Category Archives: Canada

Beekeepers brace for next round with Canada’s ‘murder hornets’

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British Columbia resigned to a ‘long fight’ after 2020’s efforts to track and kill the invasive insects ended in frustration

The year 2020 is not one that beekeepers in Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia are likely to forget in a hurry. Since the spring, experts in both states have been gripped by fears of Vespa mandarinia, a hulking insect whose voracious appetite for honeybees and stealthy spread could pose a threat to the region’s vulnerable ecosystem.

I squeezed [the queen] on her thorax ... and this huge stinger came out. And the giant mandibles moved, trying to bite me. It was really quite beautiful

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Ontario minister who flouted Covid advice to take Caribbean holiday resigns

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Rod Phillips steps down as finance minister of Canada’s most populous province, adding to pressure on the premier, Doug Ford

The finance minister for Canada’s most populous province has resigned after going on a Caribbean vacation during the pandemic and apparently trying to hide the fact by sending social media posts showing him in a sweater before a fireplace.

Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, said on Thursday he had accepted Rod Phillips’s resignation as minister hours after Phillips returned home from a more than two-week stay on the island of St Barts despite government guidelines urging people to avoid non-essential travel.

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Canadian politician faked Twitter posts to conceal Caribbean holiday

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Ontario premier Doug Ford under pressure after he admits knowing about Rod Phillips’s trip for weeks

Ontario premier Doug Ford is under pressure after admitting that he has known for weeks that his finance minister – who faked social media posts to conceal his location – had ignored a coronavirus lockdown to go on holiday in the Caribbean.

Posts on Rod Phillips’s social media accounts suggested that he remained home over Christmas, but it emerged on Tuesday that the minister flew to the island of St Barts in mid-December – despite his own government’s advice to avoid non-essential travel.

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More than 190,000 ceiling fans recalled after blades fly off, hitting people

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US consumer protection agency received reports of blades flying into people and causing property damage

More than 190,000 ceiling fans sold at Home Depot are being recalled after reports that the blades fell off while spinning, hitting people and causing property damage.

The Hampton Bay Mara indoor and outdoor ceiling fans were sold this year between April and October at Home Depot stores and its website. About 182,000 of them were sold in the US and 8,800 were sold in Canada. They cost about $150.

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Render unto Rome – contrite tourists return pilfered relics

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Whether compelled by guilt or superstition, more and more tourists are returning items they lifted from Italian cultural sites

Some of the repentant sinners may be compelled by guilt, others by superstition.

But Italian museum curators and archeological officers have observed a trend of tourists who, having pilfered artefacts from cultural sites, return them, years later, with a heartfelt letter of confession.

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Boeing 737-8 Max: Air Canada jet shuts down an engine and diverts after mechanical issue

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Emergency signal sent from Montreal-bound plane carrying three crew before the plane was rerouted to Arizona

An Air Canada Boeing Co 737-8 Max en route between Arizona and Montreal with three crew members onboard suffered an engine issue that forced the crew to divert the aircraft to Tucson, Arizona, the airline says.

Shortly after the take-off, the pilots received an “engine indication” and “decided to shut down one engine”, an Air Canada spokesman said on Friday.

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Karima Baloch, Pakistani human rights activist, found dead in Canada

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Husband says foul play cannot be ruled out after body of 37-year-old dissident discovered in Toronto

A dissident Pakistani human rights activist living in exile in Canada has been found dead in Toronto after going missing.

Karima Baloch, 37, was granted asylum in Canada in 2016 after her work as a human rights activist in the troubled Pakistan state of Balochistan had led to her being followed and threatened by the authorities.

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Ontario announces hard lockdown after Covid cases surge

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Premier of Canadian province says restrictions will last for up to a month and should save thousands of lives

Canada’s most populous province is to enter a “hard lockdown” as Ontario experiences an alarming rate of new coronavirus cases before the Christmas holidays.

“Thousands of lives are at stake now,” said Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, on Monday, as he announced a slate of new restrictions that go into effect on Boxing Day. “If we fail to take action now, the consequences could be catastrophic.

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‘He’s the deer of the year’: Carrot on way to recovery after arrow pulled from head

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  • Whitetail deer made headlines last week for shocking injury
  • Carrot seen alive days after delicate operation to remove arrow

The last thing Carrot the deer probably wanted in 2020 was a hole in his head.

But the Canadian whitetail deer which made headlines last week for his shocking injury no longer has an arrow impaling his head.

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Not Amazon: Canadian website takes on the online giant

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Ali Haberstroh’s directory lists nearly 4,000 independent businesses in Toronto, Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver

In cities and towns around the world, darkened shopfronts and shuttered businesses have become an all-too-familiar symptom of the economic collapse triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

But while small businesses and local retailers struggle with lockdowns and restrictions, e-commerce giants like Amazon have raked in billions in new profits.

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Carrot the deer found in Ontario with arrow sticking out of his head

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Wildlife photographer Lee-Anne Carver is trying to share Carrot’s plight in hopes of saving injured deer

The Canadian winter can be tough for deer, as temperatures plummet and food becomes scarce. But Carrot, a whitetail buck living in northern Ontario, faces an additional challenge: he has an arrow sticking out of his head.

