Hungary’s National Day: A National Show of a Nation Moving to the Right

HALIFAX – The fall sitting of the Nova Scotia legislature has wrapped up after a short 10-day session.

The rapid conclusion comes after the governing Progressive Conservatives called the House of Assembly back earlier than usual Sept. 5.

Premier Tim Houston downplayed the significance of the short sitting, telling reporters that he’s more concerned about the impact of the government’s legislation than the length of time members are sitting in the legislature.

This year’s spring sitting was only 20 days long and in general most sessions run for at least a month or more.

The government passed six pieces of legislation, including one that extends its five per cent cap on rent for longer-term leases until the end of 2027, and another giving workers up to 27 weeks of unpaid time off if they develop a serious illness or are severely hurt on the job.

A bill introduced by the NDP declaring domestic violence an epidemic in the province was also passed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

MONTREAL – Quebec police said they would make their presence felt in major cities across the province on Friday, as a war between Hells Angels and street gangs was linked to the death of a 14-year-old boy southeast of the provincial capital.

Multiple media reports say police found the body of a teenager from Montreal near a Hells Angels-linked bunker in Frampton, Que., about 50 kilometres southeast of Quebec City in the Beauce region. The child was reportedly sent to attack the bunker.

Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said it is “vile” that organized criminals are recruiting youth.

“Like many Quebecers, what I hear coming out of Frampton shocks me,” Bonnardel wrote on Thursday. “It is vile for street gangs to enlist young people — children — to do their dirty work.”

Provincial police on Friday would only confirm that a body of a male victim was discovered overnight on Sept. 16 in Frampton and that the death is suspicious. A spokesperson for the coroner’s office said they were still working to confirm the victim’s identity.

Following the death, and as a result of a bloody conflict between organized criminals over drug territory in the Quebec City area, 120 police officers with 25 police forces from across the province were expected to make their presence felt in major cities on Friday.

In a news release, provincial police, who are leading the operation, said the officers would visit bars and clubs in the Montreal and Quebec City regions, but also in the Outaouais, Mauricie, and Saguenay. Police said they would also be erecting roadblocks.

“This concerted operation aims to reiterate a clear message to members of organized crime and anyone prepared to commit acts of violence that the police forces are continuing their actions against armed violence,” provincial police said.

Early Monday morning, police were called to a vehicle fire in Frampton, and were led to the nearby bunker belonging to a Hells Angels support club known as the Red Devils, where they found the body, reports said. They arrested a man at the bunker, who was released on a promise to appear in court at a later date. Local media have reported a number of incidents over the past year at the Red Devils building, including an attack in May and another in December 2023.

Quebec provincial police say they’ll be stepping up their presence in the community of about 1,300 people, and deploying mitigation measures to assuage the concerns of worried citizens. Sgt. Beatrice Dorsainville said a mobile command unit was deployed in the heart of Frampton on Friday and would be there on Monday too. Residents are encouraged to speak to police if they have information to share, she said.

Frampton Mayor Jean Audet called on residents to co-operate.

“We are aware that the police have a meticulous investigative job to do and that they cannot elaborate in order to preserve its integrity,” Audet said in a statement regarding the boy’s death. “However, as citizens, we have a collective duty to inform the police of any information that we believe is or is not related to what happened recently.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

SURREY, B.C. – New Democrat Leader David Eby has launched his British Columbia election campaign a day early, making the key battle ground of Surrey his first stop.

The fixed election date of Oct. 19 means the campaign doesn’t officially start until Saturday.

However, Eby boarded the bus on Friday with his youngest daughter, Gwen, in a baby carrier, accompanied by his wife, Cailey Lynch and their two other children.

His NDP-orange campaign bus is covered in photos of people, with Eby standing in the centre, along with slogans that say, “action for you,” “homes you can afford,” and “better health care.”

Both B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad and Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau spoke to municipal leaders at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention Friday, just as Eby was launching his election campaign.

Rustad told delegates that he would get rid of the carbon tax and the low carbon fuel emissions standard, saying the moves would improve affordability.

“It’s making us uncompetitive. It’s a huge cost structure, and the Conservative Party of British Columbia is committed to getting rid of those costs and returning that money back to people to be able to deal with the affordability,” he said.

His statement comes just a week after David Eby said that if Ottawa dropped the legal requirement for carbon pricing, then his New Democrat government would also drop the tax on consumers.

Furstenau told reporters after her speech that the other party leaders are offering “a lot of fear and a lot of anger and a lot of finger pointing.”

She said a minority government would mean “built-in accountability” for the party in power.

“We have a real opportunity in British Columbia in this election to not give any party all of the power, to not have a winner-take-all outcome,” she said. “We see when we have majority governments in this province, they do not deliver on what they promise, but they do a whole bunch of things that they didn’t promise, and they do it without being able to be held accountable by the legislature or by the people of B.C.”

Furstenau said there is a disconnect between what the other provincial leaders are promising on carbon pricing and what municipalities are experiencing.

“We hear from elected representatives about the ongoing and incredibly expensive impacts of climate change-driven events. We cannot at this point backtrack on the idea that carbon pollution doesn’t cost us. It costs us enormously.”

Eby spoke to local politicians on Thursday, as they presented a laundry list of concerns for the provincial government at the meeting, from homelessness to the overdose crisis and more funding to support growing pressures on municipalities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.