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Day 2 of B.C. campaign sees Conservatives and New Democrats focus on Metro Vancouver

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The two top contenders in British Columbia’s provincial election dove deep into the various issues plaguing the Metro Vancouver area on Sunday, in some cases hearing directly from those most affected.

NDP Leader David Eby listened to an account of the housing supply pressures squeezing the province from an 82-year-old man who was forced out of his apartment by a $1,250 monthly rent increase.

Frank Riley told Eby that B.C. needs more housing for people, including seniors, the disabled and the poor.

“What’s important to me is that we build a community that’s welcoming to all,” Riley said. “In order to do that we have to have facilities to be able to look after people who have medical difficulties, mental difficulties. Low-cost housing for people that don’t have the money to be able to handle things, as well as bringing in the people who have the knowledge to be able to do these things.”

Eby and B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad zeroed in on the challenges facing Metro Vancouver communities on the second official day of campaigning.

Rustad will be in Surrey, while Eby, focusing on housing, is making stops in North Vancouver, Port Moody, Coquitlam and Langley.

Riley said he and his wife were previously living in a two-bedroom apartment in Burnaby, paying $1,050 per month in rent, but the building sold and the rent soared to $2,300 a month.

“I don’t make that much pension, so we ended up scrambling,” he said.

Riley, who took Eby on a brief tour of his new neighbourhood, said he now lives in an affordable rental housing development in Port Moody called The Springs, jointly owned with the St. Andrews Housing Society and operated by Catalyst Community Developments.

The Springs, built on the site of the existing Inlet United Church, was announced in 2017 by the former B.C. Liberal government. Construction under the NDP government started in 2019 and the 55-unit project was completed in 2022.

The NDP has provided additional funding to keep rents affordable.

Riley said he now pays $1,501 a month for a one-bedroom apartment at The Springs, which he calls fair.

He said he is currently undecided in how he will vote next month.

“I’ve voted mostly NDP, to be truthful,” said Riley. “I was an old worker from way back with Telus.”

Eby said he heard Riley’s concerns and it further cemented his commitment to build more affordable housing for people in B.C.

“I think that Frank’s perspective is one that’s pretty broadly shared, that the provincial government should be working really hard to ensure people who are struggling to get housing for different reasons are supported,” he said at a campaign stop in Langley.

Eby said while he is working with non-profit groups, municipal governments and other organizations to build more rental properties and affordable housing developments, Rustad has other plans.

“The weird thing is that John Rustad thinks that shouldn’t happen. That there’s no role for the provincial government,” said Eby. “I just couldn’t disagree more with that.”

Rustad said in an interview Sunday that his party would be announcing their housing policy in the coming days, but called Eby’s approach to the issue “chaotic.”

“In general, on housing, Eby’s approach seems to be very much an authoritarian approach, overriding local governments,” he said. “We think there’s a better way to be able to achieve that by working with local governments and doing pre-zoning as part of their official community plans.”

The B.C. campaign officially started Saturday, ahead of the election on Oct. 19.

Eby walked along North Vancouver’s waterfront Lonsdale Quay and Shipyards District early Sunday, where he viewed the sites of several proposed affordable housing developments.

One such site is the recently purchased 300,000-square-foot Insurance Corp. of B.C. building where hundreds of affordable homes are planned, Eby said.

“North Vancouver has been a great partner for this,” said Eby. “They identified three BC Builds sites right off the top. They’ve fast-tracked permitting for those sites (where) the rental housing is particularly affordable. There are many cities like that in the province we’re closely working with and we’re visiting today.”

Rustad noted he planned to return to Surrey many times throughout his campaign, arguing it has been ignored and treated as a second-class city by the NDP government.

He said ahead of the community’s campaign kickoff event that his party would focus on the city’s specific needs, including a lack of hospital and transit services, as well as affordability, crime and the education system.

He said his campaign would continue to highlight the failures of the NDP. His party will also be revealing its own proposals in coming days, starting with an announcement about affordability on Monday, he added.

The party also issued a statement Sunday saying he and Teresa Wat, Conservative candidate for Richmond-Bridgeport, plan to shut down “every single drug den injection site” in the Vancouver suburb.

Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau was scheduled to spend Sunday campaigning in her Victoria riding, where she’d lauched her campaign a day earlier.

Eby spent the campaign’s first day criss-crossing the Lower Mainland with stops in Richmond, North Vancouver, Langley and Burnaby.

Rustad was on Vancouver Island Saturday night after opening his campaign in the morning at Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2024.



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Climate protesters arrested outside Pierre Poilievre’s official residence in Ottawa

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OTTAWA – Ottawa police say two people were arrested this morning after an “unlawful” demonstration outside Stornoway, the official residence the Opposition leader.

