News
The weather outside is frightful and it’s about to get worse in many parts of Canada
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There’s no place like home for the holidays, but in large swaths of Canada and the U.S., getting there could be tricky amid a spate of weather warnings.
A storm and extreme cold in Western Canada has grounded hundreds of flights in Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary, and Environment Canada is saying to avoid any travel, if possible, in large portions of Ontario and Quebec as a winter storm approaches.
The Environment Canada warning map is lit up like a Christmas tree, full of reds and yellows. In the United States, the same weather systems are expected to cause power outages and travel chaos.
All told, millions of people in both countries may have their travel or celebration plans affected during the holiday weekend.
More snow on the way for already hobbled B.C.
Environment Canada says a “significant winter storm” is expected for British Columbia’s south coast on Thursday night, with heavy winds and snow for Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley.
Conditions improved Thursday at Vancouver International Airport, where 100 of 660 flights were cancelled, but there were still warnings of more cancellations, delays and congestion for Friday.
WestJet said Thursday night that it was proactively cancelling all flights arriving and departing Vancouver International Airport beginning at 11:50 p.m. PT until late afternoon Friday. The airline says flights into some of the provinces smaller airports are also cancelled.
The airport was still dealing with a backlog of stranded passengers — and missing luggage — from a storm earlier this week, but says it is on track to lift a two-day cancellation of international arrivals at 5 a.m. Friday. Still, travellers are being encouraged to check with their airlines.
B.C. Transit said it would be suspending service in Victoria beginning at 12 a.m. on Friday, while B.C. Ferries also faced disruptions due to the freezing weather.
Matt Leger, who was stranded at the Vancouver airport attempting to get to Tampa, Fla. — and who was still stuck in Seattle on Thursday morning — told CBC News Network that he wasn’t able to speak to a representative at the airport or by phone.
“I was just sort of left in limbo, not knowing when my next flight will be.”
Eventually he reached someone with the airline, who told him he’d either need to wait until Christmas or fly to Orlando, about a 135-kilometre drive from Tampa.
Other travellers faced similar challenges, including delayed and cancelled flights, and long waits at the airport.
Thousands of passengers trying to reach their families or a vacation destination for the holidays have been met with repeated delays or flight cancellations as winter weather hobbles Vancouver International Airport.
Vancouver International Airport’s president and CEO, Tamara Vrooman, said lessons have been learned this week.
“It is the worst timing to have this kind of snow event right at the holidays. We apologize. We feel for passengers.
“This is not how we want to spend our time as an airport serving them, but we have made the adjustments. It is improving, and we hope that we’ll be able to get more passengers connected to where they want to go.”
Vancouver International Airport’s president and CEO, Tamara Vrooman, says delays are still likely through the Christmas weekend as the airport recovers from a snowstorm earlier in the week.
Consider postponing gatherings until Sunday, Ontarians told
In Ontario, the weather agency has placed most of the province under a warning or watch ahead of a major winter storm expected Friday and into the holiday weekend. Several school boards in the province, including the Toronto District School Board, have cancelled school on Friday.
Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is also bracing for the incoming storm. WestJet has cancelled all flights into and out of Pearson beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on Friday until the end of the day. Resumption of flights will depend on weather conditions Saturday. The cancellations will affect flights in and out of Ottawa, London, Waterloo and Montreal.
Steven Flisfeder, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said damaging winds, possible flash-freezes and blizzard-like conditions will make for difficult driving.
If you plan to travel for holiday get-togethers, aim to arrive before the worst of the storm or try to postpone gatherings to Sunday, he said.
Until then, “take this time ahead of the storm to prepare for the conditions that will be coming,” Flisfeder said. “It’s always best to be prepared, so that you don’t have to scramble when the storm actually approaches.”
In Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa, the agency is calling for up to 15 centimetres of snow by Friday and possible 90 km/h wind gusts. In other parts of southern Ontario, overnight rain combined with plummeting temperatures into Friday could result in flash-freezing conditions.
Starting Friday, Environment Canada says a “crippling blizzard” could hit parts of southwestern Ontario, including Niagara Region and Owen Sound, bringing wind gusts up to 120 km/h and 15 to 30 centimetres of snow by Sunday. Niagara Region also issued a flood alert for Lake Erie.
In Quebec, people are being told to prepare emergency kits that can help sustain them for up to 72 hours without power, with a mix of heavy snow, rain and strong winds expected from Thursday night in much of the province.
Meteorologist Jean-Philippe Begin says Quebecers should prepare for the possibility of blackouts “for prolonged periods.”
C-c-c-cold elsewhere
In other parts of Canada, the hits just keep on coming:
In Newfoundland and Labrador, a special weather statement says a winter storm is expected on Saturday.
Prince Edward Island will face heavy rain and strong wind gusts beginning Friday afternoon. The weather could disrupt travel plans on Friday evening and Christmas Eve morning, with power outages also possible.
Officials are urging Nova Scotians to plan ahead for the holiday weekend, with a storm expected to hit western parts of the province on Friday afternoon, moving through to Cape Breton by Saturday morning.
