An Amnesty international activist holds a portrait of imprisoned Egyptian-British blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, during a protest to demand the release of activists from jails, at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai on Dec. 9, 2023.-/Getty Images
A small group of demonstrators staged a very rare protest in Dubai on Saturday in the COP28 U.N. climate summit site to demand the release of pro-democracy activists imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
About 25 activists took part in the protest, holding up pictures of Emirati prisoners Ahmed Mansoor and Mohamed al-Siddiq and Egyptian-British political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Human Rights Watch described the protest as historic for taking place in the UAE, which tolerates little public dissent and bans organized groups such as political parties and labor unions.
As a condition of hosting COP28, the UAE had agreed to allow protests to take place there under U.N. guidelines that require any demonstrations to be approved in advance and limited to the summit site.
Most protests have taken place within the summit’s “blue zone” area which is under U.N. control and where local laws do not apply.
“In the spirit of inclusivity, peaceful assemblies in designated areas have been and continue to be welcomed,” an Emirati official said.
“The UAE does not comment on individual cases following judicial sentences,” the official added.
Unlike at past U.N. climate talks that sparked huge protest rallies, including 2021’s COP26 in Glasgow and 2015’s COP21 in Paris, there have been no demonstrations outside the venue.
“These names (of political prisoners) have never been said out loud in the UAE, and the release has never been publicly demanded in this way,” Saudi Arabia and UAE researcher at HRW Joey Shea said.
Siddiq was jailed in the UAE in 2013 along with 68 others on charges of plotting to overthrow the government after a trial that rights group Amnesty International described as grossly unfair.
An Emirati court sentenced Mansoor to 10 years in prison in 2018 after being charged with crimes including using social media to harm national unity and social harmony and damage the country’s reputation.
Abdel Fattah, who has been repeatedly detained in Egypt since the 2011 “Arab Spring” uprising, was most recently sentenced to five years in prison in 2021 on charges of spreading fake news.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
