August 2024

THE Mexican Government suspended its relations with the WE And canadian The country’s embassies have closed, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday, after their ambassadors criticized a judicial reform bill he supports. “There is a pause,” Lopez Obrador said at a news conference, specifying that the freeze concerned embassies and not countries. Mexico’s president wants to reform the election of judges, including those of the Supreme Court, by universal suffrage. A committee of the lower house of Mexico’s Congress approved the proposal Monday night, paving the way for its adoption by the new Congress, which will take office in September. Supporters of the reform say it will strengthen democracy and help fix a system they say is failing the public, while critics say it will skew power in favor of the executive, end judges’ careers and make courts more vulnerable to criminal influence. The story continues below the advertisement U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar last week called the reform “a major risk to the functioning of Mexican democracy” and warned of a potential risk to U.S.-Mexico trade relations. Receive daily national news Get the day’s top political, business and current affairs news delivered to your inbox once a day. The United States and Mexico are each other’s largest trading partners. 2:30 Visa-free travel to Mexico has been a ‘bilateral irritant’ to Canada-U.S. relations, internal documents show Canadian Ambassador to Mexico Graeme Clark also warned of investment concerns. Later Tuesday, after Lopez Obrador’s comments, Salazar released a diplomatic note from the embassy, ​​dated August 23. “The United States supports the concept of judicial reform in Mexico, but we are deeply concerned that popular election of judges would not solve the problem of judicial corruption or strengthen the judicial power of the Mexican government,” the note reads. Current trend Cirque du Soleil aerial acrobat hospitalized after falling in front of audience Activist who took over from Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Khalistan campaign warns of risk to his life The Canadian Embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The story continues below the advertisement Lopez Obrador had criticized what he called Salazar’s interference in domestic politics. “How are we going to allow the ambassador to give his opinion, to say that what we are doing is wrong?” Lopez Obrador added. “We are not going to tell him to leave the country. But let him read our Constitution, yes, we will tell him.” Salazar had previously said he was open to talks with Mexican government leaders to discuss different justice models. Lopez Obrador said the “pause” would continue until “the embassies have confirmation that they will respect Mexico’s independence.” The US diplomatic note states that the country has “the greatest respect for Mexico’s sovereignty.” The Mexican peso MXN= was down 1.65% in early afternoon trading. The percentage has fallen sharply since the June elections, in which Lopez Obrador’s preferred successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, won the presidency and her Morena party and its allies won a supermajority in the lower house and nearly a supermajority in the Senate. A two-thirds majority vote is required to amend the Constitution, which judicial reform should do. –Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez, Raul Cortes and Kylie Madry; editing by Sarah Morland and Paul Simao Learn more about Canada Related Videos Source link

The federal government is taking steps to limit the number of low-wage workers. temporary foreign workers in Canada, with the exception of certain sectors. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Monday in Halifax, where the Liberal cabinet meets for a summer retreat. “We are tightening the rules and limiting eligibility to reduce the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers in Canada, with exceptions in certain sectors like health care, construction and food security,” Trudeau said. As of September 26, the government will refuse applications for low-wage temporary foreign workers in regions where the unemployment rate is six percent or higher. For employers, there will be a 10% cap on employees from the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program and a reduction in the maximum employment period from two to one year. according to Employment and Social Development Canada. The story continues below the advertisement This comes after Quebec announced its own limits on low-wage temporary foreign workers last week. A six-month freeze in Montreal which will come into force next month. 1:03 Federal government to limit number of temporary foreign workers, Trudeau says THE Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFW) allows non-Canadians to work in the country on a temporary basis. Get the latest national news For news that impacts Canada and the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts directly when it happens. Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said the program was “designed to address labour shortages where qualified Canadians were unable to fill these positions.” “Right now, we know there are more qualified Canadians to fill the vacant positions,” he said in a statement. “The changes we are making today will put Canadian workers first and ensure Canadians can have confidence that the program is meeting the needs of our economy.” Canada unemployment rate remained at 6.4% in July after two consecutive monthly increases, according to the latest employment report from Statistics Canada. The story continues below the advertisement 2:26 Quebec to reduce number of temporary immigrants in Montreal and also plans to limit number of foreign students The TFW program has grown dramatically in recent years and has been criticized for reducing national wages and leaving workers vulnerable to abuse. The number of temporary foreign worker positions has more than doubled since 2016, according to ESDC data. It was the year after the federal Liberals were first elected in 2015. In 2023, a total of 239,646 TFW positions were approved, compared to 90,314 in 2016. However, not all positions result in a work permit or entry into Canada of a temporary foreign worker, the ministry emphasizes. Current trend Superyacht sinking: Captain investigated for manslaughter Park’N Fly data breach affects