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TORONTO — The Progressive Conservative government has announced that it is bringing forward legislation to crack down on homeless encampments by giving municipalities new powers and funding to allow cities to disband them. But after weeks of floating — and defending — the possible use of the notwithstanding clause to allow cities to disband encampments, Ford is now saying it may not be necessary. At issue is a 2023 Ontario Superior Court decision involving the Region of Waterloo that forbids homeless encampment evictions when there is no other housing available. In a letter to the mayors who, at his behest , asked the premier to pass anti-encampment legislation using the notwithstanding clause, Ford wrote he is "confident" the measures contained in his proposed bill will be "common sense, practical and entirely aligned with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms . " But should the courts disagree on that last point, Ford said he would still use the controversial clause of the constitution to allow the legislation to override Charter rights for five years. "I do not expect the legislation will need to proactively invoke (the notwithstanding clause). However, should the courts interfere with our shared goal of effectively addressing and clearing out encampments using these enhanced tools, with your support, our government is fully prepared to use the Notwithstanding Clause," said Ford. In October, Ford expressed frustration when the 29-member Big City Mayors (OBSM) caucus watered down a motion put forward by Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall and Bradford Mayor James Leduc calling on the province to use the notwithstanding clause to allow individuals living in encampments with severe mental illnesses or addiction to be forced into treatment. He then called on the big city mayors to write him a letter asking them to "make sure that we move the homeless along." "And why don't they put in, 'use the notwithstanding clause,' or something like that," suggested Ford at the time. Fifteen mayors accepted what they called the premier's "invitation" and asked him to use the clause. There was backlash against the idea, with city councillors, civil rights organizations, shelter operators and legal community members all calling on Ford not to override the charter and evict encampment denizens with nowhere else for them to go. Ford hasn't articulated where he expects them to go if evicted either, but insisted the province is "going to make sure we find proper shelter for these people." The premier has been weighing his options, saying he was working with Waterloo Region Chair Karen Redman about appealing the 2023 court decision. Last week, he said that even if the province did use the notwithstanding clause, he would not force municipalities to pass bylaws to evict homelessness encampments. “If they want encampments in their community, so be it,” said Ford. Opponents of the use of the notwithstanding clause said they were "relieved" that Ford has agreed not to pre-emptively use it to insulate it from charter challenges, but found his threat to use the clause if the courts interfere with its implementation to be troubling as well. "We are deeply concerned with the declared intention of using the notwithstanding clause if the government disagrees with the outcome of court decisions," the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said in a statement. Constitutional lawyer and University of Ottawa professor, Martha Jackman, who was one of 450 members of the legal community who signed an open letter this week calling on Ford not to use the clause, agreed. "The premier seems to be holding Sec. 33 as a bit of a sword of Damocles hanging over any reaction to the legislation in the courts," she said while arguing that Ford's attacks on the courts are "extremely problematic." "The courts have been extremely deferential to government in these complex areas of socio-economic policy. From the point of view of many of us, the courts have been far too conservative. There's never been a situation where you could characterize in a Canadian court as too activist around, you know, encampments in particular." Jackman argues that the 2023 court decision doesn't require municipalities to provide adequate or safe housing to encampment dwellers — they just needs to have available shelter beds that are accessible to those being evicted. For instance, a shelter that requires clients to be sober would not be accessible to someone using drugs. While speaking to reporters at the legislature on Thursday, Mayor Nuttall argued that accessibility requirements can be the hurdle. "If an individual has a dog, we need to find a place right now that takes both, and sometimes that's not possible. Sometimes it's accessibility, with relation to some of the drug problems that those individuals are suffering from and not willing to go get help for," explained Nuttall. Jackman says it would be "fabulous" if Ford is correct and whatever legislation the government is about to propose is compliant with the Charter, but it is unclear how likely that is. Ford's letter states that the province is still finalizing the details of the new initiatives, and the descriptions of these new initiatives are a bit ambiguous. It promises "greater service manage accountability and alignment with provincial and local priorities" without providing any detail on the accountability mechanisms or priorities. The letter also proposes "New approaches to treatment and rehabilitation that prioritize pathways to recovery over incarceration," but it is unclear if that could include any involuntary mental health treatment for encampment dwellers that some mayors have been calling for. It also promises additional funding to create "more capacity in the shelter system," but adds that this will come with new "accountability measures to ensure these funds support dismantling encampments." "This is tricky of Doug Ford," said community worker and activist Diana Chan McNally on social media. "His government doesn't need to put the Notwithstanding Clause on the table; his government is making new funding for shelters contingent on evicting encampments. This is his workaround for the 2023 Waterloo ruling." The Trillium asked Ford's office to clarify all of these points but was told that more specific details would be available next week. The proposed bill will also "explicitly" prohibit public drug use and provide police with "new tools" to enforce this. There will also be "enhanced penalties for people who deliberately and continually break the law." Nuttall and other mayors are praising the premier's proposal, however. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said that "new legislation is necessary to help protect public safety and dismantle encampments" and that he understands Ford's decision to not use the notwithstanding clause. "We all agree that there is no perfect solution, and many nuances to consider. That’s what I’ve been advocating for all along," said Dilkens. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra was asked if the legislation will lead to a repeat of the controversial clearing of encampments a few years ago where police clashed with protesters when evicting encampments by force. "We want encampments gone," said Calandra. "We want people to be able to enjoy their parks again. We fully understand that many people who are in encampments are suffering from mental health and addictions."

