TORONTO — It’s already crept into so many aspects of everyday life, from powering digital assistants like Siri and Alexa to personalizing entertainment choices on streaming services like Netflix to driving the development of autonomous vehicles. Now artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize key aspects of how doctors practise medicine and the ways in which…
New Mortgage Plan Will Have Little Effect on Housing Prices
OTTAWA — Canada’s housing agency says new spending measures aimed at helping first−time buyers afford homes won’t push prices up more than a few tenths of a percentage point. A report Thursday from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. estimates prices could go up between 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent — a tiny…
Canada Not Doing Enough to Combat Climate Change
OTTAWA — Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand says Canada is not doing enough to combat climate change. Gelfand delivered her final audits Tuesday before her five−year term expires, looking at fossil−fuel subsidies, invasive aquatic species and mining pollution. But her final conclusions as the country’s environmental watchdog say it is Canada’s slow action to deal with…
Perfect Storm Could Cut Off East Coast From Rest of Canada
AMHERST, N.S. — First of a two−part series on the stunning potential impact that climate change could have on the low−lying, narrow band of land connecting Nova Scotia to the rest of Canada. −−− John Atkinson stands atop an aging dike, with the rising tides of the Bay of Fundy before him and family farmland…
Liberals to Spend $50 Million to Support Dementia
OTTAWA — Health advocacy groups are cheering the Liberal government’s proposal to spend $50 million over five years to support a national dementia strategy that would be released later this spring. Tuesday’s pre−election budget from Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the aim of the measure is to improve the lives of people living with dementia…
Trudeau Not Prime Minister of Quebec
Western premiers say the SNC−Lavalin affair is distracting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a time he should be focused on jobs in their region. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has taken aim at the prime minister’s comments about the 9,000 jobs tied to the Quebec company. Moe says Trudeau needs to be reminded he is not…
Final Humboldt Bronco Accident Victim released From Hospital
SASKATOON — The final Humboldt Broncos player who was injured in a bus crash nearly a year ago has been released from hospital, but still has a tough road ahead. The family of Morgan Gobeil said in a statement Monday that the 19−year−old spent 333 days in hospital since the team bus and a transport…
Pot Confiscated at Border Increased After Legalization
OTTAWA — New statistics show the number of cannabis confiscations at the Canadian border increased more than 60 per cent year−over−year in the first six weeks after pot legalization. The Canada Border Services Agency is linking the rise to the fact it began asking people last fall whether they were bringing cannabis into the country.…
Mexico Threw Canada Under the Bus
OTTAWA — Canada and Mexico are dealing with lingering hard feelings over last summer’s surprise Mexican trade deal with the United States as their new continental trade pact awaits a final stamp of political approval. Two weeks ago, the head of a visiting delegation of Canadian parliamentarians told the newly installed Mexican foreign minister his…
Police Find Meth Smuggled Through New Ford Cars Built In Mexico
A notorious Mexican cartel stashed bricks of methamphetamine in the spare tires of new cars before sending the vehicles to Canada by rail in a sprawling drug smuggling operation, authorities alleged Wednesday. Ontario Provincial Police said they found 180 kilograms of meth during their investigation, which began when employees at four different Ford dealerships reported…