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Ministers’ responses on Afghan monument contract ‘pathetic’: design team

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

OTTAWA — An architectural group that lost out on building a monument to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan is accusing the government of giving a “pathetic” explanation for how the contract was awarded.The design by Renée Daoust and her team was selected by a jury, but the government overruled that decision to award the contract to another group.The government says it passed over the jury’s choice to reflect the preference of veterans who filled out an anonymous three-question survey online.Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge and Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor testified about the controversy Monday before the House veterans affairs committee. In her opening statement, St-Onge said only that she would defer to her colleague, while Petitpas Taylor said listening to veterans was the least the government could do to honour their sacrifice.But Daoust says veterans were well-represented on the seven-person jury, which was told to take the survey resul...

Privacy bill fails to address dangers of facial recognition technology: coalition

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

OTTAWA — A coalition pushing for better regulation of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technologies says proposed federal privacy legislation is in “dire need of significant amendments.”In a letter today to Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the Right2YourFace Coalition warns the use of facial recognition technology threatens human rights, equity principles and fundamental freedoms including the right to privacy.Facial recognition technology can allow an image of a person’s face to be matched against a database of photos with the aim of identifying the individual.The coalition says the technology can prompt biased or flawed results, creating a risk of false identifications.The letter is signed by representatives of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, the Privacy and Access Council of Canada and several others. The coalition says Bill C-27, now before Parliament, fails to addres...

Ontario expanding Holocaust curriculum in Grade 10 History

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

Ontario has mandated new and expanded learning about the Holocaust for high school students after a survey found one in three teenagers in Canada in the U.S. believe the Holocaust was fabricated, exaggerated or are unsure it actually happened.The changes to the curriculum will be made to the Grade 10 History course. The expanded learning will “explicitly link the Holocaust to extreme political ideologies, including fascism, antisemitism in Canada in the 1930s and 1940s, and the contemporary impacts of rising antisemitism.” The changes are expected to be added for September 2025.“By including new mandatory learning in Holocaust education in elementary and secondary schools, we are ensuring students are never bystanders in the face of hate and division,” said Lecce in a release.The current Grade 10 History curriculum involves learning how the Holocaust impacted Canadian society and the attitudes of people in Canada toward human rights.Last year, the government ...

B.C. Coroner’s death panel recommends issuing drugs without prescription to stop ODs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

VICTORIA — A death review panel from the British Columbia Coroners Service recommends community groups be allowed to hand out drugs without a prescription in an attempt to stop toxic drugs from killing more people. The panel’s report coincided with the monthly overdose death toll of 175 people in September, which the coroners service says is a 10 per cent drop from the same month a year ago, but still equal to 5.8 deaths a day across B.C. The report says an estimated 225,000 people in B.C. use unregulated substances but less than 5,000 people a month have prescriptions to receive safer supply drugs.Michael Egilson, the chair of the Coroners Service death panel review, says in a statement that the report’s recommendations reflect the sense of urgency in the province to prevent more overdose deaths.The panel says the fastest way to reduce deaths is to cut dependence on the unregulated toxic drug supply. Its report says the non-medical approach would complement the existing medic...

Storied football rivalry in Maine takes on extra significance in wake of shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — The city of Lewiston takes another tentative step in its recovery from Maine’s worst mass shooting, as high school football returns Wednesday.Known as the “Battle of the Bridge,” the game features cross-river rivals Lewiston High School and Edward Little High School in Auburn. Friday’s game between the Blue Devils and the Red Eddies was postponed after the communities were locked down while police searched for 40-year-old Robert Card. He was found dead Friday, days after shooting and killing 18 people and injuring 13 others at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston.“It’s seemingly more symbolic than ever,” Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent Jake Langlais said of the game that comes after residents in both Lewiston and Auburn lost family and friends in the Oct. 25 shooting.“It’s the first time since this terrible event that both communities have really felt we could come back together and at least try to make new memories to replace the...

US Virgin Islands declares state of emergency after lead and copper found in tap water in St. Croix

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands announced Wednesday that he declared a state of emergency after officials revealed last week that tap water in St. Croix contains lead and copper and warned people not to consume it.The declaration, signed Monday by Gov. Albert Bryan, frees up urgently needed resources, streamlines emergency response and allows the U.S. territory to seek federal help.The government also froze prices for bottled water and other products as local and federal authorities continue to test and monitor the water in St. Croix.The investigation began in late September following complaints of reddish-brown water on the island of more than 50,600 people.Officials have said that while the water should not be ingested or used for cooking, it is safe to use for showering and cleaning.The Associated Press

ACLU and families of trans teens ask Supreme Court to block Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys representing Tennessee transgender teens and their families asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to block a ban on gender-affirming care for minors that a lower court allowed to go into effect.Should the nation’s highest court agree to take the case, it would mark the first time the justices could weigh in on restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender people under 18.Since 2021, more than 20 states have enacted laws restricting or banning such treatments, even though they have been available in the United States for more than a decade and are endorsed by major medical associations.According to court documents filed Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union is asking the Supreme Court to review a September decision handed down by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed bans in Kentucky and Tennessee to remain in effect. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has described the decision as a “bi...

What you need to know about heat pumps

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

TORONTO — The federal government has ramped up financial support to help transition homeowners away from oil furnaces — the most expensive way to heat a home — to heat pumps instead. The machines are growing in popularity, but many are unfamiliar with them, so here are some answers to common questions about heat pumps. What are heat pumps?Heat pumps are machines that move heat to where it is, or isn’t, wanted. In winter, they can suck heat from outside and pump it into the house (there is heat in the air, even when it’s cold). In the summer, they can pull heat from inside the house and push it outside. The machines use coolant to transfer the energy to where it’s wanted, similar to how a refrigerator works. They can pull heat from the air, the most common method, or from the ground or groundwater.Why is there a push to shift to these systems?Heat pumps are an important part of hitting climate goals because home and building heating creates about 10 per cent of Cana...

Cyprus plans to send humanitarian aid directly to Gaza by ship, where UN personnel would receive it

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus offered more detail Wednesday on its initiative to create a sea corridor for the steady flow of humanitarian assistance from Cyprus to Gaza, saying that aid-laden ships would sail directly to the enclave, where United Nations personnel would receive it for eventual distribution.Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “saw the initiative in a positive light” during a long telephone conversation Tuesday evening with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.Cyprus is still sketching out with fellow European Union member countries and Arab states the logistical details of its plan to ferry aid from its main port of Limassol to Gaza once conditions on the ground permit it.Ships would be vetted at the point of departure at the Limassol port to ensure that nothing would be transported that could be weaponized by Hamas to use against Israel.Gaza’s humanitarian needs have escalated since the Israel-...

Cooking spray burn victim awarded $7.1 million in damages after can ‘exploded into a fireball’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:20 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A jury in Illinois has ordered Chicago-based Conagra Brands to pay $7.1 million to a Pennsylvania woman who was badly injured in 2017 when a can of commercial brand cooking spray ignited in a kitchen at her workplace and set her aflame.The verdict, issued Monday in favor of Tammy Reese of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, is the first of numerous other cases from burn victims across the country with similar stories citing accidents that occurred with Conagra-made cooking spray brands, including its popular grocery store brand Pam.Reese was working at a social club kitchen in May 2017 when “suddenly and without warning” a can of Swell cooking spray “exploded into a fireball, causing burns and injuries,” according to a lawsuit filed on her behalf. She suffered deep second-degree burns on her head, face, arms and hands, and scar tissue continues to constrict her movement six years later, according to one of her lawyers, Craig Smith.Chicago-based Conagra Brands must pay out $3....