Ontario's Conservative government is separating Peel region, the third-largest municipality in Ontario, by carving out Brampton and Mississauga to become independent cities. The move is said to resolve long-standing power struggles over regional control but creates other challenges to be overcome, including the financial accounting of shared services, such as water treatment. Legislated to be implemented by January 2024, the split will allow for the creation of two powerful “strong mayor” roles in the newly formed independent cities, something Premier Doug Ford has conferred on both Ottawa and Toronto, and will no doubt look to promote in the newly independent cities at the right time. The split will cost significant sums and amid calls for the local municipalities to merge or amalgamate services instead, there is an acceptance that the growing pains of both cities have, at last, become too great to ignore.
The Canadian government is caught in a bidding war with the US to fund an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Windsor, Canada. In a scramble to keep the planned $5bn Windsor plant in Canada, production subsidies matching those given by the US seem to be on the table. This follows the Federal Liberal government’s decision to allocate up to $13.2bn on subsidies to give VW’s first EV battery plant outside Europe a home in St Thomas, Ontario. The Trudeau government is not forthcoming regarding its negotiations with Stellantis or other companies. Initially it refused to confirm whether it matched Ontario’s $500m investment in the Stellantis battery plant earlier this year, later agreeing to match US production subsidies. Many economists are criticising this approach, saying it sets a terrible precedent and undercuts Canada’s built-in advantages in areas such as critical minerals, agriculture, forestry, and natural assets.
Harrison Ford has defended his use of digital de-ageing technology in the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this week. Many reviewers had questioned the believability of the technology, which shows a digitally recreated Ford at the start of the film, despite the action occurring many years after previous Indiana Jones movies. “I know that that is my face,” he said. “It’s not a kind of Photoshop magic – that’s what I looked like 35 years ago."
Most buyers of electric vehicles should opt to install a Level 2 charge point at home. While earlier EV models were able to charge overnight from a standard 120-volt outlet, newer models with bigger batteries would take several days to fully charge at Level 1. A Level 2 charger allows owners to achieve a full charge from a typical 240-volt outlet in less than eight hours. The cost of Level 2 charge point installation ranges from $500-$1,500 depending on the model and labour costs. Rebates are available for home Level 2 charge points in some Canadian territories and provinces.
Emergency medical services in Ontario are collapsing due to increasing ambulance shortages and a major staffing crisis, the Ontario Paramedic Association (OPA) has warned. "Code zero" incidents, in which no ambulance is available to respond to 911 calls, have risen amid a deepening healthcare crisis. Toronto reported 1,139 such incidents in 2021, Ottawa 750 by July 2022, and Waterloo Region 87 in 2022 – a fourfold increase on the previous year. Amid "terrible" working conditions many paramedics are getting injured, switching employers or even leaving the profession entirely.
Indiana Jones 5 director James Mangold has opened up about his decisions for the upcoming film. The latest instalment of the franchise, titled “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” was first thought of as a replacement for Steven Spielberg, who did not direct this chapter. Harrison Ford also acknowledged the work of Mangold in resurrecting the beloved film franchise to its former glory. Mangold said that the concept for the sequel came from the era in which it was set. He felt that while Indiana Jones is an iconic character in a complicated world, he remains a lasting force for good, which is what the story needed. The challenges that Indiana Jones faces, and his legacy, are all themes that he wanted to explore in the new film. He also said that he wants viewers to enjoy the sheer spectacle of movie-making and for the action to feel grounded and real. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is set to debut in theatres June 30.
Polls show that former MP Olivia Chow is in the lead in Toronto's mayoral election. Though there are still four weeks before the vote takes place and much can change, this is the first time since 2006 that the progressive side of Toronto politics has taken the lead. The campaign is making for compelling viewing, particularly given the reaction of the right, who have been on the defensive since Chow took the lead and have questioned whether she is the right person to take over as mayor. At present, nobody knows what the outcome of the election will be, but it is something of a surprise to see Chow front and centre, given the other candidates lining up for the job.
The fifth and final Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, stars an 80-year-old Harrison Ford and checks off franchise tropes, including a MacGuffin, Nazis, tombs, and sidekicks, according to a review. The movie is mostly set in 1969, but the story also involves a plot by its villain, played by Mads Mikkelsen, to use a time machine designed by Archimedes to correct Hitler's mistakes and allow Nazi rule of the planet. The 142-minute film's fabulous extended opening sequence features CGI de-aging technology.
Conservative Patrician lawyer C. Boyden Gray has died aged 80. Gray served as White House counsel to President George H.W. Bush and was an important strategist and fundraiser for Republican judicial and Justice Department nominees. The lawyer had a star-studded beginning, working as a clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren before becoming a top corporate antitrust lawyer. He was known for his meticulousness and workaholic tendencies, and his abilities saw him rise quickly in Washington circles. Gray was deeply involved in the deregulation of trade, energy, the environment and banking and was Republican Vice President George H.W. Bush’s counsel and deputy chief of staff. He was, however, not well-regarded by consumer advocates. Gray’s background was largely corporate and before working on the taskforce, he was seen as a critical skeptics.
