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Today's letters: NIMBYism is hurting Lowertown and vulnerable people

Today's letters: NIMBYism is hurting Lowertown and vulnerable people

Ottawa Citizen3 days ago
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This is a classic Canadian government own-goal. The estimated repair costs would buy 4,000 new rifles of established provenance at $2,500 each. Doing the repairs may again turn out to be an attempt to save face by throwing good money after bad.
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I believe that Mark Carney DOES have a choice and that is to say no to Donald Trump's demands to drop supply management. The terms of this clause in the USMCA do not impact the US as exports to Canada have never reached the level where the tariff kicks in. If Canada blinks at this one, you can be sure Trump will follow up with a never-ending list of demands that will eventually destroy Canada.
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Trump cannot be trusted to keep his word, ever. Besides power and money, winning at whatever challenge comes his way is the only thing he cares about. I greatly fear that his end game is to make us the 51st state by any means necessary. I've been afraid of what he might do since he started campaigning in 2016; he has destroyed and corrupted, stoked hated and fear and spread lies far more than my worst-case-scenario mind could ever have imagined.
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It is certainly noteworthy to ponder the prime minister's winking behaviour and to speculate on its meaning. But, hey who would know except himself, and furthermore, how does it affect his leadership performance?
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It could be understood in the context of his demonstrated desire and effort to communicate with people and to connect with those of us who appreciate being considered important enough to feel part of a community worth reaching. There is a familiarity to the use of winks and that is achieved by this presentation.
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It may be an issue that troubles some skeptics but it challenges our trust to accept it at, pardon the pun, face value.
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Celia M. Carter, Brockville
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Summer travel season is upon us. The Canadian government has issued a warning: 'Exercise a high degree of caution' when travelling to these countries: Mexico, Cuba, Thailand, Qatar (watch out for the $400-million jet that might hit you en route to Mar-a-Lago), Panama, Peru, India, Germany, Costa Rica.
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And then this. USA: 'Take normal safety precautions.' OK, don't go to L.A.; might run into some problems there. Don't have any anti-Orange Head crap on your phone at the border. Also beware the high rate of firearm violence and mass shootings (even if tourists are not typically targeted). I think a 'high degree of caution' is advised for the U.S. too.
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Does the Canadian government issue a summer travel warning for Canadians travelling inside Canada? 'Take normal safety precautions': seatbelts, bike helmets, sun screen.
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The other day, I locked my keys in my car in the Kanata Staples parking lot. I eventually spotted a booth set up for windshield repairs and approached the young person manning it to ask if he had a piece of wire with which I might reach the keys through the partially open window. He didn't, but immediately offered to help and accompanied me back to my car. He found a stick in the nearby bushes and, after many tries, managed to open the car door.
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BOSTON PIZZA ROYALTIES INCOME FUND ANNOUNCES JUNE 2025 DISTRIBUTION
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Cision Canada

time16 minutes ago

  • Cision Canada

BOSTON PIZZA ROYALTIES INCOME FUND ANNOUNCES JUNE 2025 DISTRIBUTION

Toronto Stock Exchange: VANCOUVER, BC, July 9, 2025 /CNW/ - Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (the " Fund") (TSX: announced today a cash distribution to unitholders of $0.115 per unit for June 2025. The distribution will be paid on July 31, 2025 to unitholders of record at the close of business on July 21, 2025. The Fund periodically reviews distribution levels based on its policy of stable and sustainable distribution flow to unitholders. The Fund is a limited purpose open ended trust with an excellent track record for investors since its IPO in 2002. Including the June 2025 distribution which is payable on July 31, 2025, the Fund will have paid out 270 monthly distributions and three special distributions totaling $468.0 million or $28.14 per unit. The Fund earns revenue based on the franchise system sales of the 372 Boston Pizza restaurants in the Fund's royalty pool. Boston Pizza is the premier casual dining brand in Canada. The first Boston Pizza restaurant opened in Edmonton, Alberta in 1964 and over 60 years later Boston Pizza proudly remains a 100% Canadian company serving communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast. It boasts a vast network of local franchise owners who collectively operate the largest number of dining rooms, sports bars, and patios across the nation, complemented by robust takeout and delivery services. Boston Pizza International Inc. has been recognized as a Franchisees' Choice Designation winner and a Platinum Member of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for many years, and has received awards from Great Place To Work in the categories of Best Workplaces: in Canada – 100-999 Employees, in British Columbia, in Retail & Hospitality, for Mental Wellness, for Women, for Giving Back, and with Most Trusted Executive Teams. The trustees of the Fund have approved the contents of this news release.

