B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Drake is dropping out of the Grammys race, the organization behind the awards confirmed on Monday, marking another twist in the Toronto-raised artist's contentious relationship with the music prize.
A representative for the Recording Academy said it withdrew Drake's two nominations at the request of the rapper and his management.
Drake was up for best rap album with "Certified Lover Boy," and his track with Future and Young Thug, "Way 2 Sexy," was in the running for best rap performance.
The academy representative said Drake would be removed from the ballot as the final round of voting opened on Monday.
Representatives for the rapper, born Aubrey Graham, declined to comment on the record, and his reasons for pulling out were unclear.
Drake has a patchy history with the Grammys, despite having won four trophies and racking up dozens more nominations.
He rose to the Weeknd's defence after the fellow Toronto native was snubbed by the Grammys last year, writing on Instagram that the awards "no longer matter" and suggesting it was time to "start something new."
In 2018, Drake decided not to submit his album "More Life" for consideration.
He upended expectations a year later by showing up at the ceremony to accept the best rap song title. While holding his trophy, he told the audience that winning awards wasn't necessary as long as musicians have fans showing up to their live shows.
"It's not the NBA where at the end of the year you're holding a trophy because you made the right decisions and won the games," he said.
"This is a business where sometimes it's up to a bunch of people that might not understand what a mixed-race kid from Canada has to say or a fly Spanish girl from New York or anybody else."
The Weeknd said he would no longer let his label submit his music for consideration after his chart-topping album "After Hours" and smash single "Blinding Lights" failed to net a single nomination last year.
Nevertheless, the Toronto R&B singer, born Abel Tesfaye, surprised with three nominations this year, for collaborations including a turn alongside Lil Baby on Kanye West's "Hurricane," up for best melodic rap performance, and appearances on Doja Cat's deluxe edition "Planet Her" and West's "Donda" in the best album category.
Justin Bieber is Canada's leading nominee this year with eight nods, but he, too, has expressed displeasure with the Grammys. Last year, he complained that his songs were nominated in pop categories when he considered them to be R&B music.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2021.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.