MILAN — Sidney Crosby skated Saturday morning with Team Canada, but no determination has been made yet on his status for the gold medal game Sunday against Team USA, coach Jon Cooper said.

Team Canada closed its practice to reporters, so there was no chance to see what Crosby looked like on the ice or with whom he skated with.

“I haven’t spoken to him yet,” Cooper said. “We’re gonna meet tonight and have a determination of what’s gonna happen tomorrow. He won’t put himself in harm’s way and he’s not gonna put the team in harm’s way. Obviously, we’d love to have him. That determination will be made tonight.”

Cooper said Crosby will not dress in a limited role, or to serve as an inspiration, a la Victor Hedman in Sweden’s quarterfinal game.

“It’s too important,” Cooper said. “We don’t want to have somebody in there as an inspiration when we could have a player that could be capable of helping. You never know if guys are gonna get hurt in the game. He wouldn’t want to do that either.”

He also fielded a question about whether it was allowed for Crosby to be behind the bench as a de facto assistant coach, saying he didn’t know, but it won’t happen.

Cooper did confirm that Canada will be without defenseman Josh Morrissey, who suffered an upper-body injury in the first game of the tournament.

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He deflected when asked whether Morrissey — who practiced fully before Canada’s preliminary-round finale against France and looked set to return — suffered a setback.

“Josh, in the end, he just wouldn’t be able to perform at what he could,” Cooper said. “We made the decision.”

Asked if he meant that UK and other European allies’ forces should go to safe parts of Ukraine now to “flip a switch”, he said: “Yes, I think, you know, if we are willing to do it in the context of a ceasefire, which of course puts all the initiative, all the power in Putin’s hands, why not do it now?

Kevin Spofford always wanted to act, but to actually do it felt out of reach.

Then he signed up for Inclusion Yukon’s mentorAbility program.

The program facilitates short-term mentorship matches between people experiencing disabilities and employers they are interested in working with. 

Spofford teamed up with the Guild Hall theatre’s artistic director Brian Fidler for a mentorship.

After getting a taste of the theatre, Spofford decided to try out for a role in The Birds, the latest play at the Guild.

“I invited him to come to the auditions,” said Fidler. “He was pretty impressive. I remember thinking, ‘did Kevin write this?'”

Spofford also impressed the director, and ended up landing a part in the play.

I felt like I had won the lottery– Kevin Spofford, Actor, The Birds

“It was like the happiest day of my life,” said Spofford. “I felt like I had won the lottery.”

Nik Potapenko is a support worker with Inclusion Yukon.

He helped connect Spofford with the Guild and Fidler.

“Kevin has always been an incredible storyteller,” said Potapenko. “Thankfully Brian was very receptive to what we do and we are incredibly grateful that he actually invited Kevin to participate as a mentee. Kevin just fell in love with it.”

Inclusion Yukon wanted to do something to recognize Spofford’s acting debut.

On Wednesday they bought all the tickets for The Birds for clients of Inclusion Yukon and their family and friends.

The evening was catered by Bridges Cafe.

Staff with the cafe are also clients of Inclusion Yukon.

Marie Fast was one of the people to attend the special performance.

She’s a close friend of Spofford’s.

“Kevin is deserving because anybody deserves an opportunity to develop their skills,” said Fast, “Kevin just has run with it, he’s been completely committed to all his rehearsals, you can see when he’s acting he’s so into it and really intent on it. They picked a good one when they picked Kevin.”

As for Spofford, he says his first acting experience has gone exactly as he always hoped it would.

“I got to show them what I can do, and that I’m more than just a one-hit wonder or just a mere Canadian Tire worker who just puts on his uniform and boots and just goes to work everyday,” said Spofford.

“I’ve shown that I can be more.”

The Birds continues until February 28th at the Guild Hall.

Cancer care in Nova Scotia will suffer because of staffing shortages after the province turned down a plan to train radiation therapists at Dalhousie University, says the association that represents the health-care providers.

Jennifer Carey, the Atlantic manager of the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists, says with a number of retirements looming, the lack of succession planning won’t just hurt patients, but the province’s bottom line, too.

