Canada

A group of Black and Indigenous women say they want a national public inquiry into a recent spate of police-involved deaths after nine Indigenous people were killed in interactions with police in August and September.

About two dozen people gathered on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, including the families of eight people who died.

The families say accountability and justice for the deaths of their loved ones is difficult to get and that concrete actions need to happen to address police brutality and to offer support and resources for the people affected.

Laura Holland, a Wet'suwet'en woman and the mother of Jared Lowndes, said police-involved killings are a state of emergency for Indigenous people.

At some point in 2023, Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources pushed through updates to its map of provincially protected wetlands, and 55 hectares in Ottawa's rural west end were dropped.

Two sizeable wetlands — one on either side of Highway 7 — used to be classified as part of the Goulbourn complex, a group of marshes and swamps that stretch across an area west of the suburb of Stittsville.

Now they are among the first known examples of wetlands to lose their "provincially significant" status since the Ontario government rolled out controversial changes in January 2023 aimed at getting homes built faster.

Rowell Pailan spends his days applying for jobs in factories, in restaurants, in shops. He's ready to take any kind of work.

Last September, Pailan quit his job with the company he came to Canada to work for over what he says are disputes about his treatment, including hours and wages. Now, he can't find an employer willing to do the paperwork to change his closed work permit — a standard part of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program that ties workers to specific companies.

He knows the end date on that work permit means time is ticking on his Canadian dream.

"I'm still asking myself, what I am doing here, what I'm doing here in Canada," he said in a recent interview in his Wolfville, N.S., apartment.

The number of amputations due to frostbite in Edmonton reached 110 last winter, the highest level in more than a decade, according to new data obtained by CBC News.

But Calgary marked its second consecutive winter of declining frostbite amputations, counting roughly one-third of Edmonton's procedures last fiscal year.

The frostbite amputation numbers mark a notable shift after years of Alberta's two major centres following similar trends.

Archive: [ https://archive.is/UZxWT ]

What's more, the number of injuries is much higher than the norm. Kibos says that 126 injuries have been recorded since the start of the year, which works out to about 3 injuries a week.

Yet in their press releases, Amazon bosses seem proud of their health and safety policies. Amazon Canada stated, in October 2023, "The safety and health of our employees remains a top priority, and we are pleased with our progress."

In contrast, Trudeau said that "accidents happen because people feel rushed, because there's a rhythm imposed by the machine. The conveyor belt runs, the alarms go off. Then there are the managers who put the pressure on."

According to a survey by the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC), 69.7% of Amazon workers say that the risk of suffering an accident at work is very high. What's more, 66.6% think it's only a matter of time before their health situation forces them to take a leave of absence or quit their job.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21139835

The Ford government is promising to pay the cost of removing bike lanes from major city streets that fail to meet its unannounced criteria as it ploughs ahead with a plan to limit biking infrastructure and rip out some routes.

Canada International Trade Minister Mary Ng announced the public consultation on Oct. 16, saying that it aims to strengthen the enforcement of the ban on importing forced labour goods in alignment with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and actions taken by allied countries.

During this public consultation, the government will seek feedback on improving enforcement of the import ban, according to a separate release on Oct. 16. Proposed measures include publishing a list of items at risk of being made with forced labour, based on guidelines from the International Labour Organization (ILO). A “minimum traceability” process was also proposed, requiring importers of these items to provide more information about where their products come from.

[...]

Citing an ILO report on modern slavery, Ottawa noted that an estimated 27.6 million people were subjected to forced labour worldwide in 2021, an increase of 3 million since 2016. Children represented about 12 percent of those affected, totalling 3.3 million.

[...]

Forced Labour in China

The announcement comes amid increased scrutiny of forced labour in China.

[...]

The issue has also been studied in recent years in parliamentary committees in Canada, with human rights activists urging more action by Canadian lawmakers to curb China’s forced labour practices.

“The Subcommittee [on International Human Rights] was advised that Canada should adopt a ’reverse‑onus’ policy for companies importing products from Xinjiang, or other parts of China where forced labour is prominent. Such a policy would require importing companies to demonstrate that forced labour was not used in the manufacturing of their products,” reads a March 2021 report published by the subcommittee.

[...]

“The Government of Canada expects companies to take every step possible to ensure that their supply chains conform to Canadian law. It is the responsibility of the importer to exercise due diligence to ensure forced labour is not directly or indirectly used in the production of the goods it imports,” CBSA spokesperson Luke Reimer said on Sept. 26.

One well-known case involved a shipment from China that was intercepted in Quebec in fall 2021, but it was ultimately allowed entry. Reimer said that this decision came after the importer requested a review of the tariff classification. Upon examining the submitted documents, it was determined that the goods did not meet the criteria for seizure related to forced labour.

Canada has imposed an import ban on goods produced by forced labour since an amendment to the Customs Tariff Act took effect on July 1, 2020. The following year, it also launched an analysis of supply chain risks related to forced labour in China.

In January, a law aimed at fighting forced labour and child labour in supply chains came into force. Previously known as Bill S-211, this law requires the head of every government institution involved in producing, purchasing, or distributing goods in Canada or elsewhere to submit an annual report to the minister of public safety by May 31 each year.

Canada’s military decided not to apologize to an employee after she was sexually assaulted while working with Nato allies, over fears that any apology would be reported by an Ottawa newspaper.

Kristen Adams, who was working at a canteen for troops in Latvia, was sexually assaulted by a Nato soldier on 3 December 2022. After filing a formal complaint about the assault, she was warned by the army’s morale and welfare services that she should have better understood the risks of the job.

Article en français (La Presse)

The Liberals under Susan Holt have won the majority of seats in the New Brunswick election.

At 9 p.m., with 80 per cent of the polls reporting, the Liberals were leading 31 ridings, the Progressive Conservatives were leading in 16 and the Greens were leading in two ridings.

Just before 9 p.m., CBC projected wins for Holt and Green Party Leader David Coon, who both ran for Fredericton seats, but PC Leader Blaine Higgs lost his Quispamsis riding to Liberal Aaron Kennedy.

Reviving the mining sector could be the solution to the region’s economic sluggishness, while others decry a coming environmental disaster.

Information is limited - and likely to remain that way given the recalcitrance of police when it comes to their own.

Right now all of the news outlets are running the same wire service article, but hopefully a journalist digs in farther.

People are dying left and right,” Meno Ya Win Hospital staff told Sol Mamakwa as the Kiiwetinoong MPP toured the Sioux Lookout area’s largest health care facility.

Sioux Lookout’s 76-bed long-term care facility was a promise the Liberals made in 2018 that has yet to transpire over six years of Progressive Conservative governance.

“After question period, I talked to Doug Ford. He came to me and this is what he said: ‘You know how we’re going to pay for that long-term care facility in Sioux Lookout? We’re going to need to open up the mines in the north.’

“So I told her that. She said, ‘really? Does that mean we have to give up our lands to get those [beds]?’

“‘Yep. That’s what that means.’

When Rogers announced plans to buy Shaw, Canada's Competition Bureau fought the merger, citing concerns that the elimination of Shaw as a competitor would lead to harm for consumers, including price increases.

At the time, Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri pledged lower prices for customers and brushed aside competition concerns.

Earlier this year, Rogers upped the price of some cellphone, internet and home phone plans.