As Nashville residents reeled from a fatal grade school shooting that left six dead, a federal judge quietly cleared the way to drop the minimum age for Tennesseans to carry handguns publicly without a permit to 18 — just two years after a new law set the age at 21. The move marked yet another relaxation of gun laws in ruby red Tennessee, where GOP leaders have steadily chipped away at firearms regulations and lambasted those who have warned that doing so comes at a cost. It’s a familiar sceneRead more

Eleven Canadian cities are among the world’s top destinations for travellers with sustainability in mind, according to the “2023 City Index for Mindful Travellers,” created by travel website KAYAK. KAYAK says it created the list for people looking to reduce their carbon footprint when travelling. According to the index, Vancouver ranked No. 1 in Canada and North America, and 38 in the world for the top cities for mindful travellers. Halifax and Montreal ranked second and third in Canada, and 53 and 59 in the world, respectively. KAYAK says 28Read more

Sunday’s game vs. Minnesota also 1st all-woman coaching matchup in Premier Hockey Federation final history Toronto Six players celebrate a goal during Game 3 of their semifinal victory over the Connecticut Whale. The Six will meet the Minnesota Whitecaps in the Isobel Cup final on Sunday. (Lori Bolliger/Premier Hockey Federation) 29 comments Although Sunday’s championship final will be the last game of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) season, it may be more notable as a game of firsts. For the first time, a Canadian team — the Toronto Six — will contend for theRead more

Aims to increase first language speakers by teaching them from birth Iethiiehiá:rons means ‘we raise them’ in Kanien’kéha (Mohawk language) and is the name of a project that supports parents raising their children with Kanien’kéha as their first language. Four families just completed the first year of the pilot program. Taiawentón:ti Chelsea Sunday, who is from Akwesasne, on the Ontario-Quebec-New York state border, is also co-founder of Ionkwahronkha’onhátie’ (We’re becoming fluent), an adult language program. She and her co-founders Karonhiióstha Shea Sky and Kaienkwinehtha Ransom wanted to create a space for language learners to continue their language journey outside of Kanien’kéhaRead more

‘Bartering is an amazing way to offset the costs in your life,’ says a Toronto financial planner After a customer paid for a haircut with beef and potatoes, a family-run barber shop in southwestern Ontario began accepting other food offers in exchange for a fresh cut — which may not be that unusual given the high cost of things these days. In fact, Toronto-based financial planner Shannon Lee Simmons says there’s a growing interest in bartering, driven by a tough economy. “Bartering is an amazing way to offset the costs in your life,”Read more

‘We are running out of space, particularly in the Lower Mainland’: cemetery designer Bill Pechet A little more than 25 years ago, John Douglas Carnahan bought the rights to two burial plots in the northeast corner of a hilly cemetery in a dense area of Burnaby, B.C. Back then, they cost $750 each. As years passed and space grew scarce, the cost of a single plot in the same cemetery surged to more than $10,000. After Carnahan’s death at 91, his widow decided not to use the plots. Her battle for the right to sellRead more

Île-à-la-Crosse school operated for more than 100 years, survivors not included in previous settlements Hundreds of boarding school survivors are in Saskatoon this weekend. It’s the first time so many people who were forced to go to the Île-à-la-Crosse boarding school in northern Saskatchewan are together. Organizers of the event, which is running until Sunday at TCU Place, are calling it a “survivors’ gathering.” They say it’s a chance to share stories and push for recognition for physical, sexual and emotional abuse they endured at the school. Survivors drove from allRead more

Canada willing to accept 15,000 migrants through legal channels, but 40,000 crossed in 2022 Quebec immigration experts say closing Roxham Road to asylum seekers may go against Canada’s international obligations and could result in more deaths at the border, after an already deadly year. Two men died attempting to cross the Canadian border within two months of each other. The first, 43-year-old Fritznel Richard, was trying to reach his family in Florida in time for the holidays. His body was found in early January. The second, Jose Leos Cervantes, 45, was alsoRead more