Tag: the

CORRIERE CANADESE / Incendi in BC e NWT, è ancora emergenza

TORONTO – La lotta agli incendi, che stanno mettendo in ginocchio British Columbia e Northwest Territories, non conosce pause. I vigili del fuoco continuano a combattere una serie di roghi significativi nel sud della British Columbia. Secondo il BC Wildfire Service sono 325 i pompieri dispiegati nell’incendio di Bush Creek East nella regione di Shuswap, mentre il fumo pesante nell’area continua a impedire l’uso di bombardieri ad ala fissa per combattere il rogo… Read More in Corriere Canadese >>> 

“Storm” on the Greenbelt: now investigated by the RCMP

TORONTO – Over the past twenty-four hours, the Greenbelt case has come back into the spotlight: first the resignation of Ryan Amato, chief of staff to the Ontario housing minister, then the decision of the OPP (the Provincial Police of Ontario) to send the file relating to the Greenbelt to the RCMP and, finally, the opening of an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) itself which will now “flea” the project relating to the management of the green belt (Greenbelt) of Ontario by the government led by Doug Ford whose intentions are to build new homes where until now it was impossible to do so due to the rules protecting certain green areas (those, in fact, included in the Greenbelt ).  (more…)

Is BRICS touting to shift the world order from west?

TORONTO – When the Chinese President, Xi Jinping last visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in March 2023, these two authoritarian strongmen reaffirmed their strategic alignment against the United States of America and touted their vision for a new world order no longer dominated by the West. Therefore, obviously the Chinese leader will bolster Beijing’s influence among developing and emerging nations in the ensuing BRICS (an economic alliance, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Johannesburg’s financial district of Sandton, South Africa, since his ties with the United States remain deeply strained and economic troubles bubble up at home. 

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This is what the new Ontario Place will look like

TORONTO – This is what the new Ontario Place will look like. The Austrian resort company ‘Therme’, which signed a long-term lease agreement with the Province of Ontario earlier this year ahead of the construction of the new ‘spa’, announced updated plans today, also to respond to public criticism of the company’s original plans. Updated projects that therefore incorporate the feedback received from public meetings and the various improvement proposals that have arrived in recent months from many quarters. 

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Covid, the risk of contagion increases: Sos Autumn

TORONTO – Covid-19 infections could slowly start to rise again in Canada: this is what emerges from new data from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC): there are signs of continued fluctuations in some indicators of COVID-19 activity after a long period of gradual decline, the agency’s online epidemiological update reported on Tuesday. This could be an early sign of increased activity, an activity that is still low to moderate in the provinces and territories, the update specifies. But Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, points out that cases of Covid-19 are also on the rise in the United States and in other parts of the world, as other experts have already noted a few days ago. 

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Public Education in the cross hairs

TORONTO – With the number of immigrants increasing yearly, it would appear that Canada is in ever-increasing need to establish an ethic, an identity to which all newcomers can [eventually] define as their own. The task for integrating those new residents and future citizens is left largely to the provincial authorities and their creature jurisdictions – the local school boards. Catholic boards have an autonomous authority in the constitution although they too pay service to the Provincial authority over the secular curriculum. 

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Panfilo Colonico, the Italian-Canadian chef kidnapped in Ecuador, is free: “I’m fine”

TORONTO – Panfilo Colonico, the 49-year-old chef born in Toronto, originally from Sulmona (L’Aquila, Italy) and kidnapped in Ecuador a week ago, has been freed. “I’m fine and the police are listening to me. It wasn’t a movie”, were the first words of “Benny the Italian”, well known in Ecuador where he had success with the restaurant “Il Sabore Mio” which opened some time ago in Guayaquil, in the Province of Guayas.  (more…)

The mystery of the kidnapping of ‘Benny the Italian’ in Ecuador also involves Canada

TORONTO – The disappearance of Panfilo Colonico, the Italian-Canadian kidnapped on Friday afternoon by an alleged “commando” from his restaurant in Ecuador and disappeared into thin air is a real “whodunit”. The 49-year-old man was taken by two people, armed and dressed as policemen, with machine guns in hand and with two accomplices waiting for them outside the restaurant “Il Sabore Mio” in Guayaquil, in the Province of Guayas, in Ecuador.  (more…)

House of Commons, summer break unanimous decision: the “interferences” can wait

TORONTO – It’s summer time: the call of barbecues (or, for the lucky ones, Caribbean beaches) is too strong and even “Chinese interference” can wait. Thus, on Wednesday, as if nothing had happened, all the parties (including those of the opposition, “hard and pure” until the day before yesterday) agreed to close the doors of the House of Commons starting next Wednesday: we’ll talk about it again in September.  (more…)

Tourism in crisis, business collapses for companies but the federal government doesn’t care

TORONTO – Tourism to Canada is in crisis: this was declared by the head of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, according to which – as reported by Global News – companies in the sector are struggling to stay afloat and not drown in a sea of ​​debt caused by the shortage of foreign visitors. A concern confirmed by a survey conducted between April and May by Nanos – online, on a sample of 149 accountants of tourism companies – according to which about 45% of operators could close within three years, unless the government intervenes to adjust the terms of the loans. 

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Berlusconi, last act of a life always at the top

MILAN – Silvio Berlusconi’s coffin traveled the 33 kilometers that separate Villa San Martino in Arcore and Piazza Duomo in Milan between two wings of the crowd that welcomed the passage of “The Knight” as one does with cycling champions, with applause and placards. In the central square of Milan, there were at least ten thousand people waiting for him, half of those estimated due to the restrictions decided at the last moment for security reasons.  (more…)

All of Canada in the grip of flames and smoke. But France sends aid only to Quebec

TORONTO – An unprecedented emergency. Canada could see a “record” level of burnt area this year: nine provinces and territories are already currently battling wildfires that have forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people across the country since early May, government officials said today, showing wildfire risks are set to rise this month and remain “unusually high” throughout the summer in Canada.  (more…)

Interferences, the political theater is staged in the Chamber

TORONTO – The “political theater” on foreign interference continues on the stage of the Canadian House of Commons. Main interpreters, the leader of the NDP Jagmeet Singh and the special rapporteur David Johnston commissioned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (director) to evaluate whether or not it was the case to open a public inquiry into the pressure that China would have exerted on some Canadian politicians to influence the country’s politics. 

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Singh prefers to avoid the elections. And he saves Trudeau government

TORONTO – The NDP leader Jagmeet Singh keeps two things going at the same time: on the one hand, he presents a motion to invite David Johnston (special rapporteur on foreign interference in Canada, appointed by Justin Trudeau) to step aside, and to ask for a public inquiry (denied first by Trudeau and then by Johnston himself); on the other, he reiterated his unconditional support for the minority government of the Liberals. “Before sending Canadians to the polls, their confidence in the electoral process must be restored”, is Singh’s justification.  (more…)

Foreign interference on Canada, the NDP “disavows” the government

TORONTO – There is a limit to it: Jagmeet Singh, leader of the NDP and “crutch” of the minority government led by Justin Trudeau, must have thought that when he decided to present a motion inviting the special rapporteur on Chinese interference, David Johnston, a trusted man of the Prime Minister, to “step aside” after the decision not to recommend the opening of a public inquiry into Beijing’s influence on Canadian politics. (more…)

Toronto mayoral by-election, Corriere Canadese interviews Anthony Perruzza: “No Torontonians’ money anymore to the Province”

Today, Corriere Canadese is publishing another interview on the contending candidates seeking election as Mayor of Toronto. 102 individuals have registered with the Elections Office at City Hall, and the Italian newspaper will not be able to give all of them the coverage they might like, so it proposes, but will not be limited to, interviewing interested candidates whom “the polls” suggest may garner at least 4% of the votes.

TORONTO – A smart city, with simple solutions for big problems. But, first of all, no Torontonians’ money anymore to the Province: “With me as a Mayor, the 2.2 billion dollars we give yearly to the Province will stay here, in Toronto. I’m not giving all that money to the Province anymore”. 

