Chilliwack news

• Alberta sovereignty bill close to finish line as government invokes debate time limit

  07-12-2022 23:59 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s sovereignty bill galloped toward the finish line Wednesday, with the government using debate time limits to rebut what it called Opposition delay tactics.
  Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the government was on pace to pass the bill Wednesday night or in the early hours Thursday, saying Smith’s United Conservatives are desperate to take the controversial bill out of the spotlight.
  “I suspect we’ll see them jam it th
  
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• US appeals ruling that would lift asylum restrictions

  07-12-2022 23:37 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. government said Wednesday it is appealing a court ruling that would otherwise lift asylum restrictions that have become the cornerstone of border enforcement in recent years.
  The enforcement rule first took effect in March 2020, denying migrants’ rights to seek asylum under U.S. and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
  The Homeland Security Department said it would file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Distr
  
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• Trudeau says 120 countries are ready to agree to 30 by 30 framework at COP15

  07-12-2022 23:34 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he believes at least 120 countries are ready to sign on to a COP15 nature summit target to protect nearly one-third of land and marine coastlines by 2030.
  But he acknowledges the negotiations with some of the five biggest countries in the world pose a diplomatic and political challenge.
  China is officially the host of this conference but because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions there, the event is being held Montreal.
  That gives Canada more influ
  
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• Inspired by late father’s words, Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey reaching new heights

  07-12-2022 23:11 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  Tom Morrissey sat his sons down in the summer of 2021.
  Cancer ravaging his body and aware he was short on time, the message was clear and to the point.
  “He didn’t want me and my brother to dwell on it and let it ruin our lives,” Winnipeg Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey recalled. 
  “Or take us to a place where we’re not living our lives to the fullest.”
  Tom Morrissey died that August at age 69. After a period of grieving, and with the new hockey season appro
  
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• Tens of thousands of families have applied for federal child dental benefit: Gould

  07-12-2022 23:06 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — Social Development Minister Karina Gould says 35,000 people have applied for the new child dental benefit since the program opened a week ago.
  Gould was responding to an opposition question in the House of Commons about Canadians who are struggling with the rising cost of living.
  The new benefit is aimed at children under the age of 12 from low- and middle-income families who do not have private insurance.
  Eligible families can get up to $650 per child per year to help with the co
  
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• Media shunning transparency law due to worsening delays, journalist says

  07-12-2022 22:54 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — Veteran journalist Dean Beeby says reporters are abandoning the federal Access to Information Act as a research tool because turnaround times are terrible and getting worse. 
  The access law allows journalists and others who pay a $5 fee to request documents — from internal emails and expense claims to briefing memos and studies — but it has long been criticized as antiquated and poorly administered. 
  Federal agencies are supposed to respond within 30 days or
  
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• Dan Coulter named new Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit

  07-12-2022 22:44 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  VICTORIA — B.C. Premier David Eby announced a new cabinet Wednesday that features the elevation of Chilliwack MLA Dan Coulter to Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit.
  The former Chilliwack school board trustee, who was first elected in 2020, will now have a higher profile role as Eby and his new cabinet ministers say they will tackle the problems people are facing and work to make life better for British Columbians.
  “British Columbia is a wonderful place to live, but peop
  
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• YOUR PERSPECTIVE: NDP health care delays and blame games costing lives

  07-12-2022 22:19 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  It’s always telling when a government has more to say in criticism of others than it does in praise of their own accomplishments. It’s a worrying sign that maybe they don’t have many accomplishments to be proud of.Recently, Premier David Eby and his NDP government finally announced they are going ahead with starting B.C.’s second medical school at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus — the only catch is that it won’t be producing graduates until at le
  
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• Chilliwack MLAs get new responsibilities in legislature after cabinet announced - Chilliwack Progress

  07-12-2022 21:55
  Chilliwack MLAs get new responsibilities in legislature after cabinet announced  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• Quebec’s auditor finds Education Department ill-prepared for pivot to online learning

  07-12-2022 21:46 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  Quebec’s auditor general says the province’s Education Department was ill-prepared when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to shutter in March 2020 and it still does not have a complete picture of the learning delays that resulted.
  Guylaine Leclerc expresses concern in her audit of the Education Department that the lack of data won’t permit for effective remedial measures, meaning some students could drop out and be deprived of a diploma.
  Her report says it’s not irreve
  
