In the news today: Local news continues shrinking, P.M.’s blind trust explained

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Local news coverage in steep decline: report

The number of local news outlets has been in significant decline in Canada, leaving suburban residents in particular “starving” for local coverage, a new report found — and creating gaps for misinformation to take hold.

The report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that almost 2.5 million Canadians live in a postal code with either one or zero local news outlets, double the proportion from 2008.

Put bluntly, “local news is dying,” said David Macdonald, report co-author and CCPA senior economist.

“Without local news, disinformation, often from social media, will happily fill the void of high-quality, trusted local news.”

Mark Carney’s blind trust, explained

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s critics have been asking pointed questions lately about the assets in the former central banker’s blind trust — a tool meant to allow politicians to avoid conflicts of interest.

How do blind trusts work?

A trust is a legal arrangement that forms whenever a beneficiary’s assets, like stocks and bonds, are managed by a trustee.

In a blind trust, an individual’s assets are managed by an arm’s-length third party with no pre-existing personal or professional relationship with the beneficiary.

That third-party adviser manages the individual’s assets — making trades and sales and purchasing new investments — all without the beneficiary’s knowledge for as long as the trust is in place.

Tariffs pose risk for Canada’s greenhouse sector

U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods pose a big risk for the greenhouse sector, which relies heavily on exports south of the border and would suffer if importers buy less because of the trade war.

“These tariffs have some significant consequences,” said Richard Lee, executive director of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers. Ontario grows the majority of greenhouse vegetables in Canada.

The three-day tariffs that were in place earlier this month cost the Ontario greenhouse sector more than $6 million, Lee said.

On March 4, U.S. President Donald Trump enacted tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports. Just two days later, he announced a one-month pause on goods that meet the rules-of-origin requirements under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

Quebec to table bill to strengthen secularism

The Quebec government will table new legislation today to strengthen secularism in the province’s schools.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville says that religious accommodations have no place in Quebec schools and that science, sex education and gender equality must be taught properly.

The government is planning to update Quebec’s Education Act following a controversy over reports of religious practices at several of the province’s public schools.

Drainville says he was “stunned” to learn about the situation at Bedford elementary school in Montreal, after a government report last fall documented a toxic climate created by a group of teachers.

Manitoba budget to include payroll tax cut

The Manitoba budget to be released Thursday is expected to include help for businesses and new spending to create infrastructure jobs.

The spending plan will reduce the Health and Post Secondary Education Tax Levy — commonly called the payroll tax — for roughly one-thousand businesses, a government source told The Canadian Press.

The threshold at which businesses begin to pay the tax will rise to $2.5 million of annual payroll from the current $2.25 million, and the threshold at which a second rate kicks in will rise to $5 million from the current $4.5 million, the source said.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

Premier Wab Kinew recently appeared to leave the door open to phasing out the tax entirely over time.

School support workers union ratifies new deal

The union for school support staff in Edmonton says its 3,000 members are to return to work Thursday after ratifying a new deal with the public school board.

Members voted 93 per cent in favour of the new deal, which the Canadian Union of Public Employees has said includes a higher wage package.

Workers from the Parkland and Black Gold school divisions also ratified deals and will return to work Thursday, while those at the Calgary Board of Education accepted an agreement and are back at work Friday.

A tentative deal has been reached with the union chapter representing the Foothills School Division, the last of the nine striking school divisions to reach an agreement.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025

The Canadian Press