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15 people injured after plane crash at Pearson airport, all flights cancelled

2/17/2025

A total of 15 people have been injured after a plane crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday afternoon.

By CP24

Toronto Pearson airplane crash An image of the plane crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Plane crashes at Toronto Pearson

Multiple people have sustained injuries after a plane crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport, paramedics say.

'It's upside down': Plane crashes at Toronto’s Pearson Airport 'It's upside down': Plane crashes at Toronto’s Pearson Airport

Commuter plane upside down on tarmac after crash landing at Pearson Airport Commuter plane upside down on tarmac after crash landing at Pearson Airport

Pearson plane crash A Delta airlines plane is seen upside on the runway at Toronto's Pearson international airport (Jacob Estrin).

Delta Airlines plane crashes at Pearson Airport injuring up to eight people Delta Airlines plane crashes at Pearson Airport injuring up to eight people

All passengers and crew accounted for after plane lands on its roof at Pearson Airport

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Trump vows to end 'very costly' daylight saving time

12/14/2024

By BBC News, Nadine Yousif

From Getty Images

US President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to end daylight saving time (DST), arguing it is "inconvenient" and "very costly" to Americans.

In a post on his platform Truth Social, Trump said DST had "a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't" and that his Republican party would work to end it.

DST is the practice of moving the clock ahead by one hour in the spring and back an hour in the autumn to make better use of natural daylight.

It is observed in a third of the world's countries, according to Pew Research Center, including most of Europe. Some in the US, however, have long advocated to end the timeworn tradition.

Those who want to stick with standard time say it benefits our health, as it is better to have more light in the morning, paving the way for improved sleep cycles on darker evenings. They say DST can be disorienting to sleep schedules.

But others want to make DST permanent instead, arguing that brighter evenings, especially for those commuting from work or school, would reduce crime, conserve energy and even save lives in terms of reduced road accidents.

Both sides say their preferred option would be better for the economy.

Trump's plan is not the first attempt to alter the biannual practice of changing clocks seasonally in the US.

Places around the world that opt out of daylight savings - and why

Making daylight saving time permanent was the aim of a 2022 bill that passed the Democratic-controlled Senate.

But the Sunshine Protection Act, which was introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, never made it to President Joe Biden's desk.

Rubio has since been picked by Trump for the role of secretary of state under his incoming administration.

The US first began changing its clocks seasonally in 1918 during World War One in an effort to conserve fuel. It was unpopular with farmers, and was repealed after the war.

But DST returned again during World War Two, and was made permanent in 1966, though states could opt out.

Hawaii and most of Arizona currently do not follow time changes under DST.

Research by Joan Costa-i-Font, a professor at the London School of Economics, found that DST has had "detrimental effects on sleep and physical health, and on feelings of fatigue, stress, time stress and mental health".

Prof Costa-i-Font's study found that, in monetary terms, an end to DST would lead to an increase in economic output of €754 ($792; £627) per person per year.

Countries that have ended the practice include Mexico in 2022, though DST is still maintained in regions near the US border for economic and logistical reasons. Jordan also ended the practice that year.

Others, like Turkey and Russia, have implemented a permanent DST instead in the past decade.

In a Monmouth University Poll, researchers found that about two-thirds of people in the US want make DST permanent.

MP urges longer daylight saving as clocks go back

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Hyundai, Kia recall thousands of EVs in U.S., Canada. Here’s why

11/23/2024

By Staff The Associated Press
Posted November 22, 2024 4:40 pm
Updated November 22, 2024 4:56 pm

FILE - The front grill of a 2020 Hyundai Palisade is on display at the 2020 Pittsburgh International Auto Show, Feb. 13, 2020, in Pittsburgh. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File

Hyundai and Kia are recalling over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a pesky problem that can cause loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.

The recalls cover more than 145,000 Hyundai and Genesis vehicles including the 2022 through 2024 Ioniq 5, the 2023 through 2025 Ioniq 6, GV60 and GV70, and the 2023 and 2024 G80.

In Canada, the Hyundai recall covers 34,529 vehicles, which were produced between March and November of this year.

“There are no confirmed crashes or injuries related to this condition in Canada or the U.S.,” Mohga Hassib, public relations analyst at Hyundai Auto Canada, said.

The automaker said all owners will be notified by letter mail on the next steps to bring their vehicles into a Hyundai dealer or Genesis retailer for software updates and any necessary part replacements.

