Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
Attention, potential car buyers: New electric vehicle charging stations are on their way to highway locations near you.
All 50 states received final approval Tuesday to begin construction on a first nationwide network of EV charging stations that places one roughly every 50 miles (80 kilometers) along interstate highways, part of the Biden administration's plan to spur widespread adoption of zero-emission cars.
The Transportation Department said it had OK'd EV charger plans from a last set of 17 states, triggering the release of US$1.5 billion in federal funds to all jurisdictions nationwide -- or $5 billion over five years -- to install or upgrade chargers along 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) of highway from coast to coast, with a goal of 500,000 EV chargers nationwide. Plans for the other 33 states and the District of Columbia were approved earlier this month.
By year's end, drivers could start seeing expansions and upgrades to existing highway EV stations in states such as California, Colorado, Florida and Pennsylvania that now feature at least four fast-charger ports, enabling EVs to fully recharge in about an hour.
Construction of new EV charging locations could begin by next spring.
"America led the original automotive revolution in the last century, and ... we're poised to lead in the 21st century with electric vehicles," said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. He said the plans will "help ensure that Americans in every part of the country -- from the largest cities to the most rural communities -- can be positioned to unlock the savings and benefits of electric vehicles."
The approval is a major step toward building widespread acceptance and use of electric vehicles among consumers, who most often express hesitancy over EVs' shorter range and limited availability of public chargers. President Joe Biden has set a goal that 50 per cent of new U.S. car sales be electric by 2030, and his administration touts new tax credits next year of up to $7,500 as making electric vehicles accessible for everyday Americans. Still, the five-year plans suggest a potentially long and bumpy road ahead for a highway EV network, with states citing risks such as a lack of electricity grid capacity, supply chain shortages and equity concerns.
For instance, while Texas, California and Florida say their grid should be able to handle increased capacity of a million or more EVs, other states aren't so sure.
"Capacity will become a concern in future years as charging infrastructure and EVs become more ubiquitous," New Mexico said in its plan.
Vermont wrote that "Unmanaged or unplanned for EV charging could cause utilities to incur significant costs to maintain grid reliability and create challenges for grid operators" and that some locations "may also necessitate intensive grid upgrades and buildout."
Mississippi cited potential shortages of EV charging station equipment, which it said "may cause significant setbacks" in construction. Several states also expressed concern that they would not be able to acquire charging stations that meet the American-made provisions.
"It may delay implementation by several years," New Jersey officials wrote.
Under the Transportation Department requirements, states also must focus first on more expensive fast chargers on highway routes that typically cost $40,000 to $100,000 to install, rather than keying in on neighbourhoods and communities with Level 2 chargers that are cheaper but take a few hours to provide a full charge.
Currently, electric vehicle owners charge their vehicles at home 80 per cent of the time, typically at single family houses. But that is likely to change as the less affluent who don't have a garage to house a charging station buy EVs.
Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law provides an additional $2.5 billion for local grants to fill remaining gaps in the charging network in rural areas and in disadvantaged communities, which are less likely to own the higher-priced electric vehicles or have charging stations readily available near them. The Federal Highway Administration said Tuesday that it will begin taking applications for that money later this year.
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.