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OTTAWA — As railworkers push back on the Liberal government's effort to end a labour dispute that ground trains to a halt, the federal Conservatives have been silent on the strife that poses a major threat to Canada's economy.

MONTREAL — Rail workers fought back Friday against the federal government's move to get them back on the job, with a fresh strike notice and a regulatory challenge making it unclear when most freight traffic will resume.

TORONTO — Grammy-nominated Canadian music video creator Andy Hines says he hopes his feature film directorial debut could be the first of several music videos adapted into big-screen stories.

MONTREAL — A group of mayors from the Montreal region says the Quebec government has fallen short of its promise to increase financial aid for victims of torrential rain that hit the province earlier this month.

WHITEHORSE — Officials say crews on the site of a major cyanide spill at a mine in central Yukon are facing an intense period of work over the next few months to install environmental protection before winter freeze-up arrives.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index gained almost 250 points Friday on broad-based strength, while U.S. stock markets also rose as the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it is prepared to start cutting its key interest rate.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rallied closer to their records after the head of the Federal Reserve finally said out loud what Wall Street has been expecting for a while: Cuts to interest rates are coming soon to help the economy.

British Columbia grain producers are closely watching developments in the nationwide railway dispute triggered on Wednesday night, saying its impacts could soon spread beyond farmers to producers of food and beer.

The ongoing labour dispute between Canada’s largest railway companies and their workers is driving up the cost of shipping by truck, with smaller businesses disproportionately affected.

HALIFAX — A commercial lobster fishing group in southwestern Nova Scotia is seeking a court to have a lobster fishery run by a First Nations community declared illegal.