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Premier Ford objects to court finding Ontario bike-lane law unconstitutional

Ontario's Superior Court ruled removing the bike lanes would put people at an 'increased risk of harm and death' and violate their Charter rights.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford teed off Wednesday on a court decision declaring his law to remove three Toronto bike lanes unconstitutional, calling it the “most ridiculous” ruling he has ever seen.

Ford has already said his government plans to appeal, even as it works on a compromise with the city to both keep the bike lanes and add extra lanes for vehicle traffic.

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Ford proposes three-level tunnel under Highway 401, feasibility study not started

'We’re building that tunnel as sure as I’m talking to you,' Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford revealed more details Wednesday about his planned tunnel under Highway 401, even as a feasibility study he’s commissioning has yet to get underway.

Speaking at an unrelated transit announcement in Thornhill, Ont., north of Toronto, Ford said his plan is to have a 19.5-metre-wide, three-level tunnel, with one level going eastbound, one for westbound traffic and a bottom level for transit.

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Nova Scotia releases plan on future transport needs for Halifax and surrounding area

Nova Scotia Public Works Minister Fred Tilley, left to right, Peter Hackett, deputy minister of Link Nova Scotia and Connie Roney, project executive with the Department of Public Works, hold a news conference in Halifax, on Wednesday.

The Nova Scotia government has released its long-awaited plan to address the future transportation needs of Atlantic Canada’s largest city and the surrounding area.

Public Works Minister Fred Tilley told reporters Wednesday that the goal of the Regional Transportation Plan is to transform the transportation system for Halifax and those areas within an hour’s drive of the port city – a region that is home to 63 per cent of the province’s population.

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Why are fentanyl deaths in Europe a fraction of those seen in North America?

When police in England raided a fentanyl lab outside the northern city of Leeds in early 2017, the bust sent shockwaves across the country.

The raid and subsequent conviction of three men – who made and sold around £164,000 worth of the opioid in five months – was the first major fentanyl case in Britain and it prompted dire warnings from law enforcement officers, health officials and the media that the U.K. was headed for a U.S.-style fentanyl crisis.

© Chad Hipolito

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Three men denied bail in alleged militia plot in Quebec

The three each face one count of facilitating terrorism and are also charged with illegal possession of different quantities of guns and military gear.

Three men who face terrorism charges over allegations that they plotted to take over land near Quebec City were denied bail at a court hearing on Wednesday.

Marc-Aurèle Chabot and Raphaël Lagacé of Quebec City, along with Simon Angers-Audet from nearby Neuville, were arrested last month. Each face one count of facilitating terrorism.

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Manitoba Métis Federation not attending Carney’s major projects meeting over inclusion of Ontario group

President of the Manitoba Metis Federation David Chartrand says that Ottawa’s push to approve major projects is at risk if Ottawa negotiates with 'illegitimate bodies.'

The Manitoba Métis Federation is turning down Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation to discuss his government’s controversial major projects legislation, saying it won’t attend the meeting alongside another Métis group it claims has no reason to exist.

The federation, which represents Red River Métis, said Wednesday Carney’s decision to invite the Métis Nation of Ontario to Thursday’s meeting undermines the integrity of the gathering and puts the government’s plans for major projects at risk.

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Air Canada hopes to avoid flight disruptions after attendants vote in favour of strike mandate

The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees says negotiations with the airline are set to resume Friday.

Around 10,000 Air Canada AC-T flight attendants will be in a legal position to strike in less than two weeks, but the airline says it’s confident there is enough runway left to reach a deal that avoids grounding numerous flights.

The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees says negotiations with the airline are set to resume Friday after its members voted 99.7 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.

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Advocates fear Haitian nationals intercepted in Quebec could face deportation if they are returned to U.S.

The Canada Border Services Agency says it arrested and charged three alleged smugglers after police intercepted a truck carrying 44 Haitian nationals in Stanstead, Que.

Canadian authorities intercepted a 16-foot U-Haul truck at the U.S.-Canada border near Stanstead, Que., just minutes after alleged smugglers loaded in 44 people, the RCMP say.

The people found in the sweltering cargo area, most of whom were Haitian nationals, included a pregnant woman and young children, police said. They allegedly told officers they had crossed the border on foot, walking for two hours before the truck picked them up.