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The great rush: 102 candidates to become Toronto’s next mayor

TORONTO – There is no doubt: Toronto voters will be spoiled for choice on June 26 when they’ll go to the polls to choose their city’s next mayor. The nominations for the extraordinary by-election to choose a new mayor, following the resignation of John Tory, officially closed at 2pm on Friday and according to the City’s website there are 102 registered candidates: current and former city councilors, former parliamentarians and deputies, civic activists, school administrators but also many ordinary people who probably just want to “see the effect” having their name on the ballot paper. A card that promises to be mileage, given the number of names it will contain.  (more…)

Toronto mayoral by-election, Corriere Canadese interviews Anthony Furey: “I will stand up for the people of Toronto”

Today, Corriere Canadese is publishing its second interview on the contending candidates seeking election as Mayor of Toronto. As yesterday, 80 individuals have registered with the Elections Office at City Hall. Qualified candidates needed to provide at a minimum: 1. Proof of Canadian citizenship 2. Proof of a residence or business in Toronto 3. Endorsement from at least 25 other fellow citizens 4. $200.00.

When the registration process closes on May 12, Corriere Canadese will publish a list of those who still allow their name to stand. In the meantime, the Italian newspaper proposes, but will not be limited to, interviewing interested candidates whom “the polls” suggest may garner at least 4% of the votes. In the last election, only 29% of eligible voters cast a ballot. 

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23 thousand dollars more in the pockets of the “feds”

TORONTO – An average of 23,000 more dollars in the pockets of federal public employees by the end of the agreement (therefore by 2024) which ended the strike of over 155,000 workers in recent days: a clear victory for PSAC (Public Service Alliance of Canada), the union that cornered the federal government, wresting excellent contractual conditions from the Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency for its members. (more…)

Chong: “The government ignores Chinese threats”

TORONTO – The Canadian federal government ignores Chinese threats and “stalls” so as not to compromise its – economic – interests with China. This, in summary, is the thought of Conservative MP Michael Chong, who denounced a Chinese campaign against him and his family in Hong Kong, urging the Canadian government to “take decisive action”, starting with the expulsion of the Chinese diplomat in Toronto who was allegedly involved in the plot.  (more…)

CRA still on strike. Controversy over the deal with PSAC

TORONTO – The vast majority of PSAC federal civil servants have returned to work, but for some 35,000 unionized employees of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the mobilization continues: even today, workers remained on pickets (in the pic above, from Twitter – @Pattycoates), having not yet reached an agreement to the contract. The strike is leading to delays in processing tax and benefit returns, especially those submitted in paper format, as well as increased wait times at contact centres.  (more…)

“Feds”, there is an agreement: the strike is over (but not for CRA)

TORONTO – In many countries of the world, today – May 1st – was the Day of Workers. Not in Canada, where it falls on the first Monday in September (Labour Day). But, ironically, an agreement was reached just today between the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) – whose over 120,000 workers had been on strike since last April 19 – and the Treasury Board. However, the 35,000 employees of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) remain on strike: unlike other federal civil servants, CRA’s workers have not yet reached an agreement with the government. (more…)

“Federals” strike: many inconveniences, but the negotiations do not go ahead

TORONTO – The weight of the hardships increases. The strike by federal civil servants – which shows no signs of ending – is disrupting services across the country, starting with the one relating to passports. “My best advice to Canadians is not to apply for the document at this time because it simply won’t be processed,” said Karina Gould, minister for families, children and social development. “So if you needed that document, they wouldn’t be able to provide it until after the strike action is over,” the minister said in an interview with Eric Sorensen on ‘The West Block Sunday’ broadcast on Global News (more…)

“Universal Echoes”: a new album by Kuné. The world in a (global) orchestra, tacklin’ climate change with music

TORONTO – Kuné means “Together” in Esperanto, the language created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof in 1887, who intended to create the universal language for international communication. So, what better word (and language) to name an orchestra made up of elements from every corner of the world? 

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Canada: people trudge, the Prime Minister takes luxury vacations

TORONTO – Ordinary Canadians struggle to make ends meet, amid skyrocketing prices, impossible rents, inflation and interest rates at the highest levels. And what does the Prime Minister do? “Set an example”, spending about 160,000 public dollars – between security and costs of personnel who have to move in the event of a trip by a PM – for a week-long family vacation in Jamaica during the winter, in a luxurious estate (“Prospect Villas”) belonging to a wealthy family friend, Peter Green, who two years ago also made a substantial donation to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. (more…)

Lives shattered by Canada’s immigration laws: the tragedy of Iordache family

AKWESASNE MOHAWK – The children, aged 1 and 2, both had Canadian passports and were baptized at the Romanian Orthodox Church of All Saints in Scarborough in June last year. The father, 28, worked in construction and cleaning and with his wife – the same age, both in Toronto since 2018 – frequented the parish community. But it wasn’t enough to stay in “welcoming” Canada, which expelled them. And they, in a desperate attempt to reach the United States to try to build a future for themselves, drowned in the St. Lawrence River. 

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Cutting costs or spending more? What Canadians think about the budget

TORONTO – Canadians divided over public spending: what should the federal government focus on in the coming years? On a balanced budget or on aid for families and the economy? The Angus Reid Institute has tried to answer these questions with a survey, starting from a fact: after unprecedented spending during the pandemic, Canada has entered a phase of general crisis that borders on recession, with families in difficulty due to the rising cost of living, so much so that the federal government no longer foresees – as in the past – a balanced budget by 2028, but a deficit of 14 billion dollars in that same year.  (more…)

The Pope: “Migrants treated like numbers”. The hug to the mother who lost her daughter

VATICAN CITY – “Today we ask for this grace: to know how to love Jesus forsaken and to know how to love Jesus in every one who is abandoned”. Strong words, with a clear reference to migrants, those pronounced today by Pope Francis in the homily of the Palm Sunday Mass in Vatican. A function that saw the Pope once again the protagonist, after the hospitalization that had worried the faithful from all over the world.  (more…)

YCDSB “woke”, Catholic parent censured by the Board: here’s the speech she won’t be allowed to read

TORONTO – There is chaos at the York Catholic District School Board, where a real tug of war is underway between parents who do not want their children – still at an early age – to be subjected, “under the guise of inclusiveness”, to pressure on sexual orientations and the Board itself which, with trustees and teaching staff, goes in the exact opposite direction and wants to support initiatives in favor of the LGBTQ+ community. In the meeting of 28 February, two parents, Carlo Ravenna and Sheree Di Vittorio, expressed their concerns on the matter (“our children have the right to their innocence”, they said) and a climate of tension was created which culminated with the arrival of the police. Another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, with four speeches (two for each “party”): Sheree herself had asked to be able to speak but was denied this possibility. Corriere Canadese asked her to send to the editorial office the speech she would have read and it will be published in tomorrow’s printed edition of the Italian newspaper. Here below is the speech in its entirety. 

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1,200 attended the installation ceremony of the new Archbishop of Toronto, Frank Leo

TORONTO – About 1,200 people attended the installation ceremony of the new Archbishop of Toronto, Frank Leo, in Saint Michael’s Cathedral in the city center on Saturday, about six weeks after the formal appointment by Pope Francis: Leo succeeds thus officially to Cardinal Thomas Collins, who tendered his resignation on his 75th birthday in January 2022 in accordance with a rule stipulating that all bishops must resign when they reach that age.

Leo said his appointment as Archbishop of Toronto was “a surprise, but a welcome one. I look forward to giving the rest of my life as a spiritual leader here from a symbolic and spiritual perspective. When you become a Bishop, you receive a ring and it is a spousal relationship”, Leo told Omni News. The Archbishop himself then underlined, among other things, the importance of the role played by Catholic schools, which he defined as “a gift”.

During his speech, Leo spoke also in Italian, to thank “the members of my family present here, as well as to my family members, friends, parishioners and faithful of the Italian community of Montreal who came here and then to those who follow us through social media”. And then again, speaking of the times of his enrollment in the seminary in Montreal, he recalled – also in Italian – the words addressed to him by Father Luigi Testa who, complimenting him on his choice, said to him: “There is nothing more better than giving your youth to the Lord”. “I can still hear him saying those words in Italian” said a very moved Leo.

Leo also emphasized his italian roots when he mentioned that he is “the son of Italian immigrants from the old country where respect, sacrifice, hard work, family, faith, and taking care of one another were and remain vital”.  

