Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…
Carney returns to Ottawa without a tariff deal
Prime Minister Mark Carney returns to Ottawa today without any deals to remove U.S. tariffs from Canadian goods, but he is leaving two of his key ministers behind to keep pressing Canada’s case.
Carney met with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon, the second such meeting between the two leaders in less than six months.
Trump told reporters ahead of that meeting that Carney was going to walk away “very happy,” but showed no signs of relenting on tariffs and no deal was announced.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters at a press conference following the meeting that substantial progress was made and there is now momentum to make deals that wasn’t there before Tuesday.
Ottawa’s AI task force too industry-heavy: experts
The Liberal government has given its new AI “task force” until the end of the month to fast-track changes to the national artificial intelligence strategy — a plan that critics say leans too much on the perspective of industry and the tech sector.
Teresa Scassa, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada research chair in information law and policy, said the makeup of the 27-member task force is “skewed towards industry voices and the adoption of AI technologies.”
The risks posed by artificial intelligence to Canada’s culture, environment and workforce “deserve more attention in a national strategy,” Scassa said in an email.
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon announced the task force last month and tasked it with a 30-day “national sprint” to draft recommendations for a “refreshed” AI strategy. Solomon said that new strategy will land later this year, nearly two years earlier than planned.
Striking Canada Post union to meet with minister
The union representing striking Canada Post employees says it will meet with the federal minister in charge of the Crown corporation after accusing Ottawa of trampling on the collective bargaining process.
Postal workers took to the picket lines nearly two weeks ago after Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound announced sweeping changes to Canada Post’s mandate that would allow the struggling postal service to overhaul its operations in the midst of negotiations with the union.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is asking the minister to roll back the changes that include permitting the end of daily mail delivery, the expansion of community mailboxes and the closure of some rural post offices.
The union says Ottawa’s changes would hurt the long-term future of the postal service and argues government intervention has been unhelpful nearly two years into the bargaining process.
Ontario hospitals say they have $1B in needs
Ontario hospitals need an additional $1 billion this year to keep pace with factors such as population growth and inflation, leaving them facing pressures far higher than the deficits they faced just at the end of last year, their association says.
Hospitals across the province struggled with deficits, with many of them — small and large, urban and rural — ending the year in the red.
The overall hospital deficit for 2024-25 was $360 million, the Ontario Hospital Association says, down from the initial projection of $706 million, thanks to some year-end revenues, including government funding.
Elks run camp for strike-affected football players
High school football players sidelined as a result of the Alberta teachers strike are getting some gridiron help from the CFL’s Edmonton Elks.
The strike, which enters Day 3 on Wednesday, means a number of school sports teams are having their seasons put on hold indefinitely, including high school football, flag football, volleyball and soccer.
Ryan Brower, community co-ordinator of amateur football with the Elks, says the team wanted to step up to make sure local football players still had the chance to get some practice time in during the strike.
He said the 125 available slots were filled within a number of hours, with another 90 student athletes put on a waiting list for the six practice days planned throughout the month.
Jays aim to bounce back, eliminate Yankees
The Toronto Blue Jays can accomplish tonight what they failed to do last night: Beat the host New York Yankees and win their American League Division Series.
The Jays had the Bronx Bombers on the ropes at Yankee Stadium early last night as they built a 6-1 lead in the third inning and chased ineffective starter Carlos Rodon.
But the Yankees and captain Aaron Judge chipped away and, with the help of sloppy fielding and subpar pitching from the Jays, scored eight unanswered runs to register a 9-6 win and reduce their ALDS deficit to 2-1.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2025
The Canadian Press
