Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Dutch farmers protested government plans to reduce nitrogen emissions by dumping manure and garbage Wednesday on highways and setting fires alongside roads -- the latest actions in a summer of discontent. Police urged them to stop for safety reasons and were investigating who was responsible.
Traffic authorities said several roads in the central and eastern Netherlands were completely or partially blocked by the early morning blockades and fire services rushed to clear roads as traffic built up. Cleanup operations were expected to take hours on some roads.
Dutch media reported that at one location, a sign was left behind that said: "Sorry for the inconvenience, Rutte IV is driving us to despair," a reference to Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government, the fourth coalition he has led.
Police and security authorities appealed to farmers to halt what they described as dangerous situations.
"Protesting is a fundamental right and as long as it stays within the limits of the law, a lot is possible," the emergency services said in a joint statement. But they said the latest actions "seriously endanger road safety and can lead to life-threatening situations for road users."
The latest demonstrations came a day after a government-appointed mediator sent invitations to farmers' organizations to discuss with the country's ruling coalition ways of reducing nitrogen emissions.
"I see the talks as a turning point: breaking the deadlock together," mediator Johan Remkes said. "The cabinet has assured me that there is room and joint solutions are possible."
But some farmers have rejected the appointment of Remkes as an independent mediator because he is a member of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's center-right political party and a former deputy prime minister.
The farmers are angry at government targets for reining in emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia that they say threatens to wreck their agricultural way of life and put them out of business.
The government says emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia, which livestock produce, must be drastically reduced close to nature areas that are part of a network of protected habitats for endangered plants and wildlife stretching across the 27-nation European Union.
The ruling coalition wants to cut emissions of pollutants by 50% nationwide by 2030, calling the measure an "unavoidable transition" to improve soil, air and water quality in a EU nation known for its intensive farming practices. It has called on provincial authorities to draw up plans to reduce emissions and earmarked an extra 24.3 billion euros (US$24.6 billion) to fund the changes.
Farmers argue that they are being unfairly targeted while other industries, such as aviation, construction and transport, also are contributing to emissions and face less far-reaching rules. They also say the government is not giving them a clear picture of their futures amid the proposed reforms.
Earlier this year, the farmers blocked highways with tractors and blockaded supermarket distribution centres.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.