Quebec man’s acquittal in 1978 double murder ‘historic and exceptional,’ lawyer says

A resident of British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast says a rare tornado that she saw touch down on Monday was like a scene out of a movie with trees coming down “like dominoes” in the high winds.

Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project, which tracks storm events across Canada, has confirmed that what Lynn Smith captured on video during the windstorms that hit much of the B.C. coast was a tornado, with wind speeds of 115 km/h.

Smith says she turned on the camera hoping to send a tongue-in-cheek clip to a relative about the “beautiful day” outside Sechelt, where she regularly travels from her home in Halfmoon Bay.

Smith says stormy weather in the region isn’t out of the ordinary but when she saw a “big, healthy” tree come down, she knew something wasn’t right.

The footage captured by Smith from her car shows winds whipping up forest debris as a tree falls across the road and she gasps in disbelief.

Smith says she was worried someone was injured and called 911 when she turned around, flashing her lights at oncoming traffic to warn them of the downed trees.

Northern Tornadoes Project executive director David Sills says the team is still awaiting satellite imagery data on the tornado event.

The Sechelt tornado is only the second recorded by the project in B.C. this year, after one that occurred over Mabel Lake in the B.C. Interior in August.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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VANCOUVER – Canadian retailers say their frustration is growing with the lack of movement to resolve disruptions at Canada’s two largest ports, including silence surrounding a lockout at British Columbia ports that is into its fourth day.

Matt Poirier with the Retail Council of Canada says there “doesn’t seem to be any urgency” in resolving the disputes in B.C. and Quebec and it may result in empty shelves as the holiday season approaches.

Poirier describes the situation as a “triple-threat” of labour disruptions, referencing uncertainty at Canada Post, the ongoing lockout of unionized workers at B.C. ports including Vancouver, as well as a strike that has closed two container terminals indefinitely in Montreal.

Poirier says retailers could face a “staggering” impact on the holiday season “where every delivery counts,” with four days of port disruptions potentially equating to about a month in delays due to ripples in the supply chain.

In B.C., the lockout by the BC Maritime Employers Association at container port facilities across the province is being met with silence from all sides.

The employers say no talks have taken place or are scheduled with either mediators or the union representing about 700 foremen — a situation described as unusual by labour expert Mark Thompson, who is a retired University of British Columbia professor.

He says it appears the employers are “playing hardball” by making what they call a final offer to the union, but the federal government has been hesitant to intervene beyond mediation because the right to strike is protected in the Canadian constitution.

“I think we’re in a kind of dance out there,” Thompson said. “Somebody’s waiting for the other side to say chicken, and it hasn’t happened yet.”

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 has said there are no updates on the situation and picketers remain at terminal sites across B.C.

A spokesman at the office of federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon referred questions on Wednesday to a social media post by the minister on Nov. 2.

MacKinnon said in the post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that he spoke with both sides of the dispute and emphasized “it is the responsibility of the parties to reach an agreement,” a point he repeated on Monday in question period at Parliament.

The dispute over issues such as port automation’s effect on unionized workers has been simmering since last year when the previous agreement between employers and the union expired in March 2023.

It comes on the heels of a separate dispute last year between employers and cargo workers that resulted in a strike that froze B.C. ports for 13 days.

The Port of Vancouver — the largest in Canada — has also experienced a disruption involving railways in August and another with grain terminal workers in September.

Meanwhile, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority president and CEO Peter Xotta was set to speak at a pre-scheduled event on the state of the port at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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Average asking rents declined nationally on a year-over-year basis for the first time in more than three years in October, said a report out Thursday.

The report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation found average asking rents across Canada sat at $2,152 in October, down 1.2 per cent from the same month in 2023 — the first national decrease since July 2021.

The decline is mainly concentrated in Canada’s major urban centres, with cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal seeing rent decreases.

Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand said it is rare for rents to decline year-over-year at the national level.

“This is happening as the key drivers of rent growth in recent years — a strengthening economy, quickly rising population, and worsening homeownership affordability — are beginning to reverse,” said Hildebrand.

“As a result, we can likely expect this trend for rents to continue in the near-term, particularly as apartment completions remain at record highs.”

B.C. and Ontario recorded the most significant annual rent decreases among the provinces, with the former seeing average asking rents for apartments down 3.4 per cent to $2,549 and the latter recording a 5.7 per cent drop to $2,350.

Rents rose 17.1 per cent in Saskatchewan, which remained the fastest-growing province in the country in terms of asking price, after seeing 23.5 per cent annual growth in September.

By city, Toronto recorded the largest annual decline in asking rents for apartments in October, at 9.2 per cent, to reach an average of $2,642. Vancouver saw an 8.4 per cent year-over-year rent decline to an average of $2,945, while Calgary apartment rents fell 4.7 per cent to $1,995.

In Montreal, average rents were down 2.9 per cent at $1,987. Ottawa apartment rents held steady with a 0.4 per cent annual increase to reach $2,207.

However, Edmonton led rent growth in Canada’s largest markets as apartment rents rose 8.4 per cent annually to an average of $1,584.

Based on the report, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in Canada was $1,923 in October, down 0.8 per cent from a year ago. The average asking price for a two-bedroom unit was $2,308, down 0.2 per cent.

Overall, asking rents for purpose-built rental apartments in October rose 1.7 per cent compared with a year earlier to reach an average of $2,100.

Meanwhile, condominium apartment rents, which averaged $2,265, were down 3.8 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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