The recall also included nearly 63,000 Kia EV 6 vehicles from 2022 through 2024.

According to Transport Canada, 11,445 Kia vehicles were impacted.

The affiliated Korean automakers said in government documents that a transistor in a charging control unit can be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery.

Dealers will inspect and replace the control unit and a fuse if needed. They also will update software. Owners whose vehicles were recalled earlier this year to fix the same problem will have to visit their dealer again.

Owners will be notified by letter in December and January.

--with a file from Global News’ Sean Previl

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Torontonians need to make $26 an hour to cover living costs

11/20/2024

By CP24, Alex Arsenych

Though minimum wage just increased, it is still not enough to be considered a living wage, according to a new report.

At the start of October, the minimum wage in Ontario rose to $17.20 per hour, marking a 3.9 per cent increase from the previous rate of $16.55 per hour.

But, the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) says that is still falls short in order to live comfortably in the Greater Toronto Area. Per their report, published Monday, the living wage for the GTA is $26 per hour — $8.80 more than the current minimum wage. Compared to last year, the GTA’s living wage was $25.05 an hour.

A “living wage” is the before-tax income an adult needs to make to cover basic necessities, like the costs of food and shelter, the network said. OLWN says the data is collected for three different households — two 35-year-old parents with two kids ages seven and three, a single parent with a seven-year-old child, and a single adult.

“These costs increased by over 18 per cent compared to general inflation of 13.4 per cent between 2018 and 2022,” the report reads. “Living wage rate increases could be accounted for by increases to rental costs and a large increase in the cost of food and to some extent transportation with higher fuel prices.”

While inflation levelled out this year, the network said living wage rates for 2024 rose by 3.4 per cent on average.

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Compared to the rest of the province, the GTA has the highest living wage. The lowest living wage rate is in London-Elgin-Oxford, where it’s $19.50 per hour, up from $18.85 in 2023. Still, it is $2.30 more than the upgraded provincial minimum wage.

These are the living wage rates across the province for 2024:

Greater Toronto Area, $26 per hour
Grey Bruce Perth Huron Simcoe region, $23.05 per hour
Ottawa, $22.80 per hour
East region, $21.65 per hour
Dufferin Guelph Wellington Waterloo region, $21.30 per hour
Hamilton, $21.30 per hour
Brant Haldimand Norfolk Niagara region, $20.90 per hour
North region, $20.30 per hour
Southwest region, $19.85 per hour
London Elgin Oxford region, $19.50 per hour

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Currently, there are over 640 certified living wage employers in Ontario, OLWN noted, with employers required to meet the local living wage rates within six months.

The OLWN isn’t the only organization shining a light on the cost of living crisis playing out in Toronto and the province.

Last year, in July, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said the “rental wage” — the hourly wage needed to make rent while working 40 hours a week and spending less than 30 per cent gross income on housing — was $33.62 per hour for a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto. For a two-bedroom apartment, it said $40.03 per hour.

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With files from CTV News Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras

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Ontario signs $100M deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink system to bring high-speed internet to remote areas

11/15/2024

The move is part of the province’s $4-billion plan to deliver high-speed projects to every corner of Ontario

From: The Canadian Press, Liam Casey

Elon Musk, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, introduces the SpaceX Dragon V2 spaceship at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. on May 29, 2014. Photo by Jae C. Hong /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Premier Doug Ford’s government has signed a $100-million deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to deliver high-speed internet to remote residents in rural and northern Ontario.

The new program called ONSAT — which stands for Ontario Satellite _ will bring SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet system to 15,000 premises, said Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma.

“These communities will gain access to high-speed satellite internet capable of supporting streaming video calls, online gaming and more activities that have become second nature to so many of us,” Surma said.

The service will be used to connect people in the hardest-to-reach areas of the province to the internet, she said.

The system will go live next June with eligibility and registration starting in the spring.

The province will cover equipment and installation costs, but not monthly fees.

“It is an investment of close to $100 million,” Surma said.

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SpaceX won after a “robust and transparent and competitive and fair technical and financial evaluation of multiple qualified parties,” said Michael Lindsay, CEO of Infrastructure Ontario.

Indigenous “engagement and participation” is part of the contract Infrastructure Ontario signed with SpaceX, he said.

“SpaceX is going to engage directly with Indigenous communities to ensure equal access to the program and to create socio-economic opportunities through employment contracting and training opportunities,” Lindsay said.

