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Acadia National (CJUK)

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Singh Calls For Ultra-Rich Tax, Help For Afghans

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The Leader of the federal NDP is putting his support behind Afghans fleeing the Taliban.

Several people died at the Kabul airport today as thousands of civilians tried to get onto planes leaving the country.

Campaigning in Toronto, Jagmeet Singh says Canada needs to do everything possible to help Afghans, especially those who assisted the Canadian military.

“Every single one of them should have a path to coming to Canada, them and their families at a minimum. And we need to be allies in supporting the relocation and providing safe refuge for those who are fleeing what is, right now, a really dangerous and scary situation,” Singh says.

The Liberals have committed to settle 20,000 Afghan refugees, but Singh has called for the government to expand eligibility for that program.

At the same announcement, the party Leader opened his campaign with a promise to tax the ultra-rich.

He says he wants to hold that group accountable for misusing pandemic supports.

Singh says his government would “make sure any company that abused the system, that took public money and then paid out dividends to their shareholders or increased executive pay, that we’re going to stop that, make sure they reimburse [the government for] that, and re-invest into people.”

Singh says that money could be redirected to things like pharmacare, dental care, and mental health services.

On the COVID-19 front, he is pushing for faster vaccinations even now that Parliament has been dissolved for the election.

He says it’s possible and necessary for Canada to focus on getting all federally-regulated industries vaccinated, and ideally issue vaccine passports, by Labour Day.

A lot of experts are saying, if we don’t do everything possible to get all adults vaccinated, it’s really kids that are going to be at risk when the school year resumes,” Singh argues. “So we think this is a priority, we believe this is a priority, and we’re going to do everything we can to get everyone vaccinated.”

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Liberals Promise More Support For Businesses, Workers

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The Liberals are promising more emergency supports for businesses and workers if re-elected.

Justin Trudeau says his party would extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program through the end of next March.

The program provides eligible employers with a subsidy of up to 50 per cent on the incremental remuneration paid to employees from June 6 to Nov. 20.

“For hard-hit businesses who get the workers they need to workers who get the jobs they need to support their families, this is a win-win,” Trudeau said during a stop in Quebec on Monday.

Trudeau said the Liberals would also provide the tourism industry with temporary wage and rent support of up to 75 per cent of their expenses to help them get through the winter.

They are also promising to launch a program that will match ticket sales for performing arts, live theatres, and other cultural venues to compensate for reduced capacity.

In addition, the Liberals said they would extend COVID-related insurance coverage for media production stoppages and implement a transitional support program to help bridge workers from the creative industry who continue to be impacted by the pandemic.

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Conservatives Release Canada’s Recovery Plan

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Federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has officially released the party’s plan to secure the future.

Officially called Canada’s Recovery Plan, O’Toole believes the Conservatives are prepared for the future more so than the other parties.

“This election is about who you think can get us out of the recession and rebuild the economy,” said O’Toole. “While the Liberals, NDP, Bloc, and Greens have no plan for Canada’s recovery after the pandemic, Canada’s Conservatives are relentlessly focused on creating jobs, increasing wages, and getting Canada’s economy back on track as quickly as possible.”

The plan cites five fields the Conservatives plan to secure:

  • Secure Jobs by recovering the one million jobs lost during the pandemic in one year.
  • Secure Accountability by enacting a new anti-corruption law to clean up the mess in Ottawa.
  • Secure Mental Health by delivering our Canada Mental Health Action Plan.
  • Secure the Country by building capacity here at home to handle any future pandemic or crisis.
  • Secure our Economy by balancing the budget over the next decade.

A highlight of the plan looks at assisting the sectors hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, including hospitality, tourism, and airlines.

The plan also goes into significant detail as to how the Conservatives would ensure a greener world for future generations through goals such as lowering industrial emissions, supporting more renewable natural gas, and getting more zero emission vehicles on the road. It stresses that the increase in forest fires and flooding in recent years are certainly a concern.

Along with this, Canada’s Recovery Plan tackles gang violence, human trafficking, domestic abuse, and much more.

To see the plan in its entirety, click here.

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Leaders Forge On With September Vote

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Let the campaign for your vote begin on September 20.

