Ernest John is relieved that legal action, which would force him out of the Fairview homeless encampment in Penticton, has been put on hold, at least for now.

“I do have a certain fear being forced to do something and move,” John told Global News.

The Ministry of Transportation owns the land, but the province’s application for a court injunction to evict the roughly two dozen residents and dismantle the camp, along a busy stretch of Highway 97, has been postponed.

A hearing was scheduled to begin in Penticton provincial court on Monday, but it has been adjourned with no new date scheduled.

“I have no idea where I would go after this,” John said. “Nowhere to turn, nowhere to plant our feet.”

2:10
Injunction to clear Penticton encampment

While empathetic to the plight of the encampment residents, nearby businesses are frustrated.

“I was hoping for a little bit more forward progress and now it seems like it’s all completely halted again,” said Luke Bradley, truck sales consultant at Inland Truck and Equipment.

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“They’ve been there for two-and-a-half years, almost three years, and it’s just progressively gotten worse and worse.”

Among the concerns are frequent fires, including the latest one on Thursday.

There have been at least half a dozen fires at the site in the past two-and-a-half months.

Last year, one of the fires spread to the Leisureland RV Centre and destroyed two trailers.

2:09
Penticton frustrated by homeless encampment

Business operators say the risk isn’t just to neighbouring properties but also to the encampment residents.

“Potential danger to themselves, too,” Bradley said. “They’ve been allowed to make a homestead out of it. But it’s not, it’s not a responsible homestead.”

While both sides agreed to adjourn for now, the province won’t elaborate or say what its intention is moving forward, stating, “the matter remains before the courts. ”

The Penticton and Area Access Centre, which promotes equal and just access to all available support services, has taken up the cause and says the adjournment will allow encampment residents more time to find legal representation.

“If they don’t have any representation, they can’t defend themselves,” said Lucy Whittaker, the centre’s executive director.  “They can’t speak up and explain why they are there and where they might, what might be a reasonable solution.”

With the understanding that an injunction is still being pursued, Whittaker issued a plea to the community.

“If there’s any lawyers out there that might be able to take this case on pro bono, we’d really love to hear from you,” Whittaker said.

Bradley said the government needs to take action before anyone is hurt or any more property damage is done.

He also urged the government to provide the necessary support to assist encampment residents.

“The government needs to find a way to help support them and fix this problem,” Bradley said.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The City of Calgary is proposing an overhaul to the zoning district at the centre of the citywide rezoning debate, as a public hearing into the policy’s repeal continues at city hall.

Citywide rezoning, often referred to as blanket rezoning, saw the city’s base residential zoning changed to Residential Grade-oriented Infill District (R-CG) in August 2024 after an historic public hearing earlier that year.

R-CG was first introduced as a zoning district in 2014, and allows the development of rowhouses, townhomes, semi-detached and single-detached homes with up to four units as well as four secondary suites on a single property.

Redevelopment using the R-CG district would still be allowed even if citywide rezoning is repealed, but it would require property owners and developers to obtain a land-use change at a public hearing.

The changes to the R-CG zoning district up for debate were proposed by Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness when council voted in favour of kickstarting the process to repeal citywide rezoning back in December.

Those proposed changes include prohibiting mid-block rowhouses and townhouses, limiting where they could be built to the first three parcels at the end of a block.

Wyness’ motion also seeks clawed-back density from 75 to 60 units per hectare, which would reduce the maximum number of units to three with an additional three secondary suites.

A reduction of lot coverage from 60 per cent to 55 per cent, as well as limiting building heights at 10 metres, adding a requirement for contextual setbacks, and eliminating zero lot lines are also proposed.

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“When we listen to everyone speaking today, these are the commonalities of the frustrations of what is being built,” Wyness said in council chambers Friday.

Many of those frustrations are prominent in Ward 4 communities, according to area councillor DJ Kelly.

Kelly said corner lots can have ample parking and can “fit a four-plex for the most part,” while mid-block R-CG developments are “the big problem” in his area.

“Especially when you add in the secondary suites, the four-plus-fours, where are people going to park?  It’s absolutely ridiculous, it doesn’t make any sense,” Kelly said.

1:46
Calgary political party vows to repeal citywide rezoning

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Although the majority of Calgarians speaking to council during this week’s public hearing are focused on whether citywide rezoning should be repealed, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters Thursday he is surprised the proposed changes to the zoning district itself aren’t getting more attention.

While in line at the start of the public hearing Monday, Chris Davis with the group Calgarians for Thoughtful Growth said he’s hoping for more consultation.

“I’m concerned about getting into the weeds and starting to amend the R-CG district on the fly without doing what we needed to do all along, which was go out and consult with the community,” said Davis.

