Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
The federal government is unlikely to challenge Quebec’s controversial proposal to apply a tax on the unvaccinated in the province, says former premier Jean Charest.
Quebec has assured Ottawa that they will follow the principles of the Canada Health Act in implementing the levy – if they didn’t, the federal government could withhold health transfers.
Charest said that won’t happen.
“I’ve been there. In the days when I was premier of Quebec, there were things we were doing, that in certain instances, may have been outside the Act. The federal government won’t move on [this], they’ll let it pass,” he said during an interview on CTV’s Question Period airing Sunday.
“Do they want to be on the side—and that's the dilemma right now for governments—be on the side or be seen as on the side of the anti vaxxers? … Intervening directly within the health-care system of Quebec? That would be frankly, that would be a very bad move on their side.”
Quebec announced the proposal last Tuesday, noting the levy would apply to those without a medical exemption and could be executed as soon as the next several weeks.
Premier François Legault stipulated that $50 or $100 wouldn’t be a “significant" enough penalty for him.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed in on the issue during a pandemic update the following day, noting that “incentives and strong measures” have worked in the fight against COVID-19.
He said the federal government is awaiting more details.
In a separate interview on CTV’s Question Period, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said provincial governments are free to act how they see fit in their own jurisdictions.
“What we're supportive of, is to use every available mechanism to encourage Canadians to get vaccinated, to do the right thing. In our own jurisdiction, whether it's federally regulated industries, banks, telecommunications companies, airlines, we've imposed vaccine mandates,” he said.
“So provinces are looking within their own jurisdiction, and what they think is the best way to encourage vaccine uptake.”
MNA Christopher Skeete says the tax proposal stems from the simple fact that there is a financial and societal cost to not getting the jab.
“It's reflected in the contagion, that they propagate the virus, it's also seen in the fact that a lot of people are ill from work, because they’ve gotten COVID. So there is a cost in terms of resources, in terms of money, in terms of society for these decisions, and I think at some point we have to have a discussion about that,” he said.
Skeete reiterated that the bill won’t be a “punitive” one, but rather one that emphasizes the “onerousness” of not getting vaccinated for legitimate reasons.
Charest said there’s been widespread support of the announcement among Quebecers who are growing increasingly more frustrated with the public health ramifications of the unvaccinated.
“People in this province are very, very frustrated with the unvaxxed because there is, in their mind, a very direct link between the fact that they are occupying hospital beds, and they are in emergency units, when in fact there are people who are being deprived of health services and life-depending services because of their decision. So, that's the reason why there's wide support,” he said.
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.