Â鶹´«Ã½

Politics

    • Canada won new Volkswagen battery plant despite 'way, way more' money from U.S.: PM

    Share
    NEW YORK -

    Canada won Volkswagen's lucrative new electric vehicle battery plant despite "way, way more" U.S. dollars on the table, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday as he talked up the virtues of his progressive approach to industrial policy.

    Trudeau's two-day trip to New York, aimed at keeping up the momentum from last month's presidential visit to Ottawa, culminated in an earnest sales pitch that framed Canada as a conscientious and forward-thinking place to invest.

    Just look at Volkswagen, said Trudeau, which ultimately settled on the one-time industrial manufacturing hotbed of St. Thomas, Ont., despite what the prime minister said were richer offers from south of the border.

    "I'll be honest: there were places in the United States that were putting up way, way more money than we put on the table," Trudeau told a moneyed audience of bankers and academics at the Council of Foreign Relations.

    Canada wasn't just kicking tires, though: ultimately, subsidies worth up to $13 billion plus a $700 million grant no doubt played a key role in keeping the so-called gigafactory from being built on U.S. soil.

    But to hear Trudeau tell it, the abundance of clean energy and critical minerals riches, Canada's carbon price regimen, a well-educated workforce and a long-term investment in those workers were what really sealed the deal.

    "Volkswagen said, 'OK, we're showing up with a plant that's not going to be there for five years, or 10 years. It's going to be there for 50 years, maybe even more,"' Trudeau said.

    "'We need to invest in a community that is going to be invested in itself and in that future."'

    Without doubt, the VW plant and the 3,000 jobs it is expected to produce is the most towering victory so far in what the federal Liberal government hopes is the ongoing evolution of Canada into a critical minerals powerhouse.

    But the modern-day riches poised to power the new industrial revolution -- lithium, cobalt, magnesium, nickel and copper, to name but a few -- are still largely in the ground, and business leaders are clamouring for more certainty around the regulatory regime that will govern how they are extracted.

    Trudeau offered no specific details on that score Friday, except to reiterate that whatever framework emerges will reflect the importance of fighting climate change and working with Indigenous communities.

    The framework, when complete, will be "a stronger and clearer process that is both faster and more predictable, while of course making sure we're protecting communities' interests and protecting the environment," he said.

    During a recent meeting with the prime minister in Ottawa, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark described Canada's regulatory regimen as more efficient than that south of the border, Trudeau said.

    That's not a universally held view, however.

    A 2019 Deloitte study described Canadian businesses as facing outsized regulatory burdens, and that it typically takes five months longer in Canada to obtain a construction permit than in the U.S.

    And a 2020 World Bank ranking of countries based on "ease of doing business" placed Canada in 23rd place, well back of the U.S. in sixth. New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong topped the list, in that order.

    High environmental and labour standards and the carbon-price regimen will likely come at a price to those sourcing their critical minerals from Canada, Trudeau acknowledged earlier in the day.

    "If we're being honest ... the lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive," he said.

    "The world needs to decide -- and is still in the process of deciding -- whether or not we're actually going to value the things we value throughout our supply chain."

    It's important, he added, to build democratic values into decisions about where to source minerals, and it's not just about telling companies not to get them from countries such as China.

    "We should simply commit to sourcing our critical minerals from places that ban forced labour, that have safety standards, that pay their workers a living wage, that have high environmental protections, that work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples."

    Trudeau spent the bulk of the day Thursday focused on promoting efforts to advance sustainable development outside North America, in particular the global South.

    He faced pointed questions about a 15 per cent cut in humanitarian aid spending in the last federal budget, a decline he attributed to recent crises and conflicts like the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

    Baseline aid levels will keep going up, even though there will likely be more humanitarian disasters before the end of the fiscal year that will demand Canada make additional commitments, he said.

    Trudeau also announced a new five-year, $195-million investment -- plus $43 million every subsequent year -- in women's rights advocacy around the world.

    Trudeau said the program, Women's Voice and Leadership, has helped more than 1,500 organizations since it was launched in 2017, far exceeding the original target of 400 groups, who receive the assistance without strings.

    Abortion rights have been under legal siege in recent months in the U.S., Trudeau acknowledged as he seized on the opportunity to depict his government as pro-choice -- and its Conservative rivals as the opposite.

    The U.S. courts have played host to seismic shifts in access to abortion over the last year, most notably the Supreme Court's decision last June to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established federal abortion rights.

    Advocates had feared that a legal stalemate over access to the so-called abortion pill, mifepristone, would end much the same way, before the high court opted late last week to maintain the status quo -- for the time being.

    The U.S. Department of Justice is fighting a Texas court decision that, if allowed to stand, would effectively rescind the Food and Drug Administration's 23-year-old approval of the drug.

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2023

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

    A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Infectious disease physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch says whooping cough is most risky for unvaccinated infants, children and older people.

    Pasquale Monaco says he’s debating whether to keep renting out the two-bedroom basement apartment of the Montreal building he owns after it was flooded — again — in August, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby sent four feet of water rushing into the space.

    Childhood sleep issues may raise suicide risk, study finds

    If your child sometimes has trouble sleeping, it may be easy to chalk it up to a phase they will grow out of one day. But a new study suggests possible serious consequences for this line of thought — such as a higher risk for suicidal ideation or attempts when they are older.

    Canada

    • The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

    • A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.

