One day after Google banned Parler — the “free speech” social media app favored by Trump supporters — from its app store, Apple followed suit. Later that same night, BuzzFeed reported and CNN confirmed, that Amazon plans to suspend Parler’s account with their web services on Sunday night. Without a web host, the app will go offline until it finds one.
On Friday, Apple announced Parler had 24 hours to implement a “moderation improvement plan” or risk banishment, citing complaints that the app was used to plan and execute the domestic terror attack on the U.S. Capitol. By the next morning, it was the top trending app on the App Store, but Apple removed it later in the day.
“We have always supported diverse points of view being represented on the App Store, but there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity,” Apple said in a statement explaining the decision. “Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety.”
BuzzFeed’s John Paczkowski reported late Saturday that he obtained an email to Parler from an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Trust and Safety team that threatened to suspend the platform’s account at 11:59 p.m. Sunday if it did not comply with their terms of service. The email also said Amazon did not find Parler’s plan to have volunteers moderate its content adequate.
Related
Why Are Country Music Wives Pushing Baseless Conspiracy Theories?
The AirPods Pro Are Down to $199 on Amazon – Cheaper Than Apple’s Own Site
Related
12 Thrilling Facts About Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ Video
65 Greatest Horror Movies of the 21st Century
“Recently, we’ve seen a steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms. It’s clear that Parler does not have an effective [moderation] process to comply with the AWS terms of service,” the email said. “[W]e cannot provide services to a customer that is unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others.”
Parler CEO John Matze told the New York Timeson Saturday morning that he finds the move unfair because “Hang Mike Pence” trended on Twitter Wednesday as people discussed chants shouted by those who stormed the Capitol.
“I have seen no evidence Apple is going after [Twitter],” Mr. Matze said. “This would appear to be an unfair double standard as every other social media site has the same issues, arguably on a worse scale.”
Several tech companies, including Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, recently banned President Trump from their platforms for inciting the violence at the Capitol. While Trump does not have a personal Parler account, his campaign has a verified page, and all day Saturday, the campaign posted articles alleging Twitter and other tech companies are discriminating against the president.
Premier David Eby is warning real estate investors and speculators that his government is tilting the rules toward families seeking homes as it tightens the rules on short-term rentals.
Eby said Thursday that the rule changes on May 1 will limit short-term rental units to within the principal home of a host, but the move isn’t a ban on platforms such as Airbnb if they aren’t used to create de facto hotels from B.C.’s housing stock.
“If there’s a major event [such as a] Taylor Swift concert, a FIFA-like event and somebody wants to rent out their primary residence and go away for the weekend to avoid the crush of the crowds, they can still do that,” Eby said.
The changes were announced by the government last spring, giving those who own short-term rentals a year to conform.
Eby said the changes will allow both the province and local governments to crack down on speculators.
“If you’re flipping homes, if you’re buying places to do short-term rental, if you’re buying a home to leave it vacant, we have consistently, publicly, repeatedly sent the message: Do not compete with families and individuals that are looking for a place to live with your investment dollars.”
Eby made his comments as the province announced new figures gathered in March that showed more than 19,000 entire homes being listed as short-term rentals.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the new rules also require short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb to share listed property data with the province and local governments.
He said they expect a significant amount of the homes listed on short-term sites to be back in the long-term rental pool.
“Our view is even if half of those units were to come back onto the market, that is substantial,” Kahlon said. “The cost that it takes to build new housing, when you can get even half of the 19,000 back on the market, that’ll make a substantial difference in our communities.”
He said previous efforts to limit short-term rentals are increasing housing supply in some places.
“We’re seeing, already, in many communities that action happening,” Kahlon said. “We have heard many stories of people finding rentals now because of opportunities when it comes to short-term rentals coming onto the market.”
The new principal residence requirement for short-term rentals will allow local governments to request that a platform remove listings that don’t display a valid business licence.
Valid short-term rental hosts will also be required to display a business licence number on their listings if a licence is required by local government.
The new rules will apply to more than 60 B.C. communities, and Kahlon said a compliance enforcement unit will be phased in to help municipalities deal with rule violations.
Much of the monitoring and enforcement, however, will be conducted online through a new rental data portal that will allow local governments to track and request removal of listings from platforms.
“With this new digital portal, local governments will be able to upload, within moments, listings that they believe are operating illegally within their community,” Kahlon said.
The platform will have five days to remove listings that aren’t following the rules, and if they don’t, they will be fined, he said, noting there’s an up-to-$10,000-a-day-per-listing fine for platforms that don’t co-operate.
“We believe that’s enough of a deterrent for the platforms to co-operate with local governments,” said Kahlon
A website launched Thursday for hosts will allow them to get information about their requirements from the province and their municipality, and their responsibility to notify anyone that’s booked.