Local builders are also warning that making changes to the district “on the floor of council” could result in “unforeseen consequences” that could stifle development and disrupt the city’s approvals process.

According to an analysis by the Calgary Inner City Builders Association (CICBA), a three unit R-CG development isn’t viable and could result in an increased cost of $143,000 per unit for the end user.

“This is a result of spreading the fixed costs of a similar four-by-four project across a unit and a suite in three-by-three project,” CICBA president Grace Lui told city council Monday.

CICBA requested city council strike a stakeholder committee to look at the proposed amendments and the city’s approvals process.

A similar proposal in Edmonton, which would’ve capped the number of units in a midblock redevelopment at six instead of eight, was defeated by council in that city in February.

Around 475 people have signed up to speak at the public hearing to repeal citywide rezoning at Calgary city hall.

If city council approves a repeal, the city’s land-use bylaw would be reset to what was in place prior to the previous city council approving citywide rezoning, with the exception of properties that had development permits approved or any currently under review in the permit process.

City data shows citywide rezoning enabled 1,655 units in 2025, which made up 63 per cent of units through low-density development permits, but 4,500 units have been enabled since the policy took effect in August 2024.

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Ontario’s finance minister is shutting down any talk of extending the province’s $1.4 billion home buyers tax credit, dashing the hopes of the housing development industry, which wants the discount offered “in perpetuity.”

The marquee feature of the 2026 Ontario budget, tabled at Queen’s Park on Thursday, was a publicly-funded tax break for any homebuyer looking to purchase a newly-built house or pre-construction condo.

Along with the federal government, Ontario will waive the full HST for homes under $1 million, giving buyers access to a $130,000 tax break for the next year. The government said the $130,000 discount would also be applied to homes up to $1.5 million.

The government expects the measure will create at least 8,000 homes across, breathing new life into a sector struggling with a slump in sales.

During an interview on Focus Ontario, Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy was asked whether the measure would be extended if the program proves to be successful.

“That is not our intention,” Bethlenfalvy said flatly. “This is a one-year sale to help people with affordability.”

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Even getting to this point has been a challenge.

The original version of the plan, introduced during the fall economic statement, allocated $470 million over three years to give only first-time Ontario homebuyers access to the credit.

Months later, Premier Doug Ford complained the tax break failed to move the needle and began publicly pressuring his finance minister and the federal government to expand the credit to all homebuyers.

Sources told Global News, however, that while the premier wanted the discount to run for a three-year period, the government had concerns that buyers would potentially wait on the sidelines, effectively watering down the policy.

The federal government appeared to be unconvinced as well.

The premier’s office spent weeks negotiating with the federal government and only managed to get Ottawa’s buy-in on Tuesday, roughly 12 hours before Ford announced the expanded tax break.

The 2026 budget, which would have been printed weeks earlier, indicated the province was still working with the federal government “to partner and match Ontario’s action.”

“We would have probably gone alone, sure, but I’m glad they’re there,” Housing Minister Rob Flack said of the federal government contribution.

Still, with the discount coming into effect on April 1, the development industry is already eyeing an extension.

“We have a year to be able to prove that this is going to achieve what we said it will,” said Scott Andison with the Ontario Home Builders Association.

“Hearing the premier talk about that he will never raise a tax, I’m encouraged by the fact that this is a removal that’s going to stay in perpetuity.”

That notion was bluntly rejected by the finance minister.

“They’re absolutely wrong,” Bethlenfalvy said. “This is a one-year thing, we’re very clear about that.”

He added, “This is what the industry has been asking for, this is what we’ve committed to do.”

Peter Bethlenfalvy’s full interview will air on Focus Ontario on Saturday at 5:30 on Global.

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New Brunswick livestock owners are bracing for the impact of the province’s decision to end government-run veterinarian and lab services.

The Susan Holt government recently announced in its budget it would phase out provincial field veterinary and laboratory services over three years, handing off animal medical care to private providers.

But some farmers are worried about the continuity of service — and reliability.

A petition calling for the province to reverse its decision has nearly 30,000 signatures and has been tabled in the legislature. As well, a protest is planned for next Tuesday.

The owner of Coburn Farms, which has been producing eggs since 1967, is among those worried about the province’s decision.

“In the poultry industry, we end up with a sick flock, and unfortunately most of those diseases are fatal,” said David Coburn.

He adds that diseases such as avian flu could quickly decimate 50 to 60 per cent of his flock.

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“The lab testing for that disease and the diagnostics, that’s very important,” he said.

“If they end up having to privatize that, we want to make sure, number one, that there’s continuity of service and that we get adequate or better service.”

Vanessa Leclair, a horse owner who started the petition calling for the Holt government to step back on its decision, says the issue is that there aren’t enough private livestock veterinarians to pick up the work.

