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In the news today: Israel increases strikes on Gaza ahead of expected ground invasion – National Post

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Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

Israel increases strikes on Gaza, as two more hostages are freed

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Israel has escalated its bombardment of targets in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion against Hamas militants.

The stepped-up attacks, and the rapidly rising death toll in Gaza, came as Hamas released two elderly Israeli women who were among the hundreds of hostages it captured during its devastating attacks on towns in southern Israel earlier this month.

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The fighting started when Hamas militants rampaged through Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and taking hundreds hostage.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry says since then, more than 5,000 Palestinians, including some 2,000 minors and around 1,100 women, have been killed.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

Grocers called back to Parliament over prices

A House of Commons committee is asking the heads of Canada’s major grocery chains to explain their plans to stabilize food prices.

The committee passed an NDP motion on Thursday to invite the grocery executives, and summon them if necessary, to testify about the measures their companies are taking to address food inflation.

This comes after Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced the companies have presented plans to the government to tackle rising prices, which he says include discounts, price freezes and price-matching campaigns.

The parliamentary committee is asking the grocers to submit their plans by Nov. 2.

Unifor to bargain Ont., N.L. Loblaw-owned stores

Unifor is set to bargain on behalf of more than 2,800 grocery store workers at Loblaw-owned stores in Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, testing whether the union can bring the gains it made for Toronto Metro workers to other grocery chains.

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More than 3,700 Metro workers in Greater Toronto went on strike this summer after rejecting their first tentative deal. They accepted an agreement more than a month later that the union called historic.

Unifor has made it clear it intends to try and replicate those wins for other grocery workers it represents.

A pair of agreements representing around 2,850 workers at multiple Ontario No Frills stores and multiple Newfoundland and Labrador Dominion stores expire this month.

Macklem warns premiers against interference in BoC

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem warned premiers who asked the central bank not to raise interest rates last month that their requests could undermine the institution’s independence.

The premiers of Ontario, B-C and Newfoundland and Labrador wrote letters to Macklem ahead of the Bank of Canada’s September 6th rate decision, asking that the central bank not raise interest rates again because of concerns about the effects on residents.

Macklem responded to these letters on Sept. 13 acknowledging that higher interest rates are making life challenging for Canadians, but noted that inflation also tends to hurt the most vulnerable people in society.

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However, he warned that instructions or requests from elected officials could give the impression that the Bank of Canada’s independence is at risk.

Alberta regulator mulls well reclamation change

Alberta’s Energy Regulator is considering giving oil and gas companies an advance break on the environmental liabilities of old well sites before the cleanup is certified complete.

But critics say the proposal weakens the ability of landowners to hold bad actors to account and depends on an audit system that many already question.

The proposal would let companies reduce their liability for an old well as soon as the work has been done, instead of having to wait until the site has healthy plant cover.

The regulator says the move would reward companies that remediate their old sites promptly, cutting the amount of environmental red ink on their books and making it easier for them to sell or buy old wells.

Talking about drinking key to getting help: docs

Many doctors are on board with new guidelines urging them to ask patients about alcohol use, but they also note that some people lose track of how much they drink, others lie and many don’t know what constitutes a single serving.

Family physician Ginette Poulin, who specialized in addiction medicine in Manitoba and Ontario, says it’s important for primary care providers to normalize these conversations.

She says early detection of high-risk drinking is key to preventing serious health problems.

Poulin is one of the authors of a clinical guideline document published last week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, and she notes routine screening for alcohol would be the same as for diabetes and high blood pressure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2023.

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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