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Morning Update: Trump trades tariffs for ‘gifts’

Good morning. Canada is laying the groundwork for USMCA talks while Trump rewrites trade policy one hazy deal at a time – more on that below, along with Victoria Mboko’s Cinderella run at the National Bank Open and a potential Air Canada strike. But first:

Today’s headlines

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Ontario’s private-clinic plan doesn’t add up, prospective applicants warn

Ontario is investing $125-million to add orthopedic surgeries at community surgical centres over the next two years.

The Ontario government, poised to allow private clinics to do publicly funded hip- and knee-replacement surgeries, is facing behind-the-scenes criticism from some of the people who hope to build the new facilities.

The long-delayed move is part of the Progressive Conservative government’s push to boost the involvement of the private sector in the public health care system, in an effort to move more procedures out of hospitals and reduce waiting times.

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Afghan family seeking entry into Canada detained by ICE

An Afghan woman walks along the York Beltline Trail in Toronto, Ont. on July 23. Her family was detained by ICE in the U.S. after fleeing the Taliban.

An Afghan family fleeing the Taliban and seeking to join relatives near Toronto are stuck in a “legal trap” after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, their lawyers say.

The family was eligible to cross into Canada by land from the U.S. to claim asylum because a close relative – a 32-year-old woman who previously worked for a Western aid organization in Afghanistan – was granted refugee status in Canada last year.

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Wildfires push thousands from homes in Manitoba, Newfoundland, while areas of Nova Scotia on high alert

Trees burned by wildfires in northern Manitoba on June 12. Manitoba has borne the brunt of this year’s damage from wildfires and is under its second 30-day provincewide state of emergency.

Rapidly growing wildfires in several provinces forced thousands of people from their homes and prompted air-quality warnings in cities thousands of kilometres away, while hot and dry conditions had other areas on high alert, including Nova Scotia, where the government banned most summertime activities in wooded areas.

The deteriorating conditions have added up to a wildfire season that is on track to be one of Canada’s worst on record in terms of area burned, second only to 2023.

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Structures destroyed in fast-growing Newfoundland wildfire, Premier Hogan says

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier John Hogan confirmed some structures were destroyed by one of several wildfires burning in the province overnight.

Multiple wildfires are burning in Newfoundland, prompting more evacuation orders and destroying structures in a community in the eastern part of the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier said during a media briefing Tuesday the out-of-control wildfire near Small Point–Adam’s Cove–Blackhead–Broad Cove and Kingston grew significantly overnight.

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Cathedral Grove’s ancient trees not at risk, fire service says, as Vancouver Island blaze prompts evacuation order

Crews battle wildfires near Coombs, B.C., on Sunday.

Vancouver Island photographer Colby Rex O’Neill has had restless nights as a wildfire burns less than a kilometre from his home.

That’s a worry, but he also fears the Wesley Ridge fire could reach what he calls a “national treasure” – Cathedral Grove, a temperate rainforest containing trees that are about 800 years old.

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Privacy commissioner to investigate WestJet cybersecurity breach, security safeguards

WestJet passengers deplane on the tarmac at Yellowknife Airport on Tuesday, July 22.

Canada’s privacy commissioner has opened an investigation into a cyberattack on WestJet WJAFF which saw a “malicious actor” gain access to the airline’s systems.

The airline said in a statement last month that a “sophisticated, criminal” third party was able to gain access to some personal and travel-related data during the June cybersecurity incident.

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Audit of Nova Scotia firefighter school reveals serious safety concerns

The family of a Nova Scotia firefighter who died in training says the results of a scathing audit of the province’s main firefighters school is an important first step in ensuring future safety.

The $300,000 money-for-value audit by consultant 21FSP was released Tuesday by the provincial government. It was launched in June and stemmed from the death of firefighter Skyler Blackie during a training exercise at the Nova Scotia Firefighters School in March 2019.

Skyler Blackie died after the bottom of a rusted extinguisher blew off during a certification exam at the non-profit training facility in Waverley, N.S.

© HO

Skyler Blackie poses in this undated handout photo. The family of a Nova Scotia firefighter who died during a 2019 training session is stepping up its push for reform of a firefighting school after learning he had raised concerns about the equipment that led to his death.
Skyler Blackie died on March 20, 2019, 11 days after the bottom of the rusted extinguisher blew off as he charged it with propellant during a certification exam at the Nova Scotia Firefighters School in Waverley, N.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO
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