U.S. drops planned regulations for dogs crossing border from rabies-free countries

OTTAWA – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre signaled the Liberals’ carbon price and the economy will remain his prime target when Parliament resumes this week.

He painted a dystopian picture during a Sunday morning speech to his caucus, saying the Liberal government’s plans to increase the price would cause a “nuclear winter” for the economy.

“There would be mass hunger and malnutrition with a tax this high … our seniors would have to turn the heat down to 14 or 13 C just to make it through the winter,” Poilievre said.

“Inflation would run rampant and people would not be able to leave their homes or drive anywhere.”

The Conservatives are the last of the major parties to have a fall strategy session after the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois all met last week.

Poilievre has maintained his party’s commanding lead in the polls throughout the summer, and is preparing to make another push to topple the Liberal government as early as this week.

All parties are adjusting their autumn plans after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended the agreement that was ensuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government would stay in power.

Poilievre has promised to bring in notice of a non-confidence motion at his first opportunity, and that could happen as early as this week. The Tories would likely need the support of both the NDP and the Bloc to pass the motion, which appears unlikely.

Last week, Singh criticized both the Liberals and the Conservatives over their approaches to fighting climate change, but wouldn’t say whether he would keep the consumer carbon price if his party forms government after the next election.

Trudeau responded by accusing Singh of caving to political pressure from Poilievre.

Poilievre has not been fully clear on whether he would cancel both the consumer carbon levy, charged to individuals and smaller businesses, as well as the separate system that applies to big industry.

In his speech Sunday, Poilievre took shots at both Trudeau and Singh. “This crazy carbon tax obsession of Justin Trudeau and the NDP is an existential threat to our economy and our way of life,” he said.

Poilievre said despite the NDP pulling out of the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals, Singh isn’t committing to voting to bring down the government and trigger an election.

“Now on the eve of a byelection, sellout Jagmeet Singh wants you to believe he’s a changed man. He’s a totally new person. He’s forgotten about everything he’s been doing for two years.”

As Parliament resumes on Monday, the political mood of the country will be tested in two byelections.

The NDP are trying to fend off the Conservatives in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona and the Liberals are running a three-way race against the NDP and the Bloc in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun.

In a June byelection, the Conservatives scored a surprise win in the longtime Liberal stronghold of Toronto—St. Paul’s.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

WINNIPEG – Some 250 coloured tacks pepper a large-scale world map among bookshelves at Whodunit Mystery Bookstore.

Estonia, Finland, Japan and even Fenwick, Ont., have pins representing places outside Winnipeg where someone has ordered a page-turner from the independent bookstore that specializes in mystery and crime fiction novels.

For 30 years, the store has been offering fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes a place to get lost in whodunits both old and new.

Jack and Wendy Bumsted bought the shop in the Crescentwood neighbourhood in 2007 from another pair of mystery lovers.

The married couple had been longtime customers of the store. Wendy Bumsted grew up reading Perry Mason novels while her husband was a historian with vast knowledge of the crime fiction genre.

At the time, Jack Bumsted was retiring from teaching at the University of Manitoba when he was looking for his next venture.

“The bookstore came up and we bought it, I think, within a week,” Wendy Bumsted said in an interview.

“It never didn’t seem like a good idea.”

In the years since the Bumsteds took ownership, the family has witnessed the decline in mail-order books, the introduction of online retailers, a relocation to a new space next to the original, a pandemic and the death of beloved co-owner Jack Bumsted in 2020.

But with all the changes that come with owning a small business, customers continue to trust their next mystery fix will come from one of the shelves at Whodunit.

Many still request to be called about books from specific authors, or want to be notified if a new book follows their favourite format. Some arrive at the shop like clockwork each week hoping to get suggestions from Wendy Bumsted or her son on the next big hit.

“She has really excellent instincts on what we should be getting and what we should be promoting,” Micheal Bumsted said of his mother.

Wendy Bumsted suggested the store stock “Thursday Murder Club,” the debut novel from British television host Richard Osman, before it became a bestseller. They ordered more copies than other bookstores in Canada knowing it had the potential to be a hit, said Michael Bumsted.

The store houses more than 18,000 new and used novels. That’s not including the boxes of books that sit in Wendy Bumsted’s tiny office, or the packages that take up space on some of the only available seating there, waiting to be added to the inventory.

Just as the genre has evolved, so has the Bumsteds’ willingness to welcome other subjects on their shelves — despite some pushback from loyal customers and initially the Bumsted patriarch.

For years, Jack Bumsted refused to sell anything outside the crime fiction genre, including his own published books. Instead, he would send potential buyers to another store, but would offer to sign the books if they came back with them.

Wendy Bumsted said that eventually changed in his later years.

Now, about 15 per cent of the store’s stock is of other genres, such as romance or children’s books.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to look at expanding their selection, as some customers turned to buying books through the store’s website, which is set up to allow purchasers to get anything from the publishers the Bumsteds have contracts with.

In 2019, the store sold fewer than 100 books online. That number jumped to more than 3,000 in 2020, as retailers had to deal with pandemic lockdowns.

After years of running a successful mail-order business, the store was able to quickly adapt when it had to temporarily shut its doors, said Michael Bumsted.

“We were not a store…that had to figure out how to get books to people when they weren’t here.”

He added being a community bookstore with a niche has helped the family stay in business when other retailers have struggled. Part of that has included building lasting relationships.

“Some people have put it in their wills that their books will come to us,” said Wendy Bumsted.

Some of those collections have included tips on traveling through Asia in the early 2000s or the history of Australian cricket.

Micheal Bumsted said they’ve had to learn to be patient with selling some of these more obscure titles, but eventually the time comes for them to find a new home.

“One of the great things about physical books is that they can be there for you when you are ready for them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 15, 2024.

MONTREAL – Canada’s labour minister is praising both Air Canada and the union representing about 5,200 of its pilots for averting a work stoppage that would have disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Steven MacKinnon’s comments came in a statement shared to social media shortly after Canada’s largest air carrier announced it had reached a tentative labour deal with the Air Line Pilots Association.

MacKinnon thanked both sides and federal mediators, saying the airline and its pilots approached negotiations with “seriousness and a resolve to get a deal.”

The tentative agreement averts a strike or lockout that could have begun as early as Wednesday for Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, with flight cancellations expected before then.

The airline now says flights will continue as normal while union members vote on the tentative four-year contract.

Air Canada had called on the federal government to intervene in the dispute, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that would only happen if it became clear no negotiated agreement was possible.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.