“This will detrimentally affect access to cancer care in Nova Scotia and in Atlantic Canada. Is the current government OK with that?” Carey said.

Radiation therapists operate the equipment when cancer patients receive radiation, often seeing the patients daily during their treatment. They also provide guidance on side-effects and give emotional support.

“Cancer patients see radiation therapists more often than they see their own physicians and oncologists,” said Carey.

There are no training programs on the East Coast. Instead, people have to attend university in Ontario or further west in order to pursue the career.

10-seat program pitched for Dal

Carey said three years ago, the association started advocating for the creation of a local program to help fill gaps in Atlantic Canada.

She said Dalhousie University and the provincial departments of health and advanced education created a proposal to start a 10-seat program in 2027, but the plan was rejected by the treasury board.

The Department of Advanced Education declined an interview, but said in a statement it has to weigh competing priorities.

“We remain focused on addressing workforce gaps. Options to strengthen training capacity, such as in radiation therapy, are never off the table,” the statement said.

The treasury board said all deliberations are confidential.

Dalhousie University also sent a statement, saying work will continue between the school and the province to help create training capacity to fill gaps in the workforce.

None of them addressed the question of how much the new program would cost.

While the program is still possible in the future, Carey is calling for urgency.

“It just seemed to me that we had all of the dots in a row,” she said. “It’s such a missed opportunity … I was extremely disheartened.”

According to the association, there are six permanent vacancies in Nova Scotia, with some short-term vacancies as well.

It says about 27 per cent of the workforce in Atlantic Canada will be eligible to retire in the next 10 years.

Carey said she’s aware of the financial pressures facing Nova Scotia, but points out that the long-term costs could be significantly worse if the province can’t find more staff.

N.L. cancer patients sent to Ontario

She used the example of Newfoundland and Labrador. Three years ago, nearly 200 cancer patients had to be sent to Ontario because of a shortage of radiation therapists.

Carey also pointed out early intervention in cancer care is cheaper, and longer wait times will cost more to treat.

“It shows the short sightedness of what a budget looks like on paper not translating it to what the long-term effects of this are going to be and not wanting to take leadership in that way,” she said.

“There are very few problems in health care that can be fixed by throwing money at it…. this is one of them.”

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Opposition is mounting as the provincial Progressive Conservatives seek a workaround to allow a cabinet minister to maintain his lobster fleet.

Earlier this week, it was announced the PCs intend to seek changes to the P.E.I. Conflict of Interest Act to allow Morell-Donagh MLA Sidney MacEwen to maintain the fleet while serving as minister of transportation, infrastructure and energy, and minister of housing and communities, in direct violation of the act.

In a statement Friday, P.E.I. Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane raised concerns about the effort, and accused Premier Rob Lantz of playing “fast and loose” with provincial and national laws. 

“For our new Premier to make one of his first – and one of his most important – decisions without even consulting with the very people who this decision will affect – our Island fishers – does not sit well with me,” the statement reads.

“I am concerned that Premier Lantz, while distracted for almost a year by a very contentious and close leadership race, has lost focus on what matters most: Islanders.”

P.E.I.’s Conflict of Interest Act states cabinet ministers must place business assets into a blind trust when on executive council, but Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s owner-operator policy requires MacEwen’s fishing licence stay in his name.

MacEwen has said that he plans to apply to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to name a substitute operator for his lobster operation and that he has no intention of fishing this spring. He wants to keep the fleet’s licence in his name, and has said the act should be changed to allow him.

Process ‘bungled’

In an interview with CBC News, MacFarlane said the “whole process has been bungled.” He said whether the act should be changed is “another discussion” and admonished the premier’s previous statement about speaking “to people at the highest level of the federal government,” which he called “inappropriate.”

“That’s interference,” he said. “The integrity of the commercial fishery is based on the owner-operator independence and being the beneficial holders of the license. So we can’t mess with that on a whim. And I think it’s a situation where the premier and his government are in a situation of acting first and then asking for forgiveness later.”