Born in Montreal in 1971 to Italian immigrant parents (Francesco Leo and Rosa Valente), Leo entered the Grand Seminary of Montreal in 1990 and was ordained a priest for service to the city’s archdiocese in 1996. Leo has held various parish assignments in Montréal until 2006 when he accepted the invitation to enroll in the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome and subsequently in the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See (2006-2012), serving in various Apostolic Nunciatures around the world. In January 2012 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Chaplain of His Holiness giving him the title of Monsignor. Upon his return to Canada, Archbishop Leo joined the formation team of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal, teaching theology and philosophy and providing spiritual direction, formation and accompaniment to candidates for the priesthood. In the fall of 2015 he was appointed secretary general of the Canadian Episcopal Conference, a mandate which ended in the fall of 2021. Since 1 February 2022, Monsignor Leo has been appointed vicar general and moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Montreal. On July 16, 2022, Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Montreal. His consecration as bishop took place on September 12, 2022. He is now archbishop of Toronto.

His curriculum of studies is impressive: in addition to his in-depth university studies in Canon Law (Lateran University), Diplomacy and International Law, Archbishop Leo is also specialized in Systematic Theology, Mariology, Philosophy Classical Studies and Spiritual Direction. He has taught not only in Canada but also in Australia and the USA and speaks four languages: Italian, Spanish, English and French.

In the pics above: the new Archbishop of Toronto, Frank Leo, in Saint Michael’s Cathedral; in the pic below, Leo with Giordano Basilio (Publisher of the Italian newspaper “Cittadino Canadese”) and wife; at the bottom, the video of the ceremony  

 

“Bernini’s Elephant”, a noir set in beautiful Italy: interview with the author Jane Callen

VANCOUVER – A noir story, set in Italy, written by a Canadian in love with the “Belpaese”: it’s called “Bernini’s Elephant” and it’s the debut novel by Jane Callen, a writer who lives in Vancouver but travels to Italy “every time the fate allows”. The beautiful country and its people are in fact often present in the writings of Jane, author so far of stories published in Grain Magazine, Montreal Writes, Spadina Literary Review, CV7 Short Fiction Anthology Series and White Wall Review, as well as essays published in Accenti Magazine (excerpts of her writings are at www.janecallen.ca).  (more…)

Chinese interference, Dong (in tears) leaves the Liberals

TORONTO – Han Dong has thrown in the towel. The deputy of Chinese origin who fell into the storm of “interference” announced his resignation from the Liberals, today, in tears (in the pic above): he will therefore sit in the House of Commons as an independent deputy. “I will continue to serve the residents of Don Valley North (in Toronto, where he was elected, ed.) as an independent member of this House. I am taking these extraordinary steps because sitting on the government caucus is a privilege and my presence could be seen as a conflict” Dong said, adding that he will work to clear his name in the meantime. 

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Chinese interference in Canada: US on alert since the 1990s

TORONTO – The United States has conducted a covert investigation into national security threats posed by Chinese “operations” overseas, which has led to alarming conclusions about Canada, according to a new book written by a former RCMP and US government official  military intelligence, Scott McGregor, together with investigative journalist Ina Mitchell, entitled “The Mosaic Effect: How the Chinese Communist Party Started a Hybrid War in America’s Backyard” (in the pic above, the cover of the book).  (more…)

The odyssey of international students in Canada: trained, hired, then sent back home

TORONTO – A double Master’s, one in Italy after a three-year degree in one of the most prestigious Italian universities and a second one in Canada. Then, a permanent job in Toronto. But that’s not enough. Also, she, like many other young Italians and Europeans, will have to return to Italy because it seems impossible to obtain a visa extension (not to mention the “mirage” better known by the name of Permanent Residence: the PR). 

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Antartide, il nostro futuro dipende da lui: da oggi una mostra-manifesto a Toronto

TORONTO – Una mostra per evidenziare il più possibile il fondamentale ruolo dell’Antartide, un continente del quale non si parla mai ma dal quale potrebbe dipendere il futuro dell’umanità, visto che nasconde risorse minerarie che potrebbero rivelarsi irresistibili in un mondo con crescita demografica sempre crescente ed è depositario di dati scientifici cruciali per le future politiche ambientali. L’exhibition inizierà oggi, con un opening previsto in orario 6.30-8pm, all’Architecture and Design Gallery, Daniels Building, 1 Spadina Crescent, in Toronto. Proseguirà poi fino a luglio, nei giorni feriali in orario 9am-5pm, con un Doors Open Weekend, il 27 e 28 maggio in orario 10am-5pm… Read More in Corriere Canadese >>> 

Chinese interference, Poilievre: “What does the prime minister have to hide?”

TORONTO – The Liberal government’s inaction over (alleged) electoral meddling by China has some Canadian voters now wondering whether the results of the recent federal election can be trusted. That’s what Pierre Poilievre thinks: according to the leader of the Conservatives, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has “inspired many suspicions” due to his refusal to answer detailed questions about China’s role in the 2019 and 2021 electoral campaigns.  (more…)

Our future depends on Antarctica: from tomorrow an exhibition-manifesto in Toronto

TORONTO – An exhibition to highlight as much as possible the fundamental role of Antarctica, a continent that is never talked about but on which the future of humanity could depend, given that it conceals mineral resources that might prove irresistible in a world with ever-increasing population growth and also scientific data crucial to inform future environmental policies.  (more…)

Il breif di CSIS: “Sicurezza a rischio per i cambiamenti climatici” Spariranno intere aree in B.C. e nelle province atlantiche

TORONTO – Il servizio di spionaggio canadese avverte che il cambiamento climatico rappresenta una minaccia profonda e continua per la sicurezza e la prosperità nazionale, compresa la possibile perdita di parti della British Columbia e delle province atlantiche a causa dell’innalzamento del livello del mare… Read More in Corriere Canadese >>> 

China interference on Canadian elections, Trudeau: ‘Those who attack the Chinese are racists’

TORONTO – He is isolated and goes on the attack: after everyone – political analysts, opposition figures and even allies like NDP leader Jagmeet Singh – advised him to open a commission of public inquiry into the (alleged) interference of the China on the Canadian federal elections, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes his own way and, in defending the liberal Chinese deputy who fell into the storm, accuses of racism those who support this hypothesis and spares no “picks” against the CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, “guilty” of having warned the government of the possibility of Chinese infiltration in Canadian politics. (more…)

Canada, the mad rush of food prices continues

TORONTO – Inflation continues to decline, albeit slightly (from 6.3% in December 2022 to 5.9% in January 2023), but the bull market in food shows no signs of slowing down. It was already known – just go shopping to find out – but now the numbers of the latest report by Statistics Canada confirm it: in January, the prices of food products recorded a year-on-year increase of 11.4%, compared to 11% the previous month. And since last August, the food inflation rate has been over 10%.  (more…)

“Project Arrow” in the spotlight at the Canadian International AutoShow

TORONTO – An exceptional guest will open the Media Day of the Canadian International AutoShow 2023: the absolute protagonist will be the Project Arrow electric vehicle, the result of the collaboration started between over fifty partners led by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) with the goal of responding to the Canadian government’s “Net Zero by 2050” challenge. 

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Doug Ford Wins the Lottery, Again

TORONTO – I never go to casinos [to gamble]. Doug Ford (in the pic, from his Twitter profile / @fordnation) must, at least on occasion. He wins constantly and someone else provides the risk capital: the Opposition Parties at Queen’s Park. The man (hope I am not offending any gender idealogues) walks around with horseshoes to spare. 

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He refused the vaccine: fired and without EI benefits

TORONTO – He refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and to undergo antigen testing for the virus and has been fired from his job in some hospitals in the GTA. Then he was also denied unemployment benefits, because he was “fired for misconduct”. It was useless for him to challenge this decision, because the Federal Court ruled against him, stating that the reason for his dismissal met the definition of “misconduct” of the EI (Employment Insurance) law. 

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Minimally-invasive cardiac surgery, the future is here. An event to support UofT and Dr. Bisleri’s innovative work

TORONTO – Avoiding open heart surgery, which involves risks and complications for the patient and raising costs for the healthcare system, is now possible thanks to minimally-invasive cardiac surgery: with the advances in technology and medical techniques, surgeons can now practice small incisions to reach the heart between the ribs, all without cutting the sternum, thus avoiding major blood loss, reducing the risk of infection and post-operative pain and allowing for a faster recovery of patients who spend less time in hospital and can return to their normal activities more quickly. 