Columbia, a perennial football loser, wins Ivy League title for first time since 1961TORONTO - RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., had 31 points and seven rebounds as the Raptors stunned the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-105 on Thursday for Toronto’s first consecutive wins of the season. Scottie Barnes, wearing protective goggles with red frames, returned to the Raptors (4-12) lineup for the first time since he fractured his right orbital bone on Oct. 28. Barnes finished with 17 points, six assists, and three rebounds in 27 minutes of play. Jakob Poeltl had a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards and Montreal’s Chris Boucher came off the bench for 22 points. Anthony Edwards scored 26 points, including 11 in the third quarter, to keep Minnesota (8-7) in the game. Julius Randle had 23 points and nine rebounds, while Jaden McDaniels scored 22 points and also pulled down seven boards. Barnes was injured in the fourth quarter of Toronto’s 127-125 overtime loss to the Nuggets when he caught an errant elbow from Denver centre Nikola Jokic. Barnes was expected to be out at least three weeks with the injury but came back slightly ahead of schedule. Rookie combo guard Ja’kobe Walter (sprained right shoulder) was also made available for the Raptors. He did not play in the game, however. Toronto wore its new City Edition jerseys for the first time. The black jerseys feature a bright red Raptor in the midst of a between-the-legs jam, like Vince Carter’s iconic move from the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Takeaways Minnesota: Edwards got off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the game, scoring only five points in the first half and quickly getting up to four personal fouls. Despite being so close to foulling out of the game, Edwards became more aggressive and helped the Timberwolves take a lead in the third quarter. Toronto: Although Barnes is unquestionably the best player on the Raptors, his re-integration into the lineup wasn’t seamless with Toronto’s offence looking disjointed for long stretches with 17 turnovers. Poeltl’s usage dropped significantly with Barnes once again becoming the focal point of the offence. Key moment Boucher’s dunk with 6:38 left in the game sparked a 17-4 Raptors run that erased a two-point deficit and gave Toronto a 105-96 lead with 2:31 on the clock. Gradey Dick’s defensive rebound and lob to Barrett for a crowd-pleasing dunk put an exclamation mark on that run, with the 19,296 fans at Scotiabank Arena rising to their feet as Barrett flexed and shouted. Minnesota called a timeout to try and kill Toronto’s momentum after the highlight-reel play. Key stat Toronto shot an excellent 51.4 per cent on field goals, but didn’t get up as many attempts as the Timberwolves, who outscored the Raptors despite shooting 41.3 per cent from the floor. Up next The Raptors travel to Cleveland to take on the NBA-best Cavaliers. Minnesota continues its Eastern Conference road trip with a stop in Boston against the NBA champion Celtics. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

Sports on TV for Sunday, Nov. 24

From $5.3 Billion to $48.8 Billion : Cloud Native Applications Market Decade of Growth | Google, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft

Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 6 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 1:52 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was down less than 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after the Christmas holiday. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.9%, Micron Technology was up 1% and Adobe gained 0.8%. While tech stocks overall were in the green, some heavyweights were a drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.1%. Meta Platforms fell 0.7%, Amazon was down 0.6%, and Netflix gave up 1.1%. Tesla was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, down 1.9%. Health care stocks helped lift the market. CVS Health rose 1.7% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 3% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 2.8%, Best Buy was up 2.2% and Dollar Tree gained 2.7%. Retailers are hoping for a solid sales this holiday season, and the day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4% and 16%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. Traders got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields turned mostly lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.57% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.