TORONTO — A Toronto−area flour company has been ordered to pay $25,000 for misrepresenting a cake mix as kosher, after an Ontario court said the move could cause “spiritual trauma” to consumers who bought the product for religious reasons. A small−claims court found earlier this month that Adee Flour Mills breached its contract with the…
Canada Welcomes New Year’s Babies
Families across Canada are welcoming some of the country’s first babies of 2019. In Montreal, the McGill University Health Centre says baby Mariella was born at 12:02 a.m. A hospital network in east Toronto tweeted that baby Fatima was born at Scarborough General Hospital at the stroke of midnight. Meanwhile, parents in Saskatoon and Regina…
New Year-New Tax Changes
OTTAWA — The new year brings with it tax changes at the federal level that will affect just about every Canadian, as well as small businesses. One of the first changes workers will see is an increase in Canada Pension Plan premiums coming off their paycheques — the first of five years of hikes to…
Drug Users Who OD’d May Have Brain Damage
VANCOUVER — Dayton Wilson’s drug−taking routine ended when he overdosed on heroin laced with fentanyl, but being able to walk and talk normally are also part of his past as he struggles with brain damage from a drug linked to thousands of deaths. Wilson, 24, used illicit drugs for the last time in August 2016…
Coins Mark 75th Anniversary of D-Day
OTTAWA — The Royal Canadian Mint is creating two commemorative coins to mark the 75th anniversary of D−Day. The Liberal cabinet approved the design of the new toonies, one of which will have multiple colours instead of the usual two−toned coin, to commemorate a key turning point in the Second World War. On June 6,…
Lawyers Worried About Proposed Changes to Trial System
CALGARY — Legal experts say proposed changes to the Criminal Code after a high−profile acquittal in the fatal shooting of an Indigenous man are short−sighted. Key changes in a federal bill, which has passed third reading, involve peremptory challenges during jury selection and use of preliminary inquiries. Peremptory challenges allow lawyers to remove a potential…
A Violent Year With 96 Homicides in Toronto
TORONTO — A uniquely violent year in Toronto marked by a major surge in gun−related crimes saw police seize an unusually high number of handguns from city streets, the force’s chief said Thursday. Mark Saunders said officers had recovered 514 handguns so far in 2018 — or 222 more than in 2017 — and the…
Stamp Prices are Going Up
OTTAWA — Unless you really hurry, sending a letter to Santa for next Christmas will cost you a nickel more. Starting Jan. 14, Canada Post says the cost for an individual stamp on a letter sent within Canada will be $1.05, instead of a loonie. Other increases for mail within the country range between a…
Romaine Lettuce OK to Eat Again
OTTAWA — With no new cases of E. coli connected to romaine lettuce detected since mid−November, the leafy green is probably safe to eat again, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported Monday. In the month before that, 29 people got sick from the bacteria in the lettuce, mostly in Quebec. A handful became ill…
Trudeau Visits Peacekeepers in Mali
GAO, Mali — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised the work of hundreds of peacekeepers during a surprise visit here on Saturday even as he defended his government’s refusal to extend their mission several months to help the United Nations. The visit to this hot, dusty camp in northern Mali was Trudeau’s first since 250 Canadian…