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Quebec legislature unanimously condemns human rights commission’s Christmas criticism

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

Quebec’s legislature has unanimously adopted a motion in defence of Christmas.Christopher Skeete, the province’s anti-racism minister, introduced the motion today condemning the Canadian Human Rights Commission for describing Christmas as an “obvious example” of systemic religious discrimination linked to Canada’s history of colonialism.In an October discussion paper, the commission described statutory holidays related to Christianity as examples of religious discrimination because they are the only statutory holidays linked to religious holy days.It says that, as a result, those who celebrate other religions may need to request special accommodations.The motion, a copy of which will be sent to the rights commission and to Parliament, denounces attempts to “polarize” events that unite Quebecers and that have been part of the province’s heritage for generations.All 109 members of the national assembly who were present voted in favour of...

New technology installed beneath Detroit street can charge electric vehicles as they drive

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

DETROIT (AP) — Crews have installed what’s billed as the nation’s first wireless-charging public roadway for electric vehicles beneath a street just west of downtown Detroit.Copper inductive charging coils allow vehicles equipped with receivers to charge up their batteries while driving, idling or parking above the coils.The quarter-mile segment of 14th Street will be used to test and perfect the technology ahead of making it available to the public within a few years, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.Demonstrations were held Wednesday at Michigan Central innovation district, a hub for advancing technologies and programs that address barriers to mobility. The district also is where Ford Motor Co. is restoring the old Michigan Central train station to develop self-driving vehicles.The technology belongs to Electreon, an Israel-based developer of wireless charging solutions for electric vehicles. The company has contracts for similar roadways in Israe...

Mandatory CanCon contribution could prompt investment cuts, Spotify tells CRTC

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

GATINEAU, Que. — Audio streaming platform Spotify says that requiring it to make a contribution aimed at supporting Canadian content could force the company to cut its existing investments in order to maintain its financial viability.The company says Canada is the only country looking into requiring streamers to make such payments and it hopes other jurisdictions don’t follow that lead.Spotify presented at a hearing Wednesday afternoon amid the CRTC’s public consultations in response to the Online Streaming Act, which is meant to update federal legislation to require digital platforms to contribute to and promote Canadian and Indigenous content.The commission is exploring whether streaming services should be asked to make an initial contribution to the Canadian content system and whether this would help level the playing field for local companies, which are already required to support Canadian content.Nathan Wiszniak, head of artist and label partnerships for Spotify Can...

‘Nearly hit by a car’: 911 call released after impaired driver caught going wrong way on Hwy. 407

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

Durham Regional Police have charged one man with impaired driving and released audio of a 911 call after he was allegedly caught driving the wrong way on Highway 407 last weekend.Authorities received several 911 calls just after 11 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25, regarding the driver of a black Honda sedan travelling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Highway 407 at Harmony Road North in Oshawa.One caller indicated the vehicle was travelling at a very high rate of speed. “I’m on the 407 going east, and I was nearly hit by a car driving on the 407 east, going west,” the caller said. “He was speeding. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see him; he was driving west of Enfield.”“He must have been going 160. 180… I could only see this car driving towards me, so I moved into the right lane. It almost made me feel like I was going the wrong way, but he was going the wrong way,” the caller added.The driver was eventually located by a local RIDE unit....

Man charged with shooting 3 Palestinian college students accused of harassing ex-girlfriend in 2019

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

The man charged with shooting three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont last weekend was accused several years ago of harassing an ex-girlfriend in New York state, but no charges were ever filed, according to a police report. Jason J. Eaton’s ex called police in Dewitt, New York, a town near Syracuse, in 2019 saying she had received numerous text messages, emails and phone calls that were sexual in nature but not threatening from Eaton, and wanted him to stop contacting her, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press. NBC News first reported on the complaint. The woman said Eaton had driven his pickup truck by her home that evening and a second time while she was talking to the police officer. She said she didn’t want to press charges against him but just wanted police to tell him to stop contacting her, the report states.Police pulled over Eaton’s vehicle and he told them that he was under the impression that the woman still wanted to see him...