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Healthcare funds, the premiers want the maximum increase

TORONTO – Canada’s 13 premiers say they “expect” to get the federal government to raise its health care funding ratio to 35%: the joint statement came on Monday, a week before the meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scheduled for February 7th. The premiers were clear: they want the result of that meeting to be an increase in Canada Health Transfer of about $28 billion from the current $45.2 billion.  (more…)

$ 38 billion promised and never spent: thus the government reduces deficit

OTTAWA – The federal government failed to spend $38 billion, last fiscal year, intended for promised programs and services, including broadband Internet, new military equipment, affordable housing, veterans support and services to the Natives. The “excuse” is that of delays and interruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the reality is that unspent funds have played an important role in lowering the deficit: in the year ending March 31, 2022, in fact, Canada ran a deficit of $90.2 billion, $23.6 billion less than budgeted for.  (more…)

From Philippines to Canada, “The Dark Side of Social Media”

TORONTO – In a third world country like the Philippines with so many poor people, rumour and gossip seem to be the national pastime. Texting (email) costs only one peso, a mere few cents Canadian.  Even if this is the Philippines, poverty has not stopped citizens from engaging in online chats, Facebook and Twitter. And they feel important for they all have something to say, for after all they are a part of a larger social group. 

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Money for healthcare, Trudeau meets the premiers

TORONTO – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with Canadian premiers in Ottawa on February 7 to conclude an agreement on health care financing: an announcement, made today by Trudeau himself, which comes after months and months of pressure from the premiers of all Canadian provinces and territories, which are facing serious difficulties in the management of public health facilities.  (more…)

Quebec, almost 5,000 irregular immigrants in one month. The story of Fritznel Richard

MONTREAL – 4,689 people entered Canada illegally through Roxham Road in Quebec last December, more than the number arrived at the “irregular border crossing” during the entirety of 2021. In fact, the number recorded in December 2022 it is the highest since August 2017, when 5,530 people entered. A total of 39,171 people entered the country illegally and then applied for asylum in 2022, more than double the 18,836 who entered via Roxham Road in 2017, the previous record year.  (more…)

Ford, first “face to face” with the Municipalities

TORONTO – The first real “face to face” between Prime Minister Doug Ford and Ontario’s municipal leaders will begin tomorrow with his speech at the general assembly of ROMA, the Rural Ontario Municipal Association: with him, Sylvia Jones (Deputy Premier and Minister for Health), Lisa Thompson (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) and Steve Clark (Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing).  (more…)

Bail, guarantee for the innocent

TORONTO – Reforming Canada’s “bail policy” to keep hardened offenders in jail will not only fail to reduce crime, but will increase the risk of innocent people being jailed, criminologists and experts argue, criticizing the conservative leader’s stance Pierre Poilievre, author of the call to change the “bail policy” after the case of 25-year-old Randall McKenzie, accused of the murder of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer Greg Pierzchala, killed in late December: McKenzie was free on bail and had failed to appear at the last court hearing where he was on trial for previous offences.  (more…)

The wealth of billionaires Canadians increased by 51%. And the others…

TORONTO – The majority of the world’s wealth is in the hands of 1% of the population. A disconcerting figure, what emerges from the latest report by Oxfam, published in conjunction with the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland, according to which in the last two years the 1% of the richest people have accumulated almost two thirds of all the new wealth created in the world.  (more…)

Italy: 1,600 kilometers by train every day to go to work: “The rent is too expensive and I don’t want to lose my job”

NAPLES – She travels 1,600 kilometers a day by train to go to work and back home. Apparently it’s less expensive given the rental prices. These days, it is no exaggeration to define the worker Giuseppina Giuliano, a 29-year-old school worker, stoic: every day the Naples-Milan route (and back) is made by train because the city of the Madonnina, where she works as a janitor at the art school ” Boccioni” in piazzale Arduino, is too expensive and therefore, on balance, it is more advantageous to take the train and stay and live with her parents in Naples. (more…)

Goodbye to David Onley, champion of the disabled

TORONTO – He was the champion of the rights of disabled people and throughout his life he fought against ableism, that is, that particular racism towards people with disabilities. With him therefore goes a bulwark of those rights: former television journalist and twenty-eighth deputy premier of Ontario from 2007 to 2014, David C. Onley (in the pic above, from his Facebook page), died at the age of 72. (more…)

Many challenges ahead for the “three amigos”

TORONTO – Illegal immigration, protectionism, industry and commerce… there are many topics on the plate at the meeting between the so-called “Three Amigos”: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden and Canadian President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will meet during the next week for a trilateral summit in Mexico City and will discuss a series of hot topics, some burning ones such as the worsening of the migration crisis that Biden has to face on the border between the United States and Mexico and which, in some way, also involves Canada.  (more…)

Tens of thousands of faithful for a last farewell to Ratzinger: tomorrow the funeral presided by Pope Francis (with a precedent in 1802)

VATICAN CITY – Tomorrow is the day of last farewell to Benedetto XVI, Pope Emeritus Joseph Ratzinger, who passed away on December 31st: at 9.30am Italian time (3.30am in Ontario), the funeral will take place in St. Peter’s Square, presided over by Pope Francis who today, during the general audience, recalled Ratzinger as a “great teacher of catechesis” with “sharp and polite” thinking, then invoking his help to “rediscover in Christ the joy of believing and the hope of living”. Applause and choirs: ‘Benedetto santo subito’ (saint immediately), chanted some of the faithful present.  (more…)

Healthcare in shambles, new sos of the premiers to Justin Trudeau

TORONTO – Public health is on its knees, but the federal government continues to look the other way despite the continuous “sos” from the provincial premiers: the latest, in chronological order, last Friday, when the governors of the Canadian provinces presented a joint appeal to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking him to meet “urgently” to “find a deal” on health care funding ahead of the spring federal budget.  (more…)

Stronger powers to the Mayors, all against Doug Ford

TORONTO – More than half of Toronto’s City Council has signed a letter urging Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs Steve Clark to reconsider the “infamous” Bill 39 which gives John Tory “powers special” to speed up the construction of new housing: in particular, the “super-mayor” can govern with a third of the votes instead of a majority. A slap to democracy, according to the 15 councilors who signed the document.  (more…)

Recounts at TCDSB: here is the law, do what you want

TORONTO – The action, or non-action, of the school board has left him with no choice but to seek relief in the Court. Phil Horgan, legal counsel to trustee candidate Robert Pella, in Ward 1 of the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) issued a Notice of Application in Ontario Superior Court, together with reasons, for an order to recount of the ballots cast in the election held October 24. 

(more…)

“Trudeau, what is the truth about the China case?”

TORONTO – Justin Trudeau’s behavior in the China case “either it’s not honest or it’s not very bright. Which one is it?”: the question come from the opposition parties who consider the prime minister’s response to alleged Chinese interference in the 2019 federal elections insufficient and late. Interferences that were the reason for the clash between Trudeau himself and the Chinese president Xi Jinping at the G20 in Bali (in the pic above) and on which, then, two days ago, the prime minister declared that he had never received any official information from the Canadian intelligence. (more…)

Waiting times up to 45 hours to be visited at the hospitals in Ontario

TORONTO – In yesterday’s article, we wrote that during the month of September in Ontario the average waiting times for patients who arrive in the emergency room and need to be hospitalized reached 21.3 hours (data from Health Quality Ontario – HQO). If it seemed like a lot to you, when you read it, hold on tight: according to a report from Health Canada obtained by the liberal provincial parliamentarian Adil Shamji and released today, once patients are hospitalized, 90% of them have to wait another 45 hours to complete the visit.  (more…)

Chaos hospitals: more than 21 hours of waiting in the emergency room in Ontario and 17 in Alberta (with some exceptions)

TORONTO –  Yet another negative record for Ontario hospitals: the average waiting times for patients arriving in the emergency room and needing to be hospitalized reached 21.3 hours in September according to data collected by Health Quality Ontario (HQO ): a considerable increase compared to the already very long average waiting times recorded in August (20.7 hours) and July (20.8 hours).  (more…)

Premier Ford softens the tone: “I want to stop fighting with education workers”

TORONTO – It may seem strange but Doug Ford seems to have laid down the hatchet. “We want an agreement that is fair to students, fair to parents, fair to taxpayers, and fair to workers, particularly low-income workers.” Abandoning the strong tones and swaggering attitude of a few days ago, an almost conciliatory Ford during today’s press conference said that when negotiations with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) resume, the government will present “a better offer”. The Ontario premier declined to provide specific details about the government’s proposal, but said the offer is particularly good for workers with the lowest wages.” 

