Legendary Vancouver Radio Station LG73 Fades to Black After 69 Years

HALIFAX – Following an extraordinary reversal by Premier Tim Houston, the Nova Scotia legislature on Thursday adopted a bill declaring domestic violence an epidemic in the province.

The lightning fast passage of the bill introduced by the opposition NDP came less than an hour after the premier told reporters he didn’t think the legislation was necessary.

The bill’s passage also followed a tense conversation involving four women from the private sector union Unifor who were advocating for the bill — and who had cornered Houston near a hallway elevator outside the legislative chamber. Minutes later, the government was back in the house of assembly to pass a bill that went through all three readings with all-party support in just under 10 minutes.

“Today will change the life and the direction for many women and anyone experiencing intimate partner violence in the province of Nova Scotia,” said a visibly emotional Jennifer Murray, Unifor’s Atlantic regional director. “We are going to keep advocating and we will be pushing for more with this legislation. What we saw today was … real citizens coming together and making a huge difference.”

In introducing the bill, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Thursday the idea was to legislate a recommendation to all levels of government from the commission of inquiry that investigated the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting. The commission heard that the gunman behind Canada’s worst mass shooting had a history of domestic violence and had seriously assaulted his spouse moments before he began a 13-hour rampage that left 22 people dead.

Houston initially told reporters he didn’t believe legislation was needed because the government had already made it clear in previous statements that domestic violence was an epidemic in the province.

But after he voted for the bill, Houston said he had changed his mind following his conversation with the union group and a closer look at the proposed legislation.

“Government actions matter for sure and government words matter too,” the premier said. “That was the message that was shared with me by the group that was here. This was an opportunity that meant a lot, so we took that opportunity.”

A statement from the NDP said Nova Scotia has the highest rates of intimate partner violence of any province in Canada, with over 30 per cent of women and 22.5 per cent of men who have been in a relationship reporting being physically or sexually assaulted by their partner.

“This is a very important day for women, gender diverse folks, men, anyone who has suffered intimate partner violence … they should take some solace in this legislation that has been passed,” Chender said. “We see it as Step 1 in addressing this issue and in implementing the findings of the Mass Casualty Commission.”

The New Democrats also called Thursday for the province to expand paid leave for employees or their children who experience intimate partner violence to five days, up from three, following British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and other jurisdictions across the country.

Labour Minister Jill Balser told the legislature the government has carried out consultations and would have a response before the end of the year.

“We want to look at five paid days because those who are fleeing domestic violence deserve to have that support … I will have more to share very soon,” Balser said.

The drama around the issue of domestic violence wasn’t the first for Houston’s government. In April, then-justice minister Brad Johns resigned after disputing the public inquiry’s finding that domestic violence is an epidemic and saying that drugs and gun violence were more serious problems.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

FREDERICTON – Provincial leaders across Canada are taking turns criticizing the federal Liberal government’s proposal to alleviate immigration pressure on Quebec and Ontario by resettling asylum seekers more equitably across the country.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs set the ball rolling when he told the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday that Ottawa was proposing the province take in 4,600 asylum seekers without providing financial assistance.

The next day, after his comments were called “largely fictitious” by the federal immigration minister, Higgs stood his ground.

“How many of this 4,600 that is being proposed … how many are actually, actual genuine asylum seekers? Because they haven’t gone through the process,” the New Brunswick premier told reporters.

The federal government has been under immense pressure from Quebec to reduce the number of temporary immigrants in the province, especially asylum seekers. The Quebec premier has said that in the last two years, the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec has doubled to 600,000 from 300,000. Ontario has also called on the federal government for help, citing the disproportionate number of would-be refugees in that province.

Speaking after a Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday in British Columbia, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller challenged Higgs’s remarks, saying they were “highly irresponsible.”

“We at no time have said that we would impose asylum seekers on provinces without financial compensation.”

Miller said federal and provincial officials had met during the summer to discuss federal funding and responsibilities for distributing asylum seekers across the country so they could integrate into the labour market. “In order to move forward, we have to put numbers on the table on what an aspirational number of asylum seekers would look like,” Miller said.

The minister said the numbers in question were based on models reflecting each province’s population. He said smaller provinces have a responsibility to take in more asylum seekers to lower the pressure on Ontario and Quebec.

But he said this does not mean New Brunswick would be forced to take in 4,600 asylum seekers. “We would expect the provinces like New Brunswick to do its part, but the last thing we want to see done is for this to be politicized,” Miller said.

Miller went on to suggest that New Brunswick ministers had indicated the province didn’t want to admit any asylum seekers, regardless of federal compensation. And he confirmed that some other provinces were also opposed to letting them in.

“We are looking at a number of other incentives that would push provinces that are recalcitrant,” he said.

It’s not just New Brunswick pushing back against Ottawa’s proposal.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government was also opposed to having more asylum seekers in her province.

“Although Alberta represents only 11.8 per cent of the Canadian population, we are currently supporting approximately 22 per cent — over 70,000 — of Ukrainian evacuees who arrived in Canada,” she said in a statement.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said on X, “It is simply unacceptable for the Trudeau government to try to force thousands of asylum seekers on our province at this time. Nova Scotia simply does not have the capacity to accept thousands of asylum seekers.”

Jeremy Harrison, Saskatchewan’s minister of immigration, said the province had not made an agreement with the federal government regarding the resettlement of would-be refugees.

“Saskatchewan would strongly oppose any move by the federal government to unilaterally allocate asylum seekers to our province and has made that very clear directly at meetings of federal and provincial immigration ministers,” he said in a statement.

John Rustad, leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, called Ottawa’s plan to “force” about 21,000 asylum seekers onto the province without any financial support “a reckless decision.”

New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt accused Higgs of manufacturing a distraction with a provincial election on the horizon. “Premier Higgs is once again being reckless and exaggerating the facts while trying to create division and fear about this news on potential asylum seekers,” she said in a statement.

New Brunswick Green Leader David Coon said he “just about fell on the floor” when he heard Higgs talk about the “scary picture of thousands and thousands of people coming into New Brunswick.”

“It was despicable. He’s clearly decided to take the low road in this campaign, to adopt some, let’s say Trump-lite, to do fearmongering,” Coon said, referencing former United States president Donald Trump.

Coon said asylum seekers, most of whom are trying to escape dangerous situations from their home countries, bring tremendous energy and contribute positively to society.

“This is the premier practising fearmongering to gaslight or light up people out there who hold prejudice and bigotry in their views.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

OTTAWA – An Italian lawyer who bought a portrait of Winston Churchill says he was surprised to learn five months later the answer to a puzzling, high-profile heist might be hanging on his living room wall.

Nicola Cassinelli, a lawyer in Genoa, Italy, plans to attend a ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in Rome next Thursday to mark the return of Yousuf Karsh’s signed 1941 photograph of the British leader.

Police say the “The Roaring Lion” was stolen from Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier hotel sometime between Christmas Day 2021 and Jan. 6, 2022, and replaced with a copy.

It was only months later, in August, when a hotel worker noticed the frame was not hung properly and looked different than the others.

Cassinelli purchased the portrait in May 2022 at an online Sotheby’s auction for 5,292 British pounds.

Cassinelli says he got a phone call from the auction house that October advising him not to sell or otherwise transfer the portrait due to an investigation into the Ottawa theft.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.