N.S. Progressive Conservative election platform includes cap on electricity rates

FREDERICTON – New Brunswick says a parasite threatening the country’s oyster industry may have spread to the province’s east coast.

A news release says officials have detected the “possible” presence of the parasite called multinucleate sphere X — or MSX — in Spence Cove, in the waters along New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

It says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is waiting for results from the samples it collected.

The province says it has placed the area under quarantine, prohibiting the movement of oysters to and from the cove.

The parasite was detected in July for the first time in Prince Edward Island, threatening the province’s world-renowned oyster industry.

Statistics Canada says New Brunswick’s oyster industry is worth about $24 million a year.

New Brunswick Fisheries Minister Pat Finnigan says the government will work with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and stakeholders as the investigation proceeds.

“We recognize the uncertainty surrounding the full economic impact of this situation and we are prepared to work with affected producers as more information becomes available,” he says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

OTTAWA – A group of federal cabinet ministers are huddling in a closed-door meeting this morning to work on Canada’s strategy for dealing with the incoming Donald Trump administration.

A recently revived cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations made up of senior ministers is meeting for the first time since Trump left office in early 2021.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who chairs the committee, is set to take questions from media later today on Parliament Hill.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters heading into the meeting that Ottawa has a plan already and now the government will look to put it in motion.

The mercurial president-elect had campaigned on imposing across-the-board tariffs on U.S. imports and deporting millions of illegal immigrants.

That’s stoked fears that his term in the White House could deal a blow to the Canadian economy and cause a sudden influx of migrants at the border.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has clarified the legal path for judges when reviewing the validity of government regulations, guidelines or other such instruments.

In a pair of decisions today, the Supreme Court points to a previous top court ruling that set out a comprehensive framework for determining the applicable standard of review.

The court says a standard for gauging reasonableness, set out in that framework, is presumed to apply when reviewing government regulations and other rules.

It says a court’s role is to review the legality or validity of such regulations, not to weigh whether they are necessary, wise or effective in practice.

As a result, it is not an inquiry into the underlying political, economic, social or partisan considerations.

Rather, the review should be aimed at whether an agency has acted within the scope of its lawful authority.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.