Year in review: A look at events in April 2023

A look at events in April 2023:

01 – The family of Vancouver radio personality Red Robinson says he died after a brief illness. Robinson began his radio career in 1954 at Vancouver’s CJOR, and his website credits him as the first DJ in Canada to play rock ‘n’ roll music on a regular basis. He was 86.

03 – Dennis King leads the Prince Edward Island Progressive Conservatives to a second majority government, securing 22 of the island’s 27 legislative seats and 56 per cent of the popular vote. 

03 – Canadian R&B singer Jully Black is honoured in Ottawa, at an Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs assembly, for the minor change she made to our national anthem when she sang at the NBA All-Star Game in Utah in February. The Juno Award-winner swapped out one word in the opening line “O Canada! Our home and native land” with “Our home ‘on’ native land” to recognize the Indigenous peoples who lived on the land before European settlers. 

15 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  announces federal funding of $8.2 billion over 10 years for the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia. 

16 – The federal government announces that Hockey Canada will be reinstated for funding. Canadian Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge tells reporters she set three conditions for the organization to meet if they wanted government funding and they’ve met those conditions. 

16 – After 35 years, “The Phantom of the Opera” ends its Broadway run. Original star Sarah Brightman takes to the stage alongside the current cast and crew members for a reprise of “The Music of the Night”.

19 – Tens of thousands of federal public servants go on strike for more money and clarity around remote work arrangements. The union tells a news conference in Ottawa that picket lines will be going up at more than 250 locations across the country. 

20 – German auto giant Volkswagen secures an exclusive contract with Canada to build an electric-vehicle battery plant in southwestern Ontario. Volkswagen announced last month it had chosen the town of St. Thomas to build its first overseas gigafactory. Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the contract is potentially worth more than $13 billion over the next 10 years.

20 – The Shishalh Nation on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast says ground-penetrating radar has identified what are believed to be 40 unmarked graves of children on or near the site of the former St. Augustine’s Residential School. 

21 – The Toronto Raptors announce the team has fired head coach Nick Nurse after 10 years with the organization. He started as an assistant coach in 2013 before being named the ninth head coach in team history in June of 2018. Nurse led the Raptors to their first NBA title in 2019.

22 – Canadian diplomats are evacuated from Sudan after Ottawa suspends consular services. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the military will attempt to airlift Canadians out of Sudan using a C-17 transport plane in the region. Deadly armed conflicts erupted in the country 10 days after power-sharing negotiations between the country’s armed forces and its paramilitary troops fell apart.

22 – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Ottawa will spend $349 million to help purchase 340 zero-emission transit buses and related infrastructure. The City of Toronto says it will pitch in $351 million. The funding is part of $2.75 billion Ottawa has promised over five years to help public transit and school bus operators electrify their fleets.

24 – The federal auditor general says there will be no investigation into private donations received by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. Donations to the foundation from two Chinese businessmen made in 2016 and 2017 were under scrutiny for their possible links to the Chinese government.

26 – A deal is reached to replace Calgary’s aging Saddledome with a new event centre and make improvements to the surrounding area east of downtown. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says it won’t get final approval until after the provincial election next month. The project comes with a $1.2-billion price tag, including $800 million for a new arena for the Calgary Flames.

25 – Barbie introduces its first doll representing a person with Down syndrome. Mattel worked with the National Down syndrome Society to create the Barbie.

25 – Social workers in British Columbia are no longer able to access a parent’s medical records without their consent, a search warrant or a court order. The British Columbia Court of Appeal strikes down the section of the province’s child protection legislation allowing broad access to a parents’ medical history, calling it unconstitutional.

25 – Quebec’s Court of Appeal approves a $28-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed against the Clerics of Saint-Viateur of Canada by 375 sexual-assault victims. The 2017 lawsuit was about sex crimes committed since 1935 at more than 20 establishments run by the Quebec-based Catholic religious order.

26 – Ten northern Ontario First Nations sue the province and the federal government, claiming the Crown tricked them into signing over their land in 1905 without their consent. The chiefs from Treaty 9 territory gathered at the Ontario legislature alleging that governments made decisions on their land without consulting or dealing with them as equal partners. The First Nations object to mining, logging and developing the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region without their consent.

28 – A new federal law is set to require platforms like Netflix, YouTube and TikTok to contribute and promote Canadian content on the internet. The Liberals’ Online Streaming Act passed its final vote in the Senate and received royal assent.

28 – A Halifax-based firm is awarded a major subcontract as part of the $1.2-billion upgrade of the military’s fleet of search-and-rescue helicopters. Defence Minister Anita Anand says IMP Aerospace is to deliver 13 upgraded Cormorant helicopters to the Canadian Armed Forces following work done at its Halifax facilities. The main contractor — Leonardo U-K — is to build three new helicopters to increase the size of the Cormorant fleet to 16.  
 

The Canadian Press