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• FBI got tip about shooting suspect a day before 2021 arrest

  07-12-2022 21:38 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  DENVER (AP) — Authorities said the person who would later kill five at a Colorado gay nightclub was on the FBI’s radar a day before being arrested for threatening to kill family members and blow up their home but agents closed out their case just weeks later.
  The disclosure by the FBI to The Associated Press creates a new timeline for when law enforcement was first alerted to Anderson Lee Aldrich as a potential danger. Previously it was thought Aldrich only became known to authoritie
  
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• Quebec coroner questions why witnesses failed to report drunk driver before crash

  07-12-2022 21:06 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner is questioning why people who saw a drunk driver get behind the wheel failed to call authorities before he got into a crash that killed four members of a family north of Quebec City last year.
  The report by coroner Donald Nicole says multiple witnesses saw Éric Légaré drinking at a bar all afternoon and subsequently driving erratically, but only one person called police.
  Evidence showed Légaré was driving at least 130 kilometre
  
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• Trial ordered for 5 men in plot to kidnap Michigan governor

  07-12-2022 20:39 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Five men were turned over for trial Wednesday on charges involving a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
  Michael Null, William Null, Eric Molitor and Shawn Fix, all from Michigan, are accused of providing material support for terrorist acts as well as a gun crime. Brian Higgins of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, was charged with the providing material support count.
  Judge Michael Stepka ruled that evidence presented in a preliminary hearing justifi
  
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• Man arrested after egg allegedly thrown at King Charles III - Chilliwack Progress

  07-12-2022 20:30
  Man arrested after egg allegedly thrown at King Charles III  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• National security concerns prompt bill to modernize foreign investment screening

  07-12-2022 20:29 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — The Liberal government says it will make the most significant updates to the federal investment screening law in more than a decade to address evolving national security concerns.
  Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne plans to table the proposed changes to the Investment Canada Act later today.
  Champagne’s ministerial mandate letter directs him to promote economic security and combat foreign interference by modernizing the act to strengthen the national securi
  
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• Canada’s government will review RCMP equipment contract with ties to China: Trudeau

  07-12-2022 20:27 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is reviewing an RCMP equipment contract with a company that has ties to China’s government. 
  Radio-Canada reports that the federal Procurement Department awarded a $550,000 contract to an Ontario company last year to build and maintain a radio frequency filtering system for the Mounties.
  Its parent company has been owned by Chinese telecommunications firm Hytera since 2017, and the Chinese government owns about 1
  
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• Calgary will host curling’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2024

  07-12-2022 20:21 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  Calgary has been named the host city for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 
  The Canadian women’s curling championship will take place Feb 16 to 25 at the WinSport Event Centre, the same venue that hosted the event in 2021 before near-empty stands due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  The WinSport Event Centre has a seating capacity of around 3,000.
  “It’s a great privilege to welcome Canada’s top women’s curling teams back to the city in 2024,” said Calgary
  
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• Mint issues black-ringed toonie in memory of Queen Elizabeth II - Chilliwack Progress

  07-12-2022 20:20
  Mint issues black-ringed toonie in memory of Queen Elizabeth II  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• Home sales, prices continue to decline in Chilliwack and district - Hope Standard

  07-12-2022 20:11
  Home sales, prices continue to decline in Chilliwack and district  Hope Standard
  
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• Peru’s president dissolves Congress, which then ousts him

  07-12-2022 20:05 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian President Pedro Castillo dissolved the nation’s Congress on Wednesday and called for new legislative elections, trying to beat lawmakers to the punch as they prepared a third attempt to remove him. Congress then voted to oust him and appointed his vice president to lead the nation.
  The national ombudsman’s office, said in a statement before the congressional vote that after years of democracy, Peru is in the midst of a constitutional collapse “t
  
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• China eases anti-COVID measures following protests - Chilliwack Progress

  07-12-2022 20:05
  China eases anti-COVID measures following protests  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• ‘More to do’ on systemic barriers facing Muslim charities, Trudeau acknowledges