Installation is relatively straightforward and fast, said Joel Cherkis, who runs the business operations for Starlink.

They saw early success in 2020 when they rolled out the Starlink system to the people of Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario. The remote community is only accessible by air or an ice road in the winter.

“The Starlink team that was working with them found that within 15 minutes of getting the Starlink kit off of the charter flight that arrived at the First Nation, they were able to be online and actually connecting users to high-speed broadband,” Cherkis said.

SpaceX launches about 40 satellites per week into the lower orbit, about 550 kilometres above Earth, he said.

The move is part of the province’s $4-billion plan to deliver high-speed projects to every corner of Ontario. It has so far invested $2.5 billion in 270 projects, Surma said. That has connected 100,000 Ontarians to high-speed internet, and there are plans to connect 450,000 more.

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University of Toronto's Geoffrey Hinton wins Nobel Prize in physics

10/8/2024

From The Canadian Press

The University of Toronto campus is pictured on Wednesday, July 15, 2015. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young)

A British-Canadian researcher has won the Nobel Prize in physics for work developing the foundations of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

The University of Toronto's Geoffrey Hinton was awarded the prize Tuesday morning, along with Princeton University researcher John Hopfield.

"I’m flabbergasted. I had, no idea this would happen," Hinton said when reached by the Nobel committee on the phone Tuesday.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says the prize was awarded to Hinton and Hopfield for "foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks."

Ellen Moons, a member of the Nobel committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, says the two laureates "used fundamental concepts from statistical physics to design artificial neural networks that function as associative memories and find patterns in large data sets."

She says that such networks have been used to advance research in physics and "have also become part of our daily lives, for instance in facial recognition and language translation."

While the committee honoured the science behind machine learning and artificial intelligence, Moons also mentioned its flip side, saying that "while machine learning has enormous benefits, its rapid development has also raised concerns about our future."

"Collectively, humans carry the responsibility for using this new technology in a safe and ethical way for the greatest benefit of humankind."

Hinton shares those concerns. He quit a role at Google so he could more freely speak about the dangers of the technology he helped create.

Hinton said he continues to worry "about a number of possible bad consequences" of his machine learning work, "particularly the threat of these things getting out of control," but still would do it all over again.

The physics prize carries a cash award from a bequest left by the award's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.

— With files from The Associated Press.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press

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Record Olympic Summer Games for Canada in Paris came with peaks and valleys

8/12/2024

Donna Spencer , The Canadian Press

Canada's Summer McIntosh poses with her four medals won in the pool at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024 in Paris, France. Nine gold medals and 27 total medals were both records for Canada at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics to surpass previous highs set in Tokyo three years ago and 1992 in Barcelona. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Canada's record performance at the Olympic Games in Paris did not happen without thorns, but athletes provided unforgettable sporting moments.

Nine gold medals and 27 total medals were both records for Canada at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics to surpass previous highs set in Tokyo three years ago and 1992 in Barcelona.

"There have been some highs, some lows, some surprises, a lot of surprises, joy and heartbreak, and we've seen it all here in Paris," Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith said Sunday.

Canada ranked 11th among 84 countries that won medals in both total and gold. The United States is poised for a strong outing as host in Los Angeles in 2028 after finishing atop the table in Paris with 122 medals, including 38 gold.

Canadians won medals across 15 different sports, which matched the previous high of the boycotted 1984 Summer Olympics in L.A.

Swimming's eight medals and track and field's five accounted for almost half of Canada's output in Paris. Including medallists, Canadians finished top five 49 times.

Summer McIntosh led in the pool with triple gold and four medals in total. Ethan Katzberg's hammer throw gold was a first, and followed two days later by his teammate Camryn Rogers taking the women's crown for the sweep at Stade de France.

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McIntosh and Katzberg, who left France after their events, were invited back to Paris to carry the Maple Leaf in Sunday evening's closing ceremonies.

"It was an incredibly successful Olympics for Canada and that's really great to see," Katzberg said.

Phil (Wizard) Kim capped Canada's production with the first Olympic gold medal in men's breaking Saturday at Place de la Concorde.

Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and anchor man Andre De Grasse produced an unexpected victory in the men's 4x100 relay at the track. De Grasse hinted his hamstring was not completely healthy when he missed the finals of the 100 and 200 metres.

With his seventh career medal, the sprinter joins swimmer Penny Oleksiak for the most career Olympic medals.

