Yahoo News

Farmer frustrated about missing climate action in Sask. budget

The words "climate change" show up once in Saskatchewan's latest budget document, but only in the context of how budget pressure will be driven by — among other things — federal climate change policy. The Saskatchewan government is projecting a $1-billion surplus for 2023-24, opting to use that money to pay down debt and touting an increase to health care and education spending, but a Saskatoon climate activist and farmer says he is frustrated with the lack of money earmarked to fight climate ch

MI5 hikes Northern Ireland terror threat level to 'severe'

LONDON (AP) — The U.K.’s MI5 intelligence service on Tuesday raised the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland’ to “severe” amid an increase in activity by dissident Irish republican militants. Severe is the second-highest rung on a five-point scale and means an attack is considered highly likely. The threat had stood one notch lower at “substantial” for the past year. Paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland laid down their arms after the 1998 Good Friday peace accord largely ended three dec

Shoppers Drug Mart moves away from medical cannabis, will send patients to Avicanna

TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. is moving away from its medical cannabis distribution business and preparing to transfer patients to a platform run by biopharmaceutical company Avicanna Inc. The pharmacy chain owned by Loblaw Companies Ltd. announced the shift Tuesday, but did not say what prompted the change or how much money Toronto-based Avicanna is paying for Shoppers to refer patients to its MyMedi.ca platform. “We are grateful for the trust placed in us by our medical cannabis patients o

Supervised injection site CACTUS Montréal to cut hours despite rise in fentanyl overdoses

The head of Montreal's largest supervised drug consumption site says the service is preparing to cut hours as of Saturday due to a funding shortfall, prompting fears of more deadly fentanyl overdoses in the midst of a worsening opioid crisis. Jean-François Mary, executive director of CACTUS Montréal, says his organization is facing a 27 per cent drop in public health funding earmarked for its needle exchange program compared to last year, which he says will also affect the centre's supervised co

Planting a garden from seed is easy and can start now

The catalogs have been thumbed through, and the seed racks are sprouting like weeds at local nurseries and garden centers. There is now enough daylight across the country to start garden seeds without the aid of artificial lights. Some seeds can be planted directly outdoors. Others will have to be started inside. Either way, where I come from you are not a real gardener unless you start at least one thing you grow from seed. Sure, you can always buy already started plants, but seeds give you bra

Education sector says Sask. K-12 budget insufficient

The Saskatchewan government increased operational funding to K-12 education by 2.5 per cent in the 2023-24 budget, but the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) say that falls short of what's needed. "Saskatchewan students are losing out with this budget," STF president Samantha Becotte said after the budget release on Wednesday. The province's 27 school divisions are receiving $2.04 billion in operating funding in 2022-23, a $49.4-million

California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin

A field that has long grown tomatoes, peppers and onions now looks like a wind-whipped ocean as farmer Don Cameron seeks to capture the runoff from a freakishly wet year in California to replenish the groundwater basin that is his only source to water his crops. Taking some tomatoes out of production for a year is an easy choice if it means boosting future water supplies for his farm about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Fresno. He’s pumping 300 acre-feet a day — enough to supply hundreds

Unaffordable affordable homes: Rent at some single room occupancy units more than $1,000

Across downtown Vancouver, there are more than 160 single-room occupancy [SRO] buildings that contain small single rooms, usually with a shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. The rental units serve as part of the city's affordable housing stock, typically offering a cheaper option than market rental apartments. SRO housing is often seen "as the last stop before homelessness," according to the City of Vancouver's website. But without any control measures in place, the price of rent at certain p

Letter of thanks highlights how free feminine hygiene products can be a 'blessing'

It's been a year since a University of Windsor students group has been providing free menstrual products across the city. And now they know how at least one person who uses the service feels about it. The author used blue marker and drew a big heart at the top, near where they underlined the name of the recipient. "Dear P. Pantry." "You'll never understand what a blessing !!! this is," said the anonymous writer, who left the letter in the cabinet at Wolf and Rebel, a self-care boutique in Ford C

Former Taiwan leader begins mainland tour at historic tomb

NANJING, China (AP) — Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou began a 12-day tour of China with a symbolism-laden visit to the mausoleum where the founding father of both China and Taiwan is entombed. Ma visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, the capital when Ma's Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang) ruled China in the early part of the 20th century. The party claimed to be the legitimate ruler of China for decades and is seen as more sympathetic to integration or unification with the mainland th

US opens investigation into Tesla seat belts coming loose

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. highway safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into problems with Teslas, this time tied to complaints that the seat belts may not hold people in a crash. The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers an estimated 50,000 Model X SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years. The agency says it has two complaints from Tesla owners that the front belts weren’t sufficiently connected at the factory. Documents posted by the agency Tuesd

The massive Texas storm that produced deadly tornadoes and baseball-sized hail

On this day in weather history, a person died from getting struck by large hail.

