Feds table bill to tackle travel chaos as summer season ramps up – National

The federal government moved this week to bolster accountability at airports, introducing new legislation that would compel them to cough up more information on their performance.

Tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the bill paved the way for new rules requiring airports and other airport operators to create service standards and publish data that can be compared against those benchmarks.

The standards could track outcomes ranging from security screening wait times to how long it takes luggage to reach the carousel.

“It’s no secret that the challenges of the last few years have impacted transportation systems here in Canada and globally. As we head into another busy travel season, we have seen how a disruption at one end of the system can have effects across the entire network,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a release.

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“Together, the measures in this proposed legislation will

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Japan Falls Nine Places in Latest Gender Gap Report

In this week’s news roundup we report on the latest Gender Gap Report as Japan slides further down the table. There are more problems with the government’s My Number card system. Five people are tragically killed in a traffic accident in Hokkaido. Carlos Ghosn sues his former employer for more than $1 billion. And there’s outrage as a report on Japan’s now defunct eugenics law reveals that children as young as 9 were sterilized.

Japan Falls to 125th in the Gender Gap Report

The World Economic Forum (WEF) released its Gender Gap Report 2023 on Wednesday with Japan again ranked near the bottom. It fell further down the table to 125th out of 146 countries, nine places lower than last year. That’s the nation’s worst position since the WEF started publishing the report in 2006. The index ranks countries according to four key areas: health, education, politics and economic participation.

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Tsukikageya by Natsuki Shigeta: Yukata With an Attitude

An alternative yukata designer and queen of do-your-own-thing, Natsuki Shigeta is a well-loved presence in the subculture fashion world in Harajuku and beyond. “I didn’t study this, I’m just winging it,” she said candidly when we met her at Tsukikageya, her shop and studio in Shibuya’s Tomigaya district. Shigeta is unmissable with her beehive hairdo and impossibly long pink nails. She can often be seen in a yukata with a bling-bling obi belt. Her friends sometimes kindly call her the “Japanese Amy Winehouse.”

We invited Shigeta to the TW May-June 2023 issue party on June 9 to do a pop-up shop and exhibit. Spending the day with her, we got to learn about her life and her philosophy.

natsuki shigeta yukata designer

Photo by ©Niccolò Berretta

Tsukikageya Origins

“Tsukikage” is “moonlight” in English, while “ya” means “store.” However, the meaning of the name goes a little deeper than that. “Tsuki,” meaning “moon,” is also

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Tokyo Art Scene: Playful Art

This month, we recommend these three art exhibitions in Tokyo with a collection of artwork that embodies the playfulness and revolutionary elements of the avant-garde.

The emergence of modern art in the late 1800s signaled a shift of fine arts as a medium for the people. When Gustave Courbet kickstarted the Realism movement by depicting the lives of the working class in his paintings, he also sparked the beginning of avant-garde. Sociopolitics began intertwining with the arts, and creatives started going above and beyond experimenting with their craft. Until today, the fine arts are often used as social agencies and self-expression tools.

“Play Play Art”

© Photo by Nadila
Andy Warhol’s silkscreen prints welcome visitors to the exhibition.

For artists, the canvas is their playground. Perhaps not only the canvas but the camera, metal scraps or wood. Contemporary artists are fond of using anything they can get their hands on

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Jamie West pushes for an increase in Northern Health Travel Grant

Sudbury MPP told the Ontario Legislature that the mileage rates and hotel allowances are not sufficient to cover travel costs

Sudbury MPP Jamie West is pushing the Ontario government to make the Northern Health Travel Grant more accessible for financially strapped patients who may not be able to afford the up-front costs for medical travel.

Speaking at Queen’s Park Thursday during the final Question Period for the current sitting of the Legislature, West said many Northerners need to travel to Southern Ontario to receive specialized medical treatment that might not be available to them at home.

In order to qualify for the medical travel grant, a Northern Ontario patient must fill out a form to determine if they qualify for financial assistance. Patients must fill out a new and separate application form for each trip they take. Under the current system, patients must pay for trips and accommodation on their

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Two Soldiers Killed as GSDF Recruit Opens Fire on Colleagues

This week’s news roundup is dominated by crime. At a Japanese military base in Gifu Prefecture, two soldiers are killed and another one injured after a GSDF recruit opens fire on his colleagues. There’s another watch store heist, this time in Kawasaki, with one of the men being appreciated. And in Tokyo, a Vietnamese student is arrested for cutting people’s hair without a license.

In non-crime-related news, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decides against a snap election before the end of the current Diet session. North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of ​​Japan as American, Japanese and South Korean national security advisors meet in Tokyo. And in sport, Shohei Ohtani moves to the top of the American League’s home run leaderboard.

Suspect in GSDF Shooting Targeted Instructor

Two Ground Self-Defense Forces (GSDF) members, Yasuchika Kikumatsu, 52, and Kosuke Yashiro, 25, died on Wednesday after a recruit

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State of emergency in Perryton after a devastating tornado leaves three dead

At least three people have been killed after a devastating tornado tore through a Texas Panhandle town on Thursday, destroying trailer homes, downing communications towers and plunging the entire community into darkness.

The National Weather Service in Amarillo confirmed that a tornado hit Perryton on Thursday afternoon, which is home to more than 8,000 people and is located just south of the Oklahoma border.

One person was killed when a mobile home park took a “direct hit” from a tornado, Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher told reporters.

Two other victims are also confirmed dead while between 75 and 100 people were being treated for injuries ranging from minor to severe.

The catastrophic storm wiped out power for the entire town, including a major hospital receiving residents wounded in the chaos.

More than 224,000 customers were still without power in Texas as of around 3.30am local time on Friday morning, according

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48 Hours in Morioka: Culinary Delights and Nature Escapes

Iwate is perhaps best known for its beautiful landscapes and the temple complex of Hiraizumi. However, the capital city of Morioka offers not only picturesque views and cultural and historical sites, but is also a bustling regional city with great food. Morioka offers the best of both worlds when it comes to more rural travel and should not be missed.

A trip to Morioka from Tokyo Station is only 2.5 hours on the Akita or Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen lines, making it an easy weekend getaway or mid-week trip.

Morioka Hachimangu

Day 1 – Make Your Way Downtown

Explore Iwate’s capital city and the delicious food it has to offer.

Fukuda Pan

With its main store only 15 minutes from Morioka Station, Fukuda Pan is a must for anyone visiting the city. Both a store and product name, the bread rolls of Fukuda Pan can be customized to meet your needs, from

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Changes to Restrictions on Travel and Activities in the Woods

The Province is lifting restrictions on travel and activities in the woods in all areas except for Shelburne County and anywhere evacuation orders are in place, effective 12:01 am, Monday, June 5.

“We know that using our woods and trails is important to many Nova Scotians’ physical and mental health,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “Thanks to the weather conditions have improved in the province, but we still need to be cautious. We are keeping the burn tires in place and asking people to continue to be responsible while enjoying the outdoors.”

Activities that are now permitted include hiking, camping, fishing and the use of vehicles in the woods. The provincewide burn tires are still in place. The fine for violating the tires is $25,000.

Evacuation orders are still in place. People are asked to stay away from all wildfire areas.

Quick Facts:

  • the burn
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Expect big crowds for the summer travel season — and big prices, too

The unofficial start of the summer travel season is here, with airlines hoping to avoid the chaos of last year and travelers scrounging for ways to save a few bucks on pricey airfares and hotel rooms.

Some travelers say they will settle for fewer trips than they hoped to take, or they will drive instead of fly. Others are finding different money-saving sacrifices.

Stephanie Hanrahan thought she’d save money by planning ahead for her daughter’s birthday trip to Disney World in Florida. Instead, it ended up costing the same as the Dallas-area family’s trip for four to California last summer, so now her husband and son are staying home.

“We just had to grit our teeth,” said Hanrahan, a writer and speaker who also runs a nonprofit, as she and daughter Campbell waited for their flight last week at Dallas Love Field.

The number of people going through US airports

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