News for June 17th, 2015

City councillors are pushing for a stronger stance on Quebec's proposed anti-tobacco legislation.

According to the Montreal Gazette, eight councillors, including NDG-Cote-des-Neiges' Marvin Rotrand and Lachine's Claude Dauphin, are asking not only to increase cigarette prices- but also to ban them in playgrounds, beaches, and athletic fields.

Quebec's proposed legislation would ban smoking and vaping in various places such as inside vehicles with minors under 16 years old, in between apartment buildings, and outside terraces of bars and restaurants.

Anti-smoking lobbyist Dr. Geneviève Bois says these new ideas can help eventually discourage Quebeckers from buying tobacco, while adding an extra stream of revenue to the provincial government with the increase.

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A new law has been proposed to increase the severity of the penalties for drunk drivers who take or injure lives on the roads.

According to the Toronto Sun, Justice Minister Peter Mackay presented the proposed bill, called the dangerous and impaired driving act, on Tuesday.

A mandatory minimum 6 year sentence has been proposed in the new bill for cases involving death, instead of the current 1 000 dollar fine, and the maximum penalties for driving while impaired will be doubled.

Impaired driving is reportedly the number one cause of criminal death in Canada.

The legalization procedures won't begin until the elections this fall.

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Republican businessman and television personality Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the American presidential election Tuesday morning.

According to the Washington Post, Trump made his declaration in a disorganized 1700 word speech which he delivered to a few hundred tourists who he had given free merchandise to.

Trump is in ninth place in the Washington Post’s polls, and it is becoming more and more likely that he will participate in the first presidential debate taking place in Cleveland August 6th.