🇨🇦🇺🇦 Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine

A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade has died in Ukraine. Jean-Francois Ratelle, 36, was also known by the call sign "Hrulf."

Global Affairs Canada said it is aware that a Canadian has died in Ukraine, but would not provide the cause of death.

#Ukraine
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💸 Business insolvencies climb 41% and could get worse, report suggests

A new report found business insolvencies climbed more than 40 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023 and could go even higher as many businesses are now stuck repaying pandemic loans.

The data echoes a recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which found that business insolvencies climbed 129.3 per cent in January compared to a year prior, as businesses fight labour shortages, higher costs and high-interest rates.

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💰Life in Canada is 'more expensive' than most immigrants expected, new poll finds

The overwhelming majority of immigrants who arrived in Canada within the last decade say that life is “more expensive” than they anticipated, according to a new national poll.

The Leger survey found that 84 per cent of recent arrivals to Canada agreed that life is either “significantly” or “somewhat” pricier than they originally envisioned prior to immigrating. Meanwhile, just two per cent of respondents felt that the cost of living was “less expensive” than initially thought.

The economic concerns of new arrivals are a grievance increasingly shared by the Canadian public more broadly.

Inflation is the leading worry for both groups, followed in a slightly different order by the state of health care — the second highest concern for Canadians and fourth highest for newcomers — real estate affordability, and the economy and jobs.

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🚒 Canada's first electric fire truck was in service less than a month before it needed repairs

Vancouver's brand-new, $1.8-million fire truck was in service for less than a month before it was sidelined for repairs. The all-electric Rosenbauer RTX has a leaky water tank.

At a cost of $1.8 million, it’s $300,000 to $500,000 more than a new diesel engine.

#BritishColumbia
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🇨🇦🇵🇸 NDP, Liberals drop recognition of Palestinian statehood to pass motion

A last-minute deal between the Liberals and the NDP agreeing to amend a motion to recognize a Palestinian state saw the removal of the most contentious provision, allowing the significantly watered-down motion to pass the House with the support of the Bloc Québécois.

🔹The House of Commons debated the non-binding NDP motion throughout Monday, which originally called for the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state.

Late into the debate the Liberals provided an amendment wich among other things called for the government to work with international partners towards a “just and lasting peace,” which would eventually include a Palestinian state, rather than immediate unilateral recognition of statehood.

That amendment received NDP support, and the Liberals, including the cabinet, supported the amended motion, with only a few Liberals voting against it. Conservatives protested the new amendment’s introduction and its late notice.

#Palestine
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🇨🇦🇮🇱🔫 Trudeau government to stop sending arms to Israel, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says

The Trudeau government will cease future arms exports to Israel even though a motion passed Monday by the House of Commons that called for such action is non-binding, says Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.

It is worth mentioning that Israel has not purchased arms from Canada in recent years. However, Canadian companies have supplied Israel with protective equipment, such as armored vehicles for the police and civilian dual-use systems. In total, these supplies were worth about $20 million a year.

❗️These changes will have almost no impact on Israel. Trudeau's ruling Liberal party is clearly seeking to garner broad support from Canada's Muslim population ahead of new parliamentary elections.

#Israel #Palestine
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🇨🇦🇺🇦🇨🇿 Canada spending $40M to help Czechs send ammunition to Ukraine

Canada is buying artillery ammunition and night vision equipment for Ukraine as part of its latest round of aid for the country. Canada plans to spend $40 million to send artillery ammunition to Ukraine as part of a deal with Czechia.

The Czechs said last month they have 800,000 pieces of ammunition and needed other countries to chip in to help get it to the front lines. Defence Minister Bill Blair says night vision equipment worth $7.5 million is being sourced from a Canadian company to send to Ukrainian troops.

Canada’s military support for Ukraine has reached $4 billion in the two years.

How much of that money will actually make it to Ukraine? And how much will get lost in Ukraine itself?

#Ukraine
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🪲Canada's top 10 bed bug cities

Orkin Canada, the country's largest pest control company, has some good news for Vancouver: the city has dropped from second to sixth place in the ranking of cities with the most bed bugs in the country.

These pests are extremely resilient and can move from place to place easily and unnoticed. Known as expert hitchhikers, bed bugs cling to clothing, luggage and furniture to make their way into new spaces, Dr. Alice Sinia, an entomologist with Orkin Canada, warns.

Toronto took the honorable first place on the list. And here are the other cities that have become a haven for bed bugs:

🪲Toronto
🪲Sudbury
🪲Oshawa
🪲Hamilton
🪲Ottawa
🪲Vancouver
🪲Winnipeg
🪲St. John's
🪲Sault Ste. Marie
🪲Scarborough

You can tell right away who loves traveling to France.

