In the news today: Carney in Mexico, protesting Ottawa’s agenda, B.C. lichen at risk

Carney’s two-day visit to Mexico City is happening as Ottawa seeks more trade with Mexico in response to the United States’ trade war, and as both countries brace for the renegotiation of the continental trade deal linking all three economies.

It follows an August trip to Mexico by Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne to discuss economic growth, security and trade. They were joined by a delegation of Canadian and Mexican business leaders.

Groups form ‘common front’ against Carney agenda

Canada-wide protests are planned this weekend, a coalition of progressive civil society groups say, in what organizers call an emerging “common front” to elements of the new Liberal government’s agenda.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s support for new fossil fuel projects, expected public service cuts, expanded military support and new border measures are some of the concerns motivating Saturday’s co-ordinated day of action, organizers of the Draw The Line protests say.

“It became very clear to many organizations and many movements that we needed to ramp up for a fight in the coming months, and so we’ve tried to design Draw The Line to meet that moment here,” said Amara Possian, the Canada team lead at 350.org, an international climate group.

The protests are part of a global “day of action” broadly aimed at tackling issues around climate change and income inequality.

Alberta Next panel pushed to act in Grande Prairie

Premier Danielle Smith’s Alberta Next panel, aimed at wrenching more political control from Ottawa, was spurred to take action in Grande Prairie Wednesday.

The panel is pitching six ideas that could become potential referendum questions, and the naysayers were again outnumbered in a packed house of more than 500 attendees.

Many who spoke at the mic pushed Smith to take the panel’s proposals further.

Those ideas include withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan, withholding social services from some immigrants, taking more control over tax collection and replacing the RCMP.

Smith, in her closing remarks, said she might take action on some of the files without any public referendum as early as the spring, after the panel submits a report before the end of the year.

Montreal mayor ‘thrilled’ as new UN office opens

Outgoing Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante says Thursday’s inauguration of a sixth UN office in the city is a reflection of the environmental, housing-focused agenda she’s championed in her nearly eight years in office.

Almost three years after it was first announced, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, or UN-Habitat, is opening its project office in the city with an initial team of nine employees and a mission that includes promoting “inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and human settlements.”

Plante, who is not seeking re-election in November, said she’s “thrilled” that the office is opening before her term ends.

“I’m really proud, because as a mayor who did push forward the climate change and environmental agenda so far in the last eight years, it’s almost like a recognition of that work,” she said in an interview Wednesday at city hall.

Lichen, land rights and fate of an ancient forest

A shaggy, cool-green lichen hangs from the trunk of a tree in a forest on northeastern Vancouver Island, growing on the bark like coral on a rocky sea floor.

Lichenologist Trevor Goward has named it oldgrowth specklebelly, and while the slow-growing lichen is a species at risk in its own right, he says it is also an indicator of forests that are “the oldest of the old.”

“It’s what it tells us about the forest that we walk through,” Goward says, comparing ancient forests to libraries and museums. “They are the continuity from the past.”

Old-growth advocate Joshua Wright photographed oldgrowth specklebelly this summer in a forest about 400 kilometres northwest of Victoria.

CRTC hearing on music streamers begins

The federal broadcast regulator begins a hearing today to look at which Canadian content obligations should apply to music streamers like Spotify.

Streaming services argue their current efforts to promote Canadian culture — and the royalties they pay — are good enough. Radio broadcasters, meanwhile, say their sector is in serious decline and they want the CRTC to take a lighter regulatory touch for traditional players.

Both sides are set to make their arguments during five days of hearings in Gatineau, Que., between now and Sept. 29.

The hearings are part of a series of CRTC proceedings to implement the Online Streaming Act, legislation that updated broadcasting laws to capture online platforms.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2025

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

In the news today: Carney in Mexico, protesting Ottawa’s agenda, B.C. lichen at risk

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