- A preliminary version of the City of Winnipeg's 2024 budget has been presented. Transit is faring better than I'd feared; the reworking of the system is still scheduled to go ahead and service will be added to some suburban neighbourhoods; on the downside the fares are expected to increase by 10 cents each year for four years. We may also see the ability to use credit or debit cards on buses (something implemented by other cities years ago). There's also more being budgeted towards urban forestry, and they're looking at new sources of sorely needed revenue. On the downside, three city pools and 20 wading pools will be closing.
- The city is also looking at selling landfill gas on the natural gas market, rather than just flaring it as they do now. This could mean a 40% reduction in emissions, as well as $10 million in revenue for the city over a 20 year period.
- Manitoba is making moves towards faster accreditation of foreign-educated healthcare professionals. This is very much needed, both for the sake of our healthcare system and the professionals themselves (lets face it, driving a cab isn't the living it used to be).
- The question of what Justin Trudeau should say about the American presidential election is a tricky one. There's said to be a tradition of Canadian and American leaders not interfering in each other's elections (well, JFK actively worked to elect Lester Pearson but I guess we don't talk about that). The thing is, Trudeau is naturally tempted to draw comparisons between Trump and Pierre Poilievre; this is definitely a bit of an exaggeration but there are similarities in their populist style (and stronger similarities in terms of who tends to support them). This could have short-term benefits for Trudeau if it forces Poilievre to take a position on Trump, but two senior diplomats are warning that this could make things much worse for Canada if Trump manages to win.
- The Conservatives continue to be at the top of the polls nationally. The latest Nanos poll has the Cons at 40%, the Liberals at 24.7%, and the NDP at 20.6%, with the other parties in single digits.
- A private member's motion by NDP MP Lisa Marie Barron, which called for a citizens' assembly on electoral reform, has been defeated, despite the support of all of the NDP, Green, and Bloc MPs as well as 40 Liberals and 3 Conservatives. The only surprise is that so many Liberals did vote for it; most of their colleagues, though, as well as all other Conservatives, voted to protect their own perceived interests.
- The US Environmental Protection Agency is tightening the rules on soot emissions. Industry groups, though, are making angry noises.
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