Sign In Register bringing in millions of dollars into the province every year but consistent funding for groups that maintain trail and recreation sites fall short of expectations What is now called the qathet Canoe Route, a popular destination among locals and visitors, is a 57-kilometre route that runs through eight lakes with multiple campsites, set among soaring mountains and cedar forests. Powell River Educational Services Society (PRESS) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the route but for many years the group has struggled to maintain it due to high costs and lack of consistent funding.  Project manager Hugh Prichard said a sharp increase in visitors has been noted and upgrades have become necessary.  "Over the last five years, we've made substantial improvement with funding from Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET) into a whole range of amenities mostly focusing on six arterial or hub recreation sites," said Prichard Recently, PRESS received a grant of $10,000 from the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (ORCBC) for qathet Canoe Route enhancement and repairs to three portage trails Volunteers maintain trails and recreational sites ORCBC executive director Louise Pedersen said not a lot of people actually know that trails and recreation amenities in BC are mostly maintained by volunteer groups Most of the maintenance on the local canoe route is done by volunteers and PRESS work program participants local governments and First Nation groups," Pedersen but a lot of these groups are facing financial difficulties with funding and volunteer recruitment." Prichard said in the last few years there has been substantial investment "There's six that got a major overhaul along with addressing some critical safety rebuilds on some bridges and boardwalks," said Prichard it doesn't solve long-term problems faced by PRESS "With the price of building materials PRESS depends completely on volunteers and proposals for funding that are written as part of our partnership agreement with various funders "The funding is typically project-based as opposed to ongoing maintenance; so what happens is things get deteriorated to an extreme state and then we are forced to perform triage on expensive repairs." The group used to be allowed to use wood that was readily available around the site for building bridges and trails but changes in legislation now restrict that.  "Transporting materials by helicopter or labour on foot is extremely expensive not to mention buying lumber at retail costs," said Prichard The canoe route exists in the overlapping territory of Tla'amin Nation and shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation but also Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 39 Block 1 which is managed by Western Forest Products "The route is continually challenged in a very aggressive way by the industry," said Prichard "I'm going to stress the very aggressive way [the forest company operates]; damages caused by forest licence holders continually disregards their recreational values of the land."  Prichard emphasized that PRESS has always tried to maintain a respectful partnership with forest companies but in recent years it's been difficult there are requirements by licensees to maintain so as not to impact recreation sites.  I'm looking at photographs [of the route] that basically shut down the canoe route as of now as a result of licensees violating the act," said Prichard "The company has been logging into and onto the boundary of trails and rec sites Even when a five-to-10-metre buffer is applied to these locations there are 35 large trees that are tangled into a mess over a portage trail." Prichard said he isn't making the photographs public yet because they need to go through the channels with the ministry of forests first destroying the infrastructure we've built," said Prichard and market conditions as reasons why they can't provide any financial assistance to not-for-profits like ourselves but are losing the battle when it comes to the use of our backcountry areas for recreational values."  Prichard said PRESS has been maintaining the route since 1996 and recently did an inventory of the amenities untold amount of revenue each year," said Prichard "Since we put new improvements at major campsites and put log books in all the new outhouses that are composting and state-of-the-art we can note that some of these sites are used by upwards of 200 people a month."  Prichard said PRESS was involved at the beginning to build the first huts on the Sunshine Coast Trail we didn't really understand the importance of these recreational amenities to the economic pillars of our community," said Prichard "But the reality is that forest companies have profit as their major value and it feels like we're losing the battle." Prichard said PRESS has tried to be good partners with forestry companies over the years on the basis that the two parties could be stronger together Western Forest Products provided financial and in-kind contributions for various projects.   World class amenities needs funding to stay that way "Sunshine Coast Tourism and other destination marketing organizations continually market these amenities as world class," said Prichard "But the flow of dollars to be able to maintain them is nonexistent." Prichard said PRESS recently designed a brand new map to tell  the story of the canoe route.  is from a conservation and stewardship perspective and connecting young people to valuable work skills," he added hotels and local businesses receive the economic multiplier when guests come to the qathet Prichard wants the provincial ministry of tourism to step up with more funding for these outdoor amenities maintained by volunteers "We're definitely expecting parks trails and backcountry areas across the province to see a huge increase in use," said Pedersen we hear about a lot of people not wanting to go to the US until things have normalized."  translates into more wear and tear on trails and outdoor amenities "It has never been more important that we fully fund the work these groups do but also that we develop more opportunities for people to hike,” she added “We want to make sure we are offering locals and visitors places that are safe and sustainable Join the Peak’s email list for the top headlines right in your inbox Monday to Friday Results of a student vote mirrored recent general election results in the North Island-Powell River riding Forty-five schools in the riding were involved held concurrently with the federal election on Monday more than 930,000 students at 6,272 elementary and high schools across the country marked unofficial voting cards Of the 600 ballots requested for Brooks students 352 were cast. Conservative Party of Canada candidate Aaron Gunn received the most with 136 votes which was 26 more than the NDP's Tanille Johnston (110). Liberal Party of Canada's Jennifer Lash received 56 votes followed by Paul Macknight of People's Party of Canada with 28 independent candidate Glen Staples with 17 and the Green Party's Jessica Wegg (five) who was the only candidate in the Brooks vote to finish in a different spot than in the riding's student and general election results Overall in the riding, students gave Gunn 1,835 votes, 1,392 were cast for Johnston, 973 went to Lash, followed by Wegg (612), Macknight (199) and Staples (127). The general election results for North Island-Powell River were: Gunn, 31,356 (Elected); Johnston student choices were notably different than in the general election. A Conservative minority government was elected with 165 seats and 36.4 per cent of the popular vote – compared to the adult result of a Liberal minority with 169 seats and 43.7 per cent of the popular vote and 143 seats for the conservatives Student votes resulted in 18 seats to the Bloc Québécois 13 to the NDP and two to the Green Party the vote was much more spread out among candidates than concentrated on certain political parties That’s because younger people tend to vote with their hearts rather than strategically “Even though the Conservatives have [the most] seats in the student vote they didn’t get that much of the popular vote,” she said “I feel like the students really voted for the parties that they wanted to see in power Cotnareanu said that conservative politics could be trending up among younger people It wasn’t…as Liberal as it might have been for the adults,” she said obviously it might have been easier for the Conservative Party to slide into power because the votes were more fragmented than they were for the adults.” While this year’s student vote turnout was a little shy of a record 1.2 million ballots cast in 2019 it’s still impressive considering the shorter timeline to prepare for the snap election “Hats off to teachers for an incredible effort that they put in,” said Cotnareanu Results from all schools in the North Island-Powell River riding are available here ~with files from Nick Laba/North Shore News A representative for developers of a large subdivision at Brew Bay has requested that qathet Regional District put a pause on the legislative process At the March 25 planning committee meeting regional district directors considered a recommendation for the 46-lot phased bare land strata property which indicated the applicant provides dedicated parkland for the area identified on the proposed plan of subdivision prepared by Polaris Land Surveying and pays cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication in the amount of 1.62 per cent of the total land value calculated in accordance with section 510 of the Local Government Act At the April 30 planning committee meeting Polaris land surveyor Michael Rogers appeared before the planning committee and said the purpose of his delegation was for the subdivision applications to be tabled by the regional district “There’s a couple of reasons for this,” said Rogers “It’s worth mentioning that it is unfortunate that we have got to this point For us to come and say we want to table something – we want to delay it – that’s pretty rare.” Rogers said there were two reasons for the request being made The first reason pertained to questions raised regarding section 478 of the Local Government Act Section 478 is related to official community plans (OCP) stating that an official community plan does not commit or authorize a municipality regional district or improvement district to proceed with any project specified in the plan Rogers said in two reports that the developers have one of the options is cash can be taken in lieu of parkland during the subdivision process deals with parkland and how the decisions between park and cash are dealt with “We’re just not there yet in understanding the procedural fairness nor the legality of cash being taken instead of land there is a publication the province put out which is a parkland acquisition best practices guide This is a provincial publication that provides local governments and landowners with some guidance of how to apply section 510 and how to make decisions about cash or parkland.” Rogers said section 510 states that in general the landowner should expect to provide or dedicate locations where park has been identified in the neighbourhood plan or referenced in other land use planning documents Where future park locations are not identified or referenced in planning documents it is reasonable for owners to expect to contribute cash-in-lieu “We have an OCP that clearly identifies lands adjacent to Lang Creek as park,” said Rogers Rogers said the developers have sought legal advice my client is needing more time,” said Rogers “The options we are having to entertain now have diverged to a point where design is affected and different parties are affected Rogers said what is wanted is something that works for everyone Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said the property is designated in the OCP as parkland “If we were to go with accepting the parkland do you still want that to be tabled?” asked Gisborne Electoral Area A director and planning committee chair Jason Lennox said his understanding was that the applicants were not rescinding the application but were just asking for more time City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott said the property in question is close to people’s hearts She said where some of the options are coming from include public use of the beach and facilitating that She added that people are worried about access “It is a good idea to take some time to have some conversations about how that might work,” said Elliott “As soon as you build a road and have a residential neighbourhood it will be impacted by people trying to use the beach Some overall collaborative conversations about how public use and enjoyment of the beach is going to work post-development will help move all these decisions.” Lennox said the regional district would not hold the developers to a date “We all understand the intent,” said Lennox “ and we all want to work together as soon as possible.” SAINT-JÉRÔME — Lion Electric will very likely be liquidated following the Quebec government's refusal to invest more public funds in the company says the court-appointed monitor for the electric-vehicle maker said in a Superior Court hearing on Monday that government aid would have been a condition of any sale of the struggling company it's unlikely any buyer will step forward with a plan to relaunch the St-Jérôme which sought protection from its creditors in December "The likelihood of a liquidation of assets is very high," he said Nadon said the government's recent announcement that it would not inject any more public money into Lion Electric was a "shock wave" for the company News reports last week said a group of buyers was seeking $24 million from the province to relaunch the electric-vehicle maker Nadon said there was "no indication" before the government's decision that the buyers would be unable to secure that funding But Quebec Economy Minister Christine Fréchette announced Wednesday evening in a statement on social media that it would be irresponsible to offer Lion more public money She later told reporters she "would have expected the private sector to be more involved." Premier François Legault invoked the return of U.S President Donald Trump when asked about Lion Electric last week He suggested Quebec may need to relax its targets for electrifying transportation Quebec has already invested heavily in Lion Electric and Legault said the province stands to lose about $140 million on the company Nadon said he believes the government made its decision because of the "socio-political situation" with the U.S. which he said "limits the expansion of Lion's business plan" and created "extremely significant risks" for the company's outlook Deloitte began contacting liquidators and auctioneers who had previously been interested in selling off Lion Electric's assets They were asked to submit offers over the weekend and Nadon said he hopes to have a deal to present to the court next Monday Nadon said Lion laid off all but 12 of its employees after the government announced its decision last week He said the company is still able to pay its remaining staff but it was unable to pay rent for all of its locations on May 1 Lion Electric manufactured electric school buses and trucks and currently has about 1,175 school buses on the road in Quebec But the company went through several rounds of layoffs last year and shut down production at a plant in Illinois before entering creditor protection in December A proposed class-action lawsuit filed by Lion Electric shareholders against the company's directors and officers which claims they misled investors and misrepresented the company's financial health This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5 TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week: A $500-million settlement in a pair of class-action lawsuits involving Loblaw Cos will go before a court Monday in Toronto for approval it will resolve the claims against Loblaw and Weston relating to an alleged industry-wide scheme to fix the price of bread A separate Quebec settlement approval hearing will take place in Montreal on June 16 The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board will release data on April's home sales activity for the Greater Toronto Area on Tuesday the board said home sales were down 23 per cent in March on a year-over-year basis as many potential buyers sat back due to economic uncertainty associated with tariffs Statistics Canada will release a pair of key reports this week starting with international merchandise trade figures on Tuesday followed by the latest jobs figures for April on Friday The Canadian economy shed 33,000 jobs in March — its biggest job loss since January 2022 — while the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent in February The Bank of Canada will release its financial stability report on Thursday and hold a press conference with governor Tiff Macklem and senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers The report provides an assessment of potential risks to the stability of Canada's financial system and comes as a trade war launched by the United States is stoking fears of a recession A pair of Canadian telecommunications companies are set to report their results for the first quarter on Thursday could announce a dividend cut along with its earnings release This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4 TORONTO — Mitch Marner took on a cheerleading role over the weekend The Maple Leafs winger will be back in the middle of the action Monday night Marner was on the ice for Toronto's optional morning skate and will suit up in Game 1 of his team's second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Florida Panthers after he and wife Stephanie welcomed their first child "Really special moment … it's hard to explain," Marner said at Scotiabank Arena some 26 hours after his son said he's doing well on the sleep front despite spending Sunday night at the hospital as a family "I was just trying to support my wife as much as possible," Marner said "Just tried to help out as much as I could." Leafs head coach Craig Berube said he expects the player to have jump despite all the off-ice action as Toronto pivots to its next post-season opponent after disposing of the Ottawa Senators in the Battle of Ontario 4-2 "He's in a good spot," said the veteran bench boss "A lot of good things that are happening in his life — positive things." who won the Cup with the Panthers last June "One of the best things that can happen to you "It helped me get away from the hockey in between games." said his team could run a daycare with all the recent additions "There's certainly a lightness when they come to the rink," he said especially all of us who've been through it It changes everything in such a positive way." Marner said there was a plan in place in case Stephanie went into labour during the first-round series with the Senators "That was on our mind quite a bit," he said "You never know when labour is going to hit We were prepared if something did happen in Ottawa so that there was a way for me to get to Toronto quickly "My son was lucky enough — smart enough — to know don't come on a hockey day," he said with a smile "We wanted to try to end that series and try to get the baby coming out before the next one started Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad will miss Monday as he concludes a two-game suspension handed down by the NHL for his blow to the head on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in the last round Florida disposed of its instate rival in five Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz served as Sergei Bobrovsky's backup during last season's Cup run Maurice said he saw a change in the netminder's game partway through the schedule that's continued into these playoffs "One of the wonderful personalities in the game that you cheer for," said the coach "We hope we can find a way to get a few by him NEW YORK (AP) — Rihanna shut down a rainy Met Gala on Monday in a pinstripe look and a huge hat her newly announced baby bump on display after announcing her pregnancy with baby No Her Marc Jacobs look included tied sleeves of a men's suit that served as a bustle behind her as she posed for the cameras Her hair hung long in a mermaid twist behind her Men's suiting and tailoring was the evening's theme It came complete with a tuxedoed choir and lots of women rocking pinstripes and other men's detailing Teyana Taylor and many other women went with traditional men's detailing Chamberlain and Zuri Hall were among those who wore sleek, sexy gowns that play on men’s suiting in pinstripes as they walked up the grand steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wore a perfectly tailored white trouser suit with a matching wide-brim hat from Louis Vuitton Janelle Monáe epitomized the night's theme, the Black dandy Lauryn Hill honored menswear in a butter yellow suit with exaggerated tailoring that screamed Black power The menswear vibe for women was frequent and expected "women wanting to maintain a traditionally feminine dress silhouette while still respecting the theme,” said William Dingle a cultural impact agency that focuses on uplifting Black men donned a Marc Jacobs bodysuit look with orange and black wildcat detailing and broad-shouldered pinstripes Taylor went for a stunning Zoot Suit look with a red feather-adorned top hat and a huge matching cape dripping with flowers and bling She collaborated with famed costumer designer Ruth E The Zoot was popularized in Harlem in the 1940s “no stranger to gender-bending fashion,” Dingle said showed up in a monochrome taupe tuxedo clutching a cigar the designer who took over when Ford stepped aside mimicked men's tailoring in a gray and black corseted look while sister Kim Kardashian went embossed black leather dandy It was low slung and open at the hip with broad straps at the back Sister Kendall Jenner was in an elegant skirt and jacket The designer was the British-Nigerian-Brazilian designer Torishéju Dumi Megan Thee Stallion in Michael Kors and Dua Lipa in black Chanel included Megan's look had a high side slit and floral lace embellishment Lipa was giving elevated flapper in feathers and an “S” curl style for her hair And Miley Cyrus oozed womanhood in a custom cropped black crocodile jacket and long black taffeta skirt by Alaïa swallowed the carpet in a huge white train Lizzo debuted blonde hair to go with her pink and black Christian Siriano gown with a plunge at the front It was so tight at the legs she struggled to walk She showed off a new hairstyle and eye color appearing to wear green contacts to match her ivy-colored look co-host A$AP Rocky told The Associated Press that Anna Wintour suggested he wear a Black designer “So I wore myself,” the musician said of his custom suit designed by his creative agency complete with a black parka and diamond-crested umbrella Rocky, Rihanna's partner and dad to their two kids, confirmed to reporters that baby No. 3 in on the way He spoke about it after Rihanna was photographed walking in the rain with her baby bump out in a blue crop top and skirt “It’s time that we show the people what we was cooking up And I’m glad everybody’s happy for us ’cause we definitely happy Because you know how like some people in other situations at times can be envious of other people But we’ve been seeing love for the most part And we real receptive to that and appreciate that What, exactly, was the suggested dress code of the night, “Tailored for You,” is inspired by Black dandyism. And what To raise money for the Met's Costume Institute The gala raised a record $31 million before it began “Top trends from the night: Black and white (Zoe Saldaña Colman Domingo, one of the evening's hosts, wore a pleated, gold adorned cape over a gray and black suit, his jacket a pearled windowpane design with a huge dotted black flower. His look, including his cape and a dotted black scarf at his neck, evoked the late André Leon Talley, the fashion icon who made history as a rare Black editor at Vogue dressed in a pastel blue coat over a shimmery white gown by Louis Vuitton Fellow co-chair Lewis Hamilton donned a jaunty ivory tuxedo with a cropped jacket a matching beret and cowrie shell embellishment “The color of ivory denotes purity and status; cowries pass from hand to hand the regal sash turns shamanic,” he wrote on Instagram Elle digital director added: “Known for championing Black designers the F1 star once again used his platform to celebrate heritage and creativity on one of fashion’s biggest stages.” Domingo has epitomized contemporary dandyism in a variety of looks over the years He kept his dark shades on while posing for the cameras the Louis Vuitton menswear creative director said his 15,000 pearls were arranged in a pinstripe design and the jacket took 400 hours to construct a guest this year with others from “The White Lotus,” wore a deconstructed suit look with seams out and a pleated skirt he twirled for the cameras LeBron James, the NBA superstar, was named honorary chair of the evening but bowed out at the last minute due to a knee injury wore a bejeweled cropped cape over a dress adorned with cowrie shells by Grace Wales Bonner It's a direct connection to a piece in the gala's companion Metropolitan Museum of Art spring exhibit that Miller guest curated Coco Jones in an ivory tuxedo coat with a train over matching trousers “Coco Jones absolutely leaned in,” Dingle said “I love the pearl and gem embellishments here the long coat even further elongates her legs Her look was by Indian designer Manish Malhotra She said she wanted to honor Black excellence by going all out She pulled up the spirit of Josephine Baker in a shimmery velvet gold halter gown by Miu Miu that hugged her hips hip hugging being a big trend of the night for the women which appeared to be a reference to the pava a straw hat associated with the Puerto Rican jíbaro This story has been updated to correct the name of Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Nikki Ogunnaike and the name of Elle digital director Claire Stern Milch Jocelyn Noveck and Maria Sherman contributed to this story For full coverage of the Met Gala, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/met-gala NEW YORK (AP) — Jeffrey Seller, the Broadway producer behind such landmark hits as “Rent,” “Avenue Q” and “Hamilton,” didn't initially write a memoir for us “I really felt a personal existential need to write my story I had to make sense of where I came from myself,” he says in his memento-filled Times Square office “I started doing it as an exercise for me and I ultimately did it for theater kids of all ages everywhere.” Seller's “Theater Kid” — which he wrote even before finding a publishing house — traces the rise of an unlikely theater force who was raised in a poor neighborhood far from Broadway along the way giving readers a portrait of the Great White Way in the gritty 1970s and '80s Sometimes I am a mean person and a stubborn person and a joyous person says he wasn't interested in writing a recipe book on how to make a producer adopted Jewish kid from Cardboard Village in Oak Park gets to Broadway and produces ‘Rent’ at age 31.” It is the story of an outsider who is captivated by theater as a child who acts in Purim plays becomes a booking agent in New York and then a producer “My life has been a process of finally creating groups that I feel part of and accepting where I do fit in,” he says “I also wrote this book for anyone who’s ever felt out.” says he isn't surprised that Seller delivered such a strong memoir because he believes the producer has an instinctive artistic sensibility “There aren’t that many producers you could say have literally changed the face of theater And I think that’s what Jeffrey Seller has done," says Karp “It is the work of somebody who is much more than a producer who is writer in his own right and who has a really interesting and emotional and dramatic story to tell.” The book reaches a crescendo with a behind-the-scenes look at his friendship and collaboration with playwright and composer Jonathan Larson and the making of his “Rent.” Seller writes about a torturous creative process in which Larson would take one step forward with the script over years only to take two backward He also writes movingly about carrying on after Larson who died from an aortic dissection the day before “Rent's” first off-Broadway preview There is no ‘In the Heights’ without ‘Rent,’” Seller says “I don’t think there’s a ‘Next to Normal’ without ‘Rent.’ I don’t think there’s a ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ without ‘Rent.’” So enamored was Seller with “Rent” that he initially ended his memoir there in the mid-'90s It took some coaxing from Karp to get him to include stories about “Avenue Q,” “In the Heights” and “Hamilton.” It’s the biggest hit of my career,” Seller says “It’s one of the biggest hits in Broadway history In a sort of theater flex, the memoir's audiobook has appearances by Annaleigh Ashford, Danny Burstein, Darren Criss, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lindsay Mendez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Rannells There’s original music composed by Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Kitt The portrait of Broadway Seller offers when he first arrives is one far different from today where the theaters are bursting with new plays and musicals and the season's box office easily blows past the $1 billion mark In 1995, the year before “Rent” debuted off-Broadway, there was only one Tony Award-eligible candidate for best original musical score and the same for best book — “Sunset Boulevard.” This season, there were 14 new eligible musicals. “I think that’s just such a great moment in Broadway history to say ‘This is before ’Rent,' and then look what happens after Not because ‘Rent’ brought in an era of rock musicals but it opened the doors to more experimentation and more unexpected ideas He is drawn to contemporary stories with modern issues and all four of his Tony wins for best musical are set in New York shows that were about people we might know about things that embarrass us — that’s what touched me the most deeply,” he says “I was looking to have the hair on my arms rise MP Don Davies will be the interim leader for the New Democratic Party of Canada chosen by the party's national council Monday evening Former leader Jagmeet Singh announced his resignation after he lost his own Burnaby Central seat in the April 28 election Davies led the NDP negotiations with the Liberal government to advance dental care and pharmacare legislation while serving as the party's health critic The NDP caucus met twice last week to talk about the party's leadership situation which helped inform the national council's decision Monday The NDP lost official party status last week when it was reduced to seven seats in the House of Commons The last time that happened was after the 1993 election when the NDP was reduced to nine seats; the NDP regained official party status in the 1997 election The NDP hold three seats in British Columbia one in Quebec and the sole seat for Nunavut A party official told The Canadian Press that the rules and timing for a leadership contest will be determined at a later date Davies held his seat in Vancouver Kingsway with a slim margin defeating Liberal challenger Amy Gill by 303 votes Davies picked up several endorsements outside traditional NDP supports during the election campaign including former federal Liberal justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Kevin Vickers the former sergeant-at-arms for the House of Commons Former MP Charlie Angus says the party lost touch with core supporters and focused too much on the personality of the leader The Alberta NDP voted overwhelmingly on the weekend in favour of allowing members to opt out of mandatory membership in the federal party when signing up at the provincial level — With files from Catherine Morrison in Ottawa and Lisa Johnson in Edmonton It’s a rite of passage for all comedians: Work like crazy on the stand-up circuit record live specials for a streaming platform and then write a book that can never quite measure up to your live act Consider “Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind” by Nate Bargatze. I laughed so hard I cried during parts of his Netflix special “Your Friend Nate Bargatze.” But I can count on two hands the laugh-out-loud moments I experienced as I read “Big Dumb Eyes.” That’s not because Mr Books just aren’t the funniest mediums for stand-up comics And while he tries right there in the book’s subtitle — “Stories from a Simpler Mind” — the humor just doesn’t have the same impact on the page as it does the screen writing in his introduction that he is “very on the record about not liking to read books.” Alas apparently convinced him that he should write one for super fans or anyone who would rather read funny stories than watch Bargatze tell them on TV black and white photos of Bargatze through the years with his family If you haven’t already watched his specials you’ll learn a lot about his upbringing — from the sense of humor and theatrical nature he inherited from his father the greatest clown and magician to ever work in Old Hickory played in keeping him from being completely self-centered growing up is called “My Sister the Alien” and recounts the time when Nate his brother Derrick and their dad forgot to bring Abigail home from church one Wednesday night They all realize when they get home that Abigail isn’t with them and dad’s first words are “Do not tell your mother.” When they drive back to the church who found her in the church cemetery “passing from tombstone to tombstone communing with the dead like the devil’s phantasm.” Bargatze tells quite a few stories about his wife and near the end Laura even chimes in via footnotes as if she’s reading the book along with you I can’t wait to see the look on his face,” reads one after Nate shares how he had to ask his parents to pay for her engagement ring in a two-page “Conclusion,” Nate offers his congrats to readers who make it that far scolding anyone who got through all 222 pages in one sitting “You should probably move around some more Or sprinkle in some other healthier activities AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed.. Trump threatens 100% tariff on foreign-made films President Donald Trump is opening a new salvo in his tariff war In a post Sunday night on his Truth Social platform Trump said he has authorized the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S Trade Representative to slap a 100% tariff “on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” “The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death," he wrote complaining that other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw" filmmakers and studios away from the U.S "This is a concerted effort by other Nations and Incentive programs for years have influenced where movies are shot increasingly driving film production out of California and to other states and countries with favorable tax incentives Yet tariffs are designed to lead consumers toward American products American-produced movies overwhelming dominate the domestic marketplace Hockey players' sex assault trial continues A woman who prosecutors allege was sexually assaulted by five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team is set to continue testifying at their trial today who cannot be identified under a publication ban told the court last week that she felt drunk and not fully aware of her surroundings at the London bar where she first encountered some of the accused on June 18 She testified that she'd had two coolers at home before heading to meet coworkers at Jack's bar a beer and a vodka soda there over the course of the night Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault The charges relate to an encounter that took place at a hotel in downtown London later that night North unique when it comes to trade talk: premiers The premiers of Canada's three territories say the country's push to remove internal trade barriers needs to consider the unique economic situation of the North Akeeagok say they will be exploring the creation of a "territorial trade zone" that would make sure modern treaties with Indigenous people and the needs of the territories are recognized as trade barriers come down Pillai told reporters at a joint press conference Sunday that the territories are willing to remove trade barriers but any conversations have to consider agreements that are in place with northern Indigenous governments Newly-elected Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised a plan to eliminate trade barriers between provinces and territories by Canada Day Pillai said that is a tight timeline for the North Fire prompts evacuation near Grande Prairie An evacuation has been ordered on the outskirts of a northern Alberta city due to a wildfire The County of Grande Prairie says in a statement that crews are evacuating homes within proximity of a fire southwest of the City of Grande Prairie It said late Sunday afternoon that the fire was past a lake located north of Deer Ridge Estates and that people are being ordered to leave the semi-rural neighbourhood as a precaution An Alberta Emergency Alert has been issued ordering people to evacuate immediately and to gather important documents medication and medical devices and go to the Pomeroy Hotel in Grande Prairie heavy equipment and airtankers are on-scene working to contain the spread of the wildfire Lowry living the dream after Jets win in overtime Adam Lowry had dreams of scoring a Game 7 winning goal but not exactly the way it finally happened The Winnipeg Jets captain was mobbed by teammates as white-clad fans stood and roared after he tipped in the winning goal 16:10 into double overtime for a 4-3 National Hockey League playoff victory over the St “I probably dreamt it was a little nicer than just going off my leg you dream about being the hero in a Game 7 and giving yourself a chance to continue chasing a Stanley Cup The Jets will face the Dallas Stars in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs starting Wednesday in the Manitoba capital Winnipeg has never played the Stars in the post-season The premiers met this weekend in Yukon for their annual Northern Premiers’ Forum "We want to be at that table moving toward July 2 constitutionally anchored agreements that we also have to have a look at," he said "I think it gives us an opportunity to be willing partners at the table but it also gives us a chance to educate our other colleagues about what's unique here," he said Akeeagok said the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement has enshrined articles that give Inuit the right of first refusal on procurement and require consultation for any legislative change "We are very open in terms of breaking down the barriers "But it requires us to be able to sit down with them and just talk and to be able to have a meaningful consultation with them." Pillai said significant projects in the North already often require companies from large nearby provinces to be completed which allows those companies to reap the benefits "If you're going to have us start to remove these opportunities for Northern companies as well support the three territories in helping to grow this economy?" he said Simpson says even if the territories hold on to some of their exemptions under the Canada Free Trade Agreement reducing any barriers to doing business will benefit the North and the rest of Canada "I'm very hopeful about the work that's happening and I'm confident that we're going to see the benefits of it," he said TORONTO — Manager John Schneider has faith the Toronto Blue Jays offence will emerge from its early-season funk The Blue Jays dropped the final two outings of their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians because of a lack of clutch hitting Schneider's lineup left a whopping 25 runners on base in the series but dropped 5-3 and 5-4 decisions to close against the Guardians The Blue Jays especially struggled to score late on Saturday and Sunday against the Guardians' strong bullpen After snatching a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning on Saturday their final 12 hitters were retired in order the Blue Jays left runners on third in the eighth and ninth innings The eighth inning was particularly painful because Toronto had runners on second and third after an Ernie Clement sacrifice run for the first out But Myles Straw and Nathan Lukes popped up for the final two outs "You're trying to scrap across a run there," Schneider said "You get a good bunt from Ern and we just couldn't get it done there with those with those pop-ups there's going to be match-ups you like and there's going to be match-ups that are going to be tough The Blue Jays also got caught taking chances early After Bo Bichette led off the first inning with a double and moved to third on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s single a potential big inning was snuffed out by a Guardians double play and then Bichette got caught in a rundown between third and home I think the best possible outcome was Bo stays at third But you're trying to score early and those things happen." Gold-glove outfielder Daulton Varsho was given the series finale off to rest his lower back Varsho missed the first 28 games after offseason right shoulder surgery He played in five straight before taking Sunday off to rest and I'm not taking any chances with him after what he's been through," Schneider said The Blue Jays have yet to confirm they have signed veteran right-handed pitchers Spencer Turnbull and Jose Urena before we hit the (plane)," replied Schneider when asked if he'll have some additional help when his club begins a six-game trip on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels webinar held May 1 introduced the land use plan and explained how to be involved in current engagement opportunities.  The land use plan aims to balance ecological health explained the team of panellists hosting the webinar.  Community planner Sarah Gillet hosted the webinar and was joined by several panellists representing shíshálh Nation Gillet said the webinar served to orient people to the upcoming public and stakeholder engagement phase of the shíshálh-B.C Land Use Plan and ensure the public can “maximize your opportunities to be engaged.” senior biologist and environmental policy advisor for shíshálh Nation said the goals of the Foundation Agreement between shíshálh Nation and the province include shared environmental stewardship heritage and language and strengthening shíshálh self-governance The project is currently in phase 2, Houde explained that the team compiled all data and information available on key values for the land use process, analyzed the information and summarized the findings on the project’s website which she added contains more than 100 maps The key deliverables of the land use plan include land zoning management direction and goals for priority values Current condition assessments (CCAs) on various topics such as old growth forests and wildlife species and described as “a fact-based way to understand the current state of something important like biodiversity or climate change,” by Andrea Rietman a land and resource specialist with the Ministry of Water She explained CCAs use measurable indicators to track changes over time and inform management strategies and that feedback on them will be used to shape the land use plan and inform future management decisions Gillet reiterated the land use planning table’s (one of six collaborative forums established under the Foundation Agreement) commitment to “understanding public and stakeholder interests and the potential impacts of the land use plan on those interests,” and thanked those who shared early interest and feedback She said Phase 2 engagement will be a mix of “broad open to everyone inclusive activities” as well as a series of upcoming open houses and a public questionnaire Engagement will also include a series of targeted events designed to bring together organizations representing specific interests Rietman said the land use plan aims to be complete in 2027 and that the next step for planning is going to be looking at water sustainability at the Seaside Centre at 5970 Toredo Street Gillet said these events will be a great opportunity to talk face-to-face with members of the land use planning table “We'll have some interactive boards that summarize the results of the current condition assessments with lots of space for folks to add comments we'll have members of the land use planning team available to answer your questions,” she said The meeting also included demonstrations on how to navigate the plan’s website The interactive map tool allows users to explore data layers including habitat shifts and species indicators.  A recording of the webinar is also available for anyone wanting to learn how to navigate the project website Additionally, a page for frequently asked questions about the project is also available.  The team also shared a summary of the public engagement for Phase 1 which took place from November 2020 to February 2021 A public questionnaire is also available until June 22 Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing TORONTO — Gabriel Arias's two-run single was part of a three-run fourth inning as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 Sunday in the rubber match of a three-game series The Blue Jays (16-18) replied with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the fourth but their bats then went silent for their second straight loss before 30,641 at Rogers Centre who hit the game-winning grand slam on Saturday Arias sharply singled to right to score Carlos Santana and Schneeman Arias scored the game's first run in the third inning thanks to an Angel Martinez base hit off starter Bowden Francis (2-5) surrendering four runs on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts Guardians (20-14) starter Tanner Bibee (3-2) departed during his warmup pitches for the sixth inning with leg cramps He yielded two earned runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts After a Jose Ramirez error ignited the Blue Jays' fourth-inning rally Andres Gimenez delivered the big blow with a two-run single Reliever Brendon Little walked three Guardians in the ninth to lead to a final run Emmanuel Clase earned his seventh save despite a throwing error and sacrifice fly to Vladimir Guerrero Jr Guardians: Steven Kwan made a fine running catch in the left-field gap on Bo Bichette with one out and one on to save a run in the third inning Blue Jays: The home side only had two hits in the final five innings in the series finale after being no-hit in the final four innings on Saturday Anthony Santander worked Bibee for a 12-pitch walk to load the bases in the third inning But George Springer smacked a fly ball to centre field for the third out Kwan belted seven hits and drew a walk in the series The Blue Jays have Monday off before hitting the road for three-game sets against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday and the Seattle Mariners on Friday German pop star Dieter Bohlen is asking his fans to return a sign spelling out the name of his hometown of Toetensen The village in northern Germany outside Hamburg is famous, well, because of Bohlen. He's a singer, music producer, judge on Germany's version of “American Idol” and formerly half of German pop duo Modern Talking. Bohlen believes the sign was taken by a fan as memorabilia He posted a video on Instagram Saturday where he stood in front of the empty signpost and promised a reward of a ticket to one of his concerts this fall for its return Canada now knows who will lead the country as it confronts this nation-defining economic moment but uncertainty is still the word of the year build,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney in his late-night victory speech after the Liberal party won “We will need to do things thought impossible While Carney struck an optimistic and confident tone economists say steering a minority government will likely mean more distractions and more uncertainty as he takes on the ambitious task of tackling not only the immediate challenge of U.S but also long-simmering issues like productivity and a Canadian economy that often aims too small “The fact that we have a minority government is not the best result given the somewhat of an emergency economic situation that Canada is facing,” said Michael Dobner PwC Canada’s national leader of economics and policy practice was right in emphasizing the importance of making regulations work better and building the infrastructure to help business grow But efforts to streamline rules and accelerate project approvals could clash with those the government will presumably have to rely on to help push its agenda “I'm concerned that with the NDP having the balance of power it will be very attuned to those voices that for sure will come and that will slow down that process that needs to move very quickly if we want to be able to become Carney has also emphasized the need to diversify trade But Dobner said the crucial part to succeed in that will be to create the intellectual property and manufacturing heft needed for Canada to sell its own products "Canada has currently more free trade agreements than any of the G7,” said Dobner “The issue is not having free trade agreements The issue is whether we have something to sell to the world.” Convincing businesses to invest in research machinery and everything required to boost productivity and product offerings will also face the challenge of the Canadian and global economic slowdown being brought about by U.S Economic data out this past week showed the U.S economy shrank 0.3 per cent in the first quarter while Canada’s pulled back by 0.2 per cent in February While there’s a lot that went into those retreats including higher imports and weather challenges “The key thing here is just the sense that everyone is extremely nervous,” she said “Consumers are not going to be spending on big ticket items .. the lay of this land is very uncertain for me I don't know how my sales projections are going to be I'm probably not going to be putting money to work in the immediate term.'” The hesitancy could lead Canada’s GDP to shrink 1.1 per cent in the second quarter and 0.9 per cent in the third quarter according to an outlook from Deloitte released last week while the housing market in Canada was already slumping “It's really tough sledding in the immediate term.” totalling $129 billion in new commitments over four years Canada has some fiscal room to increase spending but the country's gross debt is creeping up so it's important the money is targeted and well thought-out “It has to be investments for the future,” she said The Liberal plan is heavily focused on building housing and trade infrastructure such as ports and highways that could help spur more private investment the government is hoping to leverage $150 billion in public funds to mobilize $500 billion in investment over five years “The plan on paper should provide a boost to longer-term growth," said Rebekah Young head of resilience economics at Scotiabank she cautioned about the challenges in seeing the plans come to fruition because of a range of challenges “It would be brash to pencil in full economic effects of the platform," said Young “Even deft alliance-building would still warrant caution infrastructure-related projects are notoriously slow within Canada’s complex multi-jurisdictional framework and energy-related ones even more uncertain in a highly polarized environment.” She said Carney has his work cut out for him as he takes on the weakening economy the limits of federal power and the need to motivative business to “go big” on Canada amid uncharted uncertainty “There is a reasonable risk of a rapid and disorderly deterioration.” RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Lady Gaga gave a free concert Saturday night in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach for the biggest show of her career (...) Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd local time with her 2011 song “Bloody Mary.” Cries of joy rose from the tightly-packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show including “Poker Face” and “Alejandro,” switching between an array of dresses including one with the colors of the Brazilian flag Some fans - many of them young - arrived on the beach at the crack of dawn to secure a good spot “Today is the best day of my life,” said Manoela Dobes a 27-year-old designer who was wearing a dress plastered with a photograph from when she met Lady Gaga in the United States in 2019 Madonna also turned Copacabana Beach into a massive dance floor last year The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years’ Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June “It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season – filling hotels and increasing spending in bars generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima the city’s secretary of economic development in a statement released by Rio City Hall’s tourism department last month Rio’s City Hall said in a recent report that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (some $106 million) into Rio’s economy Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028 Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday. The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since as it geared up to welcome the pop star for her first show in the country since 2012 Rio’s metro employees danced to Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit song “LoveGame” and gave instructions for Saturday in a video A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out While the vast majority of attendees were from Rio the event also attracted Brazilians from across the country and international visitors More than 500,000 tourists poured into the city in the days leading up to the show according to data from the local bus station and Tom Jobim airport Rio’s City Hall said in a statement on Friday made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show “I’ve been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,” said Serrano who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes over the years the mega-star represents “total freedom of expression - being who one wants without shame.” Rio officials have a history of organizing huge concerts on Copacabana Beach. Madonna’s show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year, while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994. According to Guinness World Records, that was the biggest free rock concert in history sixteen sound towers were spread along the beach Rio state’s security plan included the presence of 3,300 military and 1,500 police officers Among those present were Lady Gaga admirers who remember their disappointment in 2017 when the artist canceled a performance scheduled in Rio at the last minute due to health issues “She's the best artist in the world,” the 25-year-old said I love you” in Portuguese rose from the crowd behind him Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america TORONTO — Three of the four second-round NHL playoff matchups have starting dates who needed six games to knock off the Ottawa Senators in round one host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Game 1 on Monday Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday The Panthers eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games fresh off their six-game series victory against the Los Angeles Kings open their second round in Las Vegas on Tuesday against the Golden Knights who dispatched the Minnesota Wild in six games with Games 