In brief: Taxi drivers, dispensaries, Donald Trump

Graphic by @spooky_soda

 

City in Brief

An 85-year-old woman died after being hit by a car on the corner of Jean-Talon St. and de Lorimier Ave. during Friday rush hour, according to The Montreal Gazette. Police said neither alcohol nor speed were the cause of the collision.

A boil-water advisory was issued on Saturday in Anjou, according to CBC.The advisory suggested to boil the water for at least one minute before consumption. Children should be monitored or washed with washcloths to avoid swallowing, according to the advisory.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante shuffled her executive team on Friday to promote a greener economy, which she considers a municipal priority, according to CBC. Plante said the city should always be conscious of environmental impacts when making decisions regarding transportation, economic development and the development of the territory.

Montreal taxi drivers had to abruptly cancel their protest on Friday after a driver harmed himself on live TV, according to CTV. The driver cut his arm with a sharp object before showing it to the camera during a live interview with an LCN reporter. Taxi drivers were protesting against CAQ’s Bill 17, which would facilitate ride-hailing services, such as Uber, to operate in the province.

 

Nation in Brief

Ontario will open its first cannabis stores on April 1, six months after the federal government legalized the recreational consumption of marijuana, according to Bloomberg. However, as of Friday, only 10 stores received the necessary licenses to open. The most populous city in the country, Toronto, will only have one store open by then.

On Wednesday, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) tabled its secularism bill in an attempt to achieve religious neutrality in the province, according to CBC. The long-awaited bill will ban public workers in positions of authority from wearing any religious symbols. This includes teachers, police officers, crown prosecutors and government lawyers.

A report by the Human Rights Watch indicates that a missing Quebec woman in western Africa was kidnapped and taken to Mali, according to CTV. Edith Blais and her traveling companion have been missing since January. They were travelling from Burkina Faso to Togo to do volunteer work with an aid group when they went missing.

Around 50 people gathered in Regina to call out Canada’s involvement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to the Leader Post. Organizers of the protest condemned NATO for violently imposing Western standards in other countries.

 

World in Brief

Donald Trump threatened to shut down 3,200 km of the U.S. border if Mexico does not cooperate in halting the flow of illegal immigrants, according to Reuters. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he will not quarrel with Trump, instead opting for welfare handouts to combat poverty.

Theresa May’s Brexit deal was defeated for a third time in Britain’s House of Commons on Friday, according to Reuters. May had pledged to conservative lawmakers on Wednesday that she would leave office if the deal passes.

Slovakia elected its first-ever female president, Zuzana Čaputová, on Saturday, according to Agence France Presse. Čaputová, an environmental lawmaker, won 58.4 per cent of the vote, defeating the many years of populist trend in Slovakia.

Cities across the world turned their lights off on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. to mark Earth Hour, according to the Associated Press. Having started in Sydney, Australia in 2007, Earth Hour has reached 180 countries across the globe to call for greater action against climate change.

Graphic by @sundaemorningcoffee

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