(more…)

Homes in Toronto: prices stable, but the market is at a standstill

 

TORONTO – The average price of a home in Toronto has remained virtually unchanged over the past two months: the market seemed to be on standby, due to a sharp drop in new listings. In fact, the latest data from the Toronto Region Real Estate Board (TRREB) shows that the average sale price across all property types was $ 1,089,428 in October, up from $ 1,086,762 in September. Prices remain down 5.7% from the same period last year, while October is the third consecutive month with little or no change in TRREB’s benchmark index.  (more…)

Lecce: “Negotiations? Only if you call off the strike”

TORONTO – While the government goes ahead to pass the Keeping Students in Schools Act as soon as possible, Education Minister Lecce uses an iron fist with the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Any counter-offer proposed to the government must include the cancellation of the strike scheduled for Friday. “Take the threat off the table and let’s talk about it – said Lecce at a press conference – we were very clear. We are ready to negotiate with those who wish to do so as long as Friday’s strike is called off. We will not accept a strike, neither this Friday nor on any other day.” 

(more…)

Ontario, more homes for everyone: but who will pay for the services?

TORONTO – The municipalities of Ontario fear that the new housing legislation adopted by the Province could unload excessive burdens on the municipalities themselves and on taxpayers. The bill presented Tuesday by Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, would, in fact, reduce and / or exempt from taxes that builders would have to pay in order to build.  (more…)

Bank of Canada, here’s the increase: interest rate at 3.75%

TORONTO – Said and done. Bank of Canada raised the interest rate by another 0.50, taking it from 3.25 to 3.75 percent. Since last March, the central bank has raised the reference rate six times, “with the aim of combating inflation and bringing it back to the 2% target”, as the central bank has always maintained. A goal that is far from being achieved, as the Bank of Canada admits in the statement published today on its website (here). (more…)

School in Ontario:
Impasse negotiations,
pressing of the CUPE

TORONTO – “We know that they are there to talk about what their next political decisions will be, we also know that in the end a strike can be avoided by coming to the negotiating table with a real proposal that respects workers and that respects families.” This was stated by the president of the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) Laura Walton, present at the protest that was held Saturday in front of the Toronto Congress Centre where a general meeting of the Progressive Conservative of Ontario was underway. 

(more…)

Politicization of the judicial system

York Catholic District School Board has had its internal difficulties. Recently, it came out at the wrong end of a Divisional Court decision regarding who can be a Catholic School trustee. More specifically, can non-Catholic students who apply for attendance at a Catholic school be student trustee. The basic issue is/was Board Policy 107 that says no they cannot

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Vaughan Elections, Danny De Santis: “Traffic, crime and the cost of living: we need a turning point”

TORONTO – Traffic reduction, fight against crime, aid to counter the increase in the cost of living. These are the pillars of the program platform presented by Danny De Santis (in the pic above), candidate for the office of Mayor of Vaughan in the next elections on October 24th. De Santis’ program starts from the assumption of a progressive “disconnection between politicians and the people”, and the consequent need to mend this relationship that has deteriorated in recent years in the city administration. 

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Ontario Schools: stalemate in negotiations, CUPE towards the strike

TORONTO – Another step towards the strike. That’s what the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has done, representing 55,000 Ontario education workers – including custodians, librarians and early childhood educators: since negotiations with the government fail to deliver anything, the union has requested the so-called “no board” report that could put them on a legal strike position in less than three weeks. 

(more…)

Violent car thefts in the GTA, police arrest two other suspects

TORONTO – Two suspects arrested while the hunt for two others continues. Today during a press conference at its headquarters the Toronto Police updated the residents of the city on the ongoing investigation into the growing wave of violent car thefts. Sometimes, drivers are even thrown out of their car. “One can only imagine the trauma of people whose vehicles are stolen by violent individuals waiting for them in parking lots, at traffic lights, even in the driveway of their home, who ambush them – said Inspector Rich Harris – with their actions they cause a heavy psychological impact on the victims”. 

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Canada, the gasp of Covid-19: “There is a new wave”

TORONTO – The pandemic is far from over: Covid-19 is growing again also in Canada, as in other countries: Italy, for example. And that “shouldn’t come as a surprise,” as McGill University genomic evolutionary biologist Jesse Shapiro put it. ““Even just based on waning immunity, the time since the average person had their last infection or their last booster, a wave was expected,” Shapiro told various news agencies.  (more…)

Ontario’s Science Table: “The healthcare system is falling down”

TORONTO – A finale shock: exiting the scene, the Covid-19 Science Advisory Table – set up to deal with the pandemic and dissolved in September – painted a gloomy picture of the state of health in Ontario. Unequal distribution of access to primary care throughout the province, lack of data and serious general communication problems, inability to contact family doctors, exhausted health personnel. A disaster, in short.  (more…)

In Ontario with the pandemic in 170,000 without a doctor

TORONTO – Over 170,000 Ontario residents, during the first six months of the Covid pandemic, found themselves without a family doctor. This is what emerges from a study, conducted by Unity Health Toronto and the non-profit research institute ICES. The number of family doctors who stopped working doubled between March and September 2020 compared to the same period the previous year. 

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She is Giorgia: from “the people’s daughter” to prime minister in pectore

ROME – Her political history begins thirty years ago in a Roman section of the Fronte della Gioventù (the Youth Front of the far-right party MSI) where she arrives and, simply, knocks on the door. It is 1992 and she, Giorgia Meloni, is 15 years old and attends the linguistic school “Amerigo Vespucci”. She does not come from any “lineage” of the Roman right but, like so many of the ones who embraced political militancy in those years, she comes from a particular family situation: her mother, Anna, is separated, and also has another daughter (Arianna), and she does the most varied jobs to get by. All three live in a 45 square meter two-room apartment, a spartan home, without a sofa and with a single table where they can do their homework, eat and rest their elbows to watch TV. Giorgia and Arianna sleep on a mobile bed, “one for the head and one for the feet”, located in the corridor.  (more…)

The theatre of the absurd in the YCDSB

TORONTO – According to the 2016 Census, York Region has the highest concentration of Canadians who self- identify as being of Italian origin, 38% in the city of Vaughan alone. Most of them send their children to the schools administered by the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB). The Board currently is governed by ten trustees evenly split between five trustees of Italian background and five who are not (including a member of a visible minority). 

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House of Commons: tribute to Queen. Blanchet: “The history between the Crown and the Quebec nation is both thorny and cruel”

TORONTO – “Last week, Canada lost the only sovereign that most of us have ever known”: these are the words Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (in the pic above) said, today, during the official commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away last week, in the House of Commons which met extraordinarily for the occasion. (more…)

Two out of three Canadians have caught Covid-19, the experts: “It’s a turning point”

TORONTO – It might sound like bad news, but it’s actually good: most Canadians have contracted Covid-19 since Omicron and its highly contagious sub-variants first appeared. Virtually two out of three Canadians have caught the coronavirus. And the news is good because, according to experts, this, added to the massive vaccinations made, generates broad immunity or, in any case, greater protection against the more serious forms of Covid.  (more…)

Arcobelli: “We will defend citizenship and the Italian language abroad”

TORONTO – This is not his first attempt at elected office. The first time was preparation round, he says. Given the complexities associated with the Italian electoral system, especially as it pertains to becoming elected as a representative of the Italian Diaspora in the Italian Parliament, many random factors have to fall into place to secure election, not least of which is the position of the party whose colours in the electoral premises of the electorate in Italy. 

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YCDSB, from the illogical to the absurd

TORONTO – Sometimes our educational, school board “planners” miss the obvious. Put aside the cultural, skills educational environment they are to establish and nurture, if one can – we are talking about children, after all. In the case of Pope Francis in Kleinburg, it is about four-year-olds (12 of them) who should be in a Junior Kindergarten class with their neighbours and friends. Unfortunately, it won’t be the case. 

(more…)

Saskatchewan massacre, a suspect died. Shooting in the Witchekan Lake First Nation

Blood and death in two Indian reservations in Saskatchewan. After the massacre that took place in the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon where 10 people died and 18 were injured in a series of stabbings, a shooting took place in the Witchekan Lake First Nation. So far there are few details made known but the RCMP does not believe that this last fact of blood is connected to the carnage of the previous day. 

(more…)

Special $ 100 “Pinse” to support the Princess Margaret Breast Cancer Foundation

TORONTO –  Solidarity is one of the fixed ingredients of the “pinsa” by Gino Benevenga, owner of the Italian restaurant “Venga Cucina”, the only “pinseria” in Toronto (in Canada there are only two: read Corriere Canadese’s article here) and already protagonist of charity campaigns in the past with its special pizzas made in the manner of the authentic Roman “pinsa”. 