3 and 4 in Edmonton next Saturday and Monday who bounced the Montreal Canadiens in five games host the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 on Tuesday with Games 3 and 4 in Carolina next Saturday and Monday The Hurricanes needed five games to eliminate the New Jersey Devils who beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 7 on Saturday Game 7 is set for Sunday in the Manitoba capital This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3 MONTREAL — CF Montreal’s search for its first Major League Soccer win continues as Mikael Uhre’s late goal lifted the Philadelphia Union to a 2-1 victory at Stade Saputo on Saturday night The same issue that has plagued Montreal all season resurfaced once again as a chronic lack of composure and decisiveness in front of goal left several chances unconverted Despite scoring their first goal at home this season Montreal’s (0-8-3) standing as the team with the worst goal-converting rate in the league only worsened head coach Marco Donadel refuses to see the glass as half empty focusing instead on the quality exhibited in the other aspects of the match they know what we are doing and what we’re showing on the field They are aware that the performance is there,” said Donadel who admitted after the game that he was found it difficult to explain his team’s finishing and I’m happy that the group understands and is talking with positive words and positive energy.” Indiana Vassilev added Philadelphia's (7-3-1) other goal while Giacomo Vrioni scored for Montreal It took Philadelphia just 73 seconds to open the scoring with a slick counterattack that rapidly cut through the host's right side Vassilev capped it off with a shot into the top right corner that overpowered Jonathan Sirois’ outstretched hand The other two games ended in a scoreless draw Montreal’s best opportunity of the half came when a cross from Tom Pearce was deflected on goal by Francis Westfield and through Andre Blake’s legs a slight deflection of Blake’s right foot sent the ball skimming by the post and out For the first time since Donadel’s appointment as interim head coach he lined up his squad with two pure strikers in a 4-4-2 formation This paid dividends on a number of occasions as the constant pressure put on the back line allowed more space to exploit “We knew with the way Philadelphia played that we would be able to move forward quickly with two strikers,” said Nathan Saliba I feel like we could’ve found them right away " … When the ball is out wide with someone like Pearce who has a good cross A low cross from Dante Sealy sowed chaos in the penalty area and — after several defensive errors — fell to Vrioni who was alone in front of goal and made no mistake This was the first goal Vrioni scored for the club in front of his entire family including his newborn son who is just three-weeks-old it’s the best thing that can happen in your life,” said Vrioni Montreal carried that momentum into the second half immediately forcing Philadelphia into a defensive block with Sealy acting as the main catalyst on the right wing he believed that he had won a penalty in the 77th minute but after the Video Assistant Referee recommended a review of the play it was determined the call would be upheld and no penalty awarded Philadelphia would find a winner in the 84th minute against the run of play Uhre found space in behind the Montreal central defenders and got on the end of a perfect pass from Jovan Lukic making no mistake as he slipped the ball past Sirois Philadelphia: Hosts Indy Eleven on Wednesday in first round of the U.S Montreal: Visit New York City FC on Saturday GUATEMALA CITY — Canada booked its ticket to the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup in dramatic fashion by defeating Mexico in a penalty shootout Saturday to reach the final of CONCACAF W Futsal Championship The two finalists at the eight-team CONCACAF tournament will represent the region at the 16-team FIFA Futsal World Cup Futsal is a five-a-side indoor game played in two 20-minute halves The semifinal at the Domo Polideportivo went to the shootout after finishing tied 4-4 following two five-minute periods of extra time Mexico scored three unanswered goals in the first half before Canada answered with four of its own in the first four minutes of the second half Mexico tied the game with 1.8 seconds remaining on a goal by Rubi Gomez with its net empty Jade Houmphanh and Cynthia Gaspar-Freire scored for Canada in the shootout Goalkeeper Léa Palacio-Tellier stopped shots by Evelyn Gonzalez and Gomez before Gaspar-Freire roofed her penalty for a 4-3 Canada win Sunday's final will see Canada face Panama which downed Costa Rica 3-1 in the other semifinal The Canadians moved into the semifinals after beating the U.S 3-1 to finish runner-up to Costa Rica at 2-1-0 in Group B Mexico won Group A with three straight wins and a tournament-high 13 goals tied for the tournament's stingiest defence with just four goals allowed in pool play The Canadians are coached by Alexandre Da Rocha a former coach of the Quebec's women's futsal team and assistant coach with the Canadian men's futsal side Female futsal players have long campaigned for a FIFA championship the International Women’s Futsal Players Association condemned FIFAs “public neglect towards women futsal players." FIFA held the first Futsal Men's World Cup in 1989 with the 2028 edition featuring 24 teams Defending champion Brazil has won six of the 10 tournaments to date Canada has not participated since being one of the 16 invited countries for the inaugural men's tournament failing to advance out of the first round after losing to Argentina and Belgium before downing Japan Dolan was also a member of Canada's 1986 FIFA World Cup squad in Mexico There have been eight editions of the CONCACAF Men's Futsal Championship with Canada participating in four of them The Canadians' best showing was making the quarterfinals CARSON — The Canadian women's rugby sevens team advanced to the semifinals of the HSBC SVNS World Championship after winning two of three matches Saturday The final event of the season sees the top eight men's and women's sides from the top-tier HSBC SVNS compete in the winner-take-all world championship at Dignity Health Sports Park which will host rugby sevens at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics fourth after the first six events of the season will face unbeaten Australia in one semifinal Sunday while New Zealand takes on the sixth-ranked U.S 2 Australia have gone a combined 10-0-0 against Canada in dominating the circuit this season In the first year of an Olympic quadrennial the Canadian women have improved as the season wore on with coach Jocelyn Barrieau blooding a stream of new talent while players cycle between the sevens and 15s sides The Canadian women finished eighth to open the current season in Dubai before placing third in both Hong Kong and Singapore while Australia triumphed in Dubai and Perth Asia Hogan-Rochester scored two tries and added three conversions in the win over Japan Florence Symonds and Olivia Apps also scored tries Apps and Charity Williams had the tries in the Britain win with Hogan-Rochester booting three conversions Carissa Norsten had the lone try against New Zealand which led 19-5 at the half before reeling off four straight tries Canada finished fourth in last season's finale in Madrid in June While the top eight teams vie for the world championship teams nine through 12 in the HSBC SVNS are facing the top four teams from the second-tier Challenger Series — including the Canadian men That was slated to be a promotion/relegation playoff But World Rugby announced Thursday it was changing the season format to a three-tier setup next year taking promotion and relegation off the table this weekend the best the Canadian men can do is make the new Division 2 next season with a chance to then earn promotion to the revamped eight-team top tier losing 24-17 to Uruguay before rebounding to beat Ireland 19-12 They wrap up Pool B play Sunday against Germany (1-1-0) Ethan Turner accounted for Canada's points in the Uruguay loss with a converted try Morgan Di Nardo and Kyle Tremblay scored tries in the Ireland win with Isherwood and Turner each adding a conversion which continues its search for a first home win of the Major League Soccer season after a 2-0 loss to the resurgent New England Revolution on Saturday The final whistle was greeted by a chorus of boos from the announced crowd of 19,690 at BMO Field Carles Gil and Leo Campana scored for New England (5-4-1) which came into the game with just seven goals in its previous nine matches The Revs could have added significantly more to that total had it not been for Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson Toronto coach Robin Fraser saw no silver linings on the day seeing a regression in his team that came into the game having lost just one of its last five league outings (1-1-3) a 1-0 defeat at the hands of New York City FC last Saturday Fraser has not been helped by an ever-growing injury list Toronto' was missing captain Jonathan Osorio Add Nicksoen Gomis to the list after the defender went down in the 63rd minute in the Toronto penalty box with a non-contact injury while yet to receive an official prognosis Defender Sigurd Rosted had to come off at halftime as did forward Ola Brynhildsen whose minutes are being limited after coming back from injury And veteran defender Kevin Long remained on the bench playing centre back alongside 18-year-old Lazar Stefanovic "I don't want to make it sound like a pity party," said Fraser "It is what it is and we are where we are and we still have an obligation to compete "I was disappointed today because I think in the last six weeks or so this group — win draw — I've been really really proud of their level of engagement And I thought today was a bit of a lapse." New England has won four straight by blanking Atlanta extended their shutout streak to 385 minutes in front of Slovenian goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic Toronto has not scored in league play at home in 439 minutes dating back to Deandre Kerr's goal April 5 in a 2-1 loss to Chicago TFC is 0-3-2 at BMO Field this season with its last home win Sept While Toronto had plenty of the ball in the first half it was New England that took advantage of its chances Gil put the Revs ahead in the 11th minute with their first shot on goal wingback Ilay Feingold sent in a cross that Gomis got his head to only to see the ball go straight to Gil who acrobatically volleyed it home from just inside the penalty box "That is a really really quality goal by a quality player," said Fraser "It feels like we've made more forced substitutions this year than I can remember in a long time." capping a rapid-fire counterattack with a low shot that beat Johnson The play began deep in the New England end when Federico Bernardeschi lost the ball Six passes later it was in the Toronto goal Johnson made several big saves in the first half including a spectacular one-handed stop on Ignatius Ganago in injury time to limit the damage to two goals as the visitors began to find gaps in the Toronto defence Some in the supporters section in the south stand walked out during the first half in an apparent protest A banner reading "This Badge Don't Belong To You!!!" was unfurled at one point Another banner read "Accept Existence or Expect Resistance." New England outshot Toronto 13-8 (6-2 in shots on target) in the first half The final count was 18-18 with the Revs having a 6-4 edge on shots on target Saturday's contest was the first of seven in May for Toronto Coach Robin Fraser made seven changes to the mid-week team that lost a penalty shootout to CF Montreal in Telus Canadian Championship play Bernardeschi moved up front at halftime to lead the attack Fellow Italian Lorenzo Insigne entered the game to a mixed reception in the 57th minute TORONTO — Daniel Schneemann drilled his first career grand slam homer in the ninth inning to earn the Cleveland Guardians a 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday Schneemann's second homer of the game halted Toronto's win streak at three games and wasted a one-hit nine-strikeout effort over six shutout innings from Jays starter Kevin Gausman Schneemann's game-deciding blast came off reliever Yimi Garcia (0-1) Schneemann's eighth-inning solo shot was off Chad Green two-out single to Steven Kwan before 40,507 at Rogers Centre Gausman retired the final 10 batters he faced Bo Bichette belted a leadoff homer for an early lead for Toronto (16-17) The Blue Jays went up 2-0 in the third when Anthony Santander led off with a double and later scored They added another on Tyler Heineman's sacrifice fly in the fifth Cleveland starter Gavin Williams (2-3) lasted only four innings He yielded two runs on seven hits and five walks with nine strikeouts Kolby Allard (2-0) notched the win for his four relief innings Guardians: Third baseman Jose Ramirez did not play after suffering a right ankle sprain Friday Blue Jays: ESPN's Jon Heyman reported Toronto has signed veteran right-handed pitchers Spencer Turnbull Turnbull hasn't pitched since last June because of an arm ailment Urena made one three-inning appearance for the New York Mets last month Bichette smacked Williams' first pitch into the left-field seats for the shortstop's first long ball since May 27 George Springer's fourth-inning strikeout ended a streak of safely reaching base in his first six plate appearances in the series Bowden Francis (2-4) will start the series finale for the Blue Jays while Cleveland will counter with Tanner Bibee (2-2) TORONTO — Ottawa Charge head coach Carla MacLeod is just happy to be getting on a bus next week Kateřina Mrázová scored 2:52 into overtime to lift Ottawa to a 2-1 regular-season finale win over the Toronto Sceptres and a playoff berth Saturday in the Professional Women's Hockey League It's the first time Ottawa is making the post-season in the PWHL's two years of