Month: February 2024

Daily News – Feb. 29, 2024

February 29, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Alavida Lifestyles is jacking up rents but hundreds and thousands of dollars, pushing people to find a new place to live.

Story 2 – Former PPC party guy who ran on an anti-vax platform, and who works for DND, was paid millions to work on the ArriveCAN app (and hundreds of millions for other contracts!)

Story 3 – Visas are back for Mexicans who visit Canada.

Story 4 – On the eve of the Flour Massacre, Canada said that it wants to drop aid on Gaza from the sky.

Story 5 – Violence in Chad as the government announces a date for the next election that is supposed to restore civilian, democratic rule.

Daily News – Feb. 28, 2024

February 28, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Man who was charged in connection with stealing a U-Haul and who was forced into incarceration while waiting trial, dies in a London prison.

Story 2 – Students force the University of Waterloo to ditch new vending machines that use facial recognition software for some reason.

Story 3 – Conestoga College offered a stunning 30,000 international student permits in 2023 alone; information coming from new CBC investigation about which institutions are driving international student enrolment.

Story 4 – It’s the eighth anniersary of the Phoenix payroll system and there are more problems then ever! Currently, there are 444,000 outstanding payroll issues.

Story 5 – Chinese migrants are increasingly moving through south to north American routes to migrate to the US.

Story 6 – The same day an attack on a Catholic church in Burkina Faso’s north killed 15 people, dozens were killed in the country’s east when a mosque was attacked.

Episode 270 – Two years of war in Ukraine, and for what?

February 27, 2024 Sandy and Nora

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about what has happened over two years of war in Ukraine and how the anti-war position remains the only one that will end the slaughter. Plus, pharmacare and shoddy reporting at the New York Times.

Daily News – Feb. 27, 2024

February 27, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Woman hits police-thrown spike belt, gets out of her car to inspect and then is killed by the person that the police are recklessly chasing.

Story 2 – Some 3000 contract workers and TAs are on strike at York University.

Story 3 – New regulatory bodies, fines and complaints mechanisms promised in Online Harms Act.

Story 4 – Government criticized over its Sudanese sponsorship program as being insufficient.

Story 5 – Active member of the US airforce sets himself on fire outside of Israeli consulate; last words are Free Palestine.

Daily News – Feb. 23, 2024

February 23, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Woman is the victim of a crane accident in Vancouver, IUOE Local 115 decries the state of crane operation safety in BC.

Story 2 – Cop (who was on sick leave) gets into a brawl with local teens; rallies his friends to convince a hearing that he’s actually a good guy.

Story 3 – Gatineau’s first woman mayor resigns over how horrible it is to be a woman and elected these days.

Story 4 – 7600% spike inpediatric flu hospitalizations between 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Story 5 – Ukraine blames the United States on their inability to resist Russia, warns Munich conference that every town in Europe is next on Russia’s list of invasions.

Story 6 – A US private company has landed a space craft on the moon; first time in more than 50 years that Americans have done this.

Daily News – Feb. 22, 2024

February 22, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Man fined $1800 for spending more than 21 days in one spot on Crown land.

Story 2 – Quebec’s government is ready to go to the supreme court to fight refugees who want to send their children to Quebec’s public daycare system.

Story 3 – During lockdowns, Quebec prisons saw a spike in suicides and suicide attempts.

Story 4 – 23 people dead after mine wall collapses in an illegal gold mine in Venezeula.

Story 5 – The prime minister of the DRC has resigned to sit as a member, triggering the dissolution of government.

Episode 269 – Spoiler Alert! Pharmacare?

February 20, 2024 Sandy and Nora

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about the NDP’s gamble with pharmacare. Will it happen? Will it not happen? We have to wait till March 1!! Plus, they recap the latest in Gaza.

Daily News – Feb. 20, 2024

February 20, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Renters in Canada are more likely to experience loneliness and financial difficulties. Related: up to 30% of Canada’s rental stock is owned by investment firms.

Story 2 – Profiteering by shrinking packaging but charging the same (or more!) abounds. Here’s what other countries are doing to signal to their population that it’s happening (Canada has promised to pay for research into shrinkflation)

Story 3 – The US may move a motion at the UN Security Council that calls for a cease fire — the first time that they have used those words.