MacFarlane also referenced opposition from the P.E.I. Fisherman’s Association, which described the appointment as “troubling” in a news release earlier this week.

“The association is and continues to be a fierce advocate for policies, regulations and laws that support independent owner operators,” it reads.

Executive director Ian MacPherson said in an interview with CBC News this week he is disappointed the association wasn’t contacted or consulted on the matter by the premier’s office.

“We’ve always had good dialogue with the province,” he said. 

“It’s a real concern that the premier has gone on a very specific issue that hasn’t been talked about or even mentioned to the PEIFA.… Certainly there’s going to be pushback.”

MacFarlane said he fails to see how MacEwen could hold a cabinet position and shouldn’t have been appointed in the first place, noting the Progressive Conservatives have held power for almost seven years and have had plenty of time to seek changes to the law.

MacEwen was first elected in 2015 and, due to his fishing fleet, is a first-time cabinet minister.

“They’ve had ample opportunity with their majority government to change the law to allow Sidney McEwen to come in and sit legitimately,” MacFarlane said. 

“But the way they’re doing it is unethical by bringing in the federal government to create an exception for him. And they’ve got the cart before the horse on it.”

National interest

The attempted law change also saw national interest this week when Egmont MP Bobby Morrissey weighed in, saying in a statement it is “unacceptable” that the province is “attempting to interfere with the owner-operator policy.”

“Owner-Operator rules are critical for responsible fisheries management,” the statement reads. 

“They ensure that inshore fishing licences are held and operated by the people who live and work in coastal communities, keeping the economic value of our marine resources where it belongs…. Rest assured, the federal government remains committed to maintaining the integrity of the policy.”

Reached Thursday, MacEwen said he doesn’t intend to change any rules and plans to apply to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for a substitute operator, arguing his appointment to cabinet is an “exceptional circumstance.”

Late at night on Jan. 10, Dr. Alireza Golchini was arrested by security forces in the city of Qazvin, Iran.

His cousin Nima Golchini, who lives in Toronto, says Alireza was beaten up and his ribs broken in front of his wife and son.

“You’re doing your practice like anybody else and they come towards you, seven, eight people. He’s not a murderer, he is not a thief. He’s a doctor of the country. And they treated him like this,” Nima said.

For 48 hours, his family didn’t know where he had been taken.

Finally, a call came in. Alireza was in prison. “He said to family that ‘I’m alive’ and that’s it, the phone conversation disconnected,” Nima said. “It was less than a couple of seconds.”   

Though his cousin has since been released pending trial, Nima is one of many Canadians who have endured long waits to learn the fate of relatives who have been arrested or gone missing in the wake of a violent crackdown on protests during which at least 7,000 people were killed, rights groups say.

Iranians took to the streets in late December, at first protesting the state of the economy. But the demonstrations evolved into a movement calling for the end of the Islamic regime. The protests spread across the country until the government cracked down in early January amid a phone and internet blackout. Earlier this week families took part in mourning ceremonies marking 40 days since thousands were killed.

Alireza Golchini has a specialty in surgical oncology. During the Women, Life, Freedom protests in 2022, he offered to treat injured protesters for free.

He was barred from working in state hospitals after that. But that didn’t deter him from once again offering help through a post on social media during the January protests.

Nima Golchini wasn’t surprised to see his cousin’s post. 

“He’s a brave man. He believes in what he has sworn, to cure the people,” Nima said. 

Death toll unclear

There are conflicting reports on how many people died when the government started firing on the protesters. But the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has historically been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran, has said the death toll is at more than 7,000, and has close to 12,000 additional cases under review. 

Iran’s only official statement on the death toll was a state broadcast Jan. 21 that said 3,117 people were killed.

Nima was told that Alireza was able to treat about 45 people before he was arrested. Some had broken bones. Others had bullet wounds that needed surgery.

For those efforts, Alireza spent 22 days in jail, says Nima. The first 12 were spent in solitary confinement where Alireza was interrogated three times a day about his travels, about who he treated and why he did it for free, Nima says. After that he was put into an area with around 200 other people jailed following the protests. 

