is a dangerous abuser. What you must do next, for the sake of yourself and your children, is quietly contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-7233 or visiting thehotline.org for help in formulating a safe escape plan.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My husband said I’m insa...