Christa Deguchi claimed Canada's first gold in judo. Katie Vincent captured gold in women's sprint canoe after its introduction in Tokyo.

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A drone spying scandal in women's soccer rocked the Canadian Olympic Committee just days before the opening ceremonies, and was an embarrassment for a country purporting to espouse fair play.

The COC sent women's team head coach Bev Priestman and two team staff members home.

Despite FIFA docking the team six points, the women went 3-0 in the group stage to advance before bowing out on penalty kicks in a quarterfinal loss to Germany.

"I certainly don't think that was how any of us wanted to start our Games, but I'm very happy with how we are ending them," COC chief executive officer David Shoemaker said at a press conference at Canada Olympic House.

"I felt that it was a tarnish at the beginning of the Games for us and now I can sit here nearly three weeks later and feel that the athletes on the field of play have done an enormous amount of good to remedy that situation (including) the soccer players themselves."

The fallout appears likely to continue as there were rumblings from Ottawa of a Canada Soccer summons to a parliamentary committee hearing.

De Grasse's personal coach Rana Reider had his credential yanked by the COC before the Canadian raced the 200 semifinals. Three women that Reider previously coached are suing him in Florida courts for sexual or emotional abuse.

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Reider has not been charged with any crime and allegations have not been proven in court. He was on probation with the U.S. Center for SafeSport until May.

"We learned on, I believe it was Sunday the fourth of August while Andre was sprinting, that in fact (Reider) was subject to a safety order by USA Track and Field and overnight pulled his credential," Shoemaker said.

"It was shared with us by USA Track and Field through Athletics Canada."

The COVID-19 virus that delayed Tokyo's Summer Games from 2020 to 2021 and held amid tight restrictions was still present in Paris with several athletes, including American star sprinter Noah Lyles, testing positive.

The COC sees avoiding illness as a "performance advantage," Shoemaker said.

Canada's chief sport officer Eric Myles said eight members of the team's delegation tested positive upon arrival in Paris, but the virus was contained and it wasn't believed illness hampered any athlete's performance.

The athletes' village provided a bike share program for all residents, but the Canadian team brought its own bikes to avoid germy handlebars, Shoemaker said.

The delay of Tokyo's Games by a year compressed three Olympic Games into a four-year span, including Beijing's Winter Games in 2022. And the 2026 Winter Games in Cortina-Milan, Italy are just 18 months down the road.

The Canadian taxpayer is the largest investor in high-performance sport at $266 million annually, according to federal government figures published in early July.

The COC and Canadian Paralympic Committee asked for a $104-million infusion into the system for national sport organizations in this year's federal budget, which was not forthcoming.

"I do worry about the future," Shoemaker said. "I worry about performance in Milano-Cortina, and certainly for L.A. '28.

"There hasn't been an increase in the core funding for the 62 federally funded national sports organizations in 19 years, and so they are having to do so much more with so much less, including the demands upon them to create a safe and barrier-free and healthy sports system that we all want so badly."

Winning Olympic and Paralympic medals in both winter and summer sport is a big ask in a geographically vast country.

"I was thinking about that today just walking over, 27 medals, and that's really close to where we land in winter sport," said Own The Podium chief executive officer Anne Merklinger.

"It's important to Canadians that we provide opportunities in summer sport, in winter sport, in Olympic sport, in Paralympic sport. I believe that's what matters to Canadians. We have to do that, and it's non-negotiable. Lots to be done, but nothing can be in the too-hard pile."

The COC provides bonus money for medals of $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. Health-care technology entrepreneur Sanjay Malaviya of Hespeler, Ont., has donated a top-up of $5,000 per medal won.

The Paralympic Games in Paris start Aug. 28 and finish Sept. 8.

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Canada lists Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terror group

6/20/2024

Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc rises during Question Period, Monday, June 17, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, June 19, 2024 10:59PM EDT

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says Canada has listed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity, following months of mounting political pressure to do so.

"The Iranian regime has consistently displayed disregard for human rights, both inside and outside of Iran, as well as a willingness to destabilize the international rules-based order," LeBlanc said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Members of Parliament voted unanimously in May in favour of a non-binding motion calling on the government to list the IRGC, a branch of Iran's armed forces, as a terrorist entity.

That was not the first time the Commons voted in favour of listing the group: the Opposition Tories pointed out Wednesday that a Conservative motion also passed in 2018, and called the delay unacceptable.

