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Ontario NDP, ATU Canada increase calls for funding, staffing for transit safety

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

Toronto mayoral candidates, labour leaders and Ontario’s Opposition NDP all urged various solutions Wednesday to a wave of violence on transit, including more operational funding, a task force, social supports, and physical barriers on platforms.Amalgamated Transit Union Canada president John Di Nino said at a news conference with the NDP that his union is renewing its calls for a national task force led by the provinces, adding it should be a priority for the Ontario government.“Front-line transit workers are getting assaulted with deadly weapons. Passengers are getting murdered on platforms and subway cars. And the provincial government just doesn’t give a damn,” said Di Nino.The union initially called for a national transit safety task force in late January, and said it must include transit agencies from across Canada and representatives from all levels of government.Di Nino said transit safety issues are “a national crisis” that is particularl...

Suspects in Aylmer arson that destroyed $1.1M home have ties to GTA: police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

Peel Regional Police are assisting an arson investigation in Aylmer, Ont. after a newly built home was intentionally destroyed by a group of suspects with ties to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).Aylmer’s Police Service began investigating an arson incident on Aspen Parkway on March 24, 2023, at approximately 2:30 a.m.Investigators said the home had been built and completed but not moved into at the time of the fire and was destroyed with a total loss of 1.1 million.It’s alleged that a group of suspects used a large amount of gasoline that resulted in an explosion impacting the residence.The suspects then fled in a vehicle. Investigators do not know the make and model.Police believe one suspect suffered serious burn injuriesPeel police said smouldering discarded clothing was located at the scene, and investigators located and seized other evidence.With the help of the Ontario Fire Marshall and the Ontario Provincial Police Forensic Identification Unit, authorities believe ...

Police: 1 hospitalized in incident at Chicago’s Trump Tower

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Police said SWAT officers took one person to a hospital after responding to a domestic incident on Wednesday at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, located in the city’s central Loop near the Chicago River. The large police presence outside the condo-hotel quickly drew attention from workers and tourists in the busy area. Officers blocked access to the building using yellow caution tape and police vehicles.“At this time, we believe this is an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public,” Chicago Police media representatives said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. Police later said the incident was resolved with no injuries and one person was taken to a hospital “for evaluation.”The department didn’t release more detail about what prompted the large police response or how it was resolved. The Associated Press

West Virginia atheist inmate sues over Christian programming

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An atheist and secular humanist is suing multiple officials in charge of the agency that runs West Virginia’s jails and prisons, accusing the state of violating his constitutional rights by requiring Christian-affiliated programming as a condition of release. Andrew Miller, who is currently incarcerated at Saint Marys Correctional Center and Jail, filed a lawsuit in a federal district court Tuesday alleging the state is forcing Christianity on incarcerated people and has failed to accommodate repeated requests to honor his lack of belief in God. The suit claims Miller encountered “religious coercion” in June 2021 when he entered the Pleasants County correctional facility. Miller is serving a one- to 10-year, nondeterminative sentence for breaking and entering.Miller alleges the federally-funded substance abuse treatment program he is participating in — which is a requirement for his parole consideration — is “infused with Christian practices,” includin...

S&P/TSX composite ends down more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index closed down more than 100 points as losses in base metal, energy and technology stocks weighed on the market, while U.S. stock markets put in a mixed showing.The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 116.21 points at 20,159.55.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 80.34 points at 33,482.72. The S&P 500 index was down 10.22 points at 4,090.38, while the Nasdaq composite was down 129.47 points at 11,996.86.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.31 cents US compared with 74.37 cents US on Tuesday.The May crude contract was down 10 cents at US$80.61 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.16 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was down US$2.60 at US$2,035.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was up about two cents at US$3.99 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

End of legacy funding to send close to 4,000 children with autism back to school

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

Ontario’s Autism Coalition is sounding the alarm over the decision to reduce funding for 4,000 children with autism and moving them into the school system, starting as early as this week.They say the schools aren’t ready for them.Michelle MacAdam has two daughters with autism, some of the lucky few thousand children who had been receiving funding in the legacy program, which means they received full funding for therapy-based needs.However, the Ford government has just ended that program meaning legacy funding will now be capped. MacAdam’s daughters will now receive the same as other children who are enrolled in core services, a fraction of what they are used to.She said she doesn’t object to sending her children to school, she just fears the schools won’t have enough Educational Assistants to help them.“If they are put in a mainstream classroom, I don’t know if they will have support. My biggest fear for my girls is safety and being a flight...