“It’s been really tough to see,” said Lee-Anne Carver, a wildlife photographer in the city of Kenora, who named the young animal. “I’ve been photographing animals for years and there’s something special about Carrot. He’s unlike any deer I’ve ever met.”

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Canadian cannabis firms Tilray and Aphria reveal £2.8bn merger

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All-share deal will create world’s largest weed company, as industry hopes for further liberalisation in US

Two of the leading players in Canada’s booming cannabis sector have announced merger plans that will create the world’s largest weed company, as the industry hopes for further liberalisation in the US under Joe Biden.

Tilray and Aphria announced an all-share deal giving the new entity a stock market value of C$4.8bn (£2.8bn), with the two companies’ combined revenues over the past 12 months amounting to an industry-leading £507m.

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Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygård arrested after US sex trafficking charges

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Designer facing class action lawsuit in US alleging the sexual assault of dozens of women

The fashion mogul Peter Nygård has been arrested in Canada after US authorities charged him with with racketeering and sex trafficking, alleging decades of crimes that left dozens of victims in the United States, the Bahamas and Canada.

Nygård, 79, was arrested in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act on Monday and made an initial appearance in court on Tuesday. He wore a white face mask, a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, with his long white hair pulled back in a bun. He has denied wrongdoing.

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Canadian man found guilty of manslaughter in death of Indigenous woman

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Brayden Bushby hurled metal trailer hitch that hit Barbara Kentner, who later died of complications resulting from trauma

A man who hurled a metal trailer hitch at an Indigenous woman walking along a snowy street in Thunder Bay has been found guilty of manslaughter, in a case widely seen as a grim reminder of the Canadian city’s deadly legacy of racism.

In her ruling Monday afternoon, Justice Helen Pierce found that the actions of Brayden Bushby led to the death of Barbara Kentner, 34, on 29 January 2017.

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Pornhub: Mastercard and Visa to block use of cards on site after child abuse allegations

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Companies respond as investigation finds videos of rape and revenge pornography

Mastercard and Visa said on Thursday they would block their customers from using the credit cards to make purchases on Pornhub following accusations the pornographic website showed videos of child abuse and rape.

They reacted following an investigation by the opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times that also alleged the site depicts revenge pornography and video taken without the consent of participants. Pornhub has denied the allegations.

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WW1 trench fever identified in former homeless man in Canada

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Discovery of wartime disease transmitted by lice prompts calls for more to be done for vulnerable

A disease transmitted by body lice that plagued soldiers during the first world war has been identified in a former homeless man in Canada, prompting calls for more to be done to improve conditions for vulnerable people.

Trench fever is caused by the bacterium Bartonella quintana and is spread by the faeces of body lice. The condition became rife among armies and is thought to have affected more than a million troops during the 1914-18 conflict.

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India summons Canada envoy as row deepens over Trudeau’s protest remarks

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  • India condemns ‘unacceptable interference’ from Canadian PM
  • Trudeau called clashes between police and farmers ‘concerning’

India has summoned Canada’s top diplomat to protest at comments by Justin Trudeau on recent mass protests by farmers in the country. Indian officials warned that continued “interference” in domestic affairs could harm relations between the two countries.

Related: Indian farmers march on Delhi in protest against agriculture laws

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US in talks to resolve case of arrested Huawei finance chief

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  • Meng Wanzhou held in Canada on bank fraud charges
  • Case has put US-China-Canada relations under strain

US prosecutors are discussing a deal with lawyers for the Huawei finance chief, Meng Wanzhou, to resolve criminal charges against her, a person familiar with the matter said, signaling a potential end to a case that has strained ties between the United States, China and Canada.

Negotiations between Meng’s attorneys and the US justice department picked up after the US presidential election a month ago, the person said, but it is still unclear what kind of deal could be struck.

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‘I’m stealing Christmas to keep you safe,’ says Canadian provincial premier – video

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Brian Pallister, the premier of Manitoba, has urged people not to get together this Christmas, as lockdowns in the province continue amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Speaking to the press on Thursday, he said: ‘I’m the guy who’s stealing Christmas to keep you safe because you need to do this now.’ Pallister has repeatedly faced criticism during the pandemic, reportedly vacationing in Costa Rica during the early stages and being accused of rushing to reopen Manitoba’s economy

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Vancouver plan to decriminalize street drugs sets up battle with Ottawa

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The city’s plan to reduce overdose deaths needs support from Canada’s government – but Justin Trudeau is likely to be reluctant

Vancouver has set the stage for a showdown with Canada’s federal government by moving to become the first city in the country to decriminalize street drugs – setting itself on a collision course with Justin Trudeau, who has so far declined to pursue the option.

The city’s council voted unanimously last week to ask the federal government in Ottawa for an exemption to the country’s criminal code, which, if granted, would remove the threat of criminal sanctions for possessing small amounts of street drugs for personal use within a city.

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