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🚙 How Toronto police envision tackling car theft

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🌱Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party has put forward a motion calling on the Trudeau government to cancel the 23% carbon tax increase scheduled for April 1

The motion is correct and relevant. How much longer will the Trudeau government continue to abuse Canadian farmers?

Trudeau whines in Parliament that carbon tax will make money for Canadian families, and accuses the Conservatives of denying them that opportunity.

❗️The reality, however, is that when calculating the rebate, the government uses Statistics Canada's average data on things like driving. They use a figure of about 15,000 kilometers per year to calculate the rebate, although many of you reading this article right now, especially those living in suburbs and rural areas, drive much more than that.

When they calculate home heating costs, they again use averages and average emissions, meaning a 525 square foot condominium in downtown Toronto mixed with a large suburban home for a family raising three children.

Anyone raising a family in the suburbs or rural areas of this country is most certainly paying more than they are getting back in the carbon tax.

#Trudeau #Poilievre
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When bands say they’re touring “Canada”

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🩺 Canada ranks last out of 10 high-income countries when it comes to access to a family doctor for routine care, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund.

The proportion of Canadians aged 18 and older with access to primary health care services fell from 93 per cent in 2016 to 86 in 2023.

While 86 per cent is still high, the report found that in 2023, approximately four million Canadian adults did not have a primary care physician.

In this regard, it would be good to ask the Trudeau government, when will this practice of lowering all indicators related to the well-being of the people end? Why do we have to read all these stories about yet another important indicator declining?

Canada is trying to get involved in international conflicts, and take care of everyone except its own citizens.

#healthcare #Trudeau
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Man walks down Burton Avenue in Greater Sudbury, Ont., wearing a swastika on his arm. March 20.

Will the police respond? 

#Ontario
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He was probably on his way to Parliament to give a standing ovation to yet another Ukrainian "hero" who fought against the Soviet Union during World War II.

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Cocaine worth $194M seized at Port of Halifax after tip from U.S. Homeland Security

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says it has seized more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine from a shipping container that was destined for Europe at the Port of Halifax.

The CBSA says in a news release it was first tipped off on March 4, when U.S. Homeland Security Investigations flagged the shipping container, which originated from California.

On March 6, the container was examined at the port in Halifax.

Border services officers conducted an in-depth search, leading to the seizure of 1,556 kilograms of cocaine found concealed inside the container.

the agency wrote in a news release.

The seizure has been valued at approximately $194 million.

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One of Canada’s most wanted fugitives returned to B.C. to face murder charge

Conor D’Monte, the accused gangster who is charged with murder and conspiracy, has now been extradited to Canada from Puerto Rico.

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia said in a statement on Friday that D’Monte, one of Canada’s most wanted fugitives, is now in a Canadian pre-trial facility.

He was being held in custody in Puerto Rico where he was arrested after years of being on the run for his alleged role in a gang-related homicide.

D’Monte was charged with first-degree murder in 2011 in the killing of rival Red Scorpion gangster Kevin LeClair.

#BritishColumbia
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🥇Canada wins World Women’s Curling Championship in Sydney, Nova Scotia

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🚙 People are installing bollards in their driveways to protect their cars from thieves in Toronto

The car theft situation in Toronto is so intense that it seems the only way to save your car is to physically barricade it. Or to not have a car at all.

The second option would definitely please Chrystia Freeland, who believes you don't need a car to live comfortably. After all, if you need to go somewhere, you can always be picked up by a private driver in a government-provided car.

💸 Not a day without new taxes - Toronto is considering introducing a so-called stormwater tax, as well as stormwater tariffs and water service fees.

Toronto's aging stormwater infrastructure and its impact on the environment are at the core of the proposal.

The proposed fee structure would likely be based on the amount of impervious surfaces on the site, such as roofs, driveways and parking lots, that contribute to runoff during rainfall.

Stormwater fees may place an unfair burden on some groups, such as low-income families or small businesses, who may lack the resources to implement water management solutions or cover additional costs.

And that's not to mention the administrative issues that can arise.

#Ontario
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📉 Ottawa to decrease number of temporary residents to 5% of the population over the next three years

For the first time, Canada will put a “soft cap” on the number of new temporary resident arrivals to the country when it sets immigration levels in the fall, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Thursday.

A decision that is long overdue.

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🏘 The Trudeau government created the housing crisis, and now it's punishing provinces for failing to build affordable housing in today's market.

#Trudeau #housing
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