• 
  Mississippi residents cleaning up after a series of deadly tornadoes

  ABC News Videos
• 
  Satellite images show scale of destruction in Mississippi before and after tornado

  The Independent

Vancouver Archdiocese, high school file new lawsuits to fight allegations of sexual abuse

The Archdiocese of Vancouver and one of two local high schools facing allegations of systemic sexual abuse have now filed their own lawsuits denying any wrongdoing, saying any mistreatment of students was through no fault of their own. The archdiocese and St. Thomas More Collegiate (STMC) high school filed their claims last week in response to an ongoing class action lawsuit that has claimed abusive teachers targeted students in Vancouver for decades after they were transferred from the notoriou

Uncrewed Russian spacecraft that leaked coolant lands safely

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian space capsule safely returned to Earth without a crew Tuesday, months after it suffered a coolant leak in orbit. The Soyuz MS-22 leaked coolant in December while attached to the International Space Station. Russian space officials blamed the leak on a tiny meteoroid that punctured the craft's external radiator. They launched an empty replacement capsule last month to serve as a lifeboat for the crew. The damaged capsule safely landed Tuesday under a striped parachute in t

Push in states for $20 minimum wage as inflation persists

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Just years after labor activists persuaded a handful of states to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour, workers initially thrilled with the pay bump are finding their hard-won gains erased by inflation. New York City resident Anthony Rivera, 20, who sorts packages at a United Parcel Service facility in Brooklyn, said he had to take a second job at a grocery store after his food costs soared. “I was sitting at $15 an hour at UPS, and when it came to paying bills and buying

15-year-old girl dead after Martindale shooting

Calgary police have confirmed that a 15-year-old girl died after being shot in the northeast Calgary neighbourhood of Martindale early Tuesday morning. Officers were called to the 200 block of Martin Crossing Crescent N.E. at about 1:30 a.m. for reports of a shooting in an alley, police said. The girl was in the passenger seat of a vehicle on the 300 block of Martindale Drive when she was shot, investigators said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. "We are still in the early stages of this in

Alberta doctors sound alarm over low number of grads seeking residency in province

The number of medical residencies in Alberta that went unfilled has grown during the last decade, especially in family medicine, data from the Canadian Resident Matching Service shows. Numbers released last week show that 12 per cent of Alberta's post-graduate training spots for doctors went unfilled this year after a first round of matching. It's the highest first-round vacancy rate in a decade, which the president of the Alberta Medical Association said is alarming news for the supply of futur

BIPOC USHR unsurprised as P.E.I.'s number of hate crimes doubles

A rise in the number of hate crimes on P.E.I. is not at all surprising, local advocates say. Nineteen cases of hate-motivated crimes were reported by police in 2021, data from Statistics Canada shows. That's more than double the number of cases reported the year previous — eight cases were reported in 2020. The increase means the rate of police-reported hate crimes on P.E.I. per 100,000 people is now the highest in the country. They represent 11.6 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 8.8 cases

Canada steps up clean tech investments in budget to compete with US

Canada on Tuesday sought to close competitive gaps with United States with a budget aimed at attracting investment in the low-carbon economy, including tax incentives for electric-vehicle (EV) manufacturers and expanding the electricity grid. The 2023-2024 fiscal document, delivered to the House of Commons, also has a "grocery rebate" for 11 million low-income Canadians, an expansion of dental care to households, and investments in healthcare announced earlier this year. The small New Democrat Party, whose support keeps Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority government in power, in a statement welcomed the grocery rebate and dental care measures.

• 
  INSTANT VIEW- Canada unveils big spending budget betting on green transition

  Reuters
• Teamsters Canada Pleased to See Federal Budget 2023 Supports Middle-Class Families

  CNW Group