Some observers called 2023 the Year of the Strike, and at times that moniker was fitting. Across a wide range of industries, workers hit the picket lines to support demands for pay increases that kept up with surging inflation. To the end of 2023, total days lost will be even higher: more than 2.5 million days (boosted by walkouts that include huge public-sector strikes in Quebec in December). Lest anyone complain that strike-happy workers are undermining Canadian productivity, keep in mind that work stoppages amount to just 0.05 per cent of all days worked in Canada. That’s one-tenth the proportion of days lost during the peak strike years in the bad old 1970s.

Leave your thoughts in the comments section, below. Edmonton is in the midst of unprecedented temperatures, with the potential for three consecutive days of record-breaking cold. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi discusses the increased challenges around housing and homelessness due to the weather. CBC News published this video item, entitled “Edmonton’s extreme cold strains Alberta’s energy grid, triggers emergency alert” – below is their description. It frequently collaborates with its French-language counterpart, Radio-Canada Info, although the two are organizationally separate.

Pubcaster CBC/Radio-Canada confirms Dany Meloul as VP of French servicesCanadian public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada has named Dany Meloul executive VP of French services on a permanent basis. In her new position, Meloul oversees all of the organisation’s French-language programming services including Ici Radio-Canada, Ici Explora, Ici ARTV, Radio-Canada.ca and other digital and mobile services. Meloul is a seasoned TV and media executive, having previously served as general manager of Radio-Canada Television from 2019 until 2023. Prior to joining CBC/Radio-Canada, she held jobs including VP of French-language TV programming at Bell Media. I am conscious of the challenges that we face as a public media organisation, but I know that we will meet them with determination.

Alberta's energy grid had as little as 10 megawatts in reserve power at one point on Saturday night, one of the coldest of the past 50 years. In an interview with CBC News on Sunday, he said the emergency alert was a result of a confluence of extreme conditions. The province's energy grid had as little as 10 megawatts in reserve power at one point on Saturday night, according to the AESO supply demand report. (Helen Pike/CBC)"A lot of that increase last year was solar power, so solar capacity doesn't change anything at all for a 7 p.m. January spike," he said. "A solution relying exclusively on wind power, solar power and trade isn't going to get you through a really cold, dark night in Alberta," he said.

The municipality of Maria, Que., in the Gaspésie region declared a state of emergency early Saturday afternoon due to strong winds and high tides that could lead to coastal flooding. Residents of des Tournepierres and des Pluviers streets, which are most at risk, were given voluntary evacuation notices. This is the second state of emergency declared in Maria in less than a week. Almost a metre of water accumulated on Rue des Tournepierres due to heavy coastal surges Wednesday. Although people aren't being forced to depart, Maria's mayor, Jean-Claude Landry, is urging residents at risk to leave their properties.

Police say they are now treating the death of a 30-year-old man found dead inside a pickup truck in a downtown Montreal alley Saturday as a homicide. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) received a call at 7:50 a.m. about an unconscious man inside a black vehicle, parked in an alley near Dufresne and Logan streets in the Ville-Marie borough. SPVM spokesperson Véronique Dubuc says the man suffered at least one gunshot wound to the upper body. Police set up a security perimeter and the SPVM's major crimes unit is investigating. The man's death marks Montreal's first homicide of the year.

Teenage surfing prodigy Erin Brooks has won her fight for Canadian citizenship, opening the door for her to compete for Canada at the Paris Olympics. Lost Canadian Erin Brooks has been granted her Canadian citizenship after reconsideration by the Minister of Immigration. The last opportunity to qualify for the Olympics is at the ISA World Championships in Puerto Rico in February. She won a silver medal at the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador in June and gold at the ISA World Junior Championships in June 2022. The Brooks family leaves Monday for Hawaii to continue Brooks' training.