“Hosts and platforms have a responsibility to notify anyone that’s booking of all the changes that have been coming,” said Kahlon. “They’ve been notified about this since September or October when the legislation has come in, and they’ve had plenty of time to set up their policies to do that.”
The rules do include some exceptions, including some strata hotels and motels operating before last December being exempt if certain criteria are met.
Eby said the overall message to property investors looking for short-term gains is clear: Build homes that people need and government will do all it can to help expedite the process.
“But if you are standing neck and neck with a family that’s looking for a place to live, and you’re trying to do a speculative investment, [while] they’re looking for a place to live, we are going to tilt the deck every single time towards that family,” Eby said. “And we’re gonna keep doing it.”
Eby also said a positive side-effect of short-term rental regulation has been the re-emergence of hotel construction, with 1,400 rooms “in the development pipeline” in Vancouver.
“Those investors in those hotel rooms weren’t able to make the decision to proceed,” Eby said, citing the previous competition from short-term rentals. “Very clearly, with these regulations in place, there will be visitors to stay in hotel rooms, there will be a market for hotel rooms and they’re making the decision to proceed. This is very good news.”
Victoria-based Property Rights B.C. has filed a lawsuit against the province and city of Victoria to fight the new regulatory system.
It maintains the province overstepped its authority and its lawsuit is focused on preserving the rights to own and operate short-term vacation rentals. The organization is also seeking a delay in enforcement.
Asked about the lawsuit, Eby said he can’t comment on a matter that’s before the courts, “but what I can say is we’re very confident in the legal authority of the province to regulate the housing sector in this way and we’ll make the arguments that are needed in court to address that.”
More communities initially exempt from the province’s new regulations have opted in, including Gabriola Island, Mill Bay/Malahat, Cobble Hill, Cowichan Station/Sahtlam/Glenora, Cowichan Lake South/Skutz Falls, Saltair/Gulf Islands and North Oyster/Diamond. Tofino previously announced it would opt in.
Municipalities with fewer than 10,000 people, resort communities and regional districts are exempt from a requirement restricting short-term rentals to principal residences and either a secondary suite or laneway home/garden suite.
Gas prices across Canada climbed an average of 9.4 cents per litre of regular fuel over the past seven days, the biggest weekly gain so far in 2024. Cities in Ontario and Quebec booked eye-watering 20 cent-plus gains, while prices were virtually flat for drivers in the Western and Maritime regions.
The average cost per litre of regular gasoline in cities nationwide rose to $1.806 from $1.712 between April 11 and April 18, according to data firm Kalibrate. Chicoutimi, Que. saw the biggest increase at 26.7 cents per litre, followed by Gatineau, Que., and North Bay, Ont. The Greater Toronto Area was hit with widespread gains above 15 cents per litre.
On Thursday afternoon, En-Pro International posted on X that “gas prices spiked 14 cents overnight, the largest single-day jump since early 2022.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“The steady build in U.S. crude inventories, combined with the reluctance of the Fed to lower interest rates, which would increase gasoline demand, should neutralize the impact of the conflict in the Middle East,” En-Pro chief petroleum analyst Roger McKnight wrote in a blog post.
“The refining industry will come back to normal levels by mid-June, so supply will balance demand, and prices should fall soon after the U.S. Memorial Day launch of summer.”
Rising gas prices was the top factor behind Statistics Canada’s slightly higher annual inflation reading for March. Year over year, the agency found gasoline prices increased 4.5 per cent last month, following a 0.8 per cent rise in February.
“Higher global prices for crude oil stemmed from supply concerns amid geopolitical conflict and continued voluntary production cuts, leading to higher prices at the pump,” StatCan said on Tuesday.
Follow Yahoo Finance Canada for more weekly gas price updates. Scroll below to find your nearest city.