nearly a million customers The program was expanded in 2022 for several sectors experiencing labour shortages, increase the maximum proportion of low-wage temporary foreign workers to 30% of each employer’s workforce. The story continues below the advertisement Trudeau said the program has helped the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but with inflation slowing and employment levels up from before, the country no longer needs as many temporary foreign workers. “We need Canadian businesses to invest in training and technology and not increase their reliance on low-cost foreign labour,” he said. “It’s not fair to Canadians who are struggling to find good jobs, and it’s not fair to temporary foreign workers, some of whom are being mistreated and exploited.” Earlier this month, A damning report from the United Nations He described Canada’s temporary foreign worker program as a “breeding ground” for modern-day slavery because it creates a power imbalance that prevents employees from exercising their rights. In the days that followed, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the program had no fatal flaws. but “needs reform.” 2:44 Canada’s unemployment rate didn’t change much in July, Statistics Canada says Speaking Monday, Trudeau said his government would also explore changes to the high-wage component of the temporary foreign worker program and other adjustments. The story continues below the advertisement A 90-day review will examine the changes while analyzing unemployment rates, Trudeau said. And this fall, Ottawa plans to unveil an immigration plan that will look at both permanent and temporary residents. “We are ensuring that the entire program meets the needs of Canadians and our economy as much as possible,” Trudeau said. — with The Canadian Press and Reuters. Learn more about Canada Related Videos © 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Source link

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Finance Minister Stephen Harper begins a three-day cabinet retreat in Halifax on Sunday, where the themes will be fairness and Canada-U.S. relations, but the feeling is still one of déjà vu. A year ago in Charlottetown, the cabinet hoped that its annual post-summer retreat and the massive cabinet shuffle that preceded it would breathe new life into the Liberal government. Spoiler alert: it’s not. Trudeau and his team are so far behind the Conservatives in the polls that if they had been on track, they would have been overtaken by now. And with the next election just a year away, the road to recovery is narrowing by the day. Interest rates began to fall. Inflation returned to normal. Wage growth was strong. The story continues below the advertisement But housing costs and availability remain extremely difficult, food prices are still high and the Liberals have been unable to counter Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s message that life has become more expensive and more dangerous under Trudeau. 0:51 Trudeau on Canadian rail workers’ work stoppage: ‘We don’t take this lightly’ In June, the Liberals lost a long-held Toronto seat to the Conservatives, further eroding what remained of the party’s fragile confidence in its ability to pull off a miraculous comeback with Trudeau still at the helm. The cabinet met briefly online over the summer to approve some appointments, but the working dinner that kicks off the retreat on Sunday will mark the first in-person meeting since the byelection. Receive daily national news Get the day’s top political, business and current affairs news delivered to your inbox once a day. Marci Surkes, director of strategy at government relations firm Compass Rose and a former Liberal Party staffer, said most cabinet retreats are spent 90 per cent on government business and 10 per cent on policy and caucus management. This time around, she added, there may be more emphasis on the latter, particularly in more informal conversations on the sidelines of debates. The story continues below the advertisement “I think what’s on the agenda for this retreat is probably even less important than just the fact that it’s a meeting,” she said. This government “desperately needs” a fresh start, she said. But it may be about being more responsive to the constant changes happening in the world and in Canada, rather than trying to plan every step of the next six to 12 months before the vote. “I think the reality of this retreat is that in some ways it’s less about the agenda and the programming and more about having real, frank conversations about where they stand and whether they have the energy, the courage, the ideas and the will to continue,” Surkes said. The July 2023 cabinet shuffle saw seven ministers removed and seven new positions added, while 22 of the remaining 30 ministers were moved to other positions. Only minor changes have been made since then, and Trudeau has so far chosen not to reshuffle the cabinet until this fall. Surkes noted that some of the fallout from that 2023 shakeup is still being felt. 2:07 How would the Conservative government approach the hot topic of immigration? Current trend How Three Hitchhikers Made Rock History ‘A dangerous precedent’: Union responds to board’s order for railroad workers to return to work The Toronto-St. Paul’s byelection, which the Liberals lost in June, as well as an upcoming byelection in the Montreal riding of Lasalle-Émard, came after former cabinet ministers who lost their portfolios — Carolyn Bennett and David Lametti — chose to leave politics altogether. The story continues below the advertisement Bennett’s Toronto seat was lost to the Conservatives after being a Liberal stronghold for nearly 30 years, and Lametti’s is at risk of being taken by the NDP when that vote comes Sept. 16, which Surkes said would be a “devastating blow.” While the agenda may not be as exciting as the policy topics covered at the retreat, ministers have a clear agenda for their discussions. The retreat includes a full day of meetings Monday on housing, equity and affordability, and the middle class. Learn more about the policy Related Videos Tuesday is all about Canada-U.S. relations. Trudeau launched a new Team Canada mission to the United States earlier this year to advance Canada’s interests ahead of the presidential election. The strategy, which Surkes jokingly called the “maple charm offensive,” is aimed at bolstering Canada’s defences in case Donald Trump is