Trump slaps Brazil with 50% tariff, citing Bolsonaro ‘witch hunt' trial
Trump slaps Brazil with 50% tariff, citing Bolsonaro ‘witch hunt' trial

Global News

time19 minutes ago

  • Global News

Trump slaps Brazil with 50% tariff, citing Bolsonaro ‘witch hunt' trial

U.S. President Donald Trump singled out Brazil for import taxes of 50 per cent on Wednesday for its treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, showing that personal grudges rather than simple economics were driving the U.S. leader's use of import taxes. Trump avoided his standard form letter with Brazil, specifically tying his tariffs to the trial of Bolsonaro, who is charged with trying to overturn his 2022 election loss. Trump has described Bolsonaro as a friend and hosted the former Brazilian president at his Mar-a-Lago resort when both were in power in 2020. 'This Trial should not be taking place,' Trump wrote in the letter posted on Truth Social. 'It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!' Trump also objected to Brazil's Supreme Court fining of social media companies such as X, saying the temporary blocking last year amounted to 'SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders.' Story continues below advertisement Trump said he is launching an investigation as a result under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which applies to companies with trade practices that are deemed unfair to U.S. companies. The Brazil letter was a reminder that politics and personal relations with Trump matter just as much as any economic fundamentals. And while Trump has said the high tariff rates he's setting are based on trade imbalances, it was unclear by his Wednesday actions how the countries being targeted would help to reindustrialize America. Trump also sent letters Wednesday to the leaders of seven other nations. None of them — the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka — is a major industrial rival to the United States. Most economic analyses say the tariffs will worsen inflationary pressures and subtract from economic growth, but Trump has used the taxes as a way to assert the diplomatic and financial power of the U.S. on both rivals and allies. His administration is promising that the taxes on imports will lower trade imbalances, offset some of the cost of the tax cuts he signed into law on Friday and cause factory jobs to return to the United States. Trump, during a White House meeting with African leaders, talked up trade as a diplomatic tool. Trade, he said, 'seems to be a foundation' for him to settle disputes between India and Pakistan, as well as Kosovo and Serbia. Story continues below advertisement 'You guys are going to fight, we're not going to trade,' Trump said. 'And we seem to be quite successful in doing that.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy On Monday, Trump placed a 35 per cent tariff on Serbia, one of the countries he was using as an example of how fostering trade can lead to peace. Trump said the tariff rates in his letters were based on 'common sense' and trade imbalances, even though the Brazil letter indicated otherwise. Trump suggested he had not thought of penalizing the countries whose leaders were meeting with him in the Oval Office — Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau — as 'these are friends of mine now.' Countries are not complaining about the rates outlined in his letters, he said, even though those tariffs are close to the ones announced April 2 that rattled financial markets. The S&P 500 index was up slightly in Wednesday afternoon trading. 'We really haven't had too many complaints because I'm keeping them at a very low number, very conservative as you would say,' Trump said. 0:27 Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro indicted for alleged 2022 coup attempt Officials for the European Union, a major trade partner and source of Trump's ire on trade, said Tuesday that they are not expecting to receive a letter from Trump listing tariff rates. The Republican president started the process of announcing tariff rates on Monday by hitting two major U.S. trading partners, Japan and South Korea, with import taxes of 25 per cent. Story continues below advertisement According to Trump's letters, imports from Libya, Iraq, Algeria and Sri Lanka would be taxed at 30 per cent, those from Moldova and Brunei at 25 per cent and those from the Philippines at 20 per cent. The tariffs would start Aug. 1. The Census Bureau reported that last year that the U.S. ran a trade imbalance on goods of $1.4 billion with Algeria, $5.9 billion with Iraq, $900 million with Libya, $4.9 billion with the Philippines, $2.6 billion with Sri Lanka, $111 million with Brunei and $85 million with Moldova. The imbalance represents the difference between what the U.S. exported to those countries and what it imported. Taken together, the trade imbalances with those seven countries are essentially a rounding error in a U.S. economy with a gross domestic product of $30 trillion. The letters were posted on Truth Social after the expiration of a 90-day negotiating period with a baseline levy of 10 per cent. Trump is giving countries more time to negotiate with his Aug. 1 deadline, but he has insisted there will be no extensions for the countries that receive letters. Maros Sefcovic, the EU's chief trade negotiator, told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday that the EU had been spared the increased tariffs contained in the letters sent by Trump and that an extension of talks until Aug. 1 would provide 'additional space to reach a satisfactory conclusion.' Story continues below advertisement Trump on April 2 proposed a 20 per cent tariff for EU goods and then threatened to raise that to 50 per cent after negotiations did not move as quickly as he would have liked, only to return to the 10 per cent baseline. The EU has 27 member states, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The tariff letters are worded aggressively in Trump's style of writing. He frames the tariffs as an invitation to 'participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States,' adding that the trade imbalances are a 'major threat' to America's economy and national security. The president threatened additional tariffs on any country that attempts to retaliate. He said he chose to send the letters because it was too complicated for U.S. officials to negotiate with their counterparts in the countries with new tariffs. It can take years to broker trade accords. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba interpreted the Aug. 1 deadline as a delay to allow more time for negotiations, although he cautioned in remarks that the tariffs would hurt his nation's domestic industries and employment. Malaysia's trade minister, Zafrul Aziz, said Wednesday that his country would not meet all of the U.S. requests after a Trump letter placed a 25 per cent tariff on its goods. Aziz said U.S. officials are seeking changes in government procurement, halal certification, medical standards and digital taxes. Aziz he indicated those were red lines. Story continues below advertisement Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to arrive Thursday in Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Survey suggests Calgarians mostly in favour of 17th Avenue pedestrianization pilot
Survey suggests Calgarians mostly in favour of 17th Avenue pedestrianization pilot