Gray was an active member of numerous right-wing political organizations, including the FreedomWorks, which is devoted to the achievement of lower taxes and decreased regulation, along with the Federalist Society, a networking group for conservative lawyers. Another organization he helped start was the Committee for Justice, as a non-profit body engineering the screening of judicial and Justice Department nominees.
Gray was a central figure in the polarising appointments of judges to the US Supreme Court and other bodies. Following Gray’s recent death, commentators and critics have noted his focus and passion for the interests of big corporations and the Bush family.
NDP MP Olivia Chow is front-runner in Toronto’s mayoral campaign, according to a poll by Forum Research for the Toronto Star. More than a third of decided and leaning respondents backed Chow, nearly triple the amount backing her nearest competitors, Councillor Josh Matlow and former police chief Mark Saunders. One-fifth of respondents said they did not know which of the 102 candidates to back, whilst 15% chose less prominent parties. The poll gives Chow a firm lead of 10 percentage points despite a two percent drop from the previous poll one week earlier.
James Martin, an actor with Down's syndrome who starred in short film "An Irish Goodbye" will be granted an honorary doctorate by Ulster University. Martin became the first individual with Down's syndrome to win an Oscar as part of the film's cast, which took home numerous major prizes. Other notable honourees include broadcaster Sean Rafferty and poet Michael Longley. The university's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Bartholomew, said the honourees "are individuals making a genuine difference in their local or global community in various fields".
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to file paperwork for running for President of the US, ending the months of speculation in which he has fallen behind Donald Trump in the opinion polls. However, Trump still commands more than 56% of the Republican electorate, while DeSantis trails in a distant second place, at just shy of 20%. Republican campaign veterans say the polls reflect an increasingly disciplined Trump campaign apparatus that relentlessly attacks DeSantis, and a “shadow campaign” by the Florida governor that has yet to get off the ground.
Residents opposing the closure of an emergency department (ED) in Ontario, Canada, are hoping to take their battle to court as the deadline for the move approaches. Haliburton Highlands Health Services announced that the ED in Minden will close on 1 June and all emergency services will be transferred around 25km away to its Haliburton site. Campaigners, known as “Save Minden ER”, aim to raise CAD100,000 ($79,500) to mount a legal challenge to barrier the move before it gets under way. A spokesperson for the group, Patrick Porzuczek, said that if this was not achieved, no other ED would be established in the area. Without the service, patients would have to be taken out of the community for emergency care, he said. The decision to merge the two sites was aimed at “providing timely access to care”. A shortage of nursing and medical staff was cited as the main cause behind the board’s decision.
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is launching a bid to lead the Ontario Liberals to ultimately defeat Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives in 2026. A Crombie candidacy is viewed as an existential threat in Progressive Conservative circles; a senior Tory admitted that she is “a formidable opponent for us”. Having failed in two elections to Ford’s Tories, the party, lacking enough seats in the legislature, is looking to Crombie to revive them with her experience in urban governing bringing people back to the centre. Other potential candidates are Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi, and MPPs Stephanie Bowman, Ted Hsu and Adil Shamji.
Ford to buy lithium for electric car batteries from Quebec’s Nemaska Lithium
The Toronto Star
23-05-22 15:42
Ford has become Nemaska Lithium's first customer after signing a 11-year deal to buy up to 13,000 tonnes a year of lithium hydroxide for use in electric car batteries. Nemaska's factory in Bécancour, Canada is expected to open in 2026 and will produce lithium hydroxide, converting spodumene concentrate mined at the company's Whabouchi mine in northern Quebec. Nemaska is co-owned by Philadelphia-based lithium firm Livent and Quebec's economic development agency, Investissement Québec.
Bonnie Crombie, the mayor of Mississauga in Ontario, has set up an exploratory committee to assess whether to run for leadership of the province’s Liberal Party. If she enters the race, she will compete with a number of candidates already looking to revive the party, which has suffered huge losses in recent times. With just seven members of parliament and no official party status, the Ontario liberals need serious fail as the next election in the province is scheduled for 2026.
Ford has signed supply agreements with top lithium producers Albemarle and SQM, along with three smaller developers, as it seeks to shrink what it sees as a $7bn cost gap with rivals. The companies will provide Ford with the silvery-white metal needed for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Other auto manufacturers have sought to secure their own supplies of lithium and other EV metals, including General Motors, which has made a $650m investment in miner Lithium Americas and a $200m payment to Livent to lock in metal supplies.
