
Court rejects Ford government's appeal of injunction stopping it from removing bike lanes
Cycling advocates say the court's decision is a victory, and means Ontario can't remove the bike lanes until a judge has had the chance to rule on a Charter challenge.
Cycle Toronto, the group leading the challenge, argues the law that enables the government to remove the bike lanes is arbitrary and puts lives at risk.
Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas ordered the government this spring to keep its hands off the Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue bike lanes until he decides whether the law is unconstitutional.
His injunction ruling cited the public interest in protecting cyclist safety and a lack of evidence backing the government's claim that removing the lanes would reduce congestion.
The government asked the court for permission to appeal that injunction decision, but a three-judge Divisional Court panel dismissed the motion for leave to appeal in a ruling dated Tuesday
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Manitoba accessibility minister commits to taking Deaf culture training after comments about ASL interpreter
Social Sharing Manitoba's accessibility minister says she will be participating in Deaf culture training after she made negative comments about sharing a stage with a sign language interpreter at an event just over two weeks ago. In a video posted to her Instagram account on Sunday, Minister Nahanni Fontaine apologized for her comments, standing alongside an ASL interpreter and signing "I'm sorry." "My team and I will undergo Deaf and Deaf culture training to deepen our understanding, confront gaps and ensure our actions reflect true respect and inclusion, not just intention," Fontaine said in the video. In an APTN video, Fontaine was heard telling a person off-camera that she was "thrown off" by the ASL interpreter sharing the stage with her at a ceremony for Indigenous women graduates her team was hosting on June 26 in Winnipeg. "I couldn't see anybody on this side," Fontaine said. "And all I could see was her —" "Frantic hand movements?" the other person said. "Yeah, I'm like, 'F--k, why did I have her on the stage?' Jesus! I'm like, 'you need to leave,'" the minister is heard saying in the APTN video. Nahanni Fontaine complains about ASL interpreter sharing her stage 14 days ago Duration 0:32 In video captured by APTN, Manitoba's minister responsible for accessibility asks "why the F are you on the stage?" in reference to the sign language interpreter who had shared the stage with her while she delivered a speech to Indigenous graduates. In Sunday's apology video, Fontaine said her statements don't reflect how she feels about Deaf and hard-of-hearing Manitobans, ASL or accessibility as a whole. In the days after the event, Fontaine posted two written apologies to her Instagram account. On Sunday, she said she has spoken with members of the Deaf community and put forward a list of changes based on those conversations. On Sunday, she said she is committed to working with ASL interpreters and making every public event accessible to the Deaf community. Fontaine said an ASL interpreter will be hired to work across government departments. A Deaf or hard of hearing matriarch will be added to the provincial Matriarch Circle advisory group, Fontaine said. She said changes will be made to the Accessibility for Manitobans Act in the spring. In a message to CBC News, Deborah Owczar, a Métis college graduate who was at the June 26 event, said she was happy to see Fontaine apologize directly to the Deaf community in a video, but says it should have happened sooner. She said her and her daughter Stephanie Jebb, who is also Deaf, a have a meeting scheduled with the minister at the end of July. Jebb said the video "is a step in the right direction." She said the Indigenous Deaf and hard of hearing community should decide who is appointed to the Matriarch Circle to ensure they are truly represented within the group. Jebb said Deaf community members should also be involved in the hiring process for a government ASL interpreter, and raised concerns that one interpreter may not be enough.


CBC
7 hours ago
- CBC
Transportation minister says Alberta is 'actively reviewing' bike lanes
Alberta's provincial government is "actively reviewing" bike lanes that draw the ire of local residents. Devin Dreeshen, provincial minister of transportation and economic corridors, said the province is reviewing bike lanes that draw concern from residents. He said the reasoning behind the move is to continue Alberta's work to build a "safe, efficient road network." "Alberta's government supports active transportation, but we're concerned when municipalities use taxpayer dollars to reduce road capacity at a time when our province is investing billions to expand it," said Dreeshen via an emailed statement. "While we fund major infrastructure projects, like the Deerfoot, to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion, some local decisions are moving in the opposite direction removing driving lanes." When asked, earlier this week, whether the province is planning to review both active and future bike lane projects, and if any current bike lanes are already under review, Dreeshen's office did not reply. The minister's statement follows a June 27 letter he addressed to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek where Dreeshen said he was concerned about bike lanes being built at the expense of road capacity, and with how this work affects provincial road capacity. Gondek's response in a July 3 letter invited Dreeshen to a meeting on how to best support Calgary's transportation needs. Bike lanes at the expense of vehicle capacity? Alberta minister pens letter with concerns 9 days ago Duration 1:47 Alberta's transportation minister sent a letter late in June to ask for a meeting with Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek to talk about cycling infrastructure. Bike Calgary, a local cycling advocacy group, hopes Alberta won't follow suit with Ontario, where the Doug Ford government has given itself powers to remove existing bike lanes and require approvals for new projects. Calgary currently has roughly 290 kilometres of on-street bikeways and cycle tracks. City council approved $56 million for Calgary's network of pathways and bikeways in 2023, and its long-term transportation plan looks to expand the network more throughout the next 60 years, including several ongoing projects to build further bikeway connections around the city. In April, Dreeshen also voiced opposition to Edmonton's planned bike-lane expansions. He said the province supports bike lanes "when they make sense," but won't support "tax dollars being used to reduce road capacity." In the past, Calgary residents have raised concerns about some of the city's bike lane projects, arguing they add more traffic congestion. Provincial review lacks clarity, says city councillor The purpose and process behind a provincial review of bike lanes is unclear, said Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott in an interview with CBC News. The infrastructure isn't under provincial jurisdiction, and within Calgary's central neighbourhoods, the lanes are far removed from the provincial road