One of the locations for fast-charging electric vehicles in Saskatoon is in Stonebridge. It's more reliable," said Tyler Krause, who sits on the board for the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association and founded the Tesla Owners Club of Saskatchewan. Matthew Pointer, with the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association, says misconceptions about electric vehicles having problems with cold weather are not true and that they work and start just fine. (Radio-Canada)Pointer said the cost savings of driving an electric vehicle for five years are "insane." "Reinvigorate your main street by putting an electric vehicle charger to encourage business in your restaurants, local shops and recreational activity areas," Pointer said.

Quebec provincial police are investigating after a teen died after falling from a ski lift in Morin-Heights, Que., on Jan. 12, 2024. (Lynda Paradis/Radio-Canada - image credit)A 15-year-old boy is dead after falling from a ski lift Friday evening in the Laurentians, police say. Sûreté du Québec (SQ) police officers arrived at the scene in Morin-Heights, Que., around 10 p.m. Friday. Ski staff and paramedics performed first aid before the teen was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said SQ spokesperson Camille Savoie. Investigators are looking into several hypotheses, Savoie said, including that the teen was feeling unwell at the time.

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw identified the 'terrorist flag' that was waved at a pro-Palestinian demonstration Sunday a day after saying the police service would 'not be complicit in providing a platform to both acknowledge or promote the hateful ideology.' Demkiw called the charge "unprecedented," noting the "very high threshold" to charge anyone with a hate propaganda offence. LISTEN | Demkiw reverses course, identifies 'terrorist flag':Friday's about-face came after Demkiw refused to say what the flag depicts and which group it is associated with at the Thursday meeting. Activists hold a sit-in organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement at Scotiabank Plaza, in Toronto, on Nov. 17, 2023. Activists hold a sit-in organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement at Scotiabank Plaza in Toronto, on Nov. 17, 2023.

"It's hard to say if a symbol is, in and of itself, enough to demonstrate incitement to hatred." No laws banning glorification of terrorismAs well, Perry noted that prosecution of the Toronto man would be challenging because Canada doesn't have legislation banning the glorification of terrorism like some European countries. They say the group seeks "the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of a communist government in Palestine." According to Perry, there are a whole series of court decisions that have defined hateful expressions, what constitutes hate speech and what constitutes hate. In the case of the Toronto man, Moon says he's not sure how the police would go about establishing that exposure to the flag resulted in a breach of peace.

Pi News –In 2018, defendants Apple Inc. and a lawsuit filed against Apple Canada Inc. accuses the tech giant of possessing performance-sapping features in its iOS software and defects in some iPhones. The class-action lawsuit could see Apple pay more than $14 million to Canadians. Canadians can pay up to $150 per affected phone and must file a claim with the iPhone serial number. Apple denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the updates to the affected phones were to prevent shutdowns due to aging batteries. If claims exceed the allotted amount, Canadians can receive less than $150 per phone.

Norwegian F-35s, along with personnel, will arrive in Iceland on Monday for airspace surveillance, Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday. The Iceland Air Policing mission will be based at at Keflavík Airport. Quick action alertsIceland has no standing armed forces, and relies on NATO allies to conduct Iceland Air Policing missions three times a year on a rotational basis. The Norwegian forces says the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) mission is a crucial component of airspace surveillance. The Iceland Air Policing mission will last until approximately mid-February.

Quaker Canada is announcing a voluntary recall of more than three dozen types of cereals and granola bars due to possible exposure to salmonella. The recall includes Harvest Crunch cereals, Chewy granola bars, Dipps granola bars, yogurt granola bars, as well as Cap'n Crunch treat bars. Both Quaker and Cap'n Crunch brands are owned by parent company PepsiCo. Quaker says it issued the recall in Canada out of an abundance of caution following a similar recall in the United States. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there have been no reported illnesses and that it is conducting a food safety investigation.

Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A trio of ferries built for use in British Columbia in the late 1990s are for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Ferries in the 1990s, but the catamarans were famously over-budget and failed to meet expectations for speed or efficiency. Ferries, the Explorer and Discovery, but they were pulled after just a few years of service and sold in 2003. Arthurs signed a deal to attempt to sell the ferries, and he listed them on Facebook Marketplace. He suggested the boats could be used as ferries or they could be converted into private yachts.