In New Brunswick, snow, heavy rain, ice pellets, strong winds and a possible storm surge are expected Friday afternoon.
Most regions of southern Manitoba and the province’s far north are under extreme cold warnings for Thursday evening, with wind chill values expected to approach –40 C in Winnipeg.
In Alberta, heavy snowfall, blowing winds and freezing rain are expected from Saturday evening into Sunday morning, before the province thaws out next week.
Extreme cold warnings were also in effect for Yukon and parts of the N.W.T. and Saskatchewan.
Few escape options
Drivers were urged to stay off the roads during bad weather, but if people have to head out, they should take extra precautions, including planning ahead and ensuring they have good snow tires, the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) says.
Motorists should also keep an emergency roadside kit in their vehicle, as well as some sand or salt, and ensure their phone is fully charged, says Julie Beun, CAA’s director of communications for eastern and northern Ontario.
Any snowbirds who were hoping to outrun winter this Christmas are also out of luck. In much of the U.S., the Christmas weekend could be the coldest in decades. There are wind chill warnings in 30 states.
The sub-zero temperatures affecting Canada are also expected to stretch deep into the U.S.; places with names like Inland Citrus, Fla., and Sweetwater, Texas, are being warned of freezing temperatures.
The U.S. National Weather Service is warning that the winter storm will bring “potentially crippling impacts” to the central and eastern U.S., with record-breaking cold and “life-threatening wind chill” over the Great Plains and the eastern half of the country on Friday.
The storm hitting the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Interior Northeast regions will “lead to dangerous, to at times impossible, land and air travel leading up to the holiday weekend,” a statement from the service said.
A powerful winter storm is making its way through the U.S. and Canada, bringing with it severe snow and freezing temperatures. The storm has already disrupted travel for many ahead of the holidays.
Michigan State Police prepared to deploy additional troopers to help motorists. And along Interstate 90 in northern Indiana, crews worked to clear as much as 30 centimetres of snow. About 150 members of the National Guard have been deployed to help snow-bound Indiana travellers.
More than 4,400 flights within, into or out of the U.S. had been cancelled for Thursday and Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware, while Amtrak cancelled dozens of passenger trains through Christmas, disrupting holiday travel for tens of thousands of people.
Another 8,450 flights were delayed Thursday.
News
Ontario Legislature keffiyeh ban remains, though Ford and opposition leaders ask for reversal – CBC.ca
Keffiyehs remain banned in the Ontario Legislature after a unanimous consent motion that would have allowed the scarf to be worn failed to pass at Queen’s Park Thursday.
That vote, brought forth by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, failed despite Premier Doug Ford and the leaders of the province’s opposition parties all stating they want to see the ban overturned. Complete agreement from all MPPs is required for a motion like this to pass, and there were a smattering of “nos” after it was read into the record.
In an email on Wednesday, Speaker Ted Arnott said the legislature has previously restricted the wearing of clothing that is intended to make an “overt political statement” because it upholds a “standard practice of decorum.”
“The Speaker cannot be aware of the meaning of every symbol or pattern but when items are drawn to my attention, there is a responsibility to respond. After extensive research, I concluded that the wearing of keffiyehs at the present time in our Assembly is intended to be a political statement. So, as Speaker, I cannot authorize the wearing of keffiyehs based on our longstanding conventions,” Arnott said in an email.
Speaking at Queen’s Park Thursday, Arnott said he would reconsider the ban with unanimous consent from MPPs.
“If the house believes that the wearing of the keffiyeh in this house, at the present time, is not a political statement, I would certainly and unequivocally accept the express will of the house with no ifs, ands or buts,” he said.
Keffiyehs are a commonly worn scarf among Arabs, but hold special significance to Palestinian people. They have been a frequent sight among pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas� war continues.
Premier calls for reversal
Ford said Thursday he’s hopeful Arnott will reverse the ban, but he didn’t say if he would instruct his caucus to support the NDP’s motion.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Ford said the decision was made by the speaker and nobody else.
“I do not support his decision as it needlessly divides the people of our province. I call on the speaker to reverse his decision immediately,” Ford said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated Thursday that he does not support Speaker Ted Arnott banning keffiyehs in the Ontario Legislature because they are “intended to be a political statement,” as Arnott said in an email Wednesday.
PC Party MPP Robin Martin, who represents Eglinton–Lawrence, voted against the unanimous consent motion Thursday and told reporters she believes the speaker’s initial ruling was the correct one.
“We have to follow the rules of the legislature, otherwise we politicize the entire debate inside the legislature, and that’s not what it’s about. What it’s about is we come there and use our words to persuade, not items of clothing.”
When asked if she had defied a directive from the premier, Martin said, “It has nothing to do with the premier, it’s a decision of the speaker of the legislative assembly.”
Stiles told reporters Thursday she’s happy Ford is on her side on this issue, but added she is disappointed the motion didn’t pass.
“The premier needs to talk to his people and make sure they do the right thing,” she said.
Stiles first urged Arnott to reconsider the ban in an April 12 letter. She said concerns over the directive first surfaced after being flagged by members of her staff, however they have gained prominence after Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre, posted about the issue on X, formerly Twitter.
