U.S. not renewing trade agreement with Canada and Mexico in ‘current form’

WASHINGTON - The United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the U.S. is not renewing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement "in its current form" — but the trade agreement will remain in place as negotiations continue.

"The United States will continue to engage with Mexico and Canada to address the Agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries," Greer said in a statement Wednesday.

"However, the Agreement remains in force pending resolution of these issues or until the Agreement’s termination."

This decision triggers a rolling annual review for up to a decade, at which point it will expire if an extension isn't agreed upon.

Saigon Centre residents fear loss of Vietnamese cultural space after Manitoba Housing takeover

Longtime tenants of a social housing project built in Winnipeg for Vietnamese refugees nearly 40 years ago fear its takeover by Manitoba Housing will ruin their main-floor cultural centre.

Saigon Centre at 458 Balmoral St., which was run by the Vietnamese Non-Profit Housing Corp. since opening in 1989, was put up for sale in March because it was $3 million in arrears on its mortgage.

Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corp. is taking over the 54-unit building and the government department is working on integrating it into the provincial housing portfolio, a spokesperson confirmed recently.

While rent levels are protected under a caveat that was enacted when the building opened, residents say they’re about to lose access to their cultural centre. The large room on the main floor is used for community gatherings, health and wellness activities for seniors, festivals, language-learning classes and other events over the last four decades.

Seven of city’s 10 best-paid employees work for police

The City of Winnipeg’s 2025 compensation disclosure document, released Friday, shows seven of the top 10 highest paid employees are police officers.

Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers earned $313,467 during his first year in the position, coming second only to an unnamed police superintendent who took home $491,926.

Collectively, WPS members earned $2.1 million of the total $2.9 million paid to the city’s highest earners, equivalent to about 72 per cent. That includes a constable ranked No. 8 in the top 10 after earning $260,234 — more than outgoing Winnipeg Fire Paramedic chief Christian Schmidt (No. 9) at $255,036.

Schmidt’s successor, Ryan Sneath, who was appointed chief this week, earned $247,432 last year.

Berry farms brave storms, eye opening days

Despite the unprecedented downpour, berry season is on in Manitoba.

Bright red strawberries have begun sprouting at Boonstra Farms — just two weeks after the Stonewall-area patch was hit by 11 inches of rain during a storm.

“Hopefully, it’ll still be an OK season,” said co-owner Danielle Boonstra. “We’re still hoping to open, probably after Canada Day.”

Torrential rain and cold temperatures have pushed strawberry picking season back to, likely, the first week of July. Haskap picking may start this weekend.

Farmers just one link in long supply chain

Farmers are hardly front and centre in newly released federal and provincial reports analyzing why food has become less affordable for many Canadians.

The word “farmers” doesn’t even appear in the Manitoba government’s Grocery Price Strategy report until Page 7.

That’s a good thing, because it signals a new level of awareness in how we collectively view the food system. The focus is shifting from front-line farmers to the largely invisible and complicated supply chain connecting field to table.

It might even change how farmers see themselves.

Canada being side-swiped by Trump’s Cuba policy

Canada’s decades-long relationship with revolutionary Cuba has always been a three-country affair — with the United States frequently settling for the spurned third-wheel.

Since the early 1960s, successive U.S. governments have strenuously objected to Canadian trade and commercial engagement with the island. Officials in Washington have always believed that the Canadians were trying to make a “quick buck” at America’s expense, while simultaneously seeking to undermine the U.S. blockade of Cuba.

For almost 70 years now, Canada has had to negotiate the thorny issue of the U.S. trade embargo. Added to that was the anti-Cuba Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and the still active 1996 Helms-Burton Law. Complicating matters further for Ottawa have been the various additions and subtractions to the unrelenting U.S. efforts to strangle the Cuban economy — particularly during the presidency of Barack Obama.

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a near-ironclad (some Russian oil is getting through), illegal fuel embargo against Cuba, using American naval vessels and U.S. Coast Guard ships. Additionally, he signed an executive order in early May to expand U.S. economic warfare, or what some call “secondary sanctions,” against those materially assisting the Cuban government.

Transit says it’s short $6.5M to provide free rides for youth year round

Winnipeg Transit has proposed to let youth ride buses for free for only seven months, stating the $10 million the provincial government provided for a year of that service won’t cover the entire cost.

In a new report, Transit says the program, which is meant to offer no-cost rides to youth aged 11 to 17 and high school students aged 18 to 21, would cost at least $16.5 million to implement for 12 months.

The program stems from the pledge in the province’s 2026-27 budget to invest “in free transit for kids and youth.”

Instead of exceeding the amount of government funding, Transit proposes to offer the free rides from September to March 2027, pending city council approval.

Staff shortages threaten defence-related projects, construction industry warns

Construction industry leaders are flagging potential staff shortages as the sector prepares for a surge of defence-related projects.

