In the news today: Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet today

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

Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet ahead of Trump presidency, election year

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his cabinet later this morning at Rideau Hall to shore up his beleaguered government. His Liberals are reeling from the surprise loss of Chrystia Freeland as finance minister earlier this week. Trudeau is expected to replace ministers who aren’t running again and fill the gaps since some ministers are currently doubled up on roles after others suddenly left cabinet. The Canadian Press has confirmed from a source with knowledge of the appointments that Montreal MP Rachel Bendayan, Winnipeg MP Terry Duguid, Toronto MP Nate Erskine-Smith, Ottawa MP David McGuinty, and Nova Scotia MP Darren Fisher will all be named to cabinet.

Tax break boosts retail, restaurant spending

Almost a week into the GST holiday, retailers and restaurant owners appear on track for a sales boost despite some of the struggles they faced implementing the temporary break. The vice-president of federal government relations for the Retail Council of Canada, Matt Poirier, says customers are shifting their buying patterns as a result of the tax break, and Boxing Day in particular is expected to get a boost. However, he says businesses including ones with older payment systems have faced hurdles trying to implement the tax break on short notice and even figuring out which items qualify. Restaurants Canada president and CEO Kelly Higginson says it’s been a little easier for restaurant owners, as everything they generally sell excluding hard liquor qualifies for the break.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Ontario eyes health staffing agency pay disclosure

Ontario is proposing to increase transparency and accountability around health staffing agencies. Health Minister Sylvia Jones introduced legislation earlier this month that would require health-care staffing agencies to report billing or pay rate information to her, and would allow the minister to publish some of that information. Some critics and advocates say it’s a positive step, and hope it moves the province toward regulating agencies that charge double or even triple the rates of staff nurses and personal support workers – or lowering their fees. A report last year by Ontario’s auditor general noted that while the average pay for a registered nurse directly employed by a long-term care home was about $40 an hour, the average hourly agency rate was about $97.

B.C. eyes forfeiture of signed jerseys, gold tooth

The B.C. government could soon be the owner of a haul of sports memorabilia, luxury clothing, cash and jewelry and even a gold tooth after a seizure by the Vancouver Police Department in nearby Port Coquitlam earlier this year. The goods seized include two soccer jerseys signed by Lionel Messi that include letters of authenticity. Police also seized a 24-karat gold bar, nearly 34,000 in cash and several articles of double and triple extra-large sized luxury clothing items from brands such as Gucci, Dior and Versace. Majdoub says Carrey was his childhood hero, and acting alongside him feels like a dream come true. Now, the actor says he hopes to inspire Middle Eastern and North African kids by appearing in a mainstream film.

Volunteer washed sick patients’ hair for 20 years

A retired nurse in Newfoundland was honoured this week for her decades of volunteer work, which included washing the hair of bedridden patients at a St. John’s hospital. Eighty-nine-year-old Mary Kennedy Keiley says she first vowed to wash hospital patients’ hair during a six-month stay at a tuberculosis sanitorium in St. John’s in the 1960s. The doctors there believed patients would only get better if they were still, and people in the facility were not allowed to wash their own hair. Kennedy Keiley says she snuck into the bathroom one night to give herself a shampoo and she swore that if she made it out of the sanitorium, she’d wash the hair of patients in the local hospital.

‘Sonic 3’ star Majdoub on his chemistry with Jim Carrey

Lee Majdoub says he was only meant to have a bit part in the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie until his onscreen chemistry with Jim Carrey made him a key part of the film franchise. The Lebanese-Canadian actor says he and Carrey “hit it off” so well that the “Dumb and Dumber” star asked to be paired in more scenes with him. Majdoub says Carrey was his childhood hero, and acting alongside him feels like a dream come true. Majdoub resumes his role as Agent Stone, the grovelling assistant to Carrey’s diabolical Dr. Robotnik, in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” The film, a mix of live action and animation, opens today.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press