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Roy Green: When it counts in Canada, there is no national consensus – Global News

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Seeking national consensus is a largely wasted exercise in matters of true national significance.

Sure, we shout our unqualified support for Canada on the easy ones like cheering Team Canada to Olympic or World Championship hockey titles, but on critical matters which should serve to remind we’re all in this Canadian thing together, our confederation is coming unglued.

The last several weeks serve as a case in point.


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National laws went up in the acrid smoke of burning tires. Law enforcement, from local gendarmes all the way to the national police, stood helplessly by — literally — as so-called protesters ground much of Canada’s rail system to a halt, harming everything from the nation writ large to small business entrepreneurial efforts in the process.

When “Shut down Canada” becomes the effective battle cry of unopposed anarchy, the immediate outlook becomes what, exactly?

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The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in their very public opposition to pipelines exposed the faultlines upon which Canada’s uneasy foundation rests today.

Ours is a divided nation in which the drum beat of regionalism grows.  Quebec returned to electing sovereignists in large numbers last Oct. 21, while Alberta and Saskatchewan changed the locks and refused to send even one Liberal candidate to Parliament. Think about that.

Is it possible — or perhaps likely — that Alberta and Saskatchewan will, through the din of public opinion, hold referenda on exiting Canada within, say, five years?

I’ve heard claims of concern for “national unity” from premiers Scott Moe and Jason Kenney repeatedly in interviews, while in a conversation not long ago, Premier Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick declared we must decide whether Canada is “a nation or a notion.”


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In recent weeks, as the current crisis lurches along, the word “reconciliation” has been repeated constantly, but is that what the pipeline disruptions are really about?

After all, First Nation band councils support Coastal GasLink LNG pipeline in northern B.C., as, similarly, First Nations in Alberta supported the now-vanished TECK Frontier oilsands mine.

Reconciliation should begin with proper housing, safe drinking water and providing Indigenous youth with support and engagement which, in turn, would drive away thoughts of and even acts of self-harm and suicide.

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Canada today suffers from a dearth of visionary leadership at the national level.  I don’t know if that kind of leadership is even possible, but this nation certainly could use one or more — and quickly.

Roy Green is the host of the Roy Green Show on the Global News Radio network.

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RCMP arrest second suspect in deadly shooting east of Calgary

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EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.

Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.

Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.

Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.

Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.

RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.

Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.

“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.

But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.

“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.

While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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26-year-old son is accused of his father’s murder on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast

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RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.

Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.

The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.

It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.

Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.

The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Metro Vancouver’s HandyDART strike continues after talks break with no deal

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VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.

Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”

However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.

McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.

He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.

The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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