Manitoba's main political parties have now all lined up candidates for a byelection set for June 18 in the Tuxedo constituency in Winnipeg.

The seat has been vacant since former premier Heather Stefanson resigned last month.

The Progressive Conservatives nominated lawyer Lawrence Pinsky at a meeting Thursday night, over two other candidates in a contested race.

The New Democrats earlier nominated Carla Compton, a registered nurse who ran for the seat in 2019 and finished in third place.

The Liberals are putting up Jamie Pfau, a foster parent advocate, and Green Party Leader Janine Gibson will carry her party's banner in the race. [...]

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

Industrial discharge from a paper mill in northern Ontario is exacerbating mercury contamination in a river system near a First Nation that has been plagued with mercury poisoning for decades, a new study suggests. While the wastewater from the Dryden, Ont., mill doesn't contain mercury, the sulphate and organic matter in it contribute to the elevated production of methylmercury in the Wabigoon River, researchers from the University of Western Ontario said Thursday. The levels of methylmercury -- the most toxic form of mercury -- in the river's fish may be twice as high as they would be without the mill discharge, they said.

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The federal Liberals and NDP say conservative politicians are displaying a pattern of attacks against Speakers' independence, an allegation the Conservatives in Ottawa strongly deny.

The accusation comes a day after the federal Conservatives tried and failed for the third time to get House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign over claims he is too partisan for the role.

Their attempts are designed to intimidate and delay House work, government House leader Steven MacKinnon said.

"The fact is that this culture of intimidating the chair is something we have seen in other legislatures and I think Canadians are rightly horrified by it," he said.

His NDP counterpart Peter Julian said there's a "disturbing undercurrent" in Ottawa and in Saskatchewan among conservatives who are attacking independent institutions, and their latest target is Speakers.

Julian drew a connection to Saskatchewan by linking Jeremy Harrison, former Saskatchewan Party House leader, to federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. [...]

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @vague-humanoid

ONTARIO NDP's TikTok is amazing! I recommend everyone check it out even if you don't live in Ontario. It looks silly because it's catering to a younger audience, but the use of memes is a great way to get people to talk about important topics and it's working! This is what we were lacking before.

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Some Manitoba landlords may have a harder time raising rents above inflation and could be ordered to phase-in increases over years if a bill introduced Thursday by the Manitoba government becomes law.

The bill would set down conditions for landlords who want to raise rents above the annual provincial guideline, which is tied to inflation. Currently, landlords can apply to a residential tenancies director for a higher rent increase for any reason and make their argument.

The bill would limit such applications to cases where landlords face a sharp rise in taxes, utilities and security costs, or where they invest in capital projects such as plumbing and heating.

“It’s just to ensure that those applications are made for significant capital projects, significant expenses to landlords, and that folks aren’t being charged above-guideline rent increases because there’s new paint,” Lisa Naylor, the minister for consumer protection and government services, said. [...]

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

Re: top surgery and BMI in Ontario, (NOTE: I use BMI numbers in this message) the Women's Health College in Toronto is the only provider I'm aware of with no BMI limit. I can't speak personally to the rest of the experience there as I'm just on the waitlist (2 year wait). I strongly advise fellow fat people to do their own research and advocacy. My access was delayed by more than a year b/c my referrer sent me to the McLean clinic (limit of 35, which I found out in a really horrible intake appointment) and then to GRS Montreal (limit of 40) after I had told my referrer my concerns as a fat person and that I was relying on them to help me navigate BMI limits because I don't monitor my weight due to an ED history.

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Alberta's police watchdog has determined the amount of force used by RCMP officers in the shooting death on Highway 2 near Leduc of an armed man in May 2020 was justified, with its report into the incident saying there are no "reasonable grounds to believe an offence was committed."

The 27-year-old man and an RCMP officer were injured in the shooting, with the man dying at the scene.

Matthew Block, the assistant executive director of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), said in the report the agency concluded the five officers' reactions to the man, when he got out of his car, "were reasonable" as they had a duty to protect others from an "immediate and lethal threat." [...]

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @abpoli

there was a meeting on the 27th about S-210 bill and this is what the official Parliament site summarizes:

“It was agreed, — That the proposed budget in the amount of $15,000, for the study of Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material, be adopted.”

I’m not entirely sure if this is good or worse news but from what I understand, they’re just doing a study draft report on the bill which sounds better than blindly voting to further proceed because then they might finally realize how insanely flawed s210 is. If you know better, please tell us!

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wait, he is actually the MP for my Alberta area. which really just makes the whole thing even more ridiculous.

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i got one of those flyers from my Alberta MLA and it was all "blah blah blah housing shortage blah blah price of rent crisis blah blah blame the Federal Liberals" and i'm just.. housing and rent prices are Provincial Government Responsibilities, aren't they?

They are.

The Federal Government can do some things related to housing and affordability but most of it is just giving the provinces money so that they can actually do their job. The provinces are in charge of what gets built and even policies that landlords have to abide by.

i emailed my mp about bill S-210 and he essentially responded "i appreciate your concern but im gonna vote for it anyway lmao"

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Since we're talking about trans health care in Alberta, I have a question for Ontario too: A friend of mine has been repeatedly turned down for top surgery because their BMI exceeds a certain cut-off. Does anyone have info about surgeons in Ontario who will do top surgery on people with higher BMI's? Thanks!

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Decades after being punished in a residential school for speaking his own language, Sol Mamakwa will hold the powerful to account at Ontario's legislature in the very same language past governments tried to bury. On Tuesday, Mamakwa, the only First Nation legislator at Queen's Park, will rise in the legislative chamber — with his mother, sister, brothers, friends and elders watching from the gallery — and ask a question in Anishininiimowin, known in English as Oji-Cree. For the first time in its history, the Ontario legislature will allow, interpret and transcribe a language other than English and French. It will also be a birthday gift to his mom, Kezia Mamakwa, who turns 79 that day, and a nod to his late father, Jerry Mamakwa. "Language is nationhood, language is identity, language is where history comes from and language is me and my people," Sol Mamakwa, a 53-year-old NDP legislator, said in an interview. "It's important because there's so many of us who are losing our languages. I think it's a step toward reconciliation and a step toward reviving our languages."

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

could you reblog the glad day posts please? i'm looking but i can't find them. tumblr search function isn't helping :/

Here are the links:

Our version of Americas KOSA bill is here.... contact your MP's y'all

Pilots at WestJet's regional carrier could be going on strike as soon as Saturday. The Air Line Pilots Association says WestJet Encore pilots have issued a 72-hour strike notice to management and the government. The union says some progress has been made after two weeks of bargaining following the pilots' rejection of a tentative agreement earlier this month, but the sides remain divided on key issues. Carin Kenny, who heads the union's WestJet Encore contingent, has said its workers are among the lowest-paid regional pilots in Canada.

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

Some Manitoba landlords may have a harder time raising rents above inflation and could be ordered to phase in increases over years if a bill introduced Thursday by the Manitoba government becomes law. The bill would set down conditions for landlords who want to raise rents above the annual provincial guideline, which is tied to inflation. Currently, landlords can apply to a residential tenancies director for a higher rent increase for any reason and make their argument. The bill would limit such applications to cases where landlords face a sharp rise in taxes, utilities and security costs, or where they invest in capital projects such as plumbing and heating. "It's just to ensure that those applications are made for significant capital projects, significant expenses to landlords, and that folks aren't being charged above-guideline rent increases because there's new paint," Lisa Naylor, the minister for consumer protection and government services, said.

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland