Trade war between neighbours escalates
Local:
CTV: Newcomer reception sites in Nepean and Kanata will no longer be built, the City of Ottawa announced on Wednesday.
The city had planned to install a prefabricated building on Woodroffe Avenue, near the Nepean Sportsplex, to serve as a newcomer reception centre in an effort to house an increasing number of asylum seekers in the capital.
Kale Brown, interim director of Housing and Homelessness services with the city, said changing immigration trends and additional transitional housing options have eliminated the need or the newcomer reception centres.
“Ottawa has experiences sustained reductions in numbers of newcomers accessing the shelter system, approximately 820 newcomers system wide,” said Brown.
National:
Global News: In response to new duties on Canadian steel and aluminum, Canada announced it would hit back with additional counter-tariffs worth $29.8 billion on the United States.
Canada’s new 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. EST on Thursday, said Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
Trump threatened to double the planned metal tariffs to 50 per cent, in response to Ontario’s retaliation to impose a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S.
The federal government will continue to support Canadian businesses and workers through these challenging times, and continue to press the Trump administration to fully scrap the tariffs, said LeBlanc.
International:
CTV: Officials in the U.S. are awaiting the Kremlin’s response to a proposed 30-day ceasefire endorsed by Ukraine.
Wanting to end the three-year war, U.S. President Donald Trump pressured Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President to enter talks days after a tense White House meeting suspension of U.S. assistance happened.
Trump’s administration pressing Moscow to agree to the ceasefire. Trump said on Wednesday with reporters during an Oval Office meeting he hopes they can get a ceasefire from Russia.
The U.S. hopes Russia will stop attacks on Ukraine within the next couple of days as a first step.
A ceasefire would allow time for planning an end to war, said Ukraine.
A 30-day ceasefire would allow the sides “to fully prepare a step-by-step plan for ending the war, including security guarantees for Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy.