  07-12-2022 20:04 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledges there is “significantly more to do” on the systemic barriers that confront Muslim charities amid concerns from a federal watchdog that his review of the issue also faces roadblocks.
  In a statement last month, taxpayers’ ombudsperson François Boileau said his office was having trouble obtaining information needed from the Canada Revenue Agency to conduct his review.
  Following her participation in a national summit
  
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• Poulin first female hockey player to win Canada’s athlete of the year honour

  07-12-2022 19:50 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  TORONTO — Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin has won the 2023 Northern Star Award, making her the first female hockey player to claim the honour given annually to Canada’s athlete of the year.
  The 31-year-old Beauceville, Que. forward led Canada’s women’s hockey team to both a world title and Olympic gold — scoring twice in a 3-2 win over the U.S. in the championship game in Beijing.
  Poulin finished second in scoring at the Beijing Games with 17 points, one behind t
  
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• 2-vehicle crash near Deroche sends 3 to hospital on Monday - Chilliwack Progress

  07-12-2022 19:14
  2-vehicle crash near Deroche sends 3 to hospital on Monday  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• Police call not to search for women’s remains “a breach of human dignity,” AFN hears

  07-12-2022 19:12 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — A Mohawk official tasked with helping Indigenous communities investigate unmarked graves says Winnipeg police’s refusal to search for the remains of missing women in a landfill is a “breach of human dignity.”
  Kimberly Murray made the comment at a gathering of Assembly of First Nations chiefs in Ottawa. 
  Murray, a former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, was appointed by the federal government to serve as a special inter
  
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• Chilliwack-area real estate sales slow to a trickle in November

  07-12-2022 18:37 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  CHILLIWACK — Real estate transactions in the greater Chilliwack area and surrounding communities slowed to a trickle in November, as higher benchmark interest rates may be dissuading prospective home buyers from moving forward.The Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board released its monthly real estate sales showing a continued slowdown in market activity as only 70 single-family homes sold in the CADREB jurisdiction, which encompasses Chilliwack, Agassiz, Hope, Boston Bar and Harrison.
  
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• Upgrades at Molson Coors brewery in Chilliwack will take customers ... - Lacombe Express

  07-12-2022 18:35
  Upgrades at Molson Coors brewery in Chilliwack will take customers ...  Lacombe Express
  
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• Upgrades at Molson Coors brewery in Chilliwack will take customers beyond the beer aisle - Saanich News

  07-12-2022 18:35
  Upgrades at Molson Coors brewery in Chilliwack will take customers beyond the beer aisle  Saanich News
  
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• Upgrades at Molson Coors brewery in Chilliwack will take customers beyond the beer aisle - Peace Arch News

  07-12-2022 18:35
  Upgrades at Molson Coors brewery in Chilliwack will take customers beyond the beer aisle  Peace Arch News
  
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• Croatia soccer federation fined after fans verbally abuse Canadian ‘keeper

  07-12-2022 18:18 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  DOHA, Qatar — FIFA has fined the Croatian soccer federation 50,000 Swiss francs (C$72,500) for after the team’s fans verbally abused and taunted Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan during a game at the World Cup.
  FIFA said the charge against Croatia was related to “use of words and objects to transmit a message that is not appropriate for a sports event.”
  Borjan was born in an ethnic Serbian region of Croatia. He and his family left their hometown in 1995 when it was taken by
  
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• Abbotsford PD searching for missing 26-year-old woman

  07-12-2022 18:06 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  ABBOTSFORD — Just a day after the Abbotsford Police Department said that a missing 14-year-old girl had been reported missing and then later found, they have another missing female case to investigate.The Abbotsford Police posted on Twitter early Wednesday morning (Dec. 7) at 5:07 a.m. that they are trying to locate 26-year-old Shoshanna Nider. She was last seen around the 800 block of Peardonville Road.Shoshanna Nider is described as 5’3″ tall, with black and green hair, and b
  
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• Woman in Maple Ridge, B.C., injured in targeted shooting: police

