New Composting Facility Sparks Controversy, Hockey Player Taunted with Racist Remarks, New Humanitarian Funding for Yemen

Hosted by Ahmad Moujtahed

Stories by Ahmad Moujtahed

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LOCAL

Montreal City Council has awarded a $175 million contract to Suez Canada Waste Services Inc. regarding the construction of a new composting facility in the industrial sector of Saint Laurent borough.

Opposition councillors and suburban mayors have asked that the contract's approval be delayed for further study, especially that island suburbs were not given sufficient information to make an informed decision on the plant, even though they will be responsible for about 20% of the project’s costs.

The opposition are also concerned why the costs for the facility have considerably went up over the years since the project was originally budgeted at $46 million, and now its estimated cost has jumped to $175 million.

NATIONAL

The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey, a Quebec-based independent hockey league has apologized to a black player who had been taunted with racist remarks in a hockey game that took place last week in Saint Jerome.

Jonathan Diaby, a defenceman for the Marquis de Jonquière, said that after he was sent to the penalty box, a fan from the opposing team Pétroliers du Nord called the N-word and showed Diaby a picture of a monkey on his phone.

Diaby further revealed that his dad was told to go back home, and that he had no business in this country. The incident has sparked outrage on social media.

Robert Chevrier, co-owner of the Petroliers, said the team is trying to identify the racist fans so they can be banned from the arena.

INTERNATIONAL

UNICEF Canada welcomes the Government of Canada's announcement of new humanitarian funding of $46 million, in response to the humanitarian needs of people in Yemen.

For a little more than three years, Yemen has been withstanding a civil war that has killed nearly 10,000 people and pushed millions to the brink of starvation.

According to UNICEF, at least 2 million children are out of school and 8.1 million do not have access to safe water and sanitation services.