network. "The provincial networks are highways. We're not talking about the Beltline. [From] the Beltline, it takes three different roads to get to a provincial road essentially, in many cases. And none of them will have cycling tracks on them," Walcott said. When it comes to congestion, Walcott argued research has shown more lanes of traffic doesn't effectively tackle this problem. But alternative modes of transportation like bike lanes and public transit can ease congestion. Regardless, when Walcott hears complaints from his constituents about bike lanes, typically it has more to do with parking than road capacity. For example, the pathways on 11th Street and 15th Avenue S.W. have drawn complaints for removing parking spaces or interfering with loading zones. In some cases, Walcott said the city can respond to improve accessibility for all of a pathway's users. But he added that less on-street parking is sometimes a tradeoff the city makes to make space for cyclists, buses or pedestrians. "That's what it means to share the road a little bit differently," said Walcott. "These issues seem very beneath the minister." Walcott added he was frustrated to have conversations around the value of bike lanes, after the recent death of a cyclist. Calgary police said a man using an electric bike in a designated bike lane on 26th Avenue S.W. in Killarney died after colliding with a dump truck. Walcott noted the collision occurred in an unprotected, painted bike lane that's slated for construction to become a lane separated and protected from cars. "The reality is [bike lanes are] good for the city, it's good for the health of the individuals using them, it's good for reducing traffic on the road, it's good for the environment, and it's really cost-effective," Walcott said. Politicized debate Francisco Alaniz Uribe, an associate professor at the University of Calgary's school of architecture, planning and landscape, said the political nature of urban planning debates has been seen more often in Canada lately, noting a similar ongoing issue in Ontario. The Ontario government passed a bill last year that allows it to remove major bike lanes in Toronto, despite the city's objections. Under the bill, cities also must now seek provincial approval to install new bike lanes that cut into vehicle traffic. A temporary injunction in April halted Ontario's plans to remove three Toronto bike lanes until a judge rules on a Charter challenge by cycling advocates. On Wednesday, an Ontario court dismissed the province's attempt to appeal the court order. Alaniz Uribe said Calgary's approach to creating a cycling network has involved extensive consultation, but that urban planning debates are always highly political because they involve discussing how we use shared spaces in our cities. Cars have dominated streets for decades, Alaniz Uribe said, adding that urban planning now often involves carving out space for cyclists, wider sidewalks, public transit or more trees, which usually faces pushback. "We're trying to change a value set where for a long time our value set has been the private automobile. And now, we're trying to get some of that space back for something that is not the automobile," Alaniz Uribe said.

CBC
7 hours ago
- CBC
Canadian canola dodges Trump tariff threat, but still faces economic uncertainty
Canadian canola producers appear to have dodged U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat, which reports indicate would exclude goods covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, but economic uncertainty remains for many. The latest round of tariffs threatened by Trump would impose a 35 per cent levy on Canadian imports currently subjected to 25 per cent tariffs, effective Aug. 1. Canadian-grown canola enjoys duty-free status when it travels across the border, but economic uncertainties associated with the ongoing trade dispute create what southern Alberta farmer John McKee calls "an air of anxiety" looming over the industry. McKee, who grows oilseed crops southeast of Lethbridge, said while the tariffs don't directly hurt his canola exports, they're taking a toll on producers in other ways, including forcing farmers to deal with duties when ordering equipment from across the border. McKee said when he looked at ordering "a very small insignificant piece" of equipment from the U.S., he was faced with "extra handling, the extra brokerage fees" and "several extra charges that went along with tracking the appropriate tariff." He said buying a $20 part from the U.S. would have wound up costing him $100 had he not found a near-identical option locally. Andre Harpe, chair of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, said the U.S. tariffs are only one of several issues Canadian farmers are dealing with. "I think we're almost starting to get used to it now," he said of Trump's recurring tariff threats. Harpe, who grows canola and barley in northern Alberta, said he and many other producers are dealing with more pressing issues like dry growing conditions. "We're looking at making sure we can get the best crop that we can get, so we can actually sell them," he said, pointing to diseases affecting crops across Canada, and a need for more rain. He also said 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola oil and canola meal imposed by China in March has been more significant to producers than the country's trade dispute with the U.S. While those duties do not apply to unprocessed canola seeds exported to China, which made up the bulk of Canada's $4.9 billion in canola exports to China in 2024, Harpe called them "probably the biggest concern right now," in terms of tariffs. 'A lot of uncertainty for canola growers' The Canadian canola industry annually contributes an average of $43.7 billion to the national economy, according to the Canola Council of Canada. The council's figures indicate there are approximately 40,000 canola farms nationwide, primarily located throughout Alberta and in southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as scattered locations in Ontario and British Columbia. "The canola industry is a very significant contributor to economic activity in Alberta," said J.P. Gervais, chief economist with Farm Credit Canada. The U.S. is Canada's largest market for canola exports, making any tariff talk problematic for producers and investors, Gervais said. "This entire situation with the United States … creates a lot of uncertainty for canola growers that are looking to invest, to grow, and grow exports, generate economic activity across the country, across the province," he said. "I do think that we have to wait and see, but recognizing as well that the unknowns, the uncertainty that is in the market right now … really has an impact on the ability of operations to actually invest in their bottom line." He said canola prices took a hit when China first announced its tariffs, but that they have "rebounded quite a bit" this year. "We thrive in an environment where borders remain open and we have free-flowing products between the United States and Canada, between Canada and China," Gervais said. Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to meet with his cabinet on Tuesday and with Canada's premiers on July 22 to discuss the latest developments in the U.S. trade dispute.