Winnipeg co-ops among models examined in film

We see theatre artist Debbie Patterson making her way toward the Old Grace Housing Co-operative’s entrance in her wheelchair, then settling inside for a steaming cup of tea. The co-op is her home.

“Well, I’ve always loved this neighbourhood and wanted to stay in this neighbourhood. I lived in a big, three-storey Wolseley house and then got MS and couldn’t do the stairs,” she says in a voiceover.

“Having a place I could move into that was completely accessible was just a godsend at a perfect time when I needed to stop living in my house, so I could stay in my neighbourhood and continue to be in a safe place.”

It’s one of the opening scenes of Meeting a Moment: The Art of Social Architecture, directed by Danielle Sturk and produced by Leslie Stafford, which appears on CBC Gem today and airs on CBC TV Saturday.

Greece bets on space technology to contain wildfires in a global first

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — In the searing Mediterranean summer, wildfires turn dangerous in minutes.

Greece has learned that at a terrible cost. In 2018, a blaze east of Athens moved with ferocious speed, killing more than 100 people. Five years later, a massive fire tore through a remote nature reserve; it was the largest wildfire ever recorded in the European Union.

Greece is looking to the heavens for help, with a dedicated satellite constellation that monitors for fires. It's a model for the continent as Europe races toward broader independence in space technology.

Four satellites, each smaller than a piece of carry-on luggage, were launched into low orbit in May. That made Greece the first nation in the world to integrate a dedicated satellite array into its national firefighting system.

City’s greenhouse emissions rise, councillor says net-zero still within reach

City of Winnipeg operations created more greenhouse gases in 2025 than they did one year earlier, despite its target to hit net-zero emissions by 2050.

Data centres top Ottawa’s big power requests, placing pressure on local utility

Hydro Ottawa's CEO says the utility is under "extraordinary pressures" as energy-hungry data centres lead a historic surge in large-scale customers seeking to connect to the power grid.

Bryce Conrad says he expects by the end of the year total grid connection requests from large-scale projects in Ottawa will exceed the average power use of the entire city's homes and businesses.

As it stands, he says 34 large projects in the connection queue have cumulative demands equivalent to about 86 per cent of the utility's average load, or just over 1,000 MW.

About 60 per cent of that comes from data centres, the infrastructure backbone of the artificial intelligence boom.

Public support is strong for two per cent inflation target, Bank of Canada says

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada says there is strong support for its flexible inflation targeting and the two per cent target rate in a new report.

The central bank consulted with stakeholders and the general public as part of the renewal process for its monetary policy framework agreement with the federal government, which it undergoes every five years.

"It was important for the bank to hear from Canadians as part of this process because inflation and interest rate decisions affect their day-to-day lives," governor Tiff Macklem said in a statement Thursday.

The review comes after the spike in inflation in 2022 that saw the annual rate peak at 8.1 per cent, a 39-year high. Though the pace of price growth has normalized since then, higher prices have taken a toll.

Apple increases prices for Macs and iPads, blaming a shortage of memory chips

Apple on Thursday announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads, citing a memory chip shortage brought on by the artificial intelligence boom.

The Cupertino, California-based company called the demand spike an “unprecedented challenge” for the consumer electronics industry.

“The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” the company said in a written statement.

The new, entry-level MacBook Neo will now cost $699, up from $599. The 512 gigabyte MacBook Air now costs $1,299, up from $1,099. The one terabyte MacBook Pro is $1,999, up from $1,699.

Some airlines reduce fuel surcharges as oil falls, while others hold steady

CALGARY - Some Canadian airlines are scaling back fuel surcharges as fuel prices fall, while others are holding steady for now.

WestJet Airlines says it has reduced its levy on companion vouchers to $40 from $60 per round trip or one-way fare.

Porter Airlines has cut the fuel surcharge for new reward flight bookings by half to $20, and says it will make further adjustments as conditions change.

Meanwhile, Air Canada is managing fuel costs through its regular fare structure, though a surcharge remains in effect on ground packages offered through its vacations business.

Carney says B.C. condo buyout proposal is about affordability, not bailouts

OTTAWA - Converting British Columbia's glut of unsold condos into affordable housing is about supporting Canadians, not distressed developers, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday as he defended his government's proposal.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Ottawa, Carney said the Liberal government had done a poor job of explaining the program laid out in Vancouver a week earlier.

A press release issued by the Prime Minister's Office on June 18 said Ottawa and the B.C. government plan to "leverage innovative financing tools to convert more than 2,200 vacant condo units in priority growth areas into affordable homes."

Carney said Thursday the federal government would put up 10 per cent of roughly $1.45 billion in total potential spending to convert the units, with the B.C. government footing the rest of the bill.