"As a result of that delay, the IRGC has been able to grow stronger as a result of Trudeau's inaction," said foreign affairs critic Michael Chong and deputy leader Melissa Lantsman in a statement.

"They have been allowed to fundraise, recruit and operate in Canada while terrorizing countless Iranian Canadians who fled to Canada to escape the IRGC in the first place."

The New Democrats also took credit for pushing the government into action, saying in a statement of their own that the news should bring some relief to people in Canada who have been targeted by the Iranian regime.

"The brutality of the Islamic Republic against Iranians in Iran, and its ongoing threats to Iranian Canadians, must stop," said foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson.

The Liberals have said in the past that listing the IRGC as a terrorist entity could affect a number of people who had no choice but to be drafted into the organization.

When asked what changed to bring about Wednesday's listing, LeBlanc said such decisions are not made "because of comments on Twitter or question period."

"It's made based on the advice of our security services, it's made based on foreign policy considerations," he said.

"It's a deliberative process, it's a threshold that has to be met under the Criminal Code of Canada."

Entities are reviewed by security agencies on a monthly basis, he added.

Iran shot down a Ukrainian Airlines plane in early 2020, killing all on board, including 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents. The families of those who died have been calling for the government to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly denied that Canada was under pressure from the U.S. to make the listing, but said she has had numerous conversations with her American counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"Over the past weeks, I've been in close contact with all our G7 partners, also partners in the region, to make sure that we would be able to get their feedback, advise them and to make sure that ultimately ... this would be an important step," she said.

She also said the decision means there is a heightened risk for Canadians that they could be arbitrarily detained in Iran.

"My message is clear: for those who are in Iran right now, it's time to come back home, and for those who are planning to go to Iran, don't go," Joly said, adding that Canada cut diplomatic ties with Iran years ago and cannot provide consular assistance in the country.

The listing means it is now a Criminal Code offence to support the IRGC. Justice Minister Arif Virani said there is an elevated criminal intent requirement to any prosecutions under that provision.

"People would need to be sending money that they would be knowing where it is going, and intending that it be used for the support of the terrorist activity in question," he said.

He said a similar threshold applies for people who were conscripted into the IRGC and are no longer members.

The federal government had previously barred tens of thousands of prominent Iranian government officials from entering Canada, including top IRGC members.

Canada had also already listed the Quds Force, a branch of the IRGC, as a terrorist entity.

LeBlanc said Wednesday that current and former senior Iranian government officials who are in Canada may be investigated and removed from the country.

The IRGC now joins Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban and other groups as listed terrorist entities.

Canada recently sanctioned Iran's defence minister and the country's most senior military body after the IRGC launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel in April.

That came after an airstrike, which was widely attributed to Israel, destroyed Iran's embassy in Syria.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2024.

— With files from Jim Bronskill.

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Five things to watch for in Canadian business in 2024

12/29/2023

Craig Wong, The Canadian Press

Homes under construction in a new suburb on Oct. 15, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Business headlines in 2023 saw a housing crisis and the fight against inflation take centre stage while the job market proved to be stronger than expected.

Housing and the cost of living will likely remain at the forefront in 2024, as will central banks. Economists expect a shift in gears to interest rate cuts as the economy softens further.

Here are five things to watch in Canadian business in 2024 as households and companies work through what is expected to be a challenging economic environment:

INFLATION AND INTEREST RATES

The inflation rate is well off its 2022 highs, but it still hasn't returned to the Bank of Canada's target of two per cent.

The central bank's key interest rate has been unchanged at five per cent since July. Inflation fluctuated somewhat in the latter half of the year, but came in at an annualized rate of 3.1 per cent in November for the second month in a row.

Economists expect inflation to continue slowing, but the Bank of Canada has continued to emphasize that it's prepared to raise rates again if necessary.

CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal said inflation was expected to cool in 2023, but the cost of services has proved to be "stickier" than predicted. For 2024, he said higher interest rates will take their toll.

"We have a tug of war between a slowing economy and inflation, and I think that in this tug of war, the slowing economy will win," Tal said.

That should put the Bank of Canada in a better position to start cutting interest rates in 2024.

However, Tal expects the central bank to keep people guessing right up to the last minute.

"I think that deep inside, they know that they're not going to raise interest rates again, but they're not going to tell you that," Tal said.

HOUSING

The spring real estate market will be one to watch this year as observers as observers hope to gauge buyers' intentions.

