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US renews warning it will defend treaty ally Philippines after Chinese ships rammed Manila vessels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States renewed a warning Monday that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea. Philippine diplomats summoned a Chinese Embassy official in Manila on Monday for a strongly worded protest following Sunday’s collisions off Second Thomas Shoal. No injuries were reported but the encounters damaged a Philippine coast guard ship and a wooden-hulled supply boat operated by navy personnel, officials said.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called an emergency meeting with the defense secretary and other top military and security officials to discuss the latest hostilities in the disputed waters. The Philippines and other neighbors of China have resisted Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims over virtually the entire South China Sea, and some, like Manila, have sought U.S. military support as incidents mul...

In the news today: Defence Minister to face questions about Gaza hospital blast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Blair to face questions about Canada’s evidenceDefence Minister Bill Blair is expected to face further questions today about the evidence Canada has gathered to determine a rocket blast at a hospital in Gaza City did not originate in Israel.Blair made the statement Saturday night, five days after the attack at the al-Ahli Arab hospital.The blast came nine days after a renewed conflict in the region following an assault by Hamas militants in Israel and retaliation by Israel in the Gaza Strip.Blair says the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command did its own analysis of evidence and reached a conclusion that aligns with findings of the United States and France.Debate to silence Ontario NDP legislator resumesThe debate on a Progressive Conservative motion to effectively silence an Opposition legislator is set to resume in the Ontario legislature today. Premier ...

Parti Québécois to unveil Year One budget of independent Quebec

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

QUEBEC — The Parti Québécois will unveil today what the first budget of a theoretical, independent Quebec would look like.The so-called Year One budget will be presented today by leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and will contain a projection of revenues and expenditures for the first year of an independent Quebec that he has promised for several months.The party has gone through the budget exercise a few times in its history to define the financial framework of an eventual sovereign Quebec.It’s the first time the sovereigntist party has produced such a document since 2005 when it was presented by then-PQ member François Legault, now the Quebec premier and leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec.Legault, who quit the PQ in 2009 and founded the Coalition in 2011, painted a very favourable portrait of the finances of an independent Quebec then, but doesn’t believe that anymore and has repeatedly attacked the PQ in recent days.The PQ currently has four legislature members in th...

Refinance or renew? How to choose when mortgage renewal creates sticker shock

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

MONTREAL — Many Canadian homeowners are facing sticker shock with their monthly payments as their mortgage comes up for renewal, leaving them with a crucial choice: whether to renew or refinance their home loan. “They’re used to paying $2,000 every single month for the last five years and all of a sudden, now their payments are going to go up to $4,000,” said Leah Zlatkin, a mortgage expert at LowestRates.ca.When a homeowner renews an existing mortgage at the end of its term, traditionally five years, the lender updates the contract with a new interest rate — and as Zlatkin says, most mortgage-holders will see higher monthly payments after a swiftstring of increases to the Bank of Canada’s key rate.Refinancing involves breaking the current contract entirely and signing a fresh one. It’s a useful option for those looking to access home equity, consolidate debt or switch lenders for a better rate. It also allows the borrower to extend their amortization period, or th...

Quebec coroner’s inquiry into murder-suicide of Montreal family opens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

MONTREAL — A coroner’s inquest will begin today into the 2019 killings of a Montreal woman and her two young children, as well as the death of her husband who is believed to have killed them before taking his own life.The inquiry was ordered after a coroner’s report that was critical of prosecutors and a provincial judge, saying they could have done more to prevent the deaths of Dahia Khellaf, 42, and her sons four-year-old Adam and two-year-old Aksil.Coroner Alain Manseau concluded they had been strangled to death and Nabil Yssaad was likely the killer. The couple had separated at the time of the killing and Khellaf was in the process of divorcing her husband.Yssaad, 46, died after he jumped from a sixth-floor window at a hospital south of Montreal a day before the bodies were discovered.Without providing details, Quebec’s chief coroner said in July 2022 that new facts had come to light that required further investigation.The inquiry is expected to last over two w...

