New poll on Canadian concerns and Via strike averted: In The News for July 12, 2022

More than half of Canadians who took the survey said they plan to travel within their own province, and another 28 per cent said they will travel within Canada. Just over a quarter said they’ll be heading abroad, with 16 per cent of travellers going to the U.S.

Flight cancellations, delays and long lineups have 53 per cent of Canadian respondents concerned about airport travel, while 43 per cent said they’re not concerned and only three per cent said they were unaware of the problems.

In regard to inflation, more than 80 per cent of Canadian respondents said they believe prices will keep going up, and 59 per cent say they think Canada is in an economic recession.

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Also this …

Via Rail and Unifor have come to terms on a new tentative agreement, taking the threat of a strike off the table.

Officials on both sides of the talks had reported progress was being made over the last 48 hours, so several strike deadlines were pushed back by union negotiators.

In a pair of separate statements, both parties noted that the details of the new contract will not be shared until after a successful ratification vote.

However, Via Rail notes that the deal will be retroactive to January 1, 2022, and in effect through December 31, 2024.

Some 2,400 workers, including maintenance workers, on-board service personnel, chefs, sales agents and customer service staff, were ready to walk off the job, derailing passenger traffic nationwide.

And this …

The chair of the federal Conservative party’s leadership election organizing committee privately expressed concerns around Patrick Brown’s history while vetting him as a potential candidate, according to documentation obtained by The Canadian Press.

It suggests that Ian Brodie raised questions about Brown’s financial situation in a late-March telephone call with someone he was consulting as part of the vetting process after the former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader had declared his intention to join the race.

The Canadian Press reviewed documentation about the call provided by a source who participated in the one-on-one conversation with Brodie. The source was granted anonymity to discuss the call because they fear professional repercussions.

Conservatives are reeling from the sudden disqualification of Brown from the leadership race last week — the result of more-recent and separate allegations of financial impropriety by a whistleblower who had been part of his campaign team.

Debbie Jodoin, a longtime Conservative organizer, said through her lawyer last Thursday that she had been paid by a third-party company for her work on the Brown campaign, and that Brown had been involved in the arrangement.

Brown has maintained that his campaign did nothing wrong.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

The January 6 committee is preparing to highlight how violent extremist groups answered what one lawmaker says was Donald Trump’s “siren call” to come to Washington.

The panel investigating the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol is set to convene today. The committee is probing whether extremist groups coordinated with White House allies ahead of the violence. Leaders and members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are facing rare sedition charges for their alleged roles in the attack.

Florida Democrat Stephanie Murphy says Trump’s tweet about a big rally was “a siren call to these folks.”

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is renewing a call to China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s vast claims in the South China Sea.

Antony Blinken warned that Washington is obligated to defend treaty ally Philippines if its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft come under attack in the disputed waters.

Blinken’s statement, which was issued Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy in Manila, was released on the sixth anniversary of the 2016 decision by an arbitration tribunal set up under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea after the Philippine government complained against China’s aggressive actions in the disputed sea.

China rejected and continues to defy the ruling.

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On this day in 1960 …

The Etch A Sketch Magic Screen drawing toy was first produced.

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In entertainment …

“Succession” and “Ted Lasso” are in the hunt for Emmy nominations that could add to their previous trophy hauls.

But they’re up against hungry newcomers.

When the bids are announced this morning, “Succession” may face a showdown with “Squid Game.” Netflix’s South Korean hit about a brutal survival contest is vying to become the first non-English language Emmy nominee.

The Emmys once were dominated by broadcast networks and then cable, but the rise of streaming services is changing the balance of power.

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Did you see this?

Cultures come together each Sunday morning at Edmonton’s Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, with sage burning alongside candles and hymns and Indigenous drumming resounding through congregations.

The century-old religious institution, located in the vibrant and diverse McCauley inner-city neighbourhood, routinely blends Catholic and Indigenous rituals in its services, making it an obvious backdrop for the pending visit from Pope Francis later this month.

The Pontiff will meet about 150 parishioners of the church on July 25 as a part of his six-day Canadian tour, which also includes stops in Quebec City and Iqaluit.

On that morning, he is also expected to stop at the former site of a residential school in a community south of Edmonton to apologize to survivors.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2022

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

New poll on Canadian concerns and Via strike averted: In The News for July 12, 2022

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