New Federal firearm buyback program has cost $67M, still not collecting guns after 4 years
The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.
Panama's government on Thursday inspected a huge copper mine shut down after the country's Supreme Court ruled in November that the government's concession with a Canadian mining company was unconstitutional. The deal had triggered widespread street protests.
The administration of President Laurentino Cortizo has promised to carry out an orderly closure of First Quantum Minerals' mine.
The process will take years if carried out in a way to avoid environmental impacts, according to the company, the government and outside experts.
The mine's closure meant the loss of thousands of jobs. A small staff has remained to maintain the sprawling property.
Last March, Panama's legislature approved an agreement with First Quantum allowing local subsidiary Cobre Panama to continue operating the copper mine for at least 20 more years. The open-pit mine was temporarily closed in 2022 when talks between the government and First Quantum broke down over payments the government wanted.
The new contract also included the possibility of extending the concession for another 20 years.
The deal set off weeks of protests. The protesters, a broad coalition of Panamanians, feared the mine's impact on nature and especially on the water supply.
First Quantum has requested arbitration block Panama's decision or obtain damages.
On Wednesday, Cobre Panama said in a statement that "the abrupt halt to operations before the useful life of the mine is unusual, so additional planning and preparation are needed."
It said that at the government's request it will present a preliminary "safe preservation and management" plan Tuesday with an eye toward the mine's permanent closure.
An intergovernmental commission representing various agencies visited the mine Thursday. The government also invited representatives of some civil society groups. Last week, a team from the Attorney General's Office visited as part of an investigation into complaints about possible environmental violations.
The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
Chris Knayzeh was in a town overlooking Lebanon's capital when he heard the rumbling aftershock of the 2020 Beirut port blast. Hundreds of tons of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrates had exploded, killing and injuring thousands of people.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including more than 120 handguns and at least five fully automatic weapons like machine-guns.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped Treasury Board President Anita Anand to take on additional duties as Canada's minister of transport on Thursday.
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They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.