Welcome back sprinklers: Calgary on track to ease water restrictions Sunday

OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says it’s time for a woman to lead the United Nations.

She is joining female foreign ministers from 14 countries in saying the next UN secretary-general, whose term will start in 2027, should be a woman.

The call comes at the end of a two-day meeting in Toronto with her Jamaican counterpart, Kamina Johnson Smith, and foreign ministers from countries including Ghana, Indonesia, Nepal and Romania.

The ministers also say there should be gender parity in the role of the president of the UN General Assembly — out of 72 terms only four women have held the position.

The meeting otherwise has focused on women’s participation in governance and issues like online harassment.

The gathering follows a 2018 meeting in Montreal, as well as informal discussions on the sidelines of various global summits.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

MONTREAL – Three men have been injured after a 24-year-old man entered a mosque southwest of Montreal armed with a knife.

Police in Châteauguay, Que., on Montreal’s South Shore, say the three men were in their fifties and suffered only minor injuries, with one transported to hospital.

The suspect entered the Muslim cultural centre in Châteauguay Friday afternoon. A physical altercation followed, but police wouldn’t confirm whether the knife was used to cause any of the injuries. Police were called around 1:40 p.m.

Police say the 24-year-old has been transported to the police station and an investigation is underway, but they did not provide any details about a possible motive.

In a statement on X, the National Council of Canadian Muslims says it is “greatly concerned” about the incident.

“However, we do not have information at this point to make a suggestion as to the motivation behind the incident, and we encourage our community not to speculate as the investigation continues,” the organization said.

Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, said the news was “very distressing.”

“Our thoughts are with the victims, hoping the injuries sustained are not serious and that their recovery will not be difficult,” she said on X.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is urging the Alberta government to preserve pieces of the massive Green Line transit project now being dissolved.

City council voted this week to wind down the $6.2-billion project after Premier Danielle Smith’s government said it would pull its $1.53 billion in funding — unless the city altered and extended the line’s route.

The city estimates halting work will cost $850 million on top of $1.3 billion already spent on land acquisition, utility construction and new light-rail vehicles.

In a Thursday letter, Gondek asks the province to preserve some of the work already done to save taxpayer money and prevent delays in future work, including retaining the contract for new vehicles.

The province has hired an engineering firm to come up with new proposals by the end of the year.

Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says the Green Line was poorly engineered, and had faced escalating costs even as it’s scope shrank.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.