OPEC+ set to make another accelerated oil output hike on Saturday, sources say
Meet Nojoud Al Mallees
As an economics reporter, Nojoud writes about how fiscal and economic decisions on Parliament Hill affect businesses, Canadians and the economy at large.
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CBC
21 minutes ago
- CBC
Independent MLAs say work has already begun to rebuild Progressive Conservative Party
Two independent Alberta MLAs revealed more details on Saturday about their work to resurrect the Progressive Conservative brand that held government in Alberta for 44 years. After announcing their plan to re-register the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta earlier this week, Peter Guthrie and Scott Sinclair held what they billed as an official relaunch of the party in Calgary on Saturday. They explained their aim is to offer an alternative conservative voice that falls closer to the political centre than the governing United Conservative Party or the opposition NDP. Work has already begun, the MLAs explained, to secure signatures to register the party. But Alberta's PC revival isn't official just yet. The party will need to secure 8,819 signatures, representing 0.3 per cent of the province's voting population, by late November. Guthrie argued their push for a new party is to represent what he sees as the mainstream political beliefs of most people in the province, after hearing from a growing number of frustrated voters who felt they didn't have a political home in Alberta. "We have an NDP that seems to be focused on 20 to 30 per cent of the population on the left, and we have the UCP that seems to be focused on the same-sized group on the right," said Guthrie, a former infrastructure minister who's served as MLA for Airdrie-Cochrane since 2019. "Alberta is and always has been a progressive conservative province. One where people value responsible government." The governing UCP are no longer a real conservative party, Guthrie argued, and the PC party he's pitching will offer a more practical and principled voice, he said. Conservative credibility in opposition Guthrie and Sinclair have taken up the PC mantle after both were ousted from the UCP earlier this year. After serving as an MLA in the party for nearly six years, Guthrie resigned from Premier Danielle Smith's cabinet in February citing concerns with the government amid the controversy over procurement practices at Alberta Health Services (AHS). He was then expelled from caucus in April, after pushing for a public inquiry into the AHS issue. Sinclair, on the other hand, was a first-term MLA representing Lesser Slave Lake for the UCP, who was kicked out of caucus in March after publicly criticizing the provincial budget for forecasting significant deficits while spending too heavily on Alberta's major cities rather than its rural communities. Could the re-emergence of the PC Party divide Alberta's right? | The Political Panel 2 days ago Duration 8:19 Two former UCP MLAs are trying to start a new political party under the old Progressive Conservative brand. Scott Sinclair and Peter Guthrie say the United Conservative Party is 'way off base' with Albertans. The Political Panel weighs in on whether a revived PC Party could split the right-of-centre vote. Rob Brown is joined by Conservative strategist Erika Barootes, and Liberal strategist Sabrina Grover. Photo credit: X/PeterGuthrie99 Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said Guthrie and Sinclair are currently the most vocal, and possibly the most effective, opposition members in the legislature. Their status as former party members adds credibility to their criticism, Williams said, adding that regardless of how many seats their party wins, their critiques could be the largest challenge they present to the current government. "When a conservative is saying a conservative government is entitled and corrupt, that's going to resonate in a way that wouldn't for people who either don't have that inside information or that reputation for being committed, principled conservatives," Williams said. The viability of the PC label The Progressive Conservative brand is well-known for holding power in Alberta's legislature from 1971 to 2015, and being led by longtime premiers like Peter Lougheed, Don Getty and Ralph Klein. But its popularity dipped in its final years, and the party faced criticism for its perceived entitlement, leading to the party winning just nine seats in the 2015 Alberta election. Two years later, new party leader Jason Kenney struck a deal with the Wildrose Party to merge and form the UCP. Sinclair argued he and Guthrie have made principled stands resulting in their departure from the UCP, and he drew parallels between criticisms both the current provincial government and the PCs of old faced around excessive spending and investigations into the government. "We were asking questions about accountability, financial oversight, value for money, bloated contracts, and it got us exactly where we are today. I would say there are a lot of parallels between the late PC days … and talking about this existing premier," Sinclair said. But earlier this week, Smith threw cold water on whether the PC brand could legally be revived in Alberta. Smith argued elections law states new parties can't use the name of the former legacy parties that merged to form the UCP, to avoid confusing voters. "We expect the law to be followed, and we're going to be following up with Elections Alberta accordingly," Smith said. On Saturday, Guthrie said Elections Alberta made the party name available after the most recent provincial election. Earlier this week, an Elections Alberta spokesperson said the chief electoral officer would make a final determination on a party's proposed name during the registration process. While the new PC party could also take votes from the NDP if their supporters look for a different alternative to the current government, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said his party remains "the only choice for positive change" in Alberta. "The decision by these two former UCP MLAs to revive the PC party is another clear sign that Albertans are unhappy with this current UCP government and are demanding better for our province," said Nenshi in a statement on Wednesday. Guthrie and Sinclair expect to remain the party's only members until the party is officially registered, and aren't pushing for other MLAs to join. But they said they've had interesting conversations since their plans for their party were announced. There's no evidence more MLAs will follow Guthrie and Sinclair, Williams said, and the UCP is likely to work hard to keep its MLAs in the fold. But she noted the new party creates the possibility Smith may have to respond to a split in her party's centre. Williams points out that while no party outside the UCP and NDP have picked up significant support in polling or electoral results since the 2019 election, what could make the PC party different is if more credible people throw their support behind it, especially if any MLAs cross the floor, or join the party after being removed from the UCP like Guthrie and Sinclair were. "United Conservatives are not terribly united. They disagree on a lot of things. Some of them belong to parties previously that fought against one another in the legislature," Williams said.