(more…)

Unmasked! Manipulation and Erosion to Kill the Brand

TORONTO – Thursday August 25. TCDSB Full board meeting – the last before the new school year begins on September 2. The first in, well since… forever, when the trustees and Staff present did not wear a mask (metaphorically and materially). Coincidently, the Agenda and Addendum (197 pages) focused on Reports [of achievements and issues]. Here are some impressions on “the great reveal”. 

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Ethnic press, the “voice” of real Canada: videos and pics from CNE

TORONTO – 750 publications in more than 65 languages, which exceed 1,000 if one includes radio and television stations (covering 111 languages) set up a display booth at the Canadian National Exhibition: perhaps in no country in the world there is so much variety. And if it’s true that the official languages ​​in Canada are English and French, it is equally true that those really spoken in everyday life is the only growing linguistic demographic among all Canadians. None excluded. 

(more…)

The American dream vanished: 91% prefers Canada

TORONTO – Where is it better to live? In Canada or the United States? Canadians have no doubts: in their own country. This is what emerges from a survey carried out by Abacus between 11 and 17 July on a sample of 1,500 adults. The result is overwhelming: only 1 in 10 Canadians think it would be better to live in the United States. For 91%, Canada is better. And this “feeling” is quite consistent in all the provinces of the country. (more…)

Ethnic press, the voice of Canada

TORONTO – 750 publications in more than 65 languages: the ethnic press plays an important role in the Canadian society and the NEPMCC (National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada) unites it all across the Country, as well represented today at the CNE, the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Publishers and journalist from every language media not in English or French gathered together to speak about the state of ethnic press in Canada and to promote their newspapers. During the event, Thomas S. Saras, President of NEPMCC, talked about the goals of the organization and the Honourable Joe Volpe, publisher of the Italian newspaper Corriere Canadese, underlined the force of the ethnic media in a Country where 23% of people speaks languages other than English and French.

After the speeches, officials cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the NEMCC booth at the CNE (in the pic below).

In the next edition of Corriere Canadese, more details about the event. Here below, some pics from the event (by Priscilla Pajdo and Marzio Pelù).

Ignore candidates who flout the rules

TORONTO – There must be a way “to qualify” candidates for political office or to disqualify those with a proven record of transgressing publicly accepted standards with inappropriate behaviour. For better or for worse, the bureaucracy of recognized political parties conduct a selection process for potential nominees for office. These are open to abuse and to the whim of the leadership and its entourage, but at least there are standards against which approval or criticism can galvanize.

Not so in the in the hurley burley wild west that we see in Municipal politics. The much- touted office of Integrity Commissioner has done little but develop an industry (lucrative for the practitioners) of “tut-tut ism”. Conflicts Commissioners (Ethics Commissioners in some circles) are as eunuchs in a harem.

John Tory, full-time employee of media giant, Rogers, can occupy the mayor’s chair, make decisions that suit his employer and still run for office. School board trustees can violate their oath of office and still offer themselves for election.

It seems endemic to our democratic system: do anything, no matter how egregious – lie, cheat, malign – if you can escape the public’s wrath.

It is a disease that afflicts even the boards of cultural institutions like the Art Gallery of Mississauga. A reading of the Agenda (and its Appendices) of the Annual General Meeting of the Gallery, held August 4, 2022, obtained by the Corriere Canadese would cause a reasonable person to shake their head in disbelief.

It is a “cleaning house” document approved by the assembly following a litany of disruptions, allegations of harassment, bullying, intimidation, questionable circumventions of rules and procedures, obfuscation, “people” sitting as arbitrators of complaints against them personally, falsification of financially sensitive documents etc. It is a wonder the AGM has survived the ordeal.

The Board of the AGM finally succeeded in liberating itself from the cause of all of this turbulence appears to be, its now former President of the Gallery’s Board of Directors, Leslie Silvestri. After an internal revolt structured to secure a legitimate meeting of the Board, it hired Scott and Associate (Scott) to conduct an investigation into the preceding allegations and to report – which it did on July 29, 2022.

Here is an excerpt from Scott’s Workplace Investigation Summary:

“…the allegations of bullying and harassment made against Ms. Silvestri are substantiated…Ms. Silvestri has engaged in, among other things, psychological harassment of others, as well as workplace violence as defined by Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, and that the complainant(s) fear reprisal, reputational harm from Ms. Silvestri. Scott concluded that [Silvestri’s] conduct contravened both the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Human Rights Code…”

Armed with this background, Ms. Silvestri has registered as a candidate for Mississauga City Council.

Silvestri and complainants were notified of the findings. Corriere’s attempts to reach Ms. Silvestri went unresponded as of going to print.

YCDSB: Biting the ‘Italian hand’ that feeds you

TORONTO – Five trustees in the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) have had enough of the climate of discrimination being tolerated, if not nurtured, by some of their colleagues against Italians and Catholicism. Yes, you read that correctly, against Italians, in 2022.

They appear to be an easy target. There are so many of them in York Region. In fact, two Federal/Provincial ridings (King-Vaughan and Vaughan Woodbridge) are home to 110,000 people who self-identified as being of Italian origin in the 2016 Census. Including those from other areas of Vaughan (Maple, Concord), they comprise 38% of the population in that city. While not as dominant in the Eastern part of York Region, there are sizeable numbers in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Thornhill Stouffville and Markham.

They are predominantly Catholic. Without them, the York Catholic District School Board might well cease to exist. For some unexpressed reason that bothers people… not all, but some trustees resent the influence the impact of such numbers brings.

One trustee in particular, Theresa Mc Nicol, began a public social media “campaign” suggesting that there would be earth shattering revelations at the upcoming August 30, 2022, Board meeting and encouraging all her followers to attend in person. She sent a similar invitation to the Corriere Canadese, without particulars. Shortly after posting the message, McNicol sent the same message in Italian.

When asked why she was communicating in Italian, she apparently made the comment, “that’s the only way ‘they’ will understand…”. In fact, several email responses from McNicol were written in Italian. Corriere Canadese has asked for a copy of those emails, but, as of going to print, no one from the Board has responded.

Furthermore, evidently, through subsequent communication, she expressed [alleged] discomfort in the presence of her ‘Italian’ colleagues and a sense of insecurity for her personal safety, even in the sanctuary of the Board offices, implying a relationship with the American underworld. She emailed the Chair suggesting it might be prudent to engage security as a sign of an abundance of caution. This is 2022.

Four of the five trustees (Maria Iafrate, Maria Marchese, Domenic Mazzotta and Dino Giuliani) were born and raised in Canada, and Trustee Cantisano, who was born in Italy, immigrated to Canada at the age of three. All 5 Trustees are upstanding Canadian Citizens. Dino Giuliani has been a Trustee for the last 25 years. Domenic Mazzotta, also a previous Chair, has been a civic minded activist since very early in the 1980s.

All of them are motivated by a sense of civic duty. None of them deserved to be tarred by the besmirching of their heritage. Or to be treated as second-class citizens in their own home.

Regrettably, it seems an attitudinal problem at the YCDSB. When Cantisano and Iafrate attended their first Board meeting after the last election, the then Chair stated “oh great, two more Italians”. In a meeting with former Minister of Health, Christine Elliot, current Chair Crowe wistfully noted that the staff at the YCDSB was “predominantly Italian”. To her credit, Elliot asked, “What’s wrong with that?”.

But the request that the police be called to secure the safety of non-Italian trustees from the potential danger posed by the “Italians” was the proverbial last straw. The sting of discrimination directed at the ‘Italians’ was palpable and no longer ignorable. Its latest manifestation warranted action.

Dino Giuliani insisted that the police investigate McNicol’s not so subtle allegations. His colleagues agreed. As expected, the police found absolutely NOTHING; because there was nothing to investigate, nothing that would cause concern to even the most innocent of children.

They also called on the Ministry of Education to investigate and are exploring a Human Rights complaint. The Ministry responded with an offer to conduct a meeting in camera on August 16th. Such a meeting falls outside the parameters of permissible “private meetings” of any school board. Besides, the allegations made by Mc Nicol are already in the public domain. Their solutions should be aired publicly.

Trustees Cantisano, Giuliani, Iafrate, Marchese and Mazzotta have declined the offer to attend that private meeting and are considering absenting themselves from any subsequent ones until the matter is resolved to their satisfaction. Their absence would deprive the YCDSB of the required quorum to legitimize any meeting’s deliberations.

