B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
A prominent contender in Iran's presidential election appealed Tuesday for better economic and political relations with the West, his most extensive attempt yet to attract reformist voters just days ahead of the poll.
Former Iranian Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati, among the seven candidates allowed on the ballot for Friday's vote, has no official ties to any political faction but is positioning himself as the likely candidate for moderate and reform-minded voters.
"Why should there be a barrier for peaceful co-existence?" asked Hemmati, while emphasizing that an "improvement in global and regional peace" hinged on American good will and "trust-building" with the Islamic Republic.
He repeated calls for a return to Tehran's tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, saying that if he were to become president, resurrecting the agreement and securing sanctions relief would "definitely be one of my priorities."
In an interview with The Associated Press last week, he said he'd even be willing to possibly meet with U.S. President Joe Biden if he wins.
Polling and analysts indicate that Hemmati lags in the race behind the country's hard-line judiciary chief, Ebrahim Raisi, the clear front-runner cultivated by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nearly 600 challengers hoped to replace relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who is term-limited from running again.
But the Guardian Council, a clerical vetting body, allowed just Raisi, Hemmati and five lower-profile contenders, mostly hard-liners, to run. Hemmati on Tuesday described those challengers as "proxy candidates" that he expected would soon drop out of the race.
Within Iran, candidates exist on a political spectrum that broadly includes hard-liners who want to expand Iran's nuclear program and confront the world, moderates who hold onto the status quo and reformists who want to change the theocracy from within.
The son of Mehdi Karroubi, once Iran's most outspoken opposition leader, announced earlier this week that his father would throw his support behind Hemmati, saying he believed the moderate candidate would "defend the republic and the presidential system."
The Guardian Council's stunning disqualification of well-known reformist candidates, coupled with the coronavirus pandemic, have subdued the typical pre-election frenzy in Iran and created a mood of voter apathy. Calls for a boycott have increased in recent weeks. The state-linked Iranian Student Polling Agency most recently projected a 42% turnout from the country's 59 million eligible voters, which would be a historic low.
With the still-raging virus halting campaign rallies and big gatherings, Hemmati spoke Tuesday at a modest press conference at the University of Tehran. Addressing some hundred reporters and supporters, he expressed hope that Iranian and American negotiators, now engaged in indirect talks in Vienna, would agree on a plan for Iran to curb its nuclear program and the U.S. to lift heavy sanctions, re-imposed when then-President Donald Trump withdrew America from the accord in 2018.
Rouhani's eight years in office brought steep economic decline, particularly after the collapse of the nuclear deal. Hemmati sought Tuesday to promote his successes as a top banker, although his Central Bank tenure was defined by the crash of the Iranian riyal amid America's economic pressure campaign.
"I believe that an economist should take the executive responsibility of the country," he said. "I hope that, with the people's help, a government will come to power to manage the country rationally and prevent politics from running the economy."
------
Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.
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.