Dog owners on high alert, risk to humans remains low after pet dog dies of avian flu

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

Experts are warning GTA residents to be hypervigilant after pet dog has died of avian flu in Oshawa as Toronto confirms avian flu has been detected in the city.The dog was infected after chewing on a wild goose. It’s the only case of its kind in Canada so far.Toronto Animal Services confirmed there have been six confirmed cases in birds tested between late 2021 and the end of 2022 and one raccoon that tested positive in late 2022.They say the City and Toronto Public Health continue to monitor the situation.While the risk to humans is low, more avian flu cases are being reported in birds in nearby regions and dog owners are on high alert.Matthew Miller, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research said, in some ways, it was inevitable that this would happen.“We do know domestic animals like dogs and cats are susceptible to influenza virus,” said Miller. “We’ve already heard reports of skunks and raccoons and other scaveng...

Man charged in case of woman missing from Navajo Nation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted a New Mexico man on assault and carjacking charges in connection with the 2021 disappearance of a Native American woman whose case has helped to raise awareness about missing people and unsolved slayings in Indian Country. The indictment naming Preston Henry Tolth, 23, was unsealed Tuesday. He is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate Friday in northern Arizona for a detention hearing and formal arraignment. Federal prosecutors alleged that Tolth assaulted Ella Mae Begay, a Navajo woman who was 62 at the time, took her pickup truck and drove it across state lines. Begay has not been found.“This indictment is an important first step in determining the truth about what happened to an elderly victim on the Navajo Nation,” U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino of Arizona said in a statement, stressing that the investigation was ongoing.Begay’s truck was seen the morning of June 15, 2021, leaving her home in the remote commu...

B.C. to boost minimum wage to $16.75 an hour, matching inflation with 6.9% hike

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s minimum wage will increase to $16.75 an hour, a boost that the government says fulfils a promise to tie the benchmark pay level to inflation.The new minimum wage kicks in on June 1 and represents a 6.9 per cent increase from the current $15.65 an hour.Labour Minister Harry Bains says the measure is a key step to preventing the province’s lowest-paid workers from falling behind.He says the same percentage increase will apply for residential caretakers, live-in home-support workers and camp leaders.A ministry statement says the wage increase matches B.C.’s 2022 average inflation rate and will benefit about 150,000 workers, most of them food service staff, grocery store workers, retail workers and others who were essential workers during the pandemic.The $1.10 increase is much greater than the 45-cent boost in 2022, which matched the previous year’s 2.8 per cent inflation rate.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Ap...

White House addressing antisemitism at the start of Passover; opportunity for all faiths to combat hate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 18:00:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - On Wednesday, Jews around the world will celebrate the first night of Passover, and the White House is using the occasion to address antisemitism in the U.S."It really is a cautionary tale about what is also going on right now in America. Unfortunately, antisemitism is on the rise," White House Jewish Liaison Shelley Greenspan said.Greenspan says President Biden is sending a message to the Jewish community and all Americans."He is with them, that we will condemn antisemitism, every step of the way," Greenspan said.In 2021, an FBI report showed Jews were the target of more than half of religiously-motivated crimes."No one should ever feel unsafe to practice their religion and to express their identity," Greenspan said.During this year's Passover, Christians and Muslims are also observing their own holidays of Easter and Ramadan. Greenspan says it's a special opportunity for each faith to combat hate together."Working in an interfaith capacity, building bridges ...