‘Programming error’ results in accidental sale on Quebec liquor products

OTTAWA – The Liberal government is announcing more details on its existing strategy and funding to fight a rise in hate crimes targeting multiple communities.

Diversity Minister Kamal Khera released the Action Plan on Combatting Hate last week, which aims to co-ordinate how various departments promote diversity and prevent violent incidents and speech online targeting minorities.

Khera said the funding is needed because Statistics Canada is reporting an increase in hate crimes involving Jews, Muslims, LGBTQ+ people and other communities.

“Whether it is online or on our streets, hateful words (and) actions are having a devastating impact on our communities and our entire country, whether it is our mosques being attacked, communities being divided or even losing loved ones,” she said outside a mosque in Brampton, Ont.

She noted the arrest last week of a London, Ont. man whom police say had verbally harassed a woman wearing an Islamic headscarf and brandished a knife. A self-described white nationalist in that same southwestern Ontario city murdered four members of a Muslim family in 2021 in what a judge ruled to be an act of terrorism.

“We cannot allow hate to go unchecked; the cost of inaction is far too great,” Khera said.

The action plan released last Tuesday details how Ottawa intends to spend the $273.6 million the Liberals allocated in this April’s budget for various programs, over the course of six years.

Khera said that allocation includes a $65 million top-up to a fund that helps community institutions and religious centres cover the cost of installing cameras or hiring security guards. She noted Ottawa has increased the annual amount of cash institutions can apply for, such as those who feel it’s necessary to get round-the-clock security.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said the extra cash for security is “very welcome as many institutions have been stretched beyond capacity,” noting Jewish schools have been shot at, synagogues have been vandalized and Jewish businesses have been set ablaze.

Tuesday’s action plan largely reiterates work that federal departments and agencies are already doing, with the idea of creating consultation panels that can spot gaps in laws and programs or address barriers to implementing an existing Anti-Racism Strategy.

It listed various programs helping anti-racism organizations to monitor and combat online hatred, as well as training for Crown prosecutors on “the unique dynamics of hate crimes.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2024

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SURREY, B.C. – New Democrat Leader David Eby, speaking before his largest crowd of the provincial election campaign, says he’s making a tax relief election promise that will benefit more than 90 per cent of people in British Columbia.

The NDP would implement an annual tax cut of $1,000 for the average family starting next year if the party forms government on Oct. 19, Eby said Sunday at a packed campaign event in Surrey, B.C.

The plan will exempt $10,000 of individual income from annual taxes every year, which will reduce taxes by more than $1,000 for most households and more than $500 for individuals, he said.

It means, Eby said, people will not pay provincial income tax on the first $22,580 of their earnings.

He said the plan would provide $1,000 in relief immediately.

“A $1,000 tax cut the year after that, the year after that and the year after that,” said Eby.

The NDP leader’s tax relief promise comes less than one week after B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad promised, if elected, a tax relief plan for renters and homeowners that would exempt housing costs from provincial income taxes.

Rustad’s plan, which he called the Rustad Rebate, would start in 2026 at $1,500 and grow to exempt up to $3,000 a month in housing costs from provincial income taxes in 2029.

Eby said Rustad’s plan is back loaded, meaning people in B.C. wouldn’t see support next year and wouldn’t be eligible for the full benefits until 2029.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2024.

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CHRISTINA LAKE, B.C. – Parts of a British Columbia Interior community have been evacuated due to the threat of a nearby out-of-control wildfire.

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary says 42 homes located near Brown Road, Caitlin Road and Kensington Place in Christina Lake had been evacuated, although the evacuation order has since been rescinded for some of those residents.

The district says in a social media post that an emergency operation centre has been activated, and 208 homes in the area are on alert to leave on short notice.

Residents in the community have also been warned of possible low water pressure as fire crews use the available supply to fight the nearby wildfire.

The BC Wildfire Service says the out-of-control blaze near the evacuation zone is located at Spaulding Creek near Highway 3, and the cause is still under investigation.

A notice from the provincial Ministry of Transportation’s DriveBC information system says Highway 3 was closed due to the blaze for a period of time before a single lane was reopened to alternating traffic.

Christina Lake is located about 21 kilometres east of Grand Forks, B.C., where another tactical evacuation took place days earlier due to the spread of the Goosmus wildfire from Washington state.

The evacuation order and alert there have both been lifted after fire crews brought the Goosmus blaze under control.

Residents evacuated from the Spaulding Creek wildfire zone are asked to go to the Christina Lake Community Hall, where a Red Cross reception centre will be set up.

The wildfire service said in its last update on Sept. 26 that seasonal fall weather in recent weeks had “decreased wildfire risk,” resulting in open fire bans being lifted from some regions.

The service says there are about 185 active wildfires burning in B.C., with only around 19 of them — or roughly 10 per cent of the total — classified as out of control.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.