Corriere’s calls and emails to the Minister and the Ministry have so far gone unanswered. A last minute response by the YCDSB Chair and Director provided generic responses regarding courses of action that may not be applicable within the 90 days period preceding election day.

Ironically, the actions, utterances and postings of Mc Nicol and others would be reasons enough to disqualify them from seeking public office under a partisan party banner.

Canada, the native language is the basis of identity

TORONTO – Hardly on the bus or in the subway you will hear people of the same origin speak in English: among them, Japanese people will always continue to speak in Japanese, Chinese people in Chinese, Italians in Italian and so on. To confirm what is already heard every day around the city, it comes a survey conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies, from which we see that the vast majority of Canadians report a strong attachment to the main language, the native one, much more than other indicators of identity, including the Country they call home: Canada. (more…)

People’n the Houd(a)

(The Day Briefing / Kahina Boudjidj) Houda, qui se cache derrière le compte Instagram « Jeune Bonoise », est photographe à ses heures perdues. À l’abris des regards, l’originaire de Skikda, qui habite à Annaba, au nord-est de l’Algérie, immortalise des rues, des moments, gens… Elle a accepté de nous en dire davantage sur cette mélancolie qui l’anime. Bienvenue dans son Houd… Read More in The Day Briefing >>> 

Canada, anti-AIDS activists: “The government is not doing enough”

MONTREAL – The sos launched in Montreal during the 24th International AIDS Summit 2022 did not fall on deaf ears: Federal Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, said the government will invest $ 17.9 million to increase the access to HIV testing in remote communities and among hard-to-reach populations. But activists involved in the fight against AIDS say the announcement “must be followed by more actions”. (more…)

Canada in the grip of heat and fire

OTTAWA – Not only Europe: Canada is also in the grip of heat and fires. Environment Canada today issued hot warnings in four provinces: Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec. Temperatures could reach 30 ° C in parts of northwestern and northeastern Ontario, and similar conditions are also expected in southwestern and southeastern areas. “Heat warnings” remain in place in parts of northern Manitoba, where the fires have required additional air quality “sos” due to smoke (as well as in British Columbia).  (more…)

Nota Design: The Pride Flag

La ‘Pride Flag’ – nella sua forma primitiva conosciuta anche come la ‘bandiera arcobaleno’ – risale al 1978 quando fu creata dal designer e attivista gay americano Gilbert Baker per la celebrazione annuale del Gay Freedom Day a San Francisco. Doveva essere un simbolo positivo della diversità e ‘della speranza’ rispetto all’iconografia negativa allora in uso nella comunità gay della città: il triangolo rosa utilizzato nei campi di sterminio nazisti per identificare i ‘deviati’ sessuali… Read More in Corriere Canadese >>> 

Bank of Canada raises the interest rate again: +0.75%

OTTAWA – Here we go again. The Bank of Canada will raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.75% on Wednesday: a new increase, therefore, after the 0.50% increase on June 1, when the rate was raised to 1.50. %. From Wednesday, it will be at 2.25%. The reason, as always, is that of the “fight against inflation” which in recent weeks has reached its highest level in almost 40 years: 7.7 per cent. 

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Covid, the seventh wave has arrived in Ontario

TORONTO – It is the news that no one likes to hear the one released by the Ontario Science Advisory Table. The province has likely entered a new wave of pandemic led by the BA.5 subvariant. In messages posted on Twitter, the technical-scientific table cites the “exponential growth” in the count of cases in about 80% of public health units, as well as the increase in the number of hospitalizations and test positivity rates. 

(more…)

The Omicron “tsunami” infected seventeen million Canadians

TORONTO – More than a new wave: it’s a tsunami. Omicron has attacked (also) Canada, making the infections from Covid-19 increase exponentially, despite – after the winter wave – the virus seemed to be in a downward phase. In fact, data from the Canadian task force reveal how quickly Omicron and its sub-variants spread across the country as early as the end of 2021 and early this year. The task force reported that as many as 17 million Canadians were infected in just five months, between December 2021 and May 2022. This means that the daily average of new infections was over 100,000. A record, enough to push the members of the task force themselves to define the wave “Omicron tsunami”.  (more…)

Fourth dose, it’s too early: only 57% got the third one

TORONTO – There is already who talks about the fourth dose, when there are still hundreds of thousands of people who still have to get the third one. Omicron 5 and its infectivity are scary and “in a hurry”, but the scientific director of the Ontario Science Table, Dr. Fahad Razak, invites to keep feet on the ground. “Although much of the conversation right now is about the fourth dose, for me scientifically the clearest opportunity, the thing we should do – and it’s not a question about availability, the vaccine is available to us – is the third dose” , he told CP24 on Monday. 

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When the right rediscovers the right: Poilievre fleeing in the polls

TORONTO – By definition, in the political spectrum the center is the political space best equipped for conflict resolution. When the tensions that come from the right or the left become too pressing, it is in the center that the neutralization of the imbalance takes place: center understood as compromise, as a synthesis of theses and antitheses, as an exaltation of pragmatism that cripples the too ideologized extremities. Having made this premise, in the last thirty years in Canada, as in Italy and in the rest of the world, the hunt for the electorate of the center, the moderate one, considered hunting booty capable of undermining the balance of power between the parties, has begun. 

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Covid-19 response, Canada is the best (with Japan)

TORONTO – Canada managed the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic and resisted the upheaval that followed better than many other nations with similar health and economic infrastructures: this is what emerges from a research, published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which attributes Canada’s good performance to persistent and restrictive public health measures, as well as a successful vaccination campaign.  (more…)

Ontario, the government: Lecce remains at education, Ford’s nephew Michael elevated to cabinet post

TORONTO – Ontario Premier Doug Ford presented his cabinet to Ontario’s 43rd Parliament. Few news, many reconfirmations. The new cabinet includes seven women – down from nine in the previous one – out of a total of over 30 appointed (including attorneys general). Ford has also given a role to his nephew Michael (in the pic), a rookie MPP. Lisa MacLeod and Ross Romano are out. 

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The last 48 hours of Edward Lake

TORONTO – The tragic death of Edward Lake, father of the three children killed in an accident by Marco Muzzo in 2015, has awakened grief and anger throughout the community. On the one hand there are those who want the surname of the Muzzo family to be removed from the hospitals that have received millionaire donations from it – there are two petitions on change.org – on the other there are those who return to ask for harsher penalties for those who get behind the wheel drunk and sow death. 

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Ontario, the presence of the virus in the wastewater is rising again

TORONTO – Talking about a new (nth) wave of Covid-19 is perhaps premature, but the signs are all there: in recent weeks we had witnessed a rising of hospitalizations but the small number of swabs performed (reserved only for “at risk” categories) “) had not allowed an exhaustive tracing of the infections. However, there is one fact from which there is no escape: the presence of the virus in wastewater.  (more…)

Covid-19, another 8 deaths in Ontario. And the descent of the infections slows down

TORONTO – The virus does not give up. Today, in Ontario, another 8 deaths related to Covid-19, bringing the total in the province, since the beginning of the pandemic, to 13,351. Even the number of hospitalizations, like yesterday, is not very comforting: there are still 506 patients with the virus in Ontario hospitals, so the drop is slight (yesterday they were 512, a week ago 522) compared to two weeks ago when hospitalizations had dropped by 34.9%, from 808 to 526. Now it remains around 500, a sign that the descent has slowed down.  (more…)

“Intentionally Inflicted Mental Distress”: anti-Covid measures, another accusations
against the federal government

TORONTO – “Intentional infliction of mental anguish”: it is one of the many accusations that the 600 plaintiffs bring against the federal government in the Statement of Claim (SoC) filed in the Federal Court last May 30. Throught it, the same complainants ask, each, $ 650,000 (for a total of nearly $ 400 million) as compensation for “damage from anti-Covid measures” to Prime Minister Trudeau, Ministers Freeland, Alghabra, Mendicino, Health Director Theresa Tam and other executive officials.  (more…)

Millionaire class action against the government: “There has never been a pandemic, now compensate us”

TORONTO – “There is no, and there has not been, a ‘Covid-19 pandemic’  beyond and/or exceeding the consequences of the fall-out of the pre-Covid annual flu”. It is one of the considerations contained in the Statement of Claim (SoC) filed in Federal Court on May 30, by 600 plaintiffs who ask, each, $ 650,000 (for a total of nearly $ 400 million) in “damages from anti-Covid measures “. The defendants are the federal government of Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau, the Ministries Freeland, Alghabra, Mendicino, the medical director Theresa Tam and other members of the federal government.  (more…)

Enough is enough: the reaction against the “wokist” ideology

TORONTO – More and more, it seems that there is an undercurrent of reaction against the incursions of the wokist ideology seeping its way into the society we had come to know. No-one can point to any specific, tangible document outlining its credo much less any accrued benefits previously unavailable before advocates of wokism emerged as the self-proclaimed conscience of contemporary society. 