Story 4 – Julian Assange might be out of legal options before being forcibly transfered to the US to face up to 175 years in prison.

Daily News – Feb. 19, 2024

February 19, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – 16 year-old violently arrested, held for 13 hours in police detachment, in NWT

Story 2 – Homeless man lives on $175 per month, highlighting how completely inadequate Canada’s benefits are.

Story 3 – Zombie fires threaten to kickstart wildfire season even earlier this year.

Story 4 – Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis is completely out of commission and the WHO is being glocked by the Israeli military from bringing along emergency fuel.

Story 5 – Russia captures Avdiivka in Eastern Ukraine.

Daily News – Feb. 16, 2024

February 16, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Two teens intentionally run down by man in Abbotsford.

Story 2 – TSB recommends that regulations mandate that helicopters have technology to help guide pilots in zero visibility, after inquest into crash that killed three people.

Story 3 – Parliamentarians are increasingly relying on RCMP security details.

Story 4 – Canada working on raising defense spending to get it closer to NATO’s required 2% of GDP.

Story 5 – 72 of 99 journalists killed last year around the world were Palestinian.

Story 6 – Kenya moves 21 black rhinos to a vast preserve in the hopes of growing their population.

Daily News – Feb. 15, 2024

February 15, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Cop hockey coach charged with assaulting and threatning a 12-year old on opposing team.

Story 2 – January was a month of record average rents across Canada. Highest percentage increase was in Edmonton.

Story 3 – The company behind the ArriveCAN app scandal was given more than $200M in contracts since 2015.

Story 4 – Canada, alongside New Zealand and Australia is calling on Israel to stop its plans to invade Rafah. No news on whether or not Canada will stop selling arms to Israel.

Story 5 – Leaders in Tobago call for the owner of a barge that spilled oil in their waters to identify themselves so they can clean it up.

Story 6 – Prabowo looks to have won the election in Indonesia, alongside the son of Jokowi.

Daily News – Feb. 14, 2024

February 14, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 -Rogers Sugar strike is over and The Tyee introduces us to the Dude of Dudes, a Canada goose.

Story 2 – Quebec fast-tracks training for new home-based personal service workers, will pay students $12,000 to attend.

Story 3 – The feds flow $176M to small municipalities to build housing in exchange for bylaw and regulation changes that will make it easier to build housing.

Story 4 – Hospital targeted by Israeli snipers in Gaza.

Story 5 – At least 45 people were killed by Ethiopian forces in Amhara region, finds Ethopian Human Rights Commission.

Episode 268 – Is it worth saving Canadian media?

February 13, 2024 Sandy and Nora

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about the cuts to Bell Media, the future of Canadian journalism and how Israel’s assault on Gaza has laid bare the lack of capacity that media has to deal with the biggest issues in the world right now.

Daily News – Feb. 13, 2024

February 13, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Man charged with first degree murder of his wife, niece and three children.

Story 2 – A Calgarian is sitting on 20 empty units in St. Stephen NB, a town of 4600 where more than 500 families are waiting for affordible housing.

Story 3 – Ontario Court of Appeal finds that Bill 124 was as unconstitutional as everyone was saying it was.

Story 4 – Canada Border Services — not just racist but also bad with money.

Story 5 – Imran Khan’s party wins the most seats in Pakistan.

Daily News – Feb. 12, 2024

February 12, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Southern Manitoba man in custody after three children, two women at three different sites are all found dead.

Story 2 – Extremely powerful opioid has turned up in the Quebec City region and public health is warning to watch out for little green tablets. They evade fentenyl testing. Carry naloxone.

Story 3 – Exports to Israel from Canada since Oct. 7 are higher than ever reported before.

Story 4 – Cousins are going extinct in Canada

Story 5 – Israel bombs Rafah by air and by sea, killing between 50 and 100+ people.

Daily News – Feb. 9. 2024

February 9, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Widow of Amazon worker who died after a fire alarm is moved to a 1-bdroom appartment to be able to avoid a massive rent increase in her 2-bdroom appartment.

Story 2 – Montreal couple had to pay $200 to get access to the Minister of Transportation to talk about reducing drunk driving.

Story 3 – Three delegates uninvited from a meeting with clerks of the SCC over posts in support of Gaza.

