Thursday, June 20, 2024

News roundup, 20 June 2024

- Three Manitoba credit unions (Assiniboine, Westoba, and Caisse Financial Group) have agreed to a merger which will take effect in the new year; the new institution will be called Assiniboine Credit Union / Caisse Assiniboine and will be the province's largest.

- Researchers have confirmed that the storm system that hit western Manitoba last week spawned five tornadoes; fortunately nobody was hurt and damage was minor.

- Manitoba Conservatives have been making themselves scarce since their defeat in the Tuxedo byelection. They now only hold two seats inside Winnipeg (really 1 ½ since the Roblin constituency includes the RM of Headingley). On the other hand, their grip on rural southern Manitoba is stronger now than it was 20 years ago; they now hold constituencies like Interlake-Gimli (formerly an NDP stronghold) and Swan River (formerly a swing constituency).

- At the federal level, a byelection in the Toronto riding of Toronto-St Paul's is a much bigger fight for the Liberals than expected. The Liberals have held the seat for over 30 years, and won by more than 20 points in the last election, but the Conservatives are surging even there. Dissatisfaction among the Jewish community with the government's failure to completely, unquestioningly support Israel is being cited as a reason.

- The federal government has announced a ban on open-net salmon farming in BC; this is a good move but one has to wonder why they waited so long to do it. A smarter move would have been to ban it earlier in their mandate; as things stand, the Conservatives, who are almost certain to take power next year, will likely reinstate open-net farming long before any impact on wild salmon populations can be assessed.

- Some UK Conservatives are being investigated for placing bets on the election date shortly before Rishi Sunak called it.

- A strike has been averted at WestJet after mechanics agreed to return to the bargaining table.

- Russia's scorched-earth approach in eastern Ukraine is being interpreted by some as an attempt to make sure that there's nothing worth continuing to defend in the area.

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