‘We’re here for you’, agriculture minister tells farmers

The federal agriculture minister and his Manitoba counterpart tried to offer comfort Sunday to canola producers and other farmers roiled by massive tariffs from China and other economic uncertainty.

Liberal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald said in Winnipeg on Sunday a new $370-million in support meant to ease the pain in the canola industry, which was announced Friday by Prime Minister Mark Carney, is “just a start.”

“I know you’re stressed, you need to make business decisions, this is your livelihood and what you’re hoping to pass on to the next generation… when the time comes,” said MacDonald. “We’re here for you.”

MacDonald made the comments ahead of an annual meeting of federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers, which runs through Tuesday in Winnipeg, where trade uncertainty is expected to largely top the agenda.

Air Canada flight attendants massively reject wage offer, union says

Air Canada flight attendants have massively rejected the employer's wage offer following a vote on a new contract that ended Saturday.

Flight attendants at Air Canada wrapped up voting at 3 p.m. ET  on the tentative new contract, with 99.1 per cent voting down the airline's wage offer. 

The airline says the wage portion will now be referred to mediation as previously agreed to by both sides.

"Air Canada and CUPE contemplated this potential outcome and mutually agreed that if the tentative agreement was not ratified, the wage portion would be referred to mediation and, if no agreement was reached at that stage, to arbitration," the airline said in a statement shortly after the results were released by the union.

Many EV owners say they’re undeterred after the federal government’s mandate pause

Not much changed immediately for electric vehicle drivers across Canada after the federal government announced a step back from its EV policy. But many drivers fear infrastructural growth and improved public charging stations will slow in the coming years.

When Julien Kos drove to Moncton earlier this year, his plan heavily relied on charging his vehicle at a mall while getting a quick bite. 

"I got there with 15 per cent and I expected to be able to just charge at the mall," said Kos, who lives in a remote town of Back Bay, N.B., about 130 kilometres south of Fredericton. But he found several public chargers were broken.

Kos said many provincial public chargers in New Brunswick are "unreliable," while some other chargers owned by Tesla are older or mostly only compatible with Tesla vehicles. though some EV makers are offering adaptors or adopting the Tesla charging system. But for those without, there are fewer options. 

Hollow Water stabbing victim tries to process tragedy as community mourns

HOLLOW WATER FIRST NATION — Michael Raven barely closed his eyes Thursday night.

“I can still see it,” he said, hours after the unimaginable act shook the quiet, remote community of Hollow Water First Nation, about 185 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

Raven was one of eight people attacked during a stabbing spree that claimed the life of 18-year-old Marina Simard. Her brother, 26-year-old Tyrone Simard, was identified as the suspect. He later died after crashing head-on into an RCMP cruiser south of the community on Highway 304.

Raven, 60, had been rushed by ambulance to Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre in the early morning hours. By the afternoon, he was back in Hollow Water, sitting on a bed in a spare room at his sister-in-law’s house — right next door to his own home, which remained sealed off and guarded by a Commissionaires officer.

Hollow Water killer out on bail during stabbing attacks

The man police say killed his sister and injured seven others in Hollow Water First Nation Thursday before he died in a highway crash with an RCMP SUV was out on bail at the time of the attacks

Jodie Foster, Catherine O’Hara, Guillermo del Toro feted at TIFF Tribute Awards

TORONTO - When Jodie Foster began working in Hollywood as a child actress, she says there weren't very many women around.

"Occasionally there was a script supervisor or maybe a makeup and hair person, but then mostly not," Foster said on the red carpet ahead of the Toronto International Film Festival's Tribute Awards.

Foster was among the Hollywood elites being honoured Sunday at the awards show that celebrates the contributions of actors and filmmakers to cinema, alongside the likes of Guillermo del Toro, Channing Tatum, Idris Elba and Catherine O'Hara.

Foster received this year's Share Her Journey Award for helping to pave the way for women in film.

Drawn to their unique grain pattern, carver gravitates to trees’ ungainly outgrowths

There’s more to a burl than meets the eye. On the surface the flawed wood is a gnarly, lumpy mess. But beneath the scars hides something rather special.

“Burls are an unappealing wart-like growth on a tree,” artist Gary Foidart, 69, explains.

“They are horrific looking on the outside. Some of them look terrible. You never know what you are going to hit when you cut a burl open but the wood inside is the most beautiful wood there is. Each one is totally unique.”

Bulbous and rough, a wood burl forms when a tree experiences stress or disruption to its growth. Burls can also develop from insect infestation, bacterial or fungi growth, and environmental injuries.

Deadly attack renews calls to fix cellular gaps in, around Hollow Water

A mass stabbing and head-on crash that killed two people, including a suspect, and injured eight has renewed concerns about cellular coverage gaps in and around Hollow Water First Nation.

Residents said there is no cellphone service in Hollow Water and some surrounding areas, leaving people vulnerable if they’re in a location or circumstance where there’s no other way to call 911 or an emergency service directly.

“I don’t get any service in Hollow Water. It’s difficult to communicate,” said Brook Monkman, who lives south of the First Nation near Lake Winnipeg.

Monkman said he was driving on a road about 40 kilometres north of Hollow Water in 2023 when he came upon a crash that killed a mother and young son, and left a father and young daughter seriously injured.