He’s back at home but still awaiting his court date and worried about what sentence he might face. Meanwhile, all of his equipment and documents — including his passport — were seized and he’s not allowed to work or travel, says Nima, adding that his cousin says he’s scared about what’s next. 

Hossein Raeesi, a human rights lawyer originally from Iran, lives in Canada now because his work there defending women and religious minorities made him a target for the regime.

He says he gets snippets of information from inside Iran when communications open up, and that he’s hearing many more stories of medical workers being targeted. 

“Unfortunately, the authority and [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] try to attack clinics, doctor’s offices, and hospitals that have been providing some services to the wounded people.”

He estimates more than 50,000 people were arrested after the protests, a number that’s being used by The Human Rights Activists News Agency, too. He says he’s worried that the prisoners won’t get access to justice. 

“They have to choose a lawyer from the list confirmed by the head of judiciary… they don’t want to allow people that …have been arrested to access to their own lawyers,” Raeesi said. “Even if you choose someone from that list, you have no chance to visit with him or her. Those lawyers also have no access to the file.” 

Raeesi says Canada has a unique role as one of the world’s human-rights defenders, and could help to establish a special international criminal court to hold the Iranian regime accountable.

Canadians ask for response from government, international community

Nima Golchini joined hundreds of thousands of others on the streets of Toronto on Feb. 14 calling on the Canadian and international governments to step in and help the people of Iran. 

“The help that we want is not just empty words like condemning this brutal massacre. Do something about it.” 

CBC asked Global Affairs Canada whether it supports regime change in Iran. In an email it didn’t answer that question directly but did state, among other things, that Canada “strongly condemns the killing of protestors, the use of violence, arbitrary arrests, and intimidation tactics by the Iranian regime against its own people.”

It directed CBC to past statements like the one in early February when Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced additional sanctions against seven people connected to the Iranian government. In January, Canada joined G7 Foreign Ministers in condemning Iran’s “brutal repression of the Iranian people.”

Leila Afshari joined protests in Vancouver, and is clear on the help she’s hoping will come soon. 

“I’m waiting, counting, when Trump is gonna attack this government because it’s the only way.” she says. “My country is not gonna be free. There has to be an end to this regime.” 

U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted that he could take military action against Iran if the negotiations happening now about Iran’s nuclear program aren’t productive. 

It’s personal for Afshari, because her brother Ehsan Afshari went missing after joining the protests on Jan. 8. 

“My parents, they keep calling my brother. After 9:30 p.m., his phone was shut, and they didn’t reach him anymore,” Afshari said. 

He was missing for 12 days. Finally their mother found him at the Kahrizak, a makeshift morgue. 

Afshari says he had two bullets in his stomach and his face and body were badly bruised.

“Just they identified him by this tattoo on his arm,” Afshari said through tears.

‘He wasn’t afraid to speak up’

Ehsan had a history of activism. In 2009, he made a music video as a tribute to Neda Agha Sultan, who was shot that year at a protest in Tehran and whose name became synonymous with the protest movement. 

“He wasn’t afraid to speak up,” Afshari said. “He was really brave.” 

But the video put him in danger so he went to live in Sweden. 

“After 16 years he was really homesick and he just wanted to visit my parents,” Afshari said. 

That’s why he was in Iran this January when the protests were growing. Afshari says she wasn’t surprised he joined in. 

“He is always thinking that maybe that kind of stuff will help our country become free.” 

“I don’t know how he’s been killed, tortured…,” Afshari said. “There is no truth coming from that government. It’s a big mystery.”

Until regime change happens, she says she doesn’t even want to have a funeral for her brother. 

“I’m just waiting. I am hoping very soon, praying for this government to collapse,” she said. “After that, maybe I could say goodbye to my brother.”

A Kamloops, B.C., couple has 3D printed a feeding stand to help a foster kitten that has a unique medical condition.

Piglet the kitten, who is five months old, is being fostered by Angela and Jason Lyall. When they first got her at two days old, she couldn’t eat properly, they said.

“Even as a bottle baby she couldn’t suckle properly. She stayed tiny and didn’t gain like the others,” Angela told CBC News.

Piglet was part of a litter, along with her mother, and had been fostered from local rescue Sammy’s Forgotten Felines.

As the days went on, she developed pneumonia. Angela said that euthanizing the tiny black kitten was a serious consideration.

But after some veterinary tests, it was determined she likely had megaesophagus — a condition which means the tube that moves food down to her stomach normally doesn’t work as well, according to the couple.

“If she eats like a normal kitten, the food can come back up. The biggest risk is that she could inhale it into her lungs,” Angela said.

That’s when they 3D printed a unique vertical feeding stand, something Jason said he designed based on a template released for free on the internet.

“We thought she was just a lethargic little kitten, and it turns out that she was really sick and really malnourished,” Jason said.

“So, once she started feeding regularly and actually getting nutrition into her, her fur grew in properly. She’s starting to bulk up.”

A social media video of Piglet’s feeder went viral, with over a million views, after Angela posted a video to Sammy’s Forgotten Felines’s account.

She said she hopes Piglet’s experience serves as an educational one for other cat owners, saying the megaesophagus condition is rarer in cats compared to dogs, who can use a device called a Bailey chair to help them eat.

The vertical feeding stand can be modified and changed, so the couple says they can adapt to Piglet growing up.

Angela says that the kitten has to be fed five times a day and then held upright after her meals for 15 minutes — something she described as a “full family effort.”

“There were times where we didn’t know if she was going to make it, but she’s worth it,” she said.

“Watching her finally thrive has been incredible, and we’re just grateful that she’s still here.”

У пʼятницю Верховний суд США завдав найсильнішого удару по президенту Дональду Трампу, постановивши, що він не має повноважень використовувати надзвичайні повноваження для введення мит. 

Як пише Financial Times, таке рішення стало ударом по одному з найважливіших напрямків президентства Трампа та показало рідкісну спробу суду обмежити його владу після того, як американський лідер понад рік впроваджував політику за допомогою багатьох виконавчих наказів та посилаючись на рідко використовувані закони. 

“Найвпливовіша судова інстанція Америки, яка в цілому симпатизувала зусиллям Трампа щодо здійснення виконавчої влади, в основному дозволяла безперешкодно реалізовувати програму його другого терміну. П’ятничне рішення різко порушує цю динаміку”, – зауважили у матеріалі.

Водночас Трамп наголосив, що судді є “ганьбою” і що на них вплинули іноземні інтереси. 

Які ще інструменти залишилися у Трампа для введення мит?

Рішення суду змушує адміністрацію Трампа шукати альтернативні інструменти для введення мит, проте жоден з них не може бути застосований так швидко і просто, як Закон про міжнародні надзвичайні економічні повноваження США (IEEPA), що збільшує ймовірність невеликої затримки зі збором мит. 

“Інші торговельні закони США зазвичай вимагають періоду перегляду та вивчення, перш ніж мита можуть бути застосовані до іноземних товарів”, – пояснили у FT.

У виданні нагадали, що в пʼятницю президент США заявив, що підпише указ про введення 10% глобального мита відповідно до розділу 122 Закону про торгівлю 1974 року на додаток до мит, які вже стягуються.

Крім того, Трамп заявив, що ініціює нові торговельні розслідування, які можуть призвести до введення низки додаткових мит. 

“Окрім розділу 122, Інститут Катона виділив розділ 338 Закону про тарифи 1930 року, який дозволяє президенту вводити мита до 50% на країни, що дискримінують американську торгівлю, як найбільш ймовірний шлях, яким піде адміністрація. Розділ 122 дозволяє Трампу негайно ввести мита до 15% на строк до 150 днів без необхідності проведення тривалих розслідувань, які вимагаються для інших секторальних мит на такі товари, як сталь і алюміній, відповідно до розділу 232 Закону про розширення торгівлі”, – підкреслили у FT.

В Інституті додали, що такий негайний варіант, швидше за все, буде “досить привабливим” для Трампа, однак там нагадали про “підступ”, який полягає у тому, що 15% мита діють лише впродовж 150 днів, після чого для їхнього продовження потрібне голосування в Конгресі.

Водночас торгові аналітики попередили, що навіть альтернативні правові шляхи, включаючи статтю 122, будуть менш всеосяжними, ніж мита IEEPA, які Верховний суд визнав недійсними в п’ятницю.

“Ці інструменти не є такими широкими і всеосяжними, як IEEPA, і існує ймовірність, що в порівнянні зі скасованими тарифами IEEPA, нові мита матимуть розбіжності як у термінах, так і в обсязі”, – пояснив Сем Лоу, керівник відділу торгівлі консалтингової компанії Flint Global. 

Що цьому передувало

Як писав УНІАН, 20 лютого Верховний суд США “обнулив” усю торговельну політику Трампа останнього року. Зокрема судді дійшли висновку, що Білий дім неправильно зрозумів старий закон про надзвичайні повноваження президента.

“На тлі чітких і обмежених повноважень уряд тлумачить IEEPA (закон 1977 року про повноваження президента щодо торговельної політики в умовах надзвичайної економічної ситуації – УНІАН) як надання президенту права одноосібно встановлювати необмежені тарифи та змінювати їх на власний розсуд. Таке тлумачення означало б трансформаційне розширення повноважень президента в галузі тарифної політики”, – зазначили у рішенні суду. 

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Walking around the leafy La Condesa neighbourhood in Mexico City, Maria Moreno Carranco is worried that an influx of digital nomads is driving up prices — and could eventually force her out.

“The last five years, the change has been really astonishing,” said Moreno Carranco, an urban studies professor who has lived in La Condesa for more than 20 years. 

“Everything is crazy expensive for us with Mexican salaries. And the rents are just skyrocketing,” she told The Current.

La Condesa and other central neighbourhoods became a destination for remote workers — also known as digital nomads — in the pandemic, particularly after the city signed a 2022 deal with Airbnb to attract them. 

Critics say that deal helped to fuel rising rents. Data from September shows La Condesa saw a 17 per cent increase from April 2023 to April 2025; while there was a 98 per cent rise across the neighbouring borough of Miguel Hidalgo in the same period. 

The change is more than just financial. Moreno Carranco says when she goes to a local restaurant these days, servers greet her in English. 

She points out, en español, that she’s a local.

“It is, in a way, sad that they assume that the clientele will be foreigners and that no Mexicans go there anymore,” she said.

Many nomads ‘live in a bubble’

With many locals feeling priced out or less at home in their own neighbourhoods, anti-gentrification protests broke out across the city last summer. While largely peaceful, some businesses were vandalized, with windows broken and graffiti demanding “Gringo go home.”

Canadian Tracie LeBlanc fell in love with Mexico City on a short trip three years ago. When she was laid off from her job in Toronto last May, she decided to make the move south, and now lives in La Condesa, from where she operates a business based in Canada.

She’s mindful of the tensions around digital nomads, often discussing it with Mexican friends.

“This is something I struggled with so much as someone who works in social justice. Am I creating harm in being here?” said LeBlanc, a marketing and communications consultant. 

The city’s government website still directly appeals to remote workers, boasting that “Mexico City is, hands-down, more affordable in terms of housing, utilities, necessities, and food” than other North American cities.

I shop local. I support the economy. I only speak Spanish.– Tracie LeBlanc, digital nomad

But LeBlanc says finances were not her main motivator for moving to Mexico City. Her monthly rent was $2,500 Cdn in Toronto, and is $1,700 Cdn now. While she notes it is “relatively cheaper,” she was more enticed by the city’s sense of community.

“The Mexican people are so kind and generous and warm and open … everyone comes together and you feel really part of something special.”

She says she strives to embrace the city’s culture. 

“I shop local. I support the economy. I only speak Spanish,” she said.

Mia Glanz, a fellow Canadian who is studying art in Mexico City, says many remote workers often “live in a bubble” of other nomads.

“The government wants to attract those kind of people because they’re bringing foreign dollars or money to invest in Mexico, but it doesn’t spread evenly,” she said.

Some local businesses thriving

Just east of La Condesa, Jose Olivas is co-owner of Form + Matter, a high-end cocktail bar in Roma Norte. He says visitors and newcomers are helping businesses like his thrive. 

“It allows all of us to have a chance to get a piece of the cake and employ others and make money,” said Olivas, who grew up in Mexico and lived in Vancouver for a decade as an adult, before moving back in 2020.

Olivas adds that increased international visitors have led to better street lighting and more security, making the area feel safer. But he acknowledges that his cocktail menu doesn’t necessarily cater to locals.

“I wouldn’t say we are a cheap cocktail bar for Mexicans, at least not for medium- or lower-class Mexicans.”

Glanz says even with high prices, many of these new businesses are appealing to locals.

“I don’t think everyone is so angry about it. A lot of people are happy that they can get these things that weren’t available before,” she said.

‘The strength to resist’

Anti-gentrification activist Sergio Montes and his family have lived in Escandón, just south of La Condesa, since the mid-90s. 

He says the traditionally working-class neighbourhood is now feeling the pressure of gentrification, in particular from developers buying older buildings made up of larger family apartments, and evicting tenants to make way for smaller units that can host short-stay rentals.

“We hope that we have the strength to resist. We want to remain here, we have the right to remain. But you get depressed,” he said.

Montes says he’s engaged with government officials, but they tend to downplay or dismiss his community’s concerns. He thinks very little has been done, in part because the city has been focused on co-hosting this summer’s World Cup. 

Last summer, Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada unveiled a 14-point plan, including proposals to regulate both rental prices and short-term rental properties, and curb community displacement.

The Current contacted the city to ask what progress has been made, but did not receive a response. 

‘A gringo doesn’t want to pay more rent’

Back in La Condesa, Moreno Carranco thinks tourism and digital nomadry are too concentrated in central neighbourhoods — and her neighbours don’t want any more new hotels or Airbnbs.

There are 26,294 Airbnb listings in the city, according to the advocacy organization Inside Airbnb. Almost half are concentrated in Cuauhtémoc, the borough which includes La Condesa and Roma.

Last year, a research study noted a 67 per cent increase in the number of Airbnb listings in La Condesa between 2019 and 2023, from 659 to 1,100. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal EURE in January 2025, noted an increase of 74 per cent across La Condesa and neighbouring Roma Norte, Roma Sur and Hipódromo.

In a statement to The Current, Airbnb said short-term rentals make up only a small share of the city’s housing stock. (The city has just over 2.75 million inhabited private households, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.)

“Housing pressures in Mexico City predate the pandemic and the rise of remote work, and are primarily linked to long-term housing supply constraints, zoning challenges, and urban growth,” the statement said. It added that rates are set by local hosts.

The company also said it created approximately $1.7 billion Cdn in economic impact in Mexico City in 2024.

John Goodrich is a Canadian actor who has been living in Mexico City since 2018. Since moving to the city, he married a Mexican woman and became stepfather to their kids. He speaks Spanish, works and pays taxes, and has become a permanent resident.

He disagrees that rising rents are solely the fault of people moving from other countries and says he faced a substantial rent hike himself. Last year he was living in Roma Sur, paying 21,000 pesos a month ($1,660 Cdn). He left when the condo’s Mexican owner increased the rent to 40,000 pesos ($3,162 Cdn).

“A gringo doesn’t want to pay more rent, it’s the responsibility of the owners, the house owners themselves,” he said.

When Moreno Carranco’s eldest son recently moved abroad to study, she decided to downsize from the apartment she owns and rent instead. But she realized she could only afford to stay in La Condesa by renting her old place “to an American guy who is paying a lot of money.”

Otherwise, she would be priced out of the neighbourhood she loves.

“I am part of the problem, definitely … [but] I’m also part of the affected people.”

After working through motions from Hamilton councillors looking to add and subtract items from the city’s proposal 2026 budget, homeowners are now looking at a 3.87 per cent tax increase.