  07-12-2022 18:00 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. — RCMP say a woman is expected to survive after she was shot Monday in a targeted attack.
  They say in a news release the incident occurred that evening at a home on Dewdney Trunk Road.
  She was taken to hospital for treatment by BC Emergency Health Services. 
  Police say they believe the attack was not related to the Lower Mainland gang conflict. 
  An RCMP Investigational Support Team is leading the investigation in conjunction with the Serious Crime Unit. 
  Po
  
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• Mint issues black-ringed toonie in memory of Queen Elizabeth II

  07-12-2022 17:33 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  The Royal Canadian Mint is issuing a new black-ringed toonie to honour Queen Elizabeth II. 
  The mint says the coin’s black outer ring is intended to evoke a “mourning armband” to honour the queen, who died in September after 70 years on the throne.  
  The mint says it will start to circulate nearly five million of the coins this month, and they will gradually appear as banks restock inventories. 
  Aside from the black ring, the mint says the coin retains the same d
  
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• Unsworth Elementary principal kisses a fish for a great cause

  07-12-2022 17:29 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  CHILLIWACK — A promise made is a promise kept.
  Unsworth Elementary principal Shawn McLeod found a way to help persuade students and parents of the primary school to give back to the community in what was billed as the “Eagles Ending Empty Tummies” food drive from November 1 to December 5.Students at Unsworth in Sardis were encouraged to give 2,022 food items or more so that they could see their principal pucker up and plant a wet one on a fish.McLeod, whose colourful personalit
  
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• Duke Energy: All equipment damaged in NC shooting now fixed

  07-12-2022 17:24 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Duke Energy said Wednesday that it has completed repairs on substation equipment damaged when it was shot up and that it expects power to be fully restored by the evening.In a statement to customers on its website, the energy company said that all of the equipment damaged in an attack on two North Carolina substations Saturday has been fixed or replaced. The company said that Moore County customers will gradually get power back throughout the day as it finishes testing
  
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• Watchdog finds many failures before Whitey Bulger’s killing

  07-12-2022 17:07 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A series of missteps by federal Bureau of Prisons officials preceded the October 2018 beating death of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, the Justice Department’s inspector general said in a report on Wednesday.The watchdog is recommending that at least six Bureau of Prisons workers be disciplined, according to the report. The inspector general found no evidence that there was “malicious intent” by any Bureau of Prisons employee
  
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• Canada commits $800 million to support Indigenous-led conservation projects

  07-12-2022 16:58 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  MONTREAL — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will spend up to $800 million to support four major Indigenous-led conservation projects across the country covering nearly one million square kilometres.
  Trudeau made the announcement today at the Biosphere environment museum in Montreal accompanied by Indigenous leaders and federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault as a UN meeting on global biodiversity, known as COP15, gets underway today in the city.
  Trudeau says
  
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• Alberta, Saskatchewan chiefs call for sovereignty acts to be withdrawn

  07-12-2022 16:41 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — First Nations chiefs in Alberta and Saskatchewan are calling for their provinces to toss proposed legislation they say is inherently undemocratic, unconstitutional and infringes on Indigenous rights.
  The chiefs are putting forward an emergency resolution at the Assembly of First Nations special assembly to reject sovereignty bills that are before both provincial legislatures. 
  Chief Tony Alexis on behalf of Treaty 6 says there has been no consultation or dialogue with First N
  
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• Visa issues exclude Indigenous voices from COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal

  07-12-2022 16:33 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — The COP15 conference on biodiversity loss is underway in Montreal, but hundreds of delegates from developing countries are missing out due to visa issues.
  This past summer, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada caused an uproar when it denied visas for multiple African delegates for the International AIDS Conference, also held in Montreal.
  The department said it had procedures in place to make sure this month’s UN summit goes smoothly, such as issuing special codes fo
  
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• Zelenskyy and ‘spirit of Ukraine’ named Time person of year - Chilliwack Progress

  07-12-2022 16:30
  Zelenskyy and ‘spirit of Ukraine’ named Time person of year  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• Bob Rae heads to Haiti in attempt at political consensus, amid possible intervention