Calgary Herald

time22 minutes ago

  • Calgary Herald

Survey suggests Calgarians mostly in favour of 17th Avenue pedestrianization pilot

There is widespread public support for a car-free pilot project along 17th Avenue S.W. next summer, a new survey suggests. Article content But a group that represents businesses along the busy corridor said much more consultation is needed before determining if it's worth pursuing the idea seriously, while the city said no plans are currently in the works to close the street to vehicles. Article content Article content Article content The Beltline Neighbourhoods Association conducted public engagement last summer in a bid to gauge how residents and area businesses felt about making a portion of 17th Avenue S.W. vehicle-free. Article content Article content 'Right now, we know the street is suffering during peak times, like on the weekends, from a lot of congestion,' Oliver said. 'Cars are sitting at the lights for multiple cycles, there's pollution, there's noise. Article content Article content 'That's actually keeping people away from here, and one of the interesting things we found was the most common mode of people coming to the street was by walking.' Article content The idea of restricting vehicles from certain retail-focused streets has been successful in other Canadian cities, Oliver noted, including Montreal and Vancouver. He added that Calgary has flirted with the concept as well, in Inglewood and Kensington, as well as during the 4th Street Lilac Festival. Article content Seventy-seven per cent of the BNA's respondents said they'd visit 17th Avenue more often if the road was devoid of cars, Oliver said. Article content Another finding from the poll was that most of the avenue's foot traffic is from residents who live within two kilometres of the street, and that walking is their most common mode of transport.

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