Year in review: A look at news events in October 2023

1 – Members of several Quebec public-sector unions continue to vote in favour of strike mandates by large margins. The four unions, which represent around 420,000 education, health care and social service workers, say more than 90 per cent of members who have participated in votes have supported a strike mandate.

3 – In a historic and rare mid-session vote, the House of Commons elects its first Black Speaker. Liberal MP Greg Fergus was first elected in Quebec’s Hull-Aylmer riding in 2015.

3 – New Democratic Leader Wab Kinew leads his party to government in Manitoba becoming the first First Nations premier of a Canadian province.

4 – The federal government says it is putting $740,000 toward further assessing the feasibility of searching a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree says more work needs to be done to figure out how a search can be undertaken.

4 – A new Statistics Canada report says that between 2009 and 2021, Indigenous women and girls were killed at a rate six times higher than that of women and girls who were not Indigenous. It also says homicides of Indigenous women and girls are less likely to result in the most serious murder charges.

5 – Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the country’s top five grocery chains have agreed to take concrete action to stabilize food prices. He says shoppers will soon start to see discounts, price freezes and price-matching campaigns. Champagne says these measures will create a more competitive marketplace, which will bring benefits to Canadians.

5 – Global Affairs Canada is gearing up to send RCMP officers to Haiti for technical training as part of a multinational military intervention.

7 – Hamas militants from Gaza attack Israel, rampaging through nearby communities, killing hundreds of people and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise attack. Israel retaliates with missile attacks in Gaza, as its prime minister vows retribution at an “unprecedented price.”

8 – The Israeli government formally declares war against Hamas for its surprise attack, giving the green light for “significant military steps” against Hamas fighters. The declaration of war portends greater fighting ahead and a major question was whether Israel would launch a ground assault into Gaza.

9 – Israel’s defence minister orders a “complete siege” on Gaza, saying authorities will cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel.

9 – Hollywood writers vote to approve a contract agreement reached by their union leaders, bringing a close to the strike that halted movie and TV production for nearly five months.

10 – General Motors agrees to a tentative deal with Unifor after a 12-hour strike. It mirrors the one the union reached with Ford Motor Company last month.

12 – Unifor members in Ontario and Quebec vote 99 per cent in favour of strike action against the St. Lawrence Seaway Corporation.

13 – Canada’s Supreme Court rules against the federal government’s impact assessment law. The judgment sets the tone regarding how different levels of governments work together to balance the economic benefits of resource development, against the environmental risks.

16 – Ontario tables a bill to return parcels of land to the province’s protected Greenbelt. This comes after months of public outcry in response to the Conservative government’s move to use the land to build 50,000 homes.

16 – Close to $1 billion in federal and provincial funding is announced for an electric vehicle battery component plant in eastern Ontario. Premier Doug Ford says the plant, located east of Kingston, will create 600 direct jobs with production set to start in 2026.

19 – Canada Post honours 88-year-old Oscar and Golden Globe Award-winner Donald Sutherland with a stamp bearing his profile.

19 – Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada has pulled most of its envoys out of India because of diplomatic immunity threats. She says New Delhi threatened to strip diplomatic immunities from the envoys, leaving Canada to call back 41 diplomats and their families.

20 – Saskatchewan’s legislature passes a controversial bill preventing children under 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without receiving parental consent. It uses the notwithstanding clause to override sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Code.

20 – After helping Canada qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, soccer legend Christine Sinclair announces she will be retiring from international soccer by the end of the year. The 40-year-old is the world’s all-time leading scorer with 190 goals in 327 senior appearances. Sinclair led the team to a gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

22 – Hundreds of St. Lawrence Seaway workers walk off the job.

23 – Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles removes a rookie politician from caucus for comments she made about the Israel-Hamas war. Stiles says Sarah Jama’s actions undermined the party’s collective work and broke the trust of her colleagues.

24 – A Federal Court judge verbally approves a $23-billion settlement in a First Nations human rights complaint filed in 2007. It will see Ottawa compensate more than 300,000 Indigenous children and their families over chronic underfunding of on-reserve child-welfare services.

24 – The NHL rescinds its ban on rainbow-coloured Pride tape.

25 – The Bank of Canada keeps its key interest rate at five per cent, saying there are clearer signs that monetary policy is moderating spending and relieving price pressures. But it hasn’t ruled out future rate hikes as those pressures remain high.

25 – Health Canada says more than 13,200 people chose medical assistance in dying in the country in 2022. In a new report, the agency says the average annual growth rate in medically assisted deaths has been 31 per cent from 2019 to 2022.

26 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces that the federal government will be doubling the top-up to the carbon price rebate for rural Canadians, beginning next April. Alongside the increase, Trudeau also announces a temporary three-year pause to carbon pricing measures on heating oil.

27 – The CBC reports legendary musician Buffy Sainte-Marie’s birth certificate, marriage certificate and a U.S. census all contradict her claim that she is Indigenous. The network says the birth certificate lists Sainte-Marie as being born in 1941 in Stoneham, Mass., and states the baby and parents were all white. Family members in the U.S., including Sainte-Marie’s younger sister, told the public broadcaster that Sainte-Marie was not adopted and does not have Indigenous ancestry. The singer has called herself a proud member of the Native community with deep roots in Canada.

28 – Emmy-nominated actor Matthew Perry is found dead at his Los Angeles home. Perry was best known for his role as Chandler Bing over 10 seasons on the TV show “Friends.” Authorities say there is no foul play suspected in the death. Perry was 54.

29 – Thousands of Sikhs vote in Surrey, B.C., in an unofficial referendum on Khalistan – an independent state in India proposed by some Sikhs. It takes place at the same gurdwara where activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in June.

30 – New Brunswick hockey legend Will O’Ree, the NHL’s first Black hockey player, is honoured by Canada Post with his own stamp.

30 – Ships are moving again after the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation reached a tentative deal to end a week-long strike by 360 Unifor members.

31 – Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe threatens to stop collecting the carbon price on natural gas if the federal government does not extend the three-year heating-oil exemption to all forms of home heating. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there are no additional carbon price exemptions on the way.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Year in review: A look at news events in October 2023

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