Paramedics say the children were taken to hospital with minor injuries Karen Butting and Bryanne Smart both say they felt the ferry going too fast to properly dock. “I kind of braced myself and we hit the dock,” said Butting, who was riding a Toronto Island ferry Saturday afternoon when it crashed while pulling in to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. Butting said the force of the crash caused Smart to topple onto her daughters. “People at the top of the stairs had fallen on everybody on the bottom,” she said. “OurRead more

Woman in her 60s accelerated into crowd at outdoor wedding, say investigators. She is co-operating with police Emergency responders in West Vancouver, B.C., say two people were killed and 10 others were injured after a vehicle drove through the yard of a residence where a wedding party was taking place Saturday. West Vancouver police spokesperson Const. Nicole Braithwaite said that just after 6 p.m. PT a woman in her late 60s driving a vehicle on a shared driveway “accelerated forward and crashed into multiple individuals who were attending a wedding.” She did not sayRead more

English and French remain dominant languages, new census data shows The number of Canadians who predominantly speak a language other than English or French hit a record high in 2021, according to new census data released on Wednesday. English and French remain the dominant languages in Canada according to Statistics Canada, but the number of people who speak a non-dominant language at home grew to 4.6 million, or roughly 13 per cent of the population. Meanwhile, at least one in four Canadians reported having at least one first language other thanRead more

Threats include government plans to release oilsands tailings into watershed A United Nations body that monitors some of the world’s greatest natural glories is in Canada again to assess government responses to ongoing threats to the country’s largest national park, including plans to release treated oilsands tailings into its watershed. In a series of meetings beginning Thursday, UNESCO investigators are to determine whether Wood Buffalo National Park should be on the list of World Heritage Sites In Danger— a move the agency has already deemed “likely.” “Canada is not delivering,” said Melody Lepine of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, whichRead more

More than half of English speakers live in multilingual households The proportion of people in Quebec who mainly speak French at home has continued to dwindle, according to Statistics Canada. In 2021, 85.5 per cent of Quebecers reported speaking French at home at least regularly, according to census data published by the government agency Wednesday. That compares to 87.1 per cent in 2016. Although the number of people speaking French at home has increased — rising from 6.4 million in 2016 to 6.5 million in 2021 — they now makeRead more

Diane Therrien explains why she sent out a profanity-filled tweet about a weekend protest The mayor of a small Ontario city is getting a lot of attention today — not for ducking a tough question, but for answering one in some very direct terms. Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien was called on to respond to a scene that unfolded in her city east of Toronto over the weekend. A few dozen people had gathered outside the city’s police station after a call from a QAnon conspiracy theorist who purports to be the “QueenRead more

‘History will show this was a total overreaction’ — Dean French The man who negotiated on the City of Ottawa’s behalf with Tamara Lich and other organizers of the Freedom Convoy says an agreement for truckers to leave the city’s residential streets wasn’t given enough time to play out before the federal government used its emergency powers to quell the weeks-long occupation. “This is a black mark on Canadian history,” Dean French said of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, just a day afterRead more

‘It’s breaking us,’ says Terrace, B.C., dad as family short 2 passports after 5-month wait Canadians are getting creative trying to cut the long waits for passports that have been dragging on for close to five months after a surge in post-pandemic travel demand overwhelmed the system. By Aug. 11, a total of 1,092,560 passport applications had been filed this year – with more than 550,000 of those applications flooding in since April. Service Canada said it’s prioritizing the applications of people traveling imminently, increasing staff and processing sites. Despite allRead more

Fishing boat had nearly 9,840 litres of oil and diesel on board when it went down in Salish Sea Crews are assessing the waters off San Juan Island in the Salish Sea near Vancouver Island after a fishing boat sank and leaked fuel on Saturday. The Aleutian Isle had nearly 9,840 litres of oil and diesel on board when it went down off the west coast of San Juan Island in Washington state. Gerald Graham, a Victoria-based consultant who specializes in marine oil spill response and prevention, said the diesel fuelRead more

‘He should be proud and the whole community is proud,’ says Jim MacEachern The Cambridge Bay airport erupted in cheers, and tears, Monday as Eekeeluak Avalak entered, bearing the territory’s first ever medal — Gold — from the Canada Summer Games. “Happy to be home,” Avalak told CBC News shortly after his plane landed in the western Nunavut community. The 18-year-old wrestler, known affectionately as Eekee in the community of about 2,000, defeated Alberta’s Fred Calingay on Thursday. Avalak became only the second athlete from Nunavut to win a medal at the CanadaRead more