“Especially for rural parts of New Brunswick. Where I live, there just isn’t any private livestock vets here,” she said.

1:54
New Brunswick unveils budget, making cuts as deficit grows

And while the agriculture minister has indicated the transition into private care will take place over three years, Leclair says she doesn’t believe that’s enough time.

“At this point in time, there simply isn’t any private infrastructure in place,” she said.

The Liberal government is doubling down on the measure amidst efforts to cut costs after tabling a $15.6 billion budget that forecasted a historic $1.4 billion deficit.

Agriculture Minister Pat Finnigan said this week that he’s confident private providers will step in.

“We’re prioritizing working with the impacted veterinarians and their employees. Some have already expressed (interest) in setting up their own practices,” he said.

New Brunswick is one of the only provinces still operating government-funded veterinary services, with Newfoundland and Labrador being the other.

–with a file from The Canadian Press 

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A new GreenShield survey conducted by Ipsos has found that 33 per cent of Canadian women “wait more than two years for effective menopause care.”

The survey states that this is due to “a complex series of barriers ranging from confusion over symptoms and dismissed concerns to not knowing where to turn for help.”

“Women generally understand what perimenopause and menopause are, yet this awareness coexists with a substantial and disruptive symptom burden, and relief can take months or years to find.”

According to the Menopause Foundation of Canada’s 2022 research report, 46 per cent of Canadian women “feel unprepared for this stage of life and, in a world where no topic is off limits, more than half (54%) believe menopause is still a taboo subject.”

The Ipsos survey found that although 40 per cent of surveyed women consult a general practitioner, 39 per cent say they, “didn’t know where to go,” to receive supports and care.

6:14
Women’s Health: Perimenopause, menopause and mental health

Twenty-nine per cent of surveyed women believe symptoms “are normal and not treatable,” while 26 per cent “not recognizing symptoms as being part of a hormonal transition,” although this number lowers in Quebec at 23 per cent.

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Nineteen per cent of women also reported “uncertainty about where to seek help,” while 21 per cent reported having their symptoms dismissed.

This resulted in many women “shoulder[ing] the burden themselves,” with 55 per cent “research[ing] symptoms online, and 18 per cent repeatedly book appointments.”

Even when identifying symptoms, only 25 per cent of surveyed women received “effective treatment within the first three months.”

The survey states that the most common symptoms, fatigue (74 per cent), hot flashes (68 per cent), mood swings (65 per cent), weight gain (58 per cent), and brain fog (53 per cent), “demonstrate the extent to which menopause affects day to day functioning.”

As a result, many women state that “their symptoms directly affect their work performance.”

Surveyed women also stated that these symptoms result in reduced productivity (16 per cent), needing time off (eight per cent), needing to take a short-term leave (six per cent), or considering leaving their job due to their symptoms (six per cent).

Sixty-four per cent of women say symptoms affect them at least some of the time and is lower among Quebec residents at 61 per cent.

5:19
Tools to navigate menopause

Fifty-five per cent of surveyed women say their employer provides “no support,” with just 13 per cent reporting “meaningful supports from their employer,” while seven per cent say “supports exist but fall short.” Twenty-four per cent are unsure.

On Feb. 26, 2026, Quebec Liberal MNA Jennifer Maccarone briefly halted a parliamentary commission to say she was experiencing symptoms of menopause, telling colleagues in French that she was having a hot flash and noting that menopause can happen even during legislative work.

“It’s like somebody turning the furnace on to 120 degrees and it’s distracting,” Maccarone later told Global News in an interview, describing the sensation.

“We should talk about this openly.”

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Metrolinx announced it will begin introducing body-worn cameras and in-vehicle dash cameras across the GO Transit and UP Express network this spring.

Metrolinx said in a release that the move is aimed at improving safety and accountability for both customers and staff.

The cameras will be used by customer protection officers, revenue protection officers and station safety ambassadors, the agency said.

The small devices will be worn on officers’ uniforms to record audio and video during specific interactions, while dash cameras will be installed in vehicles to capture activity in and around them.

Metrolinx said the program is designed to enhance safety and provide a clearer record of incidents.

“Research on body-worn camera programs shows that the presence of cameras can help reduce verbal and physical confrontations with staff,” the agency said.

It added that the cameras are intended to promote accountability, support fair behaviour during interactions and provide clearer evidence when incidents need to be reviewed.

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The agency said body-worn cameras will only be activated during certain situations, including safety-related incidents, and investigations or when a passenger fails to provide valid proof of payment in a fare-paid zone.

Officers are trained to notify customers when recording begins, with a flashing red light and audible beep indicating the camera is active.