Story 4 – 4800 jobs cut at Bell, including brutal cuts to Bell Media; company made more than $2B in profts last year.

Story 5 – Thousand flee from villages around Goma in DRC as M23 fighters arrive.

Daily News – Feb. 8, 2024

February 8, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – 14 ODs in a matter of hours in downtown Belleville, CBC only talks to cops about it

Story 2 – CTV Calgary ran a poll from a far-right group about abortion and parental involvement and then had to overhaul their story to make it about the group that ran the poll.

Story 3 – Big investigation into why 34 trucks have hit overpasses on BC roads since 2021 by the Vancouver Sun finds that a wide range of cost-cutting measures are to blame.

Story 4 – Amid a total cellphone service blackout, Pakistan heads to the polls today.

Daily News – Feb. 7, 2024

February 7, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Bees in Saskatchewan think that it’s spring already, which will be a disaster for their population if they start to make baby bees.

Story 2 – Massive recall fo Honda vehicles made between 2020 and 2022 over airbag sensor issues.

Story 3 – “Trust Ukraine” says Canadian advisor to Ukraine’s military, over request to give that country 83,000 decomissioned, potentially untable and ready-to-be destroyed missiles from a CAF munitions depot

Story 4 – Cease fire extended between the ELN and Colombia’s military for 180 days.

Story 5 – At least 10 people are dead after blast in busy market in Mogadishu.

Episode 267 – Can politics chill out for a second please?

February 6, 2024 Sandy and Nora

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about international students and how the story is being told is full of mostly racist mistruths, Selina Robinson in BC gets a faculty member fired and is now demoted herself, Israel continues to pound Gaza and Brandi Morin is being surveilled by a tech firm that has contracts with the Alberta government.

**This was recorded on Sunday night before Robinson lost her cabinet seat

Daily News – Feb. 6, 2024

February 6, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Cops in Val d’Or want millions of dollars over how they were protrayed in an episode of Enqûete about abuse of Indigenous women from 2015

Story 2 – Selina Robinson out as PSE minister for saying that Palestine before Israel was “crappy land” … Global News manages to report about pre-Isreal Palestine without saying Palestine once.

Story 3 – Turns out that the PMO invited a Ukrainian Nazi to the after-party event in Toronto with Zelensky.

Story 4 – Federal government blew $600,000 on hotel rooms that no one used, plus millions to leadership consultants for a federal anti-homelessness strategy.

Story 5 – Deaths in West Bank highest since 2005, when data started being counted.

Story 6 – Nicaragua is bringing Canada and other countries to the ICJ over arms exports to Israel.

Daily News – Feb. 5, 2024

February 5, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Mosque leadership says NDP MLAs not welcome in their spaces until Robinson is sanctioned for her racist comments.

Story 2 – 150 cm of snow have buried parts of Cape Breton.

Story 3 – Foreign property owner Christya Freeland extends Canada’s foreign property ownership rules.

Story 4 – Probably more than 100 people have been killed by forest fires in Chile.

Daily News – Feb. 2, 2024

February 2, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Man who had seizure while police pined him down, tased him and then arrested him for assaulting then, has charges dropped.

Story 2 – Edmonton police chief Dale McFee attended UCP fundraiser where MLAs dressed up as dinosaurs and ran around.

Story 3 – Vitamin makers go on strike!

Story 4 – Transit workers represented by CUPE 4500 will be voting on an agreement that was hammered out with the help of a mediator.

Story 5 – The 2013 murder of Sammy Yatim by former cop James Forcillo has been deemed a homicide by a jury.

Story 6 – UAW crosses important milestone in their organizing drive at the Alamaba Hyundai plant.

Daily News – Feb. 1, 2024

February 1, 2024 Sandy and Nora

Story 1 – Rotating strikes start today in Saskatchwan as the province continues to refuse to actually do its job.

Story 2 – Is it aliens or Starlink satellites? These pilots were alarmed enough to file unidentified object reports.

Story 3 – The federal government has approved news military equipment sales to Israel since Oct. 7, but Global Affairs says that the equipment was “non-lethal” … without saying what that actually means.

Story 4 – Tesla sued by 25 counties in California for mislabelling hazardous waste and sending it to local landfills.

Story 5 – General strike has successfully pushed against some reforms from Argentina’s new far-right government, but the IMF is still happy