Via Rail CEO calls for rail passenger bill of rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

MONTREAL — The head of Via Rail says the federal government should consider a passenger bill of rights comparable to the one now in place for air travellers.In an interview, CEO Mario Péloquin says the federal government should move toward a charter that would ensure train passengers receive compensation for long delays.If the reason for the disruption stems from one of Canada’s two main freight railways — whose tracks Via runs on — he says they would be the ones to pay up, further incentivizing smooth operations along the line.Péloquin, who stepped into the top job at Via in June, is also calling for rules that would give the Crown corporation’s trains formal right of way over freight trains, a privilege Amtrak passenger cars enjoy in the U.S.Former transport minister Omar Alghabra said over the summer he was looking into measures to improve travellers’ experience amid Via’s shaky performance, including through a bill of rights.In the quarter ended June 30, ...

Blair expected to face questions about Canada’s evidence on Gaza hospital strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Bill Blair is expected to face further questions today about the evidence Canada has gathered to determine a rocket blast at a hospital in Gaza City did not originate in Israel.Blair made the statement Saturday night, five days after the attack at the al-Ahli Arab hospital.The blast came nine days after a renewed conflict in the region following an assault by Hamas militants in Israel and retaliation by Israel in the Gaza Strip.Blair says the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command did its own analysis of evidence and reached a conclusion that aligns with findings of the United States and France.Israel has said satellite evidence and intercepted communications show the rocket was fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and French authorities say the size of the rocket itself points to Palestinian not Israeli sources. Canada did not provide details on what evidence it used to reach its conclusion.A weekend conference in Egypt seeking a route to peace left more q...

Hamilton stair master Walter Decker, 99, completes CN Tower climb for 3rd time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

TORONTO — A 99-year-old Hamilton man climbed 1,776 steps to the top of the CN Tower over the weekend, his third time pulling off the accomplishment in support of charity.Walter Decker was joined by his son, grandson and two great-grandsons at the United Way ClimbUP on Saturday, where he raised more than $3,000 for people struggling to meet basic needs from housing and food to mental health supports.Decker, who turned 99 last week, said he first began stair climbing more than 10 years ago as a distraction from his grief after his wife passed away, which he said made him “lost.”“It took my mind off the grieving process,” he said in an interview. “A lot of people grieve in different ways and they cope with it in different ways.”Since then, Decker has been climbing up the steps of the Hamilton Escarpment three times a week, which he said amounts to between 700 and 1,200 steps. He also does 30 to 50 pushups each morning when he wakes up.“Other th...

‘Adding some weirdness’ to their day, Vancouver woman surprises drivers with costumes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

VANCOUVER — Some people love golfing, others like to hike, but Anne Bruinn’s hobby is about “adding a little bit of spice” to other people’s day by wearing a costume at the end of her driveway and entertaining passersby.The would-be Mrs. Dressup likes to call herself the “queen of the cosplay corner,” referencing the joy of costume play, a performance art where people dress up as a variety of characters. Bruinn said she has been surprising her drive-by audiences as everything from a “Star Wars” stormtrooper to “Beetlejuice.”“I have a captive audience because there’s nothing else to look at … I am the star of the show even though it’s anonymous attention,” said Bruinn, who regularly dresses up to greet people from a busy corner on South West Marine Drive in Vancouver.“I know it’s boring between here and wherever you’re going. So, hopefully I can make your day a little more interestin...

‘I have no fixed address’: A look at encampments for homeless across Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

Federal housing advocate Marie-Josée Houle has called the spread of homeless encampments in cities across Canada a human rights crisis.“People living in encampments face some of the most vulnerable circumstances of any member of Canadian society … they have experienced a history of human rights violations and are at heightened risk of further violations,” her office wrote in an interim report on encampments published this month.Alexandra Flynn, an associate law professor at the University of British Columbia who researches housing issues, says it’s difficult to pin down how many people have no place to live across Canada and how many of those are left sheltering in tents or sleeping outdoors.But going by reports from those working on the front lines, homelessness is increasing across the country, she said in a recent interview, and so is the number of encampments.“It’s a huge deal,” Flynn said. “What’s also new is the degree to w...