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The election numbers tell a worrying story

TORONTO – The results were barely tabulated and a horde of “political scientists”, commentators and Party lobbyists emerged from nowhere to advance their interpretation of the outcome of Election Ontario, 2022.There was a sense of revisionism in their analyses, an attempt to “interpret for the great unwashed” what their votes for the PC really meant. 

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Doug Ford won the Ontario Election, majority government for Conservatives

TORONTO –  Second majority government for Doug Ford and the Conservative Party in the Ontario provincial elections: the outgoing premier and his party won the majority with 83 seats, followed by Andrew Horwath’s NDP (31) who was however re-elected and by the Liberals of Steven Del Duca (8) who, instead, was defeated in his seat. The leader of the Greens, Mike Schreiner, was elected in the Guelph riding. The premier’s nephew, Michael Ford, managed to get himself elected by storming the Liberal-Ndp stronghold of York South – Weston.

 

The snake pit at the HCDSB

TORONTO – The cancel culture mob has taken over the Halton Catholic District School Board. View the video of the two-part special board meeting of May 24 (you can watch the video clicking here) and judge for yourself. You may come to the same conclusion: they are self-righteous haters by any definition and their target is anything Catholic. 

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Ontario, countdown for the provincial vote

TORONTO – Countdown to the election in Ontario. Once the possibility of early voting has ended – the deadline was set for 28 May – voters will have the opportunity to express their preference on Thursday 2 June, from 9 am to 9 pm. Frenetic, as was to be expected, the last weekend of the election campaign for the leaders of the main parties, who have traveled the length and breadth of the province to try to convince the undecided that they still represent a substantial slice of the Ontario electorate. 

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The last farewell to Naseem Mahdi, pillar of the Ahmadis and the concept of integration in Woodbridge and beyond

TORONTO – Maulana Naseem Mahdi, pillar of the Ahmadi community and a great supporter of integration, in Woodbridge and beyond, passed away. Last Friday, in the Bai`tul Islam Mosque (in the pic above) in Jane, on Teston Road, the public funeral took place in the presence of many people, including Corriere Canadese’s publisher Joe Volpe.   (more…)

Covid, hospitalizations in Ontario remain below one thousand. The situation in Canada, province by province

TORONTO – Hospitalizations due to or with Covid-19 still below a thousand in Ontario: today the number of inpatients went from 809 patients on Sunday to 890, thus remaining well under 1,000 while intensive care remained almost unchanged: 157 against 152 on Sunday. These figures are comforting, given that they also include the holiday Monday (Victoria Day) for which the numbers had not been disclosed. 

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The absence of ethics at school boards

TORONTO – The Provincial elections has been “sleep-inducing”, except for the momentary turbulence created by Stephen Lecce’s association with Sigma Chi, the University fraternity club noted for its induction ceremonies requiring drunkenness, drug abuse, assault, sexual assault and rape, regardless of gender (activities that have led to the dissolution of some of its chapters). 

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Italians may decide the election in Humber River-Black Creek

The electoral district of Humber River-Black Creek was created in 2018, but the area has a long history. Formerly known as York West, the district spans an area of 30 square km and is situated along the City of Toronto’s northern limits with Hwy 400 running down the middle. The constituency is comprised of several neighbourhoods including Jane and Finch, Humber Summit, Village at York University and Black Creek.

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Kenney throws in the towel Brain Jean, Danielle Smith will run for the leadership

TORONTO – Jason Kenney (in the pic) throws in the towel. Alberta’s premier and leader of the United Conservative Party has decided to resign as head of the party after the vote on the review of his leadership split the Canadian right, worn out by months of internal feuds, accusations, poisons and controversy until the dramatic epilogue on Wednesday evening. 

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The Bizarre Case of Integrity
Commissioners at the TCDSB

TORONTO – Over the last three years, what has been happening to Ontario’s education system, and more specifically its Catholic component, is nothing short of a travesty. Yesterday it culminated in the undignified letter of resignation submitted by Principles Integrity, the Integrity Commissioner (IC), as the guardian of civility and probity at the TCDSB. They walked away from their “relationship” in a snit. 

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Cherry blossom season in Brampton: the drone footage

BRAMPTON – Brampton’s cherry blossoms are in bloom. The City’s cherry blossoms are located at Joyce Archdekin Park along Main Street South, with an additional tree at the entrance to Gage Park. Cherry blossoms typically bloom in late April and in to May.  

The City of Brampton was gifted cherry blossoms as part of the Sakura Project, which was initiated in the year 2000. The Sakura Project granted trees to a number of public locations in Ontario as a symbol of goodwill and friendship between Japan and Ontario. The City’s Parks and Forestry department planted the community’s trees in 2002 and 2003. 

Brampton has approximately 70 cherry blossom trees. The City continues to maintain these trees with regular care and pruning.

The City of Brampton invites everyone to be respectful and: allow space for everyone to take photos and enjoy the scenery; do not litter; do not touch or pick the flowers, or climb the trees, as it is harmful to the trees.

Pope Francis in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut from 24 to 29 July: all the details

 

VATICAN CITY – He had repeatedly expressed his desire to go to Canada where the Church is engaged in an important process of reconciliation with the indigenous people. And this morning the official announcement arrived: Pope Francis will go to Canada, from 24 to 29 July (when we will leave to come back to Rome), and will stop in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut, “accepting the invitation of the civil authorities, ecclesiastical and indigenous communities” as the director of the Vatican Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said. This is the Pope’s 38th apostolic journey, which will touch the cities of Edmonton, Québec and Iqaluit. (more…)

Lecce, you bring shame on the Italian community: begone

TORONTO – Lecce, MPP for King-Vaughan and Minister of Education, had some of his unsavory past exposed to the embarrassment of all those associated with him, directly and indirectly. While at University, as a member of a fraternity for children of indulgent parents, he relished participating in games like “slave auction”. People were put up for sale and to do the bidding of the buyer for a determined period of time. We are in the twenty first century. 

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The election campaign begins: NDP and Liberals challenge Ford

TORONTO – Election campaign kicks off in Ontario. With the dissolution of the provincial assembly, requested today by outgoing Prime Minister Doug Ford during his meeting with Deputy Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell, the countdown has officially started in view of the appointment at the polls on June 2nd. Of course, the start set for today is a purely formal element. In fact, both the majority party – the Progressive Conservative – and the opposition forces began their election campaign as early as last month. Just think that only last week Steven Del Duca’s Liberal Party and Andra Horwath’s NDP presented the entire programmatic platform for the next provincial elections. 

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York-Simcoe: a “safe-haven” for the Progressive Conservatives


Created in 1999, the constituency of York-Simcoe is situated on the south shore of Lake Simcoe. It covers part of the Regional Municipality of York and encompasses the towns of Georgina, Bradford West Gwillimbury, East Gwillimbury and part of the Township of King. The riding also includes part of the County of Simcoe and the Indigenous community of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nations Indian Reserve.

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The noose around the neck: why Europe depends on Russian gas

TORONTO – Europe cannot do without Russian energy products, gas first and foremost. If we do not start from this assumption, then we cannot fully understand the development of the conflict in Ukraine and the sometimes ambivalent attitude of some European states towards the Russian invasion. Just go through the official data provided by the Agency for the Cooperation of National Energy Regulators (ACER) to realize how Moscow in all these years has in fact put a noose around the neck of the EU, ready for convenience to tighten it, as is happening in the last 24 hours with the stop to gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. 

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Nursing homes, the clash is served

TORONTO – Long-term care is the workhorse of the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP. Now, at the time of the promises in view of the June elections in Ontario, the three parties promise to heal the sector whose flaws have been laid bare by the Covid pandemic. Pandora’s box has been discovered: mistreatment, negligence and until today as many as 4,329 elderly people died in LTC. 

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