Newly installed Governor General Mary Simon granted Justin Trudeau’s request Sunday to dissolve Parliament and trigger the 44th federal election.

Opposition leaders are questioning the timing of an election with Canada in the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole launches his party’s election campaign, August 15, 2021. (CPAC)

“Mr. Trudeau is launching an election in the fourth wave of a pandemic, not securing the health and economic well-being of Canadians after he let in the Delta variant into this country,” remarked Conservative leader Erin O’Toole. “This is a time for us to work together for the well-being of all Canadians.”

O’Toole also unveiled some details on Canada’s Recovery Plan, which includes a promise to balance the budget by 2031.

“We will get the budget back to balance over the course of the next decade,” O’Toole pledged. “Because our first pillar of the plan is to get people back to work in all sectors of the economy and in all regions of Canada. We’re the only party that supports getting people back to work.”

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to reporters in Montreal, August 15th, 2021. (CPAC)

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh stressed that the pandemic has been more difficult on some than others, adding, “We’ve been in the same storm for sure, but some people have ridden out this storm in luxury yachts while others have been in leaky lifeboats. Instead of calling an election, Justin Trudeau should be focused on these crises. On getting people the help they need and walking the path towards recovery instead of walking away from these commitments.”

Singh went onto say, “Justin Trudeau wants to grab power, wants a majority but why does he want it? It’s certainly not that he wants to help people, but that he wants to help people less, and you’ll ultimately pay the price.”

Green Party Leader Annamie Paul, who will also be campaigning for a seat in the House of Commons in the Toronto-Centre riding, had a message to those who might think things are back to post-pandemic normal.

Federal Green Party Leader Annamie Paul speaks to media in Toronto, August 15th, 2021. (CPAC)

“We are officially into the fourth wave of this pandemic,” Paul says. “And for anyone who wants to tell me or those behind me that we are out of it or that things are different, they are wrong.”

Paul added, “Having an election during forest fire evacuations, heat domes, fourth waves, losing the legacy of our troops in Afghanistan… well I guess that’s just the price that (the Liberals) feel we’re going to have to pay.

Election Day is Monday, September 20.

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Vaccines To Be Required For Fed. Public Service

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COVID-19 vaccines will soon be mandatory for federal public servants like mail carriers.

Dominic LeBlanc, federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, and federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Friday afternoon that the federal government intends to require public servants to be fully immunized “as early as the end of September.”

Workers in federally-regulated sectors like rail will be required to do the same by the end of this October at the latest.

Along with vaccine requirements for air, rail and marine transportation workers, those rules will also extend to commercial air, rail and cruise ship passengers.

Minister Alghabra said that for those who require exemptions and can’t get the vaccine, the government will put enhanced testing and screening in place.

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Canada Now In Fourth Wave Of COVID-19 Pandemic

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The country’s top doctor says Canada is now in the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and is being driven by the Delta variant.

Dr. Theresa Tam is urging younger Canadians to get vaccinated noting how the majority of new cases are people under 40 who have not received a jab.

Tam’s news conference coincided with reports a federal election could be called for September 20.

When asked about the safety of holding an election at this time, Tam’s key advice would be to continue following public health guidelines.

“You do have to watch the local epidemiology and the local public health advice as well… so that could vary over time. Anyone who is campaigning must observe those best practices.”

“Different rules are being applied in different areas of the country,” Tam added.

At the same media briefing, federal procurement minister Anita Anand reiterated the importance of public health measures in any situation when asked about an election campaign during the pandemic.

Anand urged Canadians to get fully vaccinated if they haven’t done so already.

Anand also announced the federal government will donate another ten million vaccines to other countries noting how Canada now has enough vaccines to vaccinate all Canadians twice.

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Sources: Trudeau set to call federal election for Sept. 20

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It looks like Canadians may be going to the polls in the near future.

Media outlets across the country have picked up a report from Reuters suggesting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with the Governor General on Sunday to ask that parliament be dissolved.

Following that, reports say he will call an election for September 20.

Reuters says the information was given to them by sources who requested not to be identified.

If an election is called it would be two years ahead of schedule, but the polls are favouring the Liberals following their handling of the pandemic.

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Proof Of Vaccination For Travellers Coming In Fall

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Canada is working on vaccine passports for international travel.

