In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Monday, Oct. 18 …
What we are watching in Canada …
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to visit Kamloops, B.C., today, where the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc Nation announced it had found what are believed to be some 200 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school last spring.
Since May, numerous Indigenous nations have reported finding unmarked graves at former residential schools with the same ground-penetrating radar technology used in Kamloops, prompting calls for justice that have resonated across the world.
Monday’s visit comes after Trudeau apologized to Tk’emlúps Chief Rosanne Casimir earlier this month for not having accepted invitations to attend the nation’s event marking Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.
He faced backlash for travelling to Tofino, B.C., with his family instead of appearing at any in-person events to honour survivors of the state-sponsored residential institutions where Indigenous children were torn from their families and abused.
Trudeau had spoken with some survivors by telephone on Sept. 30 and attended an event on Parliament Hill the night before, and later said it was a “mistake” to travel.
Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc issued a statement saying it was not interested in apologies that don’t lead to real change and action to support healing for residential school survivors and the revitalization of Indigenous culture and languages.
Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc has called on Ottawa to fund a new healing centre for survivors and their families in the Kamloops area and for the full disclosure of government records related to children who attended the institution there.
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Also this …
A Canadian is among 17 missionaries allegedly kidnapped in Haiti on Saturday, Christian Aid Ministries said in a statement on its website.
The U.S.-based mission organization said Sunday that five children are also believed to be in the group.
The organization said they were on returning from a trip to help build an orphanage. It did not name any of the abducted people, including the Canadian.
Global Affairs Canada said Sunday it was aware of media reports that a Canadian citizen had been kidnapped in Haiti.
“Canadian government officials in Haiti are working with local authorities,” Global Affairs said in an emailed statement.
Haitian police Insp. Frantz Champagne says the 400 Mawozo gang kidnapped the group in Ganthier, east of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Authorities say the gang, whose name roughly translates to 400 “inexperienced men,” controls the Croix-des-Bouquets area that includes Ganthier.
Haiti is again struggling with a spike in gang-related kidnappings that had diminished in recent months following the fatal shooting of President Jovenel Moise in July and a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck its southwest region in August, killing more than 2,200 people.
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And this …
Gov. Gen. Mary May Simon arrived in Berlin Sunday to begin her first international visit on behalf of Canada in the German capital.
May Simon’s four-day state visit will include a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and she will represent Canada at the 2021 Frankfurt Book Fair.
“Canada and Germany have long been allies and friends. A state visit highlights our shared values and strong ties, and also helps support Canadian industries that have been hard hit during this pandemic,” Rideau Hall said Sunday.
In Berlin, May Simon is to visit the Humboldt Forum, which houses numerous Canadian artefacts, including two Indigenous totem poles from the West Coast.
In Frankfurt, she’ll attend the book fair, which is featuring Canada as the guest of honour this year.
May Simon will also take part in a virtual event with Canadian writer Margaret Atwood and will attend a roundtable discussion about Arctic exploration, which will be held at the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum.
May Simon was Canada’s first ambassador for circumpolar affairs. She was also Canada’s lead negotiator in the creation of the eight-country Arctic Council.
The international visit comes a week after May Simon’s first formal public appearance in Ottawa, which was at a homeless shelter.
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What we are watching in the U.S. …
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden is entering a crucial two weeks for his ambitious agenda.
He’s racing to conclude contentious congressional negotiations ahead of both domestic deadlines and a chance to showcase his administration’s accomplishments on the world stage.
Biden and his fellow Democrats are struggling to bridge intraparty divides by month’s end to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a larger social services package.
That goal has been jeopardized by fractures among Democrats, leaving the fate of sweeping climate change promises in peril.
There’s also rising anxiety within the party in the leadup to a bellwether Virginia gubernatorial contest and looming Senate fights over the federal debt limit and government funding.
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What we are watching in the rest of the world …
CANBERRA — Australia’s Queensland state announced plans Monday to open up to vaccinated travelers, ending the status it has enjoyed throughout the pandemic of remaining virtually free of COVID-19.
Queensland and Western Australia have been among the states most successful in keeping COVID-19 out, and they also were among the most reluctant to relax their strict border controls after the highly contagious delta variant took hold in New South Wales state in June and spread through Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory.
Queensland authorities warned infection rates would rise and remain high for months.
“For almost 600 days for nearly two years we have kept the virus out of Queensland,” Treasurer Cameron Dick said. “Those days will soon come to an end. This will be the end of the zero COVID for Queensland.”
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said fully vaccinated travelers would be allowed into the state without quarantining when 80 per cent of the state’s population aged 16 and older was vaccinated. That benchmark is expected to be achieved by Dec. 17.
Travelers would also need to test negative to COVID-19 within three days before entering the state.
Vaccinated travelers will be allowed into Queensland when 70 per cent of the target population is vaccinated, a target expected to be reached by Nov. 19, but will face restrictions including 14 days of quarantine on arrival.
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Also this …
PESHAWAR — The Taliban win in Afghanistan is giving a boost to militants in neighboring Pakistan.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, have become emboldened in tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
They hope to regain control in these areas that they lost in an offensive by the Pakistani military nearly seven years ago.
Taliban rule in Afghanistan also fuels the broader, toxic mix of radical religious parties in Pakistan, where polls show wide support for a Taliban-style government.
Islamabad is trying to open negotiations with the TTP, but that risks only stoking the group’s ambitions.
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ICYMI …
Police were called to deal with large, rowdy homecoming parties Saturday near Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.
In Kingston, local police said an officer was taken to hospital after projectiles were thrown at police as a crowd of thousands swarmed the city’s university district on Saturday afternoon.
Numerous arrests were made during what police declared an “aggravated nuisance party,” which allowed them to fine attendees up to $2,000 each.
Kingston Police posted a video online showing hundreds of what they described as “intoxicated students” gathered in the dark near the Victoria Park area.
The footage showed them hoisting and surfing a couch through the neighbourhood, where a banner hung from one home emblazoned with “@Bylaw add it 2 our tab.”
Patrick Deane, principal and vice-chancellor of Queen’s University, called the scene that unfolded over the weekend “reckless.”
“We know the last few years have been a struggle for young people, but such behaviour is dangerous, irresponsible, and ultimately inexcusable,” he wrote in a statement issued Sunday.
In Wolfville, the RCMP confirmed that arrests were made and fines were handed to students who gathered by the hundreds on the town’s streets and in backyards.
Police said some partygoers were handed tickets for carrying open liquor and violating health-protection orders that prohibit informal outdoor gatherings where more than 50 people assemble without wearing masks or physical distancing.
Ian Murray, a spokesman for Acadia University, issued an emailed statement Saturday saying the university was “deeply disappointed” in the conduct of students who “gathered noisily” and damaged property.
Earlier this year, disorderly street parties were also reported at the University of Guelph in southern Ontario and McMaster University in Hamilton.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