  07-12-2022 16:03 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  OTTAWA — Canada is trying to dislodge a political impasse in Haiti by sending one of its top diplomats to that country.
  Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, starts an in-person push for negotiations today in Port-au-Prince.
  Haiti is facing a series of crises, as armed gangs block access to fuel and essentials, leading to water and power outages that is worsening an outbreak of cholera.
  The Haitian government has asked for a foreign military to intervene and push out th
  
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• Study finds that Canadian girls and their parents want a better, safer sport system

  07-12-2022 15:44 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  Participation rates of girls in Canadian sport have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent study, despite fears that one in four would not return post-COVID.
  That’s the good news.
  The bad news is those numbers were bleak to begin with, specifically in the teenage years when participation drops off, and among girls with intersecting identities such as Black, LGBTQ, Indigenous and those from lower income homes.
  “The fact that participation rates have effectively returne
  
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• Indonesia releases bombmaker in Bali attacks on parole

  07-12-2022 14:35 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A bombmaker in the 2002 Bali attacks that killed 202 people was released from an Indonesian prison on parole Wednesday after serving half his 20-year sentence, despite the opposition of Australia’s prime minister, who described him as “abhorrent.”
  Umar Patek was a leading member of the al Qaida-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah, which is blamed for the bombings at two nightclubs in Kuta Beach. Indonesian authorities have said Patek was successfully
  
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• Woodbine announces change of $1 million stakes race to King’s Plate for 2023

  07-12-2022 14:12 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  TORONTO — After 70 years as The Queen’s Plate, Canada’s oldest thoroughbred race is getting a name change next year.
  The $1 million stakes race will be known as The King’s Plate when it is run for the 164th time on Aug. 20, 2023, at Woodbine Racetrack.
  The change follows the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8 and accession of King Charles III.
  Woodbine Entertainment said in a release it plans to honour Queen Elizabeth in 2023 for her contributions to horse racing in C
  
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• Decorated speedskater Isabelle Weidemann resets targets post-Beijing

  07-12-2022 12:08 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  CALGARY — Isabelle Weidemann is proud of the state of her Olympic medals.
  “Super-dented,” the Canadian speedskater said cheerfully.
  Winner of a complete set of gold, silver and bronze medals in Beijing in February, the 27-year-old from Ottawa encourages public handling of her hardware.
  “I remember a long time ago, maybe 10 years ago, seeing Chandra Crawford’s Olympic gold medal. She’s a cross-country skier. It was destroyed,” Weidemann told The Canadian
  
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• Microsoft strikes 10-year deal with Nintendo on Call of Duty - Chilliwack Progress

  07-12-2022 10:30
  Microsoft strikes 10-year deal with Nintendo on Call of Duty  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• Amid outcry, San Francisco pauses on ‘killer police robots’ - Chilliwack Progress

  07-12-2022 10:30
  Amid outcry, San Francisco pauses on ‘killer police robots’  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• In The News for Dec. 7 : Will the Bank of Canada raise its key interest rate again?

  07-12-2022 10:18 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Dec. 7 …
  What we are watching in Canada …
  The Bank of Canada is expected to raise its key interest rate today, making it the seventh consecutive time it does so this year.The central bank will publish its rate decision at 10 a.m. accompanied by a news release that will provide insight into the reasons behind the governing co
  
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• Hard talks on hard targets: real work begins at Montreal biodiversity conference

  07-12-2022 10:03 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  MONTREAL — Representatives from nearly 200 countries are to begin the real work Wednesday at a crucial meeting on global biodiversity — hard talks on hard targets for saving enough of the world’s ecosystems to keep the planet functioning. 
  Observers say they’re optimistic the 196 countries at the COP15 meeting in Montreal can agree that nearly a third of Earth’s lands and waters should come under some form protection by 2030.
  “There is huge support for it
  
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• Billed as remedy for doctor shortage, virtual medicine in N.S. hits bottleneck

  07-12-2022 10:03 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  HALIFAX — Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual medicine offered a novel way for patients to see doctors during a lockdown and hope that technology could alleviate chronic pressure on a strained health system.
  For many in Nova Scotia, though, the early promise has proven illusory.
  Tim Neufeld, 28, from Dartmouth, N.S., has been on Nova Scotia’s wait-list for a family doctor for five years. He said in a recent interview that he was left frustrated after several unsuccessful attempts
  
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