(All figures in CAD cents)
LOCATION
April 11
April 18
Price change
Canada Average (V)
171.2
180.6
9.4
WHITEHORSE
189.9
189.9
0
VANCOUVER*
210.7
212.7
2
VICTORIA
206.2
206.9
0.7
PRINCE GEORGE
169.6
169.3
-0.3
KAMLOOPS
172.5
181
8.5
KELOWNA
174.6
175.8
1.2
FORT ST. JOHN
171.2
174.9
3.7
ABBOTSFORD
194.2
198.5
4.3
YELLOWKNIFE
161.9
161.9
0
CALGARY*
161.2
158.8
-2.4
RED DEER
159
159
0
EDMONTON
154.9
153.6
-1.3
LETHBRIDGE
161.9
161.9
0
LLOYDMINSTER
154.6
154.6
0
GRANDE PRAIRIE
156.9
158.7
1.8
REGINA*
158
157.3
-0.7
SASKATOON
157.4
156.9
-0.5
PRINCE ALBERT
154.6
155.8
1.2
MOOSE JAW
158.7
158.7
0
WINNIPEG *
141.4
141.6
0.2
BRANDON
142.5
143.3
0.8
CITY OF TORONTO*
163.7
179.3
15.6
BRAMPTON
164.3
179.6
15.3
ETOBICOKE
163.4
179
15.6
MISSISSAUGA
162.8
179.3
16.5
NORTH YORK
163.9
179.6
15.7
SCARBOROUGH
163.3
179.5
16.2
VAUGHAN/MARKHAM
163.5
179.2
15.7
OTTAWA
162.4
179
16.6
KINGSTON
162.3
179.3
17
PETERBOROUGH
160.1
172.2
12.1
WINDSOR
162.4
177.8
15.4
LONDON
163.5
177.4
13.9
SUDBURY
167.4
185.8
18.4
SAULT STE MARIE
160.2
174.3
14.1
THUNDER BAY
165.8
175.5
9.7
NORTH BAY
161.5
182.6
21.1
TIMMINS
169.7
183.6
13.9
HAMILTON
161.6
178
16.4
ST. CATHARINES
160.4
177.1
16.7
BARRIE
162.8
178.2
15.4
BRANTFORD
161.1
176.2
15.1
GUELPH
163.4
178.4
15
KITCHENER
163.1
179
15.9
OSHAWA
163.8
179.4
15.6
SARNIA
161.7
178.9
17.2
MONTRÉAL*
173.7
190.5
16.8
QUÉBEC
172.1
187.4
15.3
SHERBROOKE
169.5
185.3
15.8
GASPÉ
172.7
189.4
16.7
CHICOUTIMI
155.1
181.8
26.7
RIMOUSKI
169.4
189.4
20
TROIS RIVIÈRES
169.8
186.7
16.9
DRUMMONDVILLE
166.7
183.9
17.2
VAL D’OR
169.6
182.7
13.1
GATINEAU
152.7
175.9
23.2
SAINT JOHN*
175.1
179.1
4
FREDERICTON
176.6
181.7
5.1
MONCTON
176.8
181.9
5.1
BATHURST
176.8
182.3
5.5
EDMUNDSTON
175.2
175.8
0.6
MIRAMICHI
177.9
183.1
5.2
CAMPBELLTON
175.7
179.9
4.2
SUSSEX
176.2
181
4.8
WOODSTOCK
177.8
183.1
5.3
HALIFAX*
172.1
175.4
3.3
SYDNEY
174.1
177.2
3.1
YARMOUTH
173.2
176.3
3.1
TRURO
173.3
176.4
3.1
KENTVILLE
172.7
175.8
3.1
NEW GLASGOW
173.3
176.4
3.1
CHARLOTTETOWN*
173
173
0
ST JOHNS*
190.4
193.9
3.5
GANDER
192.9
196.4
3.5
LABRADOR CITY
197
200.5
3.5
CORNER BROOK
191.1
194.6
3.5
GRAND FALLS
192.9
196.4
3.5
SOURCE: KALIBRATE • All figures in CAD cents
(*) Denotes markets used in Volume Weighted Canada Average
Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
Alberta’s minister of forestry and parks said the RCMP national security investigation team is involved in a probe looking into what caused a pipeline to rupture and catch fire west of Edmonton earlier this week.
On Tuesday, a wildfire was sparked following a natural gas pipeline rupture about 40 kilometres northwest of Edson, Alta. The fire has since been deemed under control.
“We have no indication of any kind of cause on that fire yet; the investigation is happening,” Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said at a wildfire-related news conference Thursday morning. “The national security investigation team of the RCMP are investigating the cause.
“My understanding, since the cause was unknown, that’s standard practice for them to come in on anything that’s unknown.”
RCMP said as of Tuesday, initial reports had shown no signs of foul play.
Global News has reached out to the RCMP for more information. On its website, the RCMP states it has a wide range of national security-related mandates and responsibilities. It says its national security criminal investigations program involves critical infrastructure protection and critical incident management.
The rupture sparked a blaze that could be seen for kilometres, sending large flames and plumes of smoke into the air.
More on Science and Tech
No injuries were reported, and officials said the fire was never a threat to any surrounding communities.
“I want to commend the Yellowhead County Fire Department, industry and our wildfire team for the timely manner that this fire was brought under control,” Loewen said Thursday.
“Fast information sharing between all parties facilitated an effective wildfire response.”
The wildfire sparked by the pipeline rupture is located about 28 kilometres northeast of Obed Lake. More than 30 firefighters were expected to be in the area Thursday to continue working on the wildfire.