Mayor Andrea Horwath has just over a week to veto any of the budget amendments, and if she doesn’t, the budget will be adopted as is.

Council concluded its final budget meeting on Thursday, approving the results of two previous meetings where councillors made their cases for changes to the version of the budget initially proposed by the mayor. That budget would have meant a 4.25 per cent residential tax increase — about $228 for the average home assessed at $387,100. 

The budget as amended would see homeowners pay $209 on a house of the same value.

“Council’s review and amendments reflect a shared commitment to affordability, essential services, and making strategic investments that strengthen our community today and for the future,” said Howarth, who voted in favour of many of the amendments proposed by her colleagues. 

“With many Hamiltonians feeling the real pressure of rising costs, this budget process has been about getting the balance right — protecting the services people rely on while being responsible with every tax dollar,” she said in a news release issued on Thursday.

Under the “strong mayor” powers granted by the province, Horwath has 10 days to veto amendments. If she does exercise her veto, there will be a 15-day period during which councillors can attempt to override the veto, for which they require a two-thirds majority. 

Savings proposed by deferring some payments

Among the biggest reductions proposed by councillors was a deferral of $3 million to next year’s budget to pay for previously approved development charge exemptions.

The exemptions have added to the city’s infrastructure spending shortfall of $5.2 billion, says a motion from Ward 12 Coun. Craig Cassar and Ward 10 Coun. Jeff Beattie.

The city has adopted a 10-year plan to close this infrastructure spending gap for core assets and 25 years for “non-core” assets. Deferring $3 billion “would reduce the burden on the 2026 tax levy without affecting services or capital investment plans,” says their motion, which passed 12 to 4. 

This was one of the motions on which Horwath voted no, potentially earmarking it for her veto. However, with a 12-4 vote, councillors appear to have more than the two-thirds majority required to override her veto if they all voted the same way at that time.

The motions proposed by councillors included two that trim money allocated for contingency funds for capital projects, such as two proposed by Mark Tadeson and Beattie that will reduce contingency funds for two city departments’ projects by 3 per cent.

For the Planning and Economic Development department, that amounts to a trim of $182,490, and for Public Works, that would be $593,000.

Councillors also approved a deferral to 2027 of $706,580 to build a bike bridge across the Red Hill expressway, saying the project timelines would not have it start in 2026 in any case.

Councillors also approved cancellation of free meals for themselves and senior staff, for a savings of $25,780.

In addition to cuts, they also approved some additions to the budget, most notably $2,118,000 to pay for recycling services at properties not covered by the province’s Blue Box transition, which took over city recycling services in April.

“Under the transition to the new producer responsibility Blue Box Program, certain property types such as industrial, commercial, institutional, are considered non-eligible and do not qualify for coordinated blue box collection,” said the motion from Ward 2 Coun. Kroetsch and Ward 3 Coun. Nann. 

Council voted 14 to 1 to continue these services, with Ward 9 Coun. Brad Clark the sole “no,” and Beattie absent.

Residents write letters of support for climate funding

A sprawling motion from Ward 14 Coun. Mike Spadafora and Ward 5 Coun. Matt Francis, which was defeated, would have seen the budget reduced by $3.2 million by deferring investments in cyber security and the city’s climate change reserve, which made up the bulk of the proposed cut, at $2.5 million.

Council received dozens of letters asking it to refrain from cutting any funding from environment- and climate-related projects.

The letters show how much these initiatives are important to residents and also reveal that there is no other way in the current process for residents to weigh in on councillors’ amendments, says Environment Hamilton executive director Ian Borsuk.

“There were two public delegation days, then almost a full month later we have councillors proposing cuts or deferrals literally at the last minute, with no opportunity for public input,” said Borsuk, whose organization had suspected climate cuts might be on the table in advance of the budget meetings.

He said that while some councillors complain that strong mayor powers take away their ability to participate, motions without time for public consultation take away rights from the public.

“Councillors are taking a new system and instead of making it work they’re using it as an excuse to be undemocratic,” he said.