The announcement Wednesday comes after Quebec made it known that they will be implementing a vaccine passport program beginning Sept. 1.

The international passport will be available to all Canadian citizens, temporary citizens, and permanent residents in Canada if they are fully vaccinated.

In a statement released by the federal government, Canadians should continue to avoid any non-essential travel worldwide, but stressed that vaccination credentials will support the re-opening of societies and economies.

“Our ambition is to see the next iteration of a proof of vaccine credential program launched as early as early Fall,” explains Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino. “This is building on the success of the first stage of the proof of vaccine credential program which we’ve launched successfully through the ArriveCAN app, which helps to inform inbound travel for Canadians and it is something that has worked very well. The fact is that we understand this will be an important piece to the puzzle.”

It appears the passport will be consistent between provinces and territories, though there is much to consider.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc explains there will be many moving parts in working with all the provinces and territories.

“It’s a complex undertaking because it necessarily involves the government of Canada working with every province and territory, they are properly the owners of the data in terms of who in their jurisdictions have been immunized,” says LeBlanc. “We have been having ongoing and very collaborative constructive conversations with the provinces and territories to ensure we can safely receive from them the necessary information on which Canadians are immunized.”

While the passport is being crafted with international travel in mind, the federal government is happy to work with the provinces to use it as a domestic proof-of-vaccination as well, ministers have said.
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Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks This Week

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One of the best meteor showers of the year will reach its peak over the next two nights.

The Perseid meteor shower is produced by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which rounds the sun every 133 years.

Freelance astronomy educator Gary Boyle explained exactly how the meteor shower is created.

“When comets come close to the sun, the sun’s radiation reacts with the comet’s surface so the ice and other chemicals that were locked in there frozen begin to form a cometary fog,” said Boyle, also known as The Backyard Astronomer.

“The rubble that’s on the comet, mostly sand and some grit, is blown off by the sun and creates this long tail in orbit. Earth goes through this once a year on a yearly trek around the sun.”

The meteor shower lasts from July 14 to Aug. 24, according to Boyle, but it will reach its peak on the nights of Wednesday, Aug. 11, and Thursday, Aug. 12.

During those nights, Boyle said you could see anywhere from 50 to 60 meteors per hour.

“The wonderful thing about the Perseids is it actually has some pea-size grit, which means other than the meteors, which are blazing through the atmosphere at 59 kilometres per second, we’re going to have the larger pieces, which we’ll call actual fireballs, and they can light up the ground very, very dramatic,” said Boyle.

Even better, he said, is the fact that we are in a new moon phase, meaning the moon will set within an hour or two of sunset, creating dark sky conditions. By contrast, next year’s Perseids takes place under a full moon, drastically reducing the hourly rate.

Boyle said you will not need any special equipment to see the meteors, but it will help to get away from city lights. You should also try to view it early in the evening in case clouds move in.

The next opportunity to view a meteor shower will be the Gemenids on Dec. 14, which will produce up to 120 meteors per hour, he said.

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Canada Opens Border To Fully Vaccinated U.S. Travellers

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Fully vaccinated travellers from the United States can enter Canada for non-essential reasons without self-isolating.

The new public health measures mark a milestone in the fight against COVID-19.

The last time Canada permitted non-essential travellers to enter the country was March 2020.

Despite the step forward, a series of requirements are in effect to avoid taking two steps back.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents must be fully vaccinated with a vaccine accepted by the Government of Canada. The final dose must have been administered in the last 14 days.

So far, the vaccines approved by Canada are those made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).

Personal information and proof of vaccination must be uploaded to the ArriveCAN app.

For Children under 12, the 14-day isolation period will not apply as long as their parents or guardians are fully vaccinated.

U.S. travellers will also need to provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken prior to arriving in Canada, but also no more than 72 hours before arriving.

A complete list of the new health measures is available here.

While Canada is ready to welcome back U.S. travellers, the welcoming was not reciprocated. Canadians hoping to finish their summer down south are likely out of luck, as the United States continues to keep non-essential travellers out of the country.

Canada could open its welcoming party to the rest of the world if COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are low. Public Health is eyeing September 7th for the reopening, however, travellers would be subject to the same rules that U.S. travellers face.

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