Dash cameras installed in enforcement vehicles will capture the same interactions, providing what Metrolinx described as a more complete record of events.

The agency said the program includes privacy safeguards, with footage stored securely and accessible only to authorized personnel.

Metrolinx added that the policies guiding the use of cameras were developed with input from privacy experts and align with Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The rollout comes after the program was previously paused by the provincial government.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation confirmed to Global News that the government had “asked Metrolinx to pause” work on finding a company to deliver the program “to undertake additional assessments including exploring linkages with other government procurement already in place.”

Metrolinx had been planning to equip some staff with body-worn cameras as early as 2021 and began searching for a vendor in 2023, amid a wave of violence across Toronto’s transit system.

Metrolinx did not say when the cameras would be fully deployed across the network.

— with files from  Isaac Callan and Colin D’Mello

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Are vehicle headlights glaringly bright these days in Canada?

Transport Canada wants to hear from you, and is running a national survey about vehicle headlight glare and how it affects drivers at night.

“While new headlight technology in vehicles can help drivers see better, they can also cause problems for other road users. Transport Canada wants to learn how headlight glare affects road users and what vehicle or lighting features may influence how people experience it at night,” the release states.

“We want to hear about your experiences, opinions, and behaviours with vehicle headlight glare.”

The survey opened on March 6 and will close on April 20.

Last month, the City of Victoria’s municipal council unanimously passed a motion asking provincial and federal governments to “review and update safety regulations for vehicle designs.”

Coun. Dave Thompson, who put forward the motion, said brighter headlines can be a distraction to other drivers.

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“While improved illumination may benefit drivers using them, increased brightness and headlight height can cause painful glare for other drivers, particularly older drivers, and difficulty seeing people walking and using bikes and other mobility devices when backlit at night.”

The City of Vancouver also passed a motion asking Transport Canada to review headlight brightness.

4:21
Vancouver wants limits put on headlight brightness

“These LED headlights and HID headlights, especially on oversized vehicles, are very common in Vancouver. They’ve been linked to reduce nighttime visibility, delayed reaction times, and a higher risk of collisions,” Coun. Sean Orr said at Vancouver City Hall on Jan. 21.

“These impacts are felt, not just by drivers, but by cyclists, pedestrians, seniors and people with vision impairments who are especially vulnerable to glare.”

As of September 2021, the Canadian Vehicle Lighting Regulation requires that all new vehicles sold in Canada have one of the following:

• Tail-lights that come on automatically with daytime running lights.
• Headlights, tail-lights and side marker lights that turn on automatically in the dark.
• A dashboard that stays dark to alert the driver to turn on the lights.

However, glare is not mentioned in Transport Canada’s Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS), which closely mirror U.S. regulations.

A 2024 study conducted in the U.K. surveyed 2,000 drivers and found that nine in 10 (89 per cent) of people think at least some headlights on cars on the road today are too bright, of which three in 10 (28 per cent) – a higher proportion than ever – think most are.

The study stated the effect may be due to more cars having LED headlights, which have a much more intense and focused beam than “yellower” halogen bulbs.

In addition, five per cent of surveyed drivers stated they have “nearly been involved in a collision themselves” due to vehicle brightness.

Nearly one in 10 (seven per cent) said they find headlight glare “so bad that they avoid driving at night altogether,” a figure that rises to 14 per cent for drivers aged 65 and over.

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A referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada “can have an effect” on investor confidence in the province, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday.

Carney was in Nova Scotia, speaking to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. When asked whether he thought an Alberta referendum could impact investor confidence, Carney said, “It can, yeah. It can have an effect.”

Ottawa will continue working with Alberta on energy co-operation, he added.

“Our strategy with Alberta has been to go right to the heart of the issue, which is the pipeline. But what else comes with the pipeline pathways? An actual carbon market that works in Alberta,” he said, adding that Canada would also seek to build more nuclear power infrastructure in the province.

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“Having everything on the table, rolling up your sleeves, working on it — that’s the way to address it. Showing that the federation works, and it has benefit. It has a huge immediate payoff if we get it right,” he said.

“We’re making good progress with Alberta. There’s more to be done, but we’re making very good progress.”

2:54
Carney says potential Pacific oil pipeline would be ‘twin with the pathways project’

In November 2025, the federal government and Alberta signed a memorandum of understanding that commits them to working toward building an oil pipeline to the West Coast.

The two governments agreed to terms that commit Ottawa to adjusting the West Coast tanker ban if a pipeline project is approved as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act and provides “opportunities for Indigenous co-ownership and shared economic benefits.”

Last month, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said immigration levels are overwhelming the province’s core social services and announced that a referendum will take place this year, asking residents to weigh in on nine questions addressing both that and possible changes to Canada’s Constitution.

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