re-elected to the White House in November, but there are still irritants in the relationship even if Kamala Harris takes office. Harris’ meteoric rise in the U.S. could be one of the things that gives liberals a boost. Her Democratic Party and liberals align on many policy fronts, from school lunches to women’s reproductive rights to climate change and clean energy. What is not lost on many liberals is that President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race has sparked a sudden surge of energy and momentum among Democrats. The story continues below the advertisement Speculation about Trudeau’s future has been a favourite game in Canadian political circles for years, even though the candidate has not suggested he plans to step down. Surkes says what happened to the Democrats won’t force Trudeau to follow Biden’s lead. “I expect the Liberals to borrow a lot of techniques and language, but I don’t think they’re going to see a radical change in who’s going to be at the front of the stage and on the podium. I don’t know if that’s what’s in store for the Liberals in the coming weeks,” she said. “But I’m confident that a lot of what we’re seeing there will be reflected in what’s going to happen here over the next six months in terms of the agenda.” © 2024 The Canadian Press Source link

A national association of grain producers has estimated that the railway labor dispute Farm closures are costing farmers $40 million to $50 million a day. One city councilor says the shutdown has disrupted residents’ daily lives. “We’re going to have to talk to our banks and our creditors and say, ‘Hey, you know what I thought I could do? I can’t do it anymore,’” Grain Growers of Canada president Andre Harpe told Global News. “It’s not a pleasant experience for anyone,” said Ahmed Yousef, a city councillor in Maple Ridge, B.C. Concern and frustration continue to grow as Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) trains are not running and with the Teamsters on the other national railroad, Canadian Nationalready to strike on Monday. Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon had already said he would impose final and binding arbitration to end the dispute and “ensure industrial peace.” The Canada Industrial Relations Board, a mediation body, could make its decision as early as Saturday. The story continues below the advertisement But the union representing all rail workers, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), said it was studying all options and the picket lines would remain in place. 1:48 Union Strikes in Canada: What’s Behind All the Labor Disputes? Harpe said the current shutdown is “particularly bad” for the agricultural sector because most farmers have started harvesting. Get the latest national news For news that impacts Canada and the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts directly when it happens. He said many farmers have contracts to sell their grain as soon as they can – and “generally we don’t have enough storage space, we don’t plan on storing our crops,” he said, speaking from Alberta. “Basically, our income is cut off until the Teamsters actually get back to work and the railroads are operating at full capacity.” Further west, Maple Ridge, B.C., city councillor Ahmed Yousef said the West Coast Express commuter train uses CPKC tracks and is therefore not running. He says that has disrupted residents who work outside the city. The story continues below the advertisement Maple Ridge is part of the Greater Vancouver area. “We have seen a significant increase in traffic congestion on the roads,” he said. “Our community has been underserved for, I would say, a little over a decade now,” he said, adding that he hopes the situation proves they need more services. Eric Kam, an economics professor at Metropolitan University of Toronto, said about 32,000 people are moving to Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. Learn more about Canada Related Videos He also said on the Roy Green show that farmers will not be able to get 75% of their fertilizer. “We’re going to see a kind of consumer hoarding, and people are going to start going out and buying whatever they can find, at whatever prices they can find,” Kam said. Current trend ‘A dangerous precedent’: Union responds to board’s order for railroad workers to return to work Liberals face storm clouds at Halifax cabinet meeting In reference to the 13-day 2023 British Columbia port strike, which took place at the Port of Vancouver estimated cost of $800 million per day — for a total of $10 billion — Kam suggested that a lengthy rail shutdown could cost Canada up to $3 billion in GDP. It also damages Canada’s reputation, he added. “This could be one of the pieces of evidence that Trump needs to cut back on trade with Canada.” The story continues below the advertisement Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University, said a number of long-term converging trends led to the Canada-wide conflict. The first, he told Global News, is stagnant wages, eroding benefits and diminishing job security that, in turn, have been “crystallized” by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The idea that these workers are being hailed as essential (during the pandemic) but then treated as disposable has really angered people,” he said. A tighter labor market after the pandemic has given workers greater bargaining power, Eidlin said. “As these strikes started to multiply, there was a contagion effect: workers looked at what was happening and said, ‘Oh, if they can do this, then maybe we can do it too.’” Eidlin, speaking generally about collective bargaining in recent years, said another factor was “increased expectations.” “One of the things we’ve seen in a lot of these strikes is that they’re the result of members rejecting contracts that were negotiated by the union leadership and sending the bargaining committee back to the table.” But forcing the parties back to the negotiating table may “reduce the employer’s incentive to reach an agreement.” “When you force an end to negotiations through binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation, you short-circuit the collective bargaining process.” The story continues below the advertisement — with material from Caryn Lieberman, Uday Rana, Amy Judd, Alissa Thibault and The Canadian Press © 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. 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