existence the Charge needed a regulation win to clinch a playoff spot but fell 5-2 to Toronto in their regular-season finale "Happy to get on a bus," MacLeod said with a smile "The fact that today had the variables involved today that five teams could have changed their positioning within the standings is just The Charge came in needing a win of any kind or a Minnesota loss against Boston later Saturday Ottawa lost 3-0 to Minnesota on Wednesday with a chance to move six or seven points ahead of the Frost — with either an overtime/shootout win or a regulation win — and clinch a playoff spot "I wanted to skate all the way back to (goaltender) Gwyneth (Philips) but at the same time the whole group was coming Defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota defeated Boston 8-1 later Saturday to still be able to clinch a playoff spot Minnesota and Boston all finished the regular season tied with 44 points but Ottawa (12) and Minnesota (10) took the tiebreakers on regulation wins "This group is really special and we worked so hard tonight and I think we got the outcome that we deserve So it feels good and we're looking forward to playoffs," Charge defender Jocelyne Larocque said after the win over her former team Spending most of the season out of the playoff picture Ottawa surged since the February international break The Charge boasted a 7-2-2-4 record in that span Ottawa averaged 1.80 goals per contest before Feb "We're more playoff ready (this year)," Larocque said when you know that you made playoffs and I don't know what February maybe last year we knew that we were making playoffs so I think this just prepares the group better "And I feel really confident with this group that we're ready for playoffs because we've been making a really hard playoff push so I think it just gets you in the right mindset So I think it's a blessing to have to fight for a spot Toronto had a playoff spot secured heading into Saturday The Sceptres had a chance to steal first place with a regulation win along with a New York regulation win later Saturday against first-place Montreal The top-seeded team entering the post-season gets its choice of opponent for the best-of-five semifinal series Toronto will open the playoffs at home Wednesday while Montreal starts Thursday with the opponents being determined Sunday evening be sitting up tonight and having a beer and talking about who we're going to pick," Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan said "It's a unique rule that the PWHL has put forth and I think it's there's a privilege and there's an honour there "Whether we made the right choice or wrong choice last year I still would rather be in a position to pick the team than have someone pick it for you obviously hats off to Montreal for putting themselves in a situation where they can either set their team up for success or they can It didn't begin a long time ago or in a galaxy far far away memes and promotional deals involving “Star Wars” have an inescapable gravity as fans say — has evolved over the years into Star Wars Day an informal holiday celebrating the space epic and its surrounding franchise Star Wars Day was created by fans as a sly nod to one of the films' most popular catchphrases It's not an official holiday but has become so well-known that even former President Joe Biden marked it last year when “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill dropped by the White House a day beforehand the Trump administration marked the occasion with a Star Wars-themed meme “I think it's a very clever way for fans to celebrate their passion and love for ‘Star Wars’ once a year,” said Steve Sansweet founder and executive chairman of Rancho Obi-Wan a nonprofit museum in California that has the world's largest collection of “Star Wars” memorabilia The phrase “May the 4th be with you” was used by fans in the years after the first film was released in 1977 and even appeared in a British political ad in 1979 celebrating Margaret Thatcher's victory as prime minister on May 4 that year For some fans, the official Star Wars Day comes on May 25, the date of the first film's release. The Los Angeles City Council even declared the date to be Star Wars Day in 2007, although the California Legislature voted in 2019 to designate May 4 as Star Wars Day May the 4th caught on informally among fans through inside jokes shared on social media and viewings of the films to mark the occasion Businesses eventually joined in on the fun with brands ranging from Nissan to Jameson Whiskey running ads or posting on social media about it Disney embraced the day as a way to further promote the franchise with merchandise special screenings and other events surrounding the brand Not all “Star Wars” fans are enthused about how ubiquitous the once-underground joke has become a senior editor at Mashable and author of “How Star Wars Conquered the Universe,” labels himself a “May the 4th grinch" in part because of its commercialization but my God you can take it too far,” Taylor said a Protestant congregation held a Star Wars-themed service Sunday Pastor Samuel Dörr and some of his congregants wore costumes and decorated their church in Bensberg The day is being celebrated on a large and small scale this year. Disney+ is launching the new series “Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld” on the date, and it comes as the second season gets underway for another franchise series, “Andor.” It also follows the announcement that a new stand-alone “Star Wars” film installment starring Ryan Gosling will be released in 2027 Disney marks the day with the launch of new “Star Wars” merchandise Most Major League Baseball teams have marked the day in recent years with special events incorporating “Star Wars” characters the San Francisco Giants sold special tickets for Saturday's game that included a bobblehead portraying pitcher Logan Webb as “Obi-Webb Kenobi.” It's hard to find a place where May the 4th celebrations aren't occurring from bakeries serving cookies with a “Star Wars” theme to concerts featuring the memorable scores of the films which shares its name with the subtitle of the first “Star Wars” film located 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia plans to have costumed characters throughout town with restaurants serving themed items like a “YodaRita.” “I would always joke around and wish people ‘May the 4th’ — but taking it to this level I've definitely upped my ‘Star Wars’ nerdiness,” said Michael Sklar president of the Greater New Hope Chamber of Commerce The White House posted an AI-generated image of a muscular Donald Trump in a jedi robe and wielding a red lightsaber The image on X was accompanied by a Star Wars-themed broadside including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to to bring Sith Lords You’re not the Rebellion—you’re the Empire,” the White House posting said Mayors of two coastal communities are hoping a letter to BC Ferries will spark some positive change regarding local ferry service Bowen Island mayor Andrew Leonard and Gibsons mayor Silas White from the Sunshine Coast sent the letter to B.C In it they outline both historical and recent challenges with the routes to Bowen Island and Langdale which originate at the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal The letter also laments what they describe as a lack of accountability and concludes with a list of action items they wish to see take place over the next few weeks “We cannot go through another season like this with boats that are decades old and breaking down and running into and destroying our docks in Snug Cove,” said Leonard during Bowen’s council on Monday “It’s utterly unacceptable and something needs to change.” particularly in recent years and especially during summer months are well documented and often experienced by both residents and visitors Operational issues include frequent overloads wide variances between the ferry schedule and actual sailing times and even occasional sailing cancellations when crew cannot be sourced for the Bowen runs In February this year the Queen of Capilano crashed into boats at the Bowen Island Marina heavily damaging the vessels along with the dock itself Issues on both routes were once again highlighted during the Easter long weekend in April after the Queen of Coquitlam servicing the Sunshine Coast broke down The ferry had to be assisted back to Horseshoe Bay by tugboats and the resulting backlog disrupted Bowen sailings and caused long vehicle lineups at the terminal “Given what felt like a disastrous first long weekend of the season it feels very ominous for what’s to come,” said Leonard The mayors did not limit their criticism to the operations side of things either reserving space for the engagement and governance side of BC Ferries too “The conversations that I had with mayor White were initially somewhat positively optimistic about this new engagement regime that BC Ferries was putting forward,” the mayor explained to council “However that seems to have dried up.” BC Ferries made the decision to disband their Ferry Advisory Committees late last year Earlier this month council resolved to send a separate letter to BCF expressing their “disappointment” that there was no engagement on the new ferry schedule for the island set to be implemented on May 15 and lasting until March 2026 Council also awaits an answer to another ask of BCF this council requesting $150,000 in annual funding to deal with ferry marshalling and infrastructure upgrades in Snug Cove,” said Leonard “We said if you (BCF) don’t want to take responsibility for your marshalling and investing responsibilities here in Snug Cove - fine But we can’t do it on the back of property taxes in a community of 4,200 To date we haven’t had a response.” the letter called into question the governance structure of BC Ferries – comprised of the province “Each organization can — and often does — point to another for the reason that something cannot be done our residents face real-world consequences: lost wages and escalating costs of doing business,” read the letter “Our council brought this up with the Minister of Transportation saying the ministry is claiming BCF is a private entity BCF Authority and the Ferries Commissioner say they don’t have operational control and the BCF Board and Management say they don’t have the money to do anything… as a result there’s this circular unaccountability from all of the governance structures,” added Leonard on Monday the letter called for focus on four main areas (with specifics contained within each) – an accountable governance table immediate reliability measures for the Bowen Island and Langdale/Sunshine Coast routes and a restoration of meaningful community engagement Leonard and White requested a written answer to how these four issues would be addressed by the end of May and a meeting with the premier and transportation minister Mike Farnworth before the start of this summer’s peak season The mayors letter was copied to numerous provincial and local politicians along with BC Ferries executives Leonard also thanked the many residents of Bowen and the Sunshine Coast who’ve sent in their own letters and urged them to continue doing so A celebration of life will be held for Roderick Donald Innes on Saturday The celebration will take place from 1 to 4 pm at Cranberry Seniors Centre (6792 Cranberry Street, Powell River) Rod's full obituary was published in November of last year You will also start receiving the Star's free morning newsletter North Island—Powell River 2025 federal election live results. Browse live results for all 343 ridings 310 of 310 polls are reporting as of 4:22 p.m. Follow our full coverage of the 2025 federal election 310 of 310 polls are reporting as of 4:22 p.m. Follow our full coverage of the 2025 federal election is projected to win in North Island—Powell River is in second place with 26,357 votes (32.61%) and Jennifer Lash Blaney was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015 27,760 voters cast ballots at advance polls Looking for another riding? Here are the full results for the 2025 federal election. The Liberals have 169 races called in their favour They have 8,535,128 votes and 43.69 per cent of the popular vote The Conservatives have 144 races called in their favour They have 8,059,938 votes and 41.26 per cent of the popular vote The Bloc Québécois have 22 races called in their favour They have 1,232,095 votes and 6.31 per cent of the popular vote The New Democrats have seven races called in their favour They have 1,231,198 votes and 6.3 per cent of the popular vote The Greens have one race called in their favour They have 243,471 votes and 1.25 per cent of the popular vote There were three independents and four vacancies in the 338-seat Commons the Commons has grown by five ridings starting with this election This article was automatically generated using data provided by Canadian Press and will update as riding results become available Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account votes were cast for the following North Island-Powell River candidates in the 2025 federal election The Liberal Party of Canada is elected or leading in 169 ridings across the country just shy of the 172 seats required to form a majority government Conservative candidates are elected or leading in 144 ridings followed by the Bloc Québécois (22) The Peak contacted Gunn on Tuesday morning and interviewed the MP-elect Sign In Subscribe Now NDP candidate Tanille Johnston came in second place with 26,357 votes while Liberal candidate Jennifer Lash is in third with 21,045 votes Green Party's Jessica Wegg received 1,558 votes followed by Paul Macknight from the People's Party of Canada with 341 votes and Independent candidate Glen Staples with 156 votes Black Press Media was asked to leave Gunn's election party at the Anchor Inn in Campbell River after being told it was not "approved media," however other regional media members were allowed to remain at the event During a watch party at More Eatery in Campbell River on Monday night Johnston thanked her supporters and volunteers as the results rolled in Although she started off with a strong lead in the polls, Gunn ended up taking over and stayed ahead for the rest of the night "I'm not going anywhere," Johnston told the crowd of supporters Gunn) takes off to Ottawa and never comes back I will be here fighting hard every day to make sure that our Indigenous people feel protected and that women's right to choose is protected." Lash noted she focused on a campaign of "hope over fear and we really focused on unity over division We stayed true to what we thought was the right campaign to run for this riding and the way that we want this riding to exist that is focused on what we can work towards I think we did a great job," said Green Party candidate Wegg "'And really grateful for all the people who helped me out .. and thanks to everyone who turned out to vote." The Record reached out to Staples and Macknight for comment but did not hear back.  Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines NEW YORK (AP) — The federal sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs whose wildly successful career has been dotted by allegations of violence began on Monday in New York City with jury selection that was briefly paused when the hip-hop entrepreneur said he was “a little nervous” and needed a bathroom break Three dozen potential jurors were questioned by Judge Arun Subramanian about their answers on a questionnaire meant to help determine if they could be fair and impartial at a trial that will feature violent and sexually explicit videos. Opening statements and the start of testimony are scheduled for next week The judge gave the would-be jurors a brief description of the sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges against Combs telling them he'd pleaded not guilty and was presumed innocent the jury pool was half its size as some were excluded for personal reasons such as inability to economically endure a trial projected to last two months or because their opinions or past experiences would endanger their objectivity Another three dozen prospective jurors were expected to be questioned on Tuesday Throughout Monday, Combs, 55, sat with his lawyers in a sweater over a white collared shirt and gray slacks, which the judge had allowed rather than jail clothing. He's been held in a grim federal lockup in Brooklyn since his arrest last September His hair and goatee were almost fully gray because dye isn’t allowed in jail Unlike other recent high-profile celebrity trials, Combs’ court case won’t be broadcast live because federal courtrooms don’t allow electronic recordings inside — meaning courtroom sketch artists serve as the public’s eyes in the courtroom Several prospective jurors indicated they'd seen news reports featuring a key piece of evidence in the case: a video of the hip-hop mogul hitting and kicking one of his accusers in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016 One prospective juror described a still image she saw from the video as “damning evidence.” That woman was rejected from consideration One prospective juror said she had posted a “like” to a video on social media by a comedian who joked about large amounts of baby oil found by law enforcement in one of Combs' homes The 17-page indictment against Combs — which reads like a charging document filed against a Mafia leader or the head of a drug gang — alleges that Combs engaged in a two-decade racketeering pattern of abusive behavior against women and others with the help of people in his entourage and employees from his network of businesses Combs and his lawyers say he’s innocent and any group sex was consensual They say there was no effort to coerce people into things they didn’t want to do and nothing that happened amounted to a criminal racket Prosecutors say women were manipulated into drug-fueled sexual performances with male sex workers that Combs called “Freak Offs.” To keep women in line prosecutors say Combs used a mix of influence and violence: He offered to boost their entertainment careers if they did what he asked — or cut them off if they didn't the indictment says Combs and his associates resorted to violent acts including beatings One of four alleged victims expected to testify against Combs may not take the witness stand after all She told Subramanian that the woman's attorney has had personal issues and been hard to reach and it was unclear if the woman would show up either “There is no particular count that requires her testimony in order for us to carry our burden,” Comey said The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army is pausing flights near a Washington airport after two commercial planes had to abort landings last week because of an Army Black Hawk helicopter that was flying to the Pentagon The commander of the 12th Aviation Battalion directed the unit to pause flight operations around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport following Thursday’s close calls two Army officials confirmed to The Associated Press It comes after 67 people died in January when a passenger jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter at Reagan airport The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not publicly announced The unit is continuing to fly in the greater Washington Thursday’s incident involved a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 and a Republic Airways Embraer E170 according to the National Transportation Safety Board by air traffic control to “perform go-arounds” because of a “priority air transport” helicopter according to an emailed statement from the Federal Aviation Administration The priority air transport helicopters of the 12th battalion provide transport service to top Pentagon officials It was a Black Hawk priority air transport known as PAT25 that collided with the passenger jet in midair in January That crash was the worst U.S. midair disaster in more than two decades. In March, the FAA announced that helicopters would be prohibited from flying in the same airspace as planes near Reagan airport Upcoming service changes in the Powell River Transit System will result in improvements for routes 1 Seasonal adjustments will come into effect on May 17 Better on-time performance; increased late night service from Monday to Thursday; increased evening service on weekends; increased Saturday service to Tla’amin Nation consistent with weekday service; and improved trip time schedules on Route 2 for passengers connecting to Westview Ferry Terminal service on route 14 (Lund) will increase from three to six days a week The service changes will continue through Labour Day weekend and are reflected in the Powell River Rider’s Guide  BC Transit encourages customers to use the Umo app Google Transit or any other app of their choice for real-time bus tracking and planning their next transit journey For more information on schedules, trip planning and fares, go to bctransit.com/powell-river TORONTO — Tim Hortons is baking some star power into its breakfast menu The café chain launched scrambled egg boxes with actor Ryan Reynolds on Monday The boxes developed by the Vancouver-born star of "Deadpool" come in bacon or sausage varieties and include two scrambled eggs While Tims has spent its 60th anniversary year working to lure in afternoon and evening diners with newer menu items like rice-based bowls and flatbread pizzas the Reynolds partnership so far focuses on its strongest part of the day: breakfast Tims chief marketing officer Hope Bagozzi said Reynolds looked for a breakfast option that resembled the bacon and eggs he and his family eat at home "When I visited the Tim Hortons Test Kitchen by which I mean I ate an irresponsible amount of eggs I regret nothing,” said Reynolds in a news release His appetite for them was so voracious that the Tims chef almost couldn't make the boxes fast enough when Reynolds was on set filming TV and social media ads for the products The ads feature an assistant fulfilling Reynolds' rider which include a newspaper with all references to birds redacted a jigsaw puzzle one piece away from completion and his beloved breakfast box Competition within the breakfast segment has intensified over the last decade with new players like European chain Pret A Manger entering the market and more restaurants offering all-day breakfast There's also been a fight for customers because some have dropped morning coffee runs as they turned to hybrid work schedules or looked for more affordable breakfasts because of inflation "The breakfast day part has been the hardest hit for quick-serve restaurants with hybrid working so it makes sense to me to come up with a box that's a different portable option versus just a breakfast sandwich," said Jo-Ann McArthur president at Toronto advertising agency Nourish Food Marketing "We know eggs are beloved at any time and I like the fact that it's kind of nostalgic which is also a trend that we're seeing (because) consumers want to go back to that nostalgic comfort food." McArthur thinks the Reynolds name carries plenty of cachet for Canadians Tims locations because she suspects many Americans don't realize he is Canadian because of his deep ties to Hollywood The risk Tims runs is that "he is a tad overexposed right now," she said The actor has also narrated an Air Canada ad and fundraised for SickKids Hospital in Toronto and the Terry Fox Foundation Tims started talking to Reynolds after wrapping a collaboration with pop star Justin Bieber that spanned 2021 and 2022 and spawned a cold brew He does not do a lot of endorsements," said McArthur The night before Tims broke the news last summer to franchisees about the upcoming celeb partnership Reynolds sent a video joking he was "thrilled" the company chose him when they could have gone with Robert Goulet the Canadian crooner who played Lancelot in the original "Camelot." it erupted," Bagozzi recalled of the moment it was played "I was trying to talk and it was just like there was hooting and shouting and screaming." The franchisees were sworn to secrecy and Bagozzi is impressed they didn’t let it slip though the company ran a "Deadpool" ad with Reynolds in July and teased on an earnings call that more was coming A second phase of the Reynolds partnership will follow the breakfast boxes Bagozzi would not reveal its timeline or contents Conservative Party of Canada candidate Aaron Gunn is the member of parliament-elect for the North Island-Powell River riding after voters had previously elected a New Democratic Party MP for three consecutive elections since 2015 Gunn said the electoral results feel like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders “I think they are still counting some votes it’s just very humbling and I’m very honoured at the faith placed in me by the people and the voters of North Island-Powell River,” said Gunn “It’s an awesome responsibility to be the elected representative and to go to Ottawa to be their voice in the House of Commons.” Gunn said he is very excited to be going to Ottawa and he is not sure about how the process of becoming a member of parliament works but his plan is to go to Ottawa to be a loud voice for the people in this riding and to make sure the priorities and concerns of constituents are being voiced and represented in the nation’s capital “We want to have an open-door policy so that anybody can reach out with whatever issues they have with the federal government or concerns that they would like to see raised,” said Gunn “We’re going to make it a priority for working on the affordability crisis for public safety concerns such as we’ve seen in downtown Powell River to be a strong advocate for the resource sector that is the fuel that powers the economy in this riding.” Other issues of importance to Gunn include the national debt He said it has doubled over the past 10 years and that the federal government is running a $60 billion deficit “We need to bring some fiscal accountability back to this country,” said Gunn we’ve come up short in the funding and support for the men and women in uniform There’s a large military base in this riding down in Comox We need to do a much better job of supporting our soldiers We also need to do a better job supporting our veterans.” Gunn said the Conservatives didn’t achieve the result they wanted but it is worth noting that 2025 was the best performance for a conservative party in a national election from a vote perspective since 1988 “That’s quite an achievement for Pierre Poilievre and all the candidates,” said Gunn “We are going to hold the Mark Carney Liberal minority to account We are going to continue to press for change and stand up for Canadians and voice their concerns.” New Democratic Party candidate Tanille Johnston had 25,838 votes Green Party candidate Jessica Wegg had 1,513 votes People’s Party of Canada candidate Paul Macknight had 329 votes there were 78,853 valid votes cast from the 109,060 registered electors Population in the North Island-Powell River riding is 125,925 Later in the day, Elections Canada updated the results including totals from the 310th poll counted the Liberals are leading or elected in 169 ridings The Conservatives are leading or elected in 144 ridings The New Democratic Party was elected in seven ridings the Bloc Québécois are elected or leading in 22 ridings Voter turnout nationally points to 19,231,164 of 28,525,638 voters having cast ballots The electoral results point to a Liberal minority government with 172 seats required to form a majority government Powell River Fire Rescue attended a house fire on lower Duncan Street above the Westview Ferry Terminal area during the early afternoon of Friday All of the department's fire engines were mobilized plus a complement of career and paid on-call firefighters The fire is still under investigation and foul play is not suspected Powell River Salmon Society has been extremely busy with major upgrades at the Lang