Jama was removed from the NDP caucus for her social media comments on the Israel-Hamas war shortly after Oct. 7.
Jama has said she believes she was kicked out of the party because she called for a ceasefire in Gaza “too early” and because she called Israel an “apartheid state.”
Arnott told reporters Thursday that he began examining a ban on the Keffiyeh after one MPP made a complaint about another MPP, who he believes was Jama, who was wearing one.
Liberals also call for reversal
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie also called for a reversal of the ban on Wednesday night.
“Here in Ontario, we are home to a diverse group of people from so many backgrounds. This is a time when leaders should be looking for ways to bring people together, not to further divide us. I urge Speaker Arnott to immediately reconsider this move to ban the keffiyeh,” Crombie said.
Keffiyehs are a common garment across the Arab world, but they hold a special meaning in the Palestinian resistance movement.
Stiles said MPPs have worn kilts, kirpans, vyshyvankas and chubas in the legislature, saying such items of clothing not only have national and cultural associations, but have also been considered at times as “political symbols in need of suppression.”
She said Indigenous and non-Indigenous members have also dressed in traditional regalia and these items cannot be separated from their historical and political significance.
“The wearing of these important cultural and national clothing items in our Assembly is something we should be proud of. It is part of the story of who we are as a province,” she said.
“Palestinians are part of that story, and the keffiyeh is a traditional clothing item that is significant not only to them but to many members of Arab and Muslim communities. That includes members of my staff who have been asked to remove their keffiyehs in order to come to work. This is unacceptable.”
Stiles added that House of Commons and other provincial legislatures allow the wearing of keffiyehs in their chambers and the ban makes Ontario an “outlier.”
Suppression of cultural symbols part of genocide: MPP
Jama said on X that the ban is “unsurprising” but “nonetheless concerning” in a country that has a legacy of colonialism. “Part of committing genocide is the forceful suppression of cultural identity and cultural symbols,” she said in part.
“Seeing those in power in this country at all levels of government, from federal all the way down to school boards, aid Israel’s colonial regime with these tactics in the oppression of Palestinian people proves that reconciliation is nothing but a word when spoken by state powers,” she said.
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said on X that it is “deeply ironic” on that keffiyehs were banned in the Ontario legislature on the 42nd anniversary of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This is wrong and dangerous as we have already seen violence and exclusion impact Canadians, including Muslims of Palestinian descent, who choose to wear this traditional Palestinian clothing,” Elghawaby said.
Arnott said the keffiyeh was not considered a “form of protest” in the legislature prior to statements and debates that happened in the House last fall.
“These items are not absolutes and are not judged in a vacuum,” he said.
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Best in Canada: Jets Beat Canucks to Finish Season as Top Canadian Club The Hockey News
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Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
The policy change would remove the current donor screening criteria, allowing men who have sex with men to legally donate sperm for the first time in more than 30 years, as part of the anonymous donation process.
This update comes after CTV News first reported last year that a gay man was taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of the policy on the basis that it violates the right to equality in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
According to an email Health Canada sent stakeholders informing them of the upcoming amendments to the federal directive, “sperm donors will instead be asked gender-neutral, sexual behaviour-based donor screening questions,” more in-line with the 2022 change made by Canadian Blood Services to its donation policy.
However, instead of entirely eradicating restrictions for gay and bisexual men, lawyer Gregory Ko – whose client, Aziz M., brought the case – cautioned that Health Canada will continue to bar donations from those who have had new or multiple partners in the last three months, based on rules regarding anal sex. CTV News has agreed to protect the full identity of Aziz M. out of concerns for his privacy.
Ko said while the update is an important milestone, his client intends to maintain his challenge against the Health Canada directive, “and the continued discrimination contained in this latest revision.”
“Based on our understanding of the science, there is no scientific justification for screening criteria that continues to discriminate on the basis of sexual activity and sexual orientation, since the testing and quarantine protocols already in place allow sperm banks to detect relevant infections and exclude such donations,” Ko said.
Currently, a Health Canada directive prohibits gay and bisexual men from donating sperm to a sperm bank for general use, unless they’ve been abstinent for three months or are donating to someone they know.
For example, it stops any gay man who is sexually active from donating, even if they are in a long-term monogamous relationship.
Under the “Safety of Sperm and Ova Regulation,” sperm banks operating in Canada must deem these prospective donors “unsuitable,” despite all donations being subject to screening, testing and a six-month quarantine before they can be used.
While the directive does not mention transgender or non-binary donors, the policy also applies to individuals who may not identify as male but would be categorized as men under the directive.
It’s a blanket policy that the Toronto man bringing the lawsuit said made him feel like a “second-class citizen,” and goes to the heart of the many barriers that exist for LGBTQ2S+ Canadians looking to have children.
When CTV News first reported on the lawsuit, Health Canada and various federal ministers said they would be “exploring” a policy change, citing the progress made on blood donation rules.
The update comes following “the consultations held in August 2023 and January 2024,” according to Health Canada.
This is a breaking news story, more to come…
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