    • Pasquale Monaco says he’s debating whether to keep renting out the two-bedroom basement apartment of the Montreal building he owns after it was flooded — again — in August, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby sent four feet of water rushing into the space.

    • Infectious disease physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch says whooping cough is most risky for unvaccinated infants, children and older people.

    • The London Police Service (LPS) is currently investigating a suspicious death in the east end.

    • One person has died following a shooting in Scarborough late last night.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    • Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Saturday.

    • Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks.

    • Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

    Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

    An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    • A six-year-old girl who was reported missing in northern B.C. earlier this week remains unaccounted for, and "significant resources from across the province" have joined in the search, police said Saturday.

    • Volunteers and staff members gathered along Vancouver’s Stanley Park Seawall Saturday to pick up litter as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day.

    • A heritage home in Vancouver suffered "extensive damage" in a fire that broke out late Saturday morning, according to firefighters.

    • One person has died following a shooting in Scarborough late last night.

    • A man who was critically injured in an eight-vehicle pileup in Milton Friday has died of his injuries in hospital.

    • Police are looking for witnesses after one man was injured in a shooting outside of a sports bar in Hamilton Saturday night.

    • Milla White from Cochrane literally drew her way into a meeting with former boxer and actor Mickey Rourke.

    • The water coming from your taps might be a bit murky Saturday, but Calgary remains on schedule to end all water restrictions on Sunday.

    • A potential move to LeBreton Flats for the Ottawa Senators is still years away, but questions and concerns are already being raised about what to do with the Canadian Tire Centre.

    • The Taste of Wellington 2024 wraps up Saturday in Ottawa.

    • A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

    • Pasquale Monaco says he’s debating whether to keep renting out the two-bedroom basement apartment of the Montreal building he owns after it was flooded — again — in August, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby sent four feet of water rushing into the space.

    • A 19-year-old man is in critical condition after being stabbed in Montreal on Saturday.

    • Provincial police (SQ) is investigating the discovery of an unresponsive body in Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, in the Lanaudière region.

    • A proposal for additional parking to accommodate upgrades at the Irving Pulp & Paper Mill in Saint John, N.B., would add an estimated 500 parking spots at Wolastoq Park.

    • A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.

    • Childhood sleep issues may raise suicide risk, study finds

      If your child sometimes has trouble sleeping, it may be easy to chalk it up to a phase they will grow out of one day. But a new study suggests possible serious consequences for this line of thought — such as a higher risk for suicidal ideation or attempts when they are older.

    • The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

    • A herd of dogs paid visit to patients and residents at Riverview Health Centre during an annual event that lifts spirits and wags tails.

    • While slang may come and go, experts say the phenomenon behind them, which constantly churns out brand-new bon mots, is as old as language itself.

    • Fire officials are investigating after a fire completely destroyed the community fridge in the Cathedral neighborhood.

    • The last two months after losing her daughter Bella have been extremely difficult for Kyla Thomson.

    • Regina police arrested three youths in connection to a bear mace incident at a Regina high school on Friday.

    • The Cambridge Professional Fire Fighters’ Association held their annual Muscular Dystrophy Boot Drive on Saturday.

    • Protests were held in front of Kitchener City Hall on Friday, both for and against LGBTQ2S+ inclusive education and queer rights in schools.

    • Police said the pedestrian, a 52-year-old man, was taken to an out-of-region hospital with life-threatening injuries and the driver of the vehicle failed to remain at the scene.

    • The 75-year-old building, formerly the Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce building, was relocated to the Parks Canada compound on the edge of the townsite.

    • Saskatchewan RCMP major crimes unit is investigating after a man’s body was found on Sweetgrass First Nation.

    • Motors were roaring, and tires were spinning as Saskatoon's biggest names in motocross gathered together for the 50-year anniversary of the club's founding on Saturday.

    • The identity of a motorcyclist has been revealed by loved ones on social media following Friday’s fatal south end collision in London. The London Police Service has not released anything regarding the driver’s identity.

    • Huron County OPP are investigating a serious single vehicle collision that took place west of Seaforth.

    • A motorcyclist has died following a serious collision that took place in London’s south end on Friday afternoon.

    • The Barrie Skateboard Association (BSA) hosted a unique competition at the City's Skate Park on Saturday to celebrate its 25th anniversary, which showcased the park's importance and the growth of skateboarding in the region.

    • Police located and arrested a male suspect Saturday evening in relation to an alleged assault incident that occurred earlier this week in Gooderham.

    • A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.

    • video

      video

      The Amherstburg Uncommon Festival is living up to its name with the addition of a drone light show — a first for Essex County.

    • The Amherstburg Freedom Museum is celebrating a year of festivities in anticipation of its 50th anniversary in 2025.

    • The St. Clair College golf teams were successful at the Niagara Knights Invitational tournament on Friday.

    • A man who was found dead behind a curling rink in Nanaimo, B.C., earlier this month was the victim of a homicide, police confirmed.

    • A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

    • A six-year-old girl who was reported missing in northern B.C. earlier this week remains unaccounted for, and "significant resources from across the province" have joined in the search, police said Saturday.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • Despite the heavy rain, plenty of muscle turned up for United Way’s annual Pull the Bus fundraiser in Lethbridge Friday.

    • Lethbridge County has rescinded its fire restriction as a result of the recent cool, wet weathr.

    • The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

    • A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

    • Following an outbreak of COVID-19 on its continuing care floor and just ahead of the flu season, St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Elliot Lake has opted to re-introduce a universal masking policy until further notice.

    • A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹´«Ã½