Canada's housing market cooled in 2023 due in part to higher mortgage rates, but demand stayed strong as the population grew. Politicians at all levels of government are facing pressure to do something about the cost of housing.

A report by RBC assistant chief economist Robert Hogue and research associate Ben Richardson expects governments to address the supply gap and reduce obstacles in the way of new housing, while lower interest rates in the second half of the year will help improve affordability, but not by much.

"The extremely high bar to home ownership across many parts of the country will put rental options in the spotlight," Hogue and Richardson wrote.

"We expect more rental supply coming to market in the year ahead in response to high rents and various incentives to prop up construction."

Still, they said it likely won't be enough.

In its forecast for this year, the Canadian Real Estate Association said it expected home sales to fall 9.8 per cent compared with 2022, then rebound by nine per cent in 2024 as interest rates eventually trend down.

The national average home price is forecast to gain 1.5 per cent from 2023 to 2024, coming in at $690,916.

MARKETS

The S&P/TSX composite is on track to post a gain for 2023 after a rally that began in late October. The market gathered steam after U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell left traders banking on rate cuts in 2024.

Invesco chief global market strategist Kristina Hooper said 2023 was a bumpy and volatile year, but it is going to end on a high note.

"What we've seen is a growing recognition by markets that the disinflationary process is well underway and that we are likely to avoid any kind of significant, broad-based recession," she said.

But Hooper said we are going to see a slowdown over the next six months as interest rates weigh before things pick up in the back half of the year. With that in mind, she's watching cyclical sectors such as consumer discretionary, materials and industrials.

"But I have to also give the caveat that I think there's a lot of potential in technology. I think technology will benefit from the easing in rates," she said.

Lori Norman, investor specialist at Steadyhand Investment Funds Inc., says we are likely headed into a more normalized interest rate environment in 2024. And while the Bank of Canada might cut rates next year, she warned the days of near-zero interest rates are not coming back.

ENERGY SECTOR

The expanded Trans Mountain pipeline was expected to start shipping crude oil in the new year, but the long-awaited project ended 2023 facing the possibility of further delays after a regulatory setback.

Trans Mountain is expected to boost export capacity for Canadian oil, but comes as the work to limit climate change and foster the transition to cleaner energy sources ramps up. Wildfires across Canada in the summer of 2023, followed by a mild December in much of the country, underscored the consequences of climate change.

Ottawa is expected to publish draft regulations by mid-2024 for its proposed national cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas pollution, with the final regulations expected in 2025. A draft framework released this month would see the oil and gas industry cut emissions by more than one-third by 2030 or buy offset credits.

Oil prices hovered around US$70 a barrel as 2023 drew to a close, even as sanctions continued on Russia's oil because of its ongoing war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war threatened stability in the Middle East.

Invesco's Hooper noted that oil prices were well off the highs they hit in 2022 when oil traded for more than US$100 a barrel.

"It's very hard to divine exactly where oil prices go because there are so many different factors at play," she said.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

ChatGPT debuted in late 2022 and grew in popularity in 2023 as people experimented with generative artificial intelligence, getting a glimpse of its potential uses for work and play.

Terri Griffith, a professor at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, said we are still in the early adoption phase of AI while companies and individuals wrap their heads around the technology.

"Some organizations are saying, 'Don't you dare use these tools.' Other organizations are saying, 'How can we use these tools, how can we build our own to be customized for us?' But it's such early stages that there's a huge amount of uncertainty," said Griffith, who holds the Keith Beedie chair in innovation and entrepreneurship.

AI systems such as ChatGPT aren't without pitfalls. Cybersecurity officials have urged technology firms to ensure there are safeguards to prevent AI systems from being misused.

Griffith said there is an opportunity for the technology to help solve some real problems, and workers should focus on its potential outcomes for their jobs.

She said the personal computer took years to transform business, but that won’t be the case when it comes to AI.

"This is a much faster rollout of a huge shift and it’s incumbent on all of us to help pull everybody along," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2023.

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US and Israel pausing drone flights over Gaza as part of hostage deal, senior White House official says

11/22/2023

From CNN's Sam Fossum

An Israeli drone is seen flying over the border area between Gaza and southern Israel on November 17. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

The United States and Israel will both pause drone flights over Gaza for six hours each day as part of the deal to secure the release of 50 women and children hostages from Gaza, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told CNN.

The US military currently flies surveillance drones over Gaza to support Israel in its efforts to find the hostages. US officials have previously said that the American intelligence being gathered is not used for lethal operations. While the pause in Israeli drone flights had been previously reported, Finer’s comments are the first official confirmation that the US will also be taking part in the pause.