Carney says he and Trump discussed defence priorities, Arctic ahead of NATO summit

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump about efforts to protect the Arctic ahead of their attendance at the NATO summit in Turkey in two weeks.

Carney said the U.S. president called him Wednesday for a "long discussion" that involved other senior officials, including U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Carney said he and Trump also spoke about NATO, Iran and the broader situation in the Middle East. He declined to offer details but said the discussion touched on "both current and structural" issues.

"It was a very constructive conversation, those things we're working on together. I think those are best left until they come to fruition," Carney said.

These economists are worried Canada has a data quality problem

OTTAWA - Most economists, including at the Bank of Canada, were a bit surprised when Statistics Canada reported late last month that the economy contracted slightly over the first three months of the year.

The consensus estimate among economists and monetary policymakers was for real GDP growth of roughly 1.5 per cent annualized in the first quarter.

When the figures actually showed a 0.1 per cent decline, forecasters were left scratching their heads.

Incremental data released by StatCan leading up to the quarterly GDP result largely suggested Canada's economy was in line for modest growth to start the year.

Nova Scotia launches three-year plan to expand its $2.2-billion seafood industry

HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government has announced a three-year strategy aimed at growing the province’s $2.2-billion seafood industry as it tries to cope with with rising costs, labour shortages and global trade challenges.

Provincial Fisheries Minister Kent Smith said Wednesday that $1.5 million will be set aside this year to establish an innovation hub for applied research.

As well, the strategy calls for expanding the aquaculture sector, providing support for product diversification and offering up to $4 million over three years to diversify markets, among other initiatives.

The strategy was developed with input from industry representatives, said Smith, who made the announcement at Sea Star Seafoods Ltd. in Clark’s Harbour, N.S., a lobster fishing community near the province's southwestern tip.

Red River Co-op to open grocery store, pharmacy at Portage Place redevelopment

A Red River Co-op full service grocery store and pharmacy — “one of the missing pieces in the puzzle of downtown” — will be an anchor in the massive redevelopment of the former Portage Place mall.

True North Real Estate Development announced Wednesday the downtown location will include a 22,500-square-foot food store and a 6,500-sq.-ft. pharmacy.

“Red River Co-op was founded nearly 90 years ago on the belief that people working together can create stronger communities. Our investment in the Portage Place redevelopment reflects that same belief today,” Red River Co-op CEO Craig Gilpin said in a news release.

“This project is about more than building a food store and pharmacy, it is about bringing essential services back to the heart of our city, investing locally and helping create a downtown Winnipeg that future generations will be proud to call their own.”

Bank of Canada officials seemed unfazed by the surprise economic decline in Q1

OTTAWA - Officials at the Bank of Canada were seemingly unfazed by economic weakness to start the year as they debated where to take the policy interest rate earlier this month.

The central bank today released a summary of the deliberations that led its governing council to hold the policy rate steady at 2.25 per cent for a fifth consecutive time on June 10.

Officials acknowledged in the summary that they were surprised the Canadian economy posted a slight contraction in the first quarter of the year. The Bank of Canada had forecast a 1.5 per cent annualized growth rate in real gross domestic product for the first three months of 2026.

But looking through some recent volatile data, governing council agreed that not a lot had changed in the economy since its decision in April.

Speeding spiked in Toronto after province pulled speed cameras: report

TORONTO - A new report shows Toronto has seen a dramatic spike in speeding in the months since the Ontario government scrapped automated speed enforcement cameras.

The report, which Toronto city council is set to consider at its meeting this week, shows the percentage of drivers travelling at least 16 kilometres per hour over the posted limit on some streets surged over 400 per cent after the cameras were removed last November.

Vehicle speeds increased at 101 of 104 locations with comparable before-and-after data, and the proportion of vehicles travelling 11 km/h or more over the posted limit increased from two per cent to 8.1 per cent, the report shows.

The increase in speeding was "generally more prominent" on streets with a posted limit of 30 km/h, it says.

Homes under $500,000 account for growing proportion of Ontario real estate: report

PICKERING - A new report says homes valued under $500,000 are taking up a bigger share of Ontario's real estate landscape, led by a shift in the condominium market.

New data released by the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. showed those lower-valued homes now account for nearly 24 per cent of Ontario's real estate market, up from 17 per cent in 2022.

Despite that improvement, which MPAC said signals "a rebalancing in the housing market," the report said the share of homes priced below $500,000 is still well below that of a decade ago when they made up 67 per cent.

"The past decade has reshaped Ontario's housing market, and while prices remain elevated, there have been corrections from peak conditions," said the organization's chief assessor and data officer Greg Martino in a news release.

AI is an energy and water hog, here’s what you can do to counter that

As the world tries to curb human-caused climate change and not run dry of water, every online query is increasing our environmental footprint and exacerbating the problem.