Creek salmon facility and an incredibly ambitious coho adipose fin clipping exercise Salmon society hatchery manager Shane Dobler said there has been strong community support for the society of late “We have a Powell River Community Forest project out at Lang Bay, with an addition to our building and a complete re-roofing,” said Dobler. “We have enlarged the parking lot and relocated plants to Brooks Secondary School. We’re also ecstatic about the clipping project at the mill hatchery and one in particular – Terry Peters – who organized the whole thing.” Dobler said the parking lot revamp became necessary because of the increased traffic at the Lang Creek site He said the project will allow for school buses to get into the parking lot buses that brought students to events such as the annual salmon expo were unloading by the highway some plants that had been placed by passionate volunteers had to be relocated Dobler said an enthusiastic group was found at Brooks Secondary School and the contractor donated his services to help relocate the plants in a safe and effective manner “It makes a significant amount of more room for us to facilitate volunteers who arrive on site before schools even show up,” said Dobler Dobler said he wanted to mention contractor Shaun Gloslee A generous donation of $10,000 was made to the salmon society foundation to support the careful excavation and relocation of plants from the Lang Bay site “This effort involved transporting the plants to Brooks with the assistance of volunteers,” said Dobler “This donation also helped cover costs associated with trucking soil to Brooks materials for constructing a parking lot and retaining wall and necessary machine time for the reconfiguration of the property Pacific Salmon Foundation contributed $8,000 toward the plant relocation project and property reconfiguration project further supporting the environmental and infrastructural goals of this initiative.” Dobler said the salmon foundation contributes to the salmon society every year and the donations are important “We’re working with the same funds from the federal government as we received in 1982 so the work of the foundation is the engine to our car for the future,” said Dobler As for the building revamp at Alex Dobler Salmon Centre with a water membrane being placed before the new roof is put on There is also a building extension so activities such as board meetings and fundraising activities can be facilitated Money for the project came from Powell River Community Forest Dobler said Peters put together a program with the goal of clipping up to 300,000 fish Peters organized 150 people to participate in the three-week project “Terry has put in a tremendous number of hours to organize the project and he is the only person to stand down there at the hatchery every single day where other people are signing up for shifts,” said Dobler He’s taken clipping to a whole new level the benefit to the salmon society is there are a bunch of new people participating in our activities “It’s helping grow our membership will increase traffic to our Lang Bay facility The clipping of the adipose fins from the coho means anglers will be able to retain the hatchery fish Coho caught with their adipose fins intact have to be returned to the ocean Peters said he has been a volunteer with the salmon society for years He is newly retired and had questions about the coho clipping He said he knew that only coho with the adipose fin clipped could be retained by anglers Peters thought that number could be increased so he approached Powell River Rod and Gun Club Peters said Fisheries and Oceans Canada was approached for support and approaches were made to local media to encourage people to volunteer for the project “Friends started telling friends and it just snowballed from there We’ve even got people from outside of the community volunteering.” People can also support Powell River Salmon Society through the salmon preservation foundation Dobler said donations go directly toward helping pay for operations “The fish we’ve clipped couldn’t have been clipped if we couldn’t feed them,” said Dobler we fundraise more than we are provided through our Fisheries and Oceans Canada agreement.” Donors can get more information by going to salmonpreservation.org The qathet region has its fair share of invasive species Now is a busy time for groups who try their best in the fight to eradicate persistent and pesky species that impact native plants and animals A local Broombusters group headed by retired City of Powell River fire chief Terry Peters and the ivy pulling gang led by Kate Sutherland meet weekly and monthly in various spots in the region Every May the Invasive Species Council of BC (ISCBC) asks everyone in the province to take small simple steps to help stop the spread of invasive species in a campaign called: Invasive Species Action Month highlights how everyday choices can protect the lands and waters we love "You don’t have to be a scientist or a land manager to make a difference " stated ISCBC executive director Gail Wallin invasive species are one of the biggest threats to biodiversity in BC harming food systems and disrupting ecosystems were introduced through gardening or pet release Top tips for stopping the spread: Plant native or non-invasive species with the Grow Me Instead guide; clean boots bikes and pet fur before and after adventures; never release pets such as turtles drain and dry boats and gear after time on the water Wallin says prevention is key: "Once invasive species take hold they’re expensive and difficult to remove But small steps now can save us huge costs later Broombusters are meeting on Saturday, May 3, at 10 am in front of Oceanview Helicopters, located at 7390 Empress Way. To find out when the next ivy pull is, contact Sutherland at, [email protected] Powell River Educational Services Society (PRESS) was among grant recipients announced by the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (ORCBC) on Tuesday A total of $254,950 in grants is going to support 32 projects across the province including $10,000 to PRESS for qathet Canoe Route enhancement Repairs will be made to three portage trails The latest recipients are part of the second grant intake for ORCBC's Outdoor Recreation Fund Massive interest from the first intake was reiterated this year when ORCBC received 202 applications totalling $1.65 million in funding requests "Proposed projects were ready to launch this year and provided a matching contribution through cash or in-kind support equal to or greater than the funding request," stated ORCBC "Each application underwent a thorough eligibility review before being scored by three reviewers with extensive experience in the field Reviewers emphasized the large number of high-quality applications worthy of funding highlighting the strong dedication to BC outdoor recreation and the need for funding." 7 days agoDuration 2:26Aaron Gunn wins North Island-Powell River riding 7 days agoNewsDuration 2:26Aaron Gunn has won the riding of North Island-Powell River for the Conservatives. Last month Gunn was accused by some First Nations leaders of denying the effects of residential schools. If you own an RV in Whitehorse that needs service, expect delays20 minutes agoVideo1:47 Ice cream back on the menu in Dawson City, Yukon, as shops open for the season24 minutes agoVideo0:56 Video evidence, NHLer testimony raise questions in world junior sexual assault trialThe National |May 2Video4:45 Trump repeats 51st state taunt as Carney prepares for White House visitThe National |May 5Video3:37 Stepfather of missing Nova Scotia children calls on public's helpMay 5Video11:28 It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem NEW YORK (AP) — When the email came from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Jacques Agbobly at first didn’t quite believe it The Brooklyn-based fashion designer had only been in the business for five years. Now, one of the world’s top museums was asking for two of his designs to be shown in “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” the exhibit launched by the starry Met Gala. “I was just floored with excitement,” Agbobly said in an interview “I had to check to make sure it was from an official email and I was like … am I allowed to say anything to anyone about it?” watching seamstresses and tailors create beautiful garments in part of the family home that they rented out the aspiring designer watched the Met Gala carpet from afar and dreamed of one day somehow being part of it “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” is the first Costume Institute exhibit to focus exclusively on Black designers, and the first in more than 20 years devoted to menswear. Unlike past shows that highlighted the work of very famous designers like Karl Lagerfeld or Charles James this exhibit includes a number of up-and-coming designers like Agbobly “The range is phenomenal,” says guest curator Monica L “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” is a foundation for the show “It's super exciting to showcase the designs of these younger and emerging designers,” says Miller who took The Associated Press through the show over the weekend before its unveiling at Monday’s Met Gala “and to see the way they've been thinking about Black representation across time and across geography.” Miller also spoke about the exhibit at a press preview Monday morning, at which the Met's CEO, Max Hollein, announced the gala had raised a record $31 million — the first time the fundraiser for the museum's Costume Institute has crossed the $30 million mark and eclipsing last year's haul of more than $26 million. Also appearing was actor and gala co-chair Colman Domingo who spoke with emotion about the family members — a stepfather Resplendent in a purple suit by designer Ozwald Boateng he shared a favorite quote from director and playwright George C The exhibit covers Black style over several centuries, but the unifying theme is dandyism and how designers have expressed that ethos through history a lot of it is rooted in people telling us who we should be or how we should act … dandyism really goes against that It’s about showing up and looking your best self and taking up space and announcing that you're here.” begins with its own definition: someone who “studies above everything else to dress elegantly and fashionably.” Miller has organized it into 12 conceptual sections: Ownership The “ownership” section begins with two livery coats worn by enslaved people in purple velvet trimmed with gold metallic threading The garments were intended to show the wealth of their owners the enslaved themselves were items of conspicuous consumption The other is a livery coat of tan broadcloth likely manufactured by Brooks Brothers and worn by an enslaved child or adolescent boy in Louisiana just before the Civil War Elsewhere, there's a contemporary, glittering ensemble by British designer Grace Wales Bonner, made of crushed silk velvet and embroidered with crystals and the cowrie shells historically used as currency in Africa There's also a so-called “dollar bill suit” by the label 3.Paradis — the jacket sporting a laminated one-dollar bill stitched to the breast pocket The “disguise” section includes a collection of 19th-century newspaper ads announcing rewards for catching runaway enslaved people would often describe someone who was “particularly fond of dress” — or note that the person had taken large wardrobes The reason was twofold: The fancy clothes made it possible for an enslaved person to cloak their identity they could sell the clothing to help fund their new lives “So dressing above one’s station sometimes was a matter of life and death,” the curator says “and also enabled people to transition from being enslaved to being liberated.” The contemporary part of this section includes striking embroidered jackets by the label Off-White that purposely play with gender roles — like displaying an ostensibly “male” jacket on a female mannequin Views of an emerging Black middle and upper-middle class Stopping by a set of portraits from the early 19th century, as abolitionism was happening in the North, Miller explains that the subjects are Black men who were successful, well off enough to commission or sit for portraits and dressed “in the finest fashions of the day.” Like William Whipper an abolitionist and wealthy lumber merchant who also founded a literary society They represent the beginnings of a Black middle and upper middle class in America But she points out a group of racist caricatures in a case right across from the portraits “Almost as soon as they are able to do this,” she says was not only a civil rights activist but also one of the best-dressed men in turn-of-the-century America which meant he needed “clothing befitting his status as a representative of Black America to the world.” Objects in the display include receipts for tailors in London and suit orders from Brooks Brothers or his Harlem tailor There is also a laundry receipt from 1933 for cleaning of shirts Also highlighted in this section: Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist, writer, and statesman and also “the most photographed man of the 19th century.” The show includes his tailcoat of brushed wool as well as a shirt embroidered with a “D” monogram Designers reflecting their African heritage One of Miller’s favorite items in the heritage section is Agbobly’s bright-colored ensemble based on the hues of bags that West African migrants used to transport their belongings Also displayed is Agbobly’s denim suit embellished with crystals and beads It's a tribute not only to the hairbraiding salons where the designer spent time as a child but also the earrings his grandmother or aunts would wear when they went to church Agbobly says that he ultimately did tell them — and everyone — about his “pinch-me moment.” “Everyone knows about it,” the designer says For full coverage of the Met Gala, visit https://apnews.com/hub/met-gala