CNN was first to report earlier last week that Hamas demanded that Israel stop flying surveillance drones over Gaza as part of any hostage deal. CNN also reported yesterday that a six-hour pause in drone surveillance was in the deal agreed to between Israel and Hamas.

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A defense official confirmed the pause and said the US “will adjust our activities in support of hostage recovery efforts in light of the operational pause agreed to by Israel and Hamas.”

Finer also leaned into the expectation that three Americans could be included in the 50 hostages that are expected to be released as part of the deal, but cautioned that “until we actually see people coming out of Gaza we will not know exactly who is going to be released.”

Looking forward, Finer said that this is “not the end of the war” and that the US will remain “intensively” engaged as he pledged they will not rest until they can secure the release of the other Americans being held hostage.

CNN's MJ Lee and Natasha Bertrand contributed to reporting in this post.

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Israel's War in Gaza Tests Limits of Biden's Support

11/20/2023

From Emma Tucker, WSJ

U.S. concerned about Israel’s ultimate plans for Gaza and alarmed by the number of Palestinian casualties - WSJ

Biden is struggling to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take steps U.S. officials believe could help prevent the conflict in Gaza from further escalating, straining the relationship between the two longtime allies, WSJ’s Gordon Lubold and Vivian Salama report. While there has been agreement in some areas, such as when Israeli commanders accepted American advice not to rush into Gaza immediately, U.S. officials are still concerned about Israel’s ultimate plans for Gaza and are alarmed by the number of Palestinian casualties.

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Canadian feared taken hostage in Hamas attack dead in Israel

11/14/2023

The Canadian Press
Published Monday, November 13, 2023 10:12PM EST
Last Updated Monday, November 13, 2023 10:42PM EST

A Canadian peace activist believed to have been taken hostage during the Hamas attack in Israel five weeks ago is dead, her son says.

Vivian Silver's son Chen Zeigen says Israeli authorities told him the remains of the 74-year-old woman had earlier been found in the kibbutz where she lived but were only identified now.

Zeigen told reporters in Ottawa last month that his mother was born in Winnipeg and moved to Israel in 1974.

He said she dedicated her life to peacebuilding and fostering understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.

Silver also volunteered to help children in Gaza access medical care in Israel.

Global Affairs Canada says officials are in contact with Silver's Canadian family members and are providing assistance.

"It is with deep sadness that the Government of Canada has learned that Canadian-Israeli citizen Vivian Silver is deceased," Global Affairs said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this difficult time."

The department previously confirmed six Canadian citizens died in the Oct. 7 attack, as well as a seventh person with deep ties to Canada, who was not a citizen.

"Indeed we can confirm her body was identified," a spokeswoman for the Israeli Embassy in Ottawa wrote late Monday.

Israel's consul general in Toronto, Idit Shamir, said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that Silver has been confirmed dead.

Women Wage Peace, an organization Silver worked with, also posted about her death on X.

Silver's home on Kibbutz Be'eri near the Gaza border was raided by Hamas militants as part of the attack, which Israel's Foreign Ministry said killed roughly 1,200 people.

Silver's son Yonatan Zeigen told reporters last month he had received information that she was taken hostage in Gaza and her phone was geolocated in Gaza.

He recounted last month during a Zoom news conference organized by the Jerusalem Press Club a phone call with his mother the day of the attack.

He said he and his mother had heard news of an incursion by Hamas into Israel from the Gaza Strip. They were joking around on the phone until confusion set in.

"We thought the next minute, it’s going to end — but it didn't," he said.

"We couldn’t grasp the incapability of the Israeli army to defend the civilians … we started to say goodbye because we realized this is probably our last words to each other."

He said the two shifted their conversations to text messages to allow her to stay silent, and someone broke into her home. They said they loved one another before the messages stopped coming.

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Hundreds of foreign nationals left Gaza Sunday, border official says, marking largest evacuation yet

11/13/2023

From Asmaa Khalil in Rafah and CNN's Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem

A bus carrying Canadian nationals recently evacuated from Gaza prepares to depart the Rafah crossing on November 12. Ali Moustafa/Getty Images

More than 800 foreign nationals passed through the Rafah crossing into Egypt on Sunday, an Egyptian border official told a journalist working for CNN, marking the largest number that has passed through the crossing in a single day since evacuations from the enclave began.