FBI: Man wearing Captain America backpack stole items from senators’ desks during Capitol riot

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

A Virginia man was arrested Wednesday on charges that he stormed the U.S. Capitol while wearing a Captain America backpack and stole items from senators’ desks on the Senate floor during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, court records show.Ryan Joseph Orlando took a pen from the desk of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and a drink coaster from the desk of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.Orlando, 28, of Arlington, Virginia, was arrested in his hometown on charges including theft of government property, disorderly conduct and unauthorized entry on the floor of a House of Congress, an arrest warrant says.Online court records didn’t immediately list an attorney for Orlando.Surveillance video captured Orlando entering the Capitol through a fire door on the west side of the building. He was wearing a black mask and a round Captain America-themed backpack and appeared to be recording video on his phone as he walked around the Capitol.Orlando and...

Vice President Harris will attend COP28 climate conference in Dubai

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will join the U.S. delegation to Dubai for the annual United Nations conference on climate change, the White House said Wednesday.This weekend’s trip for COP28 appears to have been hastily arranged, since her staff recently said she had no plans to attend. White House officials did not explain the change in plans, but the announcement comes after criticism of Joe Biden’s decision to skip the summit. He’s also no longer expected to make a promised trip to Africa before the end of the year. The White House said Biden spoke Wednesday with President Mohamed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, which is hosting COP28. According to an official summary of the call, Biden said Harris will “showcase U.S. global leadership on climate at home and abroad” and will “help galvanize increased global ambition at this critical event.”Secretary of State Antony Blinken, special envoy John Kerry, climate adviser Ali Zaidi and clean energy adv...

Kraft debuts dairy-free mac and cheese in the US

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

Kraft Macaroni and… Fava Beans?The Kraft Heinz Co. said Wednesday it’s bringing dairy-free macaroni and cheese to the U.S. for the first time. The company said the new recipe has the same creamy texture and flavor of its beloved 85-year-old original Mac & Cheese but replaces dairy with ingredients like fava bean protein and coconut oil powder.The plant-based Kraft NotMac & Cheese, which will be rolled out to U.S. stores over the next few months, was developed in collaboration with Not Co., a Chicago startup that makes plant-based milk, burgers and other products.Kraft Heinz, which is based in Pittsburgh and Chicago, formed a joint venture with Not Co. last year. The joint venture, called The Kraft Heinz Not Co., has already released non-dairy cheese slices and mayonnaise in the U.S. It plans to add more products and begin international distribution next year.Kraft Heinz began selling vegan macaroni and cheese in Australia in 2021, but this will be the first time it’s b...

UAW will try to organize workers at all US nonunion factories after winning new contracts in Detroit

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

DETROIT (AP) — Less than two weeks after ratifying new contracts with Detroit automakers, the United Auto Workers union announced plans Wednesday to try to simultaneously organize workers at more than a dozen nonunion auto factories.The UAW says the drive will cover nearly 150,000 workers at factories largely in the South, where the union has had little success in recruiting new members. The drive will target U.S. plants run by Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo. Also on the union’s list are U.S. factories run by electric vehicle sales leader Tesla, as well as EV startups Rivian and Lucid. “You don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck,” union President Shawn Fain said in a statement appealing to nonunion workers. “You don’t have to worry about how you’re going to pay your rent or feed your family while the company makes billions. A better life is out there.” The union said that Toyota’s 7,800-worker assembly comp...

Lawyer for pharma company argues against single trial in B.C. opioid damages case

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

VANCOUVER — A lawyer for a pharmaceutical firm says holding a single trial in British Columbia to determine damages for each province and territory related to opioid health-care costs would be a “monster of complexity.”Gordon McKee, a lawyer for Janssen Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, told the B.C. Supreme Court that certifying Canadian governments as a class in their pursuit of damages against opioid makers isn’t manageable or preferable compared with separate trials. McKee says the judge should not certify Canadian governments as a class in the case because it would “burden” B.C.’s justice system and have a negative affect on access to justice for other potential litigants. He says other courts in the past have recognized that some class-action lawsuits are “too big to certify,” and there are enough separate issues in each province or territory that make a single trial unmanageable.McKee says individual trials specific to each jurisd...