CBC
36 minutes ago
- CBC
Toronto needs more housing. Are garden suites a potential solution?
Social Sharing The City of Toronto is hoping new measures to cut design costs and speed up permit approval times for laneway and garden suites may encourage homeowners to build more, but some advocates and experts say they're skeptical the structures could be a viable solution to the city's housing crunch. Mayor Olivia Chow announced on Friday that the city will provide free design plans for laneway and garden suites to cut costs and speed up permit approval times, in its latest bid to boost construction of new housing. The pre-approved plans are compliant with the Ontario Building Code and eliminate the need to hire an architect, she said. "It's simple: Toronto is growing and we must lower the cost of building homes and make it easier, and approve them faster," Chow said at a news conference Friday. But a limited number of properties in the city have backyards large enough to build these suites, said Stephanie Bertolo, board member of More Neighbours Toronto, a housing advocacy organization. "Anything that helps reduce the cost of development and gets things built faster is a win," Bertolo said. "Unfortunately I think that laneway housing and garden suites aren't going to be a big part of the solution to the housing affordability crisis." Bertolo said a better solution would be building more small apartment buildings or sixplexes to increase housing density across the city. The city first passed an as-of-right zoning bylaw for laneway suites in 2018, and for garden suites in 2022. But only 166 laneway suites and 114 garden suites have been completed since these bylaws were passed, Chow said on Friday. Bertolo said these numbers are a "drop in the bucket" compared to the housing needs across Toronto. WATCH | Laneway, garden suite designs among new city housing measures announced Friday: Toronto speeding up building permit approvals 2 days ago Duration 1:33 With zoning changes alone not prompting enough new construction, Toronto is rolling out a series of measures to boost housing. Company seeing demand from multigenerational families The city defines a laneway suite as a self-contained residential unit located on the same lot as a detached house, semi-detached house, townhouse or other low-rise house. It is typically located in the backyard next to a public laneway. A garden suite is similarly a self-contained living accommodation usually built in a backyard, but is not on a public lane. Garden and laneway suites typically range between 500 to 600 square feet, said Sarah Cipkar, founder and CEO of Resimate, a company that helps homeowners build in their backyard in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area and the Niagara region. Cipkar said her company is seeing demand from multigenerational families who want to build suites for aging parents or young adults who are struggling to enter the housing market. "It creates all these unique opportunities for families to be closer together," she said. Projects can cost between $200,000 to $350,000, she said. Cipkar said she would like the city make the free suite designs available to manufacturers, who can then build them off site. "Part of the issue with the pre-approved design catalogue is that they're not field-tested," she said. "Homeowners can't touch and feel them. They can just see them and they're like, 'maybe that's a good unit? I can't really tell." Suites likely to be built in wealthier areas: professor Susannah Bunce, an associate professor in the department of geography at the University of Toronto, said the intention behind the city's free designs are good as they provide a "guidebook" for homeowners and can streamline the approval process. But these suites are likely to be concentrated in wealthier neighbourhoods in Toronto that have wider and larger lots, rather than the downtown core, where more affordable housing is needed, she said. And without city programs in place to help out homeowners with expenses, such as a rebate or a forgivable loan program, she said these suites may not be rented out at affordable rates. "With the hidden costs that come with garden suite construction, then there is an incentive for homeowners to try and recoup the costs that they have put up front by renting out a unit at a higher rate," Bunce said. "It does then cut out a lot of people who are suffering from the affordable housing crisis in Toronto." Cipkar said St. Catherines is an example of a municipality that has successfully encouraged these backyard suites. She said the municipality has financial incentives to homeowners and also provides timelines for stages such as when homeowners can expect to receive a permit using pre-approved designs. The new measures come after city council voted last month to allow sixplexes in nine wards, with an option for the remaining 16 wards to opt-in at a later date. , but some councillors vehemently objected to the proposal. Other measures announced by Chow on Friday include expanded online applications for new housing units, which she said will reduce the time it takes for them to be processed.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
The Beer Store closes two locations in Windsor
The Beer Store seen on Goyeau Street in Windsor, Ont. (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor) Two locations in Windsor of The Beer Store are officially closed, effective Sunday. The two stores are at 790 Goyeau Street and 1780 College Avenue. The announcement was made earlier this year that nine total locations would be closing, including the two in Windsor. The other four locations in Windsor will remain open. 'The Beer Store is modernizing operations to meet the needs of marketplace – this means making the difficult decision to close some stores,' said Ozzie Ahmed, vice president of retail, when the announcement was made. 'We know this will be disappointing to many customers and our valued employees. We don't make this decision lightly; it is part of our ongoing commitment to business sustainability and serving the needs of our customers.' The Beer Store The Beer Store seen on College Avenue in Windsor, Ont. (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor) - With files from CTV News London's Bailey Shakyaver.