It is the first evacuation of foreign nationals since Thursday, when more than 300 left Gaza through the crossing, according to a border official.

More background: Located in Egypt’s north Sinai, the Rafah crossing is the sole border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. It falls along an 8-mile (12.8-kilometer) fence that separates Gaza from the Sinai desert.

As the only route in and out of Gaza that is not closed due to Israel's siege, Rafah has played a key role in efforts to get aid in and people out of the enclave.

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CNN's Abbas Al Lawati, Mohammed Abdelbary and Rob Picheta contributed to this report.

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What is the Rafah crossing into Egypt?

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Israel agreed to U.S. request to delay its Gaza invasion, Israeli soldiers await the order to go forward

10/26/2023

From Emma Tucker, WSJ

An Israeli soldier stood next to an armored personnel carrier on the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. MENAHEM KAHANA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Israel agreed to a U.S. request to delay its Gaza invasion so the Pentagon can deploy air defenses to protect U.S. troops, according to officials and people familiar with Israeli planning.

At “Little Gaza,” Israeli soldiers await the order to invade.

Israel has mobilized at least 360,000 reservists for a ground invasion that military officials say is necessary to neutralize Hamas. Yet it isn't yet clear when the operation will start. As a result, Israelis who paused careers as engineers, doctors and teachers are training, playing backgammon and smoking cigarettes as they wait for the go-ahead, the WSJ reports. Some soldiers are training in “Little Gaza,” a replica of a Palestinian village made to prepare soldiers for combat in the territory.

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The Israeli military’s Little Gaza was built at a base in the Negev Desert.

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A blast at a Gaza hospital was caused by a failed rocket meant for Israel, a WSJ analysis shows

10/23/2023

From Emma Tucker, WSJ

On Oct. 17, an explosion occurred in the courtyard of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, killing civilians. Palestinian officials blamed Israel. A Wall Street Journal video analysis shows that the explosion was caused by a failed rocket launched from inside Gaza, where Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been launching rockets at Israel since the war began two weeks ago. Israel, the U.S. government and independent security experts said Wednesday that the preliminary evidence showed it was fired by a local militant group.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: RYAN TREFES

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The U.S. is sending its military back into the Middle East

10/17/2023

From Emma Tucker, WSJ

Flight operations are prepared on the USS Gerald R. Ford’s flight deck in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. US NAVY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Though the recent U.S. deployments of forces and military capabilities into the region are intended to be temporary, the crisis that triggered them doesn't appear to be short-term. WSJ’s Gordon Lubold, Nancy A. Youssef and Michael R. Gordon explore the test ahead for the Biden administration as it re-establishes some of its military footprint in the Middle East while also trying to keep up support for Ukraine and a focus on China.

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What we know—and don't know—about Israel's plans to invade Gaza

10/15/2023

From Emma Tucker, Editor in Chief, WSJ

Destruction from Israeli aerial bombardment in Gaza City. FATIMA SHBAIR/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Israeli military said its airstrikes in Gaza have killed a Hamas commander who led one of last weekend’s massacres of civilians. Israel has said it aims to destroy the militant group in an imminent ground invasion, but what comes next for Gaza is unclear. An effort to evacuate U.S. citizens faltered after Egyptian officials said they’d only let foreigners leave if aid can pass in the opposite direction. And the Hamas attack appears to have ended a delicate entente between Russia and Israel. Follow live updates.

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10/9/2023

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Israel’s Iron Dome has protected the nation from Hamas’s missile attacks

10/9/2023

From Emma Tucker, WSJ

PHOTO: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and mortars. It’s blocked thousands of missiles since its introduction in 2011, including those launched by Hamas during this past weekend’s attack. WSJ explains how the system works.

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Soldiers in Poland are moving arms to Ukraine—and Russian spies are trying to stop them

9/30/2023

From Emma Tucker, WSJ

Ammunition that arrived in Rzeszów, Poland, was recently prepared for shipment to Ukraine. CHRISTOPH SOEDER/DPA/GETTY IMAGES

Polish security services announced in March that they had dismantled a spy ring that planned to derail arms-transporting trains near Rzeszów. The WSJ’s Sharon Weinberger explains that the espionage operation highlights the critical role of the logistics hub—or “J-Town,” as many now call the area. The hub, located roughly 60 miles from Ukraine's border, is a key link in a supply chain that moves billions of dollars in Western weapons into Ukraine.

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