Canada

TORONTO (AP) — Canada will spend billions to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp. in a deal announced Monday that aims to end years of deliberations over its aging fleet and fulfill obligations to defend North America’s air space.

The first four aircraft are anticipated to be delivered in 2026 with full operational capacity for the fleet expected between 2032 and 2034.

OTTAWA, Jan 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A ban on foreigners buying residential property in Canada took effect on Sunday, aiming to make more homes available to locals facing a housing crunch.

Several exceptions in the act allow individuals such as refugees and permanent residents who are not citizens to buy homes.

In late December, Ottawa also clarified that the ban would apply only to city dwellings and not to recreational properties such as summer cottages.

TORONTO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - An Ontario judge granted bail on Thursday to one of the eight teenage girls charged with killing a 59-year-old man in downtown Toronto, Canada, this month, subject to conditions.

The teenager, whose name cannot be published, must surrender her passport, not have a cell phone, stay in Ontario and not go online except for school, among other conditions. Her bail was set at C$9,500 ($7,005.90) with two sureties.

Judge Maria Sirivar will give reasons for her bail decision Jan. 10.

TORONTO (AP) — A suburban Toronto man who was killed by police after authorities say he fatally shot five people in his condominium building, including three members of the condo board, had a court hearing scheduled for the next day to determine if the building’s management could evict him.

MONTREAL (AP) — Negotiators reached a historic deal at a U.N. biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world.

The global framework comes on the day the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, is set to end in Montreal. China, which holds the presidency at this conference, released a new draft on Sunday that gave the sometimes contentious talks much-needed momentum.

OTTAWA, Dec 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canadian police have announced a record seizure of nearly 2.5 metric tons of opium hidden in containers transiting through the western port of Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which announced the seizure late Friday, did not say where the drug came from, nor did it say whether the find had led to any arrests.

MONTREAL, Canada, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- A UN draft deal on biodiversity protection calls for increasing international financial aid from developed countries to developing countries to at least 20 billion U.S. dollars per year by 2025, and to at least 30 billion dollars per year by 2030, according to documents released on Sunday.

The aid will particularly go to the least developed countries and small island developing states, as well as countries with economies in transition.

MONTREAL, Canada, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- A program calling for Asian cases of "nature-based solutions" was launched here on Friday at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

It was jointly launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development of China's Tsinghua University.

MONTREAL, Canada, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- A high-profile UN conference on biodiversity kicked off here on Wednesday, bringing chances for the world community to achieve a global action plan to save and protect the species and ecosystem on the planet.

OTTAWA, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its benchmark overnight interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.25%, the highest level in almost 15 years, and signalled the tightening campaign was near an end.

The central bank, which has raised rates at a record pace of 400 basis points in nine months, cited still-strong growth and tight labor markets as the reason for the latest increase.

But it eliminated the forward guidance it has used since the start of the tightening cycle, dropping language that said rates would have to rise further.