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Channel Tunnel Chaos Enters Day Two as Power Fault Drags On

The disruption, caused by a fault in the system's overhead power supply, on Tuesday upended plans for thousands of passengers in London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Rail passengers travelling between the UK and mainland Europe are enduring a second day of major disruption after a power failure shut down the Channel Tunnel, halting both Eurostar and LeShuttle services. The fault, linked to the overhead power supply, brought traffic to a standstill and left thousands of travellers stranded on both sides of the Channel. Although some services have begun to move again, operators warn that delays and cancellations will continue while engineers work to stabilise the system. Eurostar has urged passengers to avoid travelling unless essential, as many trains remain suspended or heavily delayed. LeShuttle customers are also facing long queues, with significant backlogs reported at both Folkestone and Calais. The timing has added to the frustration, hitting one of the busiest travel per...
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Tumultuous Fall Session Ends as Parliament Takes Holiday Break Amidst Political Upheaval

 

Members of Parliament are set to begin their holiday break later today, capping off a tumultuous fall sitting filled with non-confidence votes, filibusters, stalled legislation, a growing deficit, and the finance minister's resignation.

After Chrystia Freeland's bombshell departure from cabinet Monday morning, several Liberal MPs called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step aside as well. Ontario MP Chad Collins left an evening caucus meeting telling reporters the Liberal caucus is divided and that the party needs a leadership race.

Dominic LeBlanc was sworn in as the new finance minister Monday, minutes after the government's fall economic statement was released. The economic update shows the deficit has grown to nearly $62 billion, far beyond the $40-billion target Freeland set earlier this year. The update includes $1.3 billion in new spending on measures to beef up the border in response to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose 25 percent tariff threats on Canadian goods.

LeBlanc, who is also in charge of intergovernmental affairs and democratic institutions, says his main priority as finance minister will be to address affordability issues. He will also continue to oversee the public safety file, implementing new border measures, until Trudeau holds a broader cabinet shuffle. That's expected to happen soon in order to replace ministers who have announced they won't seek re-election.

Parliament is set to resume on Jan. 27, after Trump's inauguration. When that happens, the Liberals may not be able to rely on the support of the NDP on confidence matters. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called for Trudeau's resignation on Monday, but he stopped short of saying his caucus would vote to bring down the government. His party has so far voted three times with the Liberals on non-confidence motions this fall, ensuring the minority government's survival.

Much of the fall sitting was dominated in the House of Commons by a filibuster on a Conservative privilege motion related to misspending at a now-defunct green technology fund. This has stalled most legislation in the House since late September.


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