As cabinet ministers convene in P.E.I. for a series of meetings largely focused on housing, the federal minister overseeing the file admits a lack of affordability has reached a crisis level for many Canadians.
“We’ve certainly hit a crisis situation in particular for the families who are living with intense housing challenges,” Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser said in an interview on the sidelines of the cabinet retreat on Tuesday.
“The exact nature of how a national crisis impacts you varies immensely between different people in different life situations; but, I don’t think it does any good for somebody in my position who wants to play a leadership role in solving these challenges to ignore the magnitude of it.”
Critics of the government charge it has done exactly that, pointing to comments the prime minister made earlier this month in which he asserted housing isn’t a primary federal responsibility while insisting his government would still act.
Fraser wouldn’t call the comments a mistake when asked, but did acknowledge Canadians want Ottawa to do more.
“If I’ve learned anything over my eight years as a member of parliament when somebody who comes and bears their soul and tells you there’s a problem they’re living with…they don’t want you to say this is somebody else’s problem to solve,” he said.
“So my own point of view is yes, it demands a response from the federal government.”
Housing affordability is a multi-jurisdictional issue but Fraser and his cabinet colleagues heard from experts during this retreat who told them that shouldn’t stop the feds from employing a top-down strategy.
“There are all kinds of things within federal jurisdiction that they could do today that could get new homes built tomorrow,” Moffatt said in an interview just before presenting to cabinet ministers.
According to Moffatt, that includes tax tweaks to make housing construction more viable, clearing up the apartment application backlog at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, getting involved in long-term, low-interest financing for purpose-built rental projects and more incentives for municipalities to speed construction up and reduce red tape.
Time is not on anyone’s side, though. The CMHC estimates Canada needs nearly six million new homes by 2030, which would require a tripling of the current rate of home building.
Moffat’s message to cabinet? It can be done.
“The politics of this has changed, you can just feel it in the air,” he said.
“I’m hopeful there’s a race to the top between all the different parties to see who can be more credible on housing…I don’t see how you can win the next election if the electorate, particularly anyone under 45, thinks you’re not credible on their number-one issue.”
Cabinet – and more broadly the Liberals – have their work cut out for them. This summer has seen the Conservatives’ lead over Grits in public opinion polls widen – and younger voters are looking elsewhere. An Abacus Data poll surveying Canadians at the end of July put the Liberals 10 points behind the Conservatives among millennial voters.
It’s no coincidence that same poll showed the top issue for Canadians is cost of living.
For his part, Fraser is promising something tangible soon. When asked if a new housing plan would be presented to Canadians in the fall he replied, “You should expect to see something along those lines for me over the next number of months.”
MONTREAL – One expert says entry-level pay under the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement.
Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage increase starting in year five.
The Air Line Pilots Association had been pushing to scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision entirely.
But according to a copy of the contract summary obtained by The Canadian Press, the proposed deal announced Sunday would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says as many as 2,000 of Air Canada’s roughly 5,200 active pilots may earn entry-level wages following a recent hiring surge.
After the airline averted a strike this week, Gradek says the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal, which is up for a vote next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
ROME (AP) — Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci, the Italy striker who was top scorer at its home World Cup in 1990, has died. He was 59.
Schillaci had been hospitalized in Palermo following treatment for colon cancer.
The Palermo Civico hospital said in a statement that Schillacci died on Wednesday morning after being admitted 11 days ago.
Schillaci scored six goals for Italy during the 1990 World Cup. He came on as a substitute during Italy’s opener against Austria, scored in a 1-0 victory, and went on to earn the Golden Boot awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. He only scored one other goal for Italy in his career.
Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina announced that a minute of silence would be held in memory of Schillaci before all games in the country for the rest of the week.
“The uncontrollable celebrations, in which his face was the symbol of shared joy, will remain forever part of Italian soccer (history),” Gravina said. “Totò was a great player, a symbol of tenacious desire and redemption. … His soccer was full of passion. And that fearless spirit made everyone appreciate him and will make him immortal.”
Schillaci also won the Golden Ball award at the 1990 World Cup as the tournament’s top player ahead of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.
Schillaci played for Messina, Juventus, Inter Milan and Japanese team Jubilo Iwata during his club career.
“You made an entire nation dream during the Magical Nights of Italia ’90,” Inter said on its social media channels.
West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, beating Argentina in the final, while Italy beat England for third place with a winning penalty kick from Schillaci.
Roberto Baggio, who scored Italy’s opening goal in the third-place match, wrote on Instagram, “Ciao my dear friend.”
Having been born and raised in Palermo, the Palermo soccer team announced that it would hold a public viewing of Schillaci at its Renzo Barbera stadium ahead of the funeral, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
French soccer player Wissam Ben Yedder will stay free ahead of his trial on charges of sexual assault while intoxicated, one of his lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Marie Roumiantseva said Ben Yedder will remain under strict judicial supervision after a woman filed a lawsuit for sexual assault earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Ben Yedder, a prolific striker in the French league, was briefly detained then released after the alleged incident in his car on the French Riviera. Ben Yedder had been stopped by police after he first refused to do so. He was then put in a jail cell.
After he was summoned to appear in court on Oct. 15 and placed under judicial supervision, the Nice prosecutor’s office appealed the decision not to remand the player in custody. The investigative chamber of the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence did not grant this request and kept Ben Yedder under judicial supervision.
Ben Yedder attended a hearing Tuesday during which he offered to go to rehab. He has admitted he drove while under the influence of alcohol but has denied any sexual assault.
In a separate legal case last year, Ben Yedder was charged with “rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” over another alleged incident in the south of France.
Ben Yedder has been without a club since his contract with Monaco expired at the end of last season.