Greenpeace Canada says its activists blocked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s house and two of them locked themselves to a replica oil pumpjack placed in the driveway.

The non-profit has been critical of Poilievre’s climate change voting record and his advocacy for the oil and gas sector.

Ottawa police say in a statement that about 12 people gathered outside Stornoway shortly after 7 a.m., blocking access to the residence with a “structure” and “not allowing the family to pass.”

Police say two of the demonstrators refused to comply with “repeated” orders to remove themselves from the structure and were arrested. 

They say charges are pending against the two men who were due to appear in court today. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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N.S. Liberals say if elected next week they would move fast to cut taxes, build homes

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HALIFAX – If Nova Scotia’s Liberal Party is elected to govern on Tuesday, leader Zach Churchill says that within the first 100 days he would call for a meeting of the Atlantic premiers to discuss replacing the federal carbon tax.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday at Liberal campaign headquarters in Halifax, Churchill said he would try to sell the other premiers on his plan to use a regional cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions. 

Churchill has said newly elected New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is interested in the idea, though she has yet to commit to such a plan. He said there’s an opportunity persuade Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Mark Furey.

“We know it isn’t the right policy for pollution pricing in Atlantic Canada,” said Churchill, who has distanced himself from Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government introduced the carbon price.

“We’ve got four governments that do not want the carbon tax, and we have an alternative that can lower prices at the pump while doing our part to reduce emissions.”

He acknowledged that if the federal Liberals lose the election slated for next year, the carbon tax will likely be eliminated, negating the need for a cap-and-trade system.

Churchill said that within 100 days of taking office, a provincial Liberal government would also alert Ottawa to its plan to reduce the harmonized sales tax to 13 per cent from 15 per cent; appoint a minister of women’s health; and recall the legislature to table a budget with income tax cuts and plans to build 80,000 new homes.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s three main political leaders were scheduled Thursday to take part in a “roundtable discussion” organized by CTV News in Halifax. Churchill was expected to be joined by Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston, who is seeking a second term in office, and NDP Leader Claudia Chender.

The 90-minute exchange, moderated by CTV News anchor Todd Battis, is to be televised at 6:30 p.m. local time. 

Last Thursday, the leaders appeared together on CBC TV, and they also sparred during an event hosted earlier this week by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

At dissolution, the Progressive Conservatives held 34 seats in the 55-seat legislature and the Liberals held 14 seats, while the NDP had six and there was one Independent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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What to know about Transgender Day of Remembrance and violence against trans people

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Wednesday is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which focuses on trans people who have lost their lives because of violence. Here is what to know.

What is Transgender Day of Remembrance?

Transgender Day of Remembrance is marked every Nov. 20 and began in 1999 to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman who was killed in Massachusetts.

The day marks the end of Transgender Awareness Week, which is used to raise public knowledge about transgender people and the issues they face.

The Williams Institute at UCLA Law estimates that 1.6 million people in the U.S. ages 13 and older identify as transgender. And it says transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violence, including rape and assault.

Candlelight vigils, memorials and other events are held to mark the day. The Human Rights Campaign also released its annual report on deaths of transgender people in conjunction with the day.

International Transgender Day of Visibility, which is designed to bring attention to transgender people, is commemorated in March.

How many transgender people have lost their lives to violence?

At least 36 transgender people have died from violence in the 12 months since the last Day of Remembrance, the Human Rights Campaign said in its annual report. Since 2013, the organization has recorded the deaths from violence of 372 victims who were transgender and gender-expansive — which refers to someone with a more flexible range of gender identity or expression than typically associated with the binary gender system.

The number of victims is likely higher because many deaths often aren’t reported or are misreported, or misgendering of the victims leads to delays in their identification.

The Human Rights Campaign said there was a slight increase from the previous year, when it identified at least 33 transgender victims of violence.

A large number of the victims tracked over the past year were young or people of color, with Black transgender women making up half of the 36 identified. The youngest victim identified was 14-year-old Pauly Likens of Pennsylvania.

Two-thirds of the fatalities involved a firearm, the organization said. Nearly a third of the victims with a known killer were killed by an intimate partner, a friend or a family member.

What is at stake politically?

This year’s remembrance follows an election where advocates say victories by President-elect Donald Trump and other Republican candidates who focused on issues like transgender athletes dealt a setback to trans people’s rights.

It also follows a wave of measures enacted in Republican states this year restricting the rights of transgender people, especially youth.

Half the states have banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next month in a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s ban.

Advocates say the legislation and rhetoric is creating fewer safe spaces for transgender people, and they worry it could spur more violence against trans people.

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Associated Press writer Jeff McMillan in northeastern Pennsylvania contributed to this report.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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