Border agency recovered nearly 2,000 stolen vehicles this year: transport minister

OTTAWA – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has refused to get the security clearance necessary to be briefed on a list of people in his party who are involved in or vulnerable to foreign interference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a federal commission of inquiry Wednesday.

“I have the names of a number of parliamentarians, former parliamentarians and-or candidates in the Conservative Party of Canada who are engaged (in) or at high risk of, or for whom there is clear intelligence around foreign interference,” Trudeau said as part of his sworn testimony.

“I have directed CSIS and others to try and inform the Conservative party leader to be warned and armed,” so that Poilievre could make decisions to protect the integrity of the party and guard members against attempts at foreign interference, he said.

Trudeau said Poilievre has opted not to receive classified briefings — a decision that he finds bewildering.

“The decision by the leader of the Conservative party to not get those classified briefings means that nobody in his party — not him, nobody in a position of power — knows the names of these individuals and can take appropriate action,” Trudeau said.

He said it also means nobody can stand up for the people in question if the intelligence is poor, incomplete or simply contains allegations from a single source.

Poilievre has previously defended his choice not to try to obtain a high-level security clearance.

He has said it would prevent him from speaking out about what he has learned in secret briefings.

In response to Trudeau’s comments on Wednesday, Poilievre released a statement calling on the prime minister to publicly release the names.

“But he won’t. Because Justin Trudeau is doing what he always does: he is lying,” Poilievre said.

The Conservative leader also said his chief of staff receives confidential briefings, and has not been told about any past or present member of the party being involved in foreign interference.

“If Justin Trudeau has evidence to the contrary, he should share it with the public. Now that he has blurted it out in general terms at a commission of inquiry — he should release the facts. But he won’t — because he’s making it up,” Poilievre said in the statement.

Trudeau did not elaborate on the nature or scope of the information he has received about Conservatives and foreign interference activities.

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians said in June that some unnamed parliamentarians were “semi-witting or witting” participants in the efforts of foreign states to meddle in Canadian politics.

The stark but vague assertion by NSICOP, an intelligence watchdog made up of MPs and senators who are sworn to secrecy, triggered ongoing concerns that people knowingly involved in interference might still be active in politics.

However, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told the inquiry Tuesday it is an irresponsible, “partisan exaggeration” to claim there are traitors or treasonous people sitting in Parliament based on the findings of the spy watchdog report.

“Those are criminal phrases that are not borne out by the evidence and by the work of the police or the security agencies.”

Nathalie Drouin, who advises the prime minister on intelligence matters, recently told the inquiry the watchdog’s conclusion that some MPs might have acted in a treasonous manner makes her very uncomfortable, because that’s not what she sees.

Drouin said after reviewing the relevant intelligence she found no MPs had engaged in espionage, sabotage or other activities that put Canada’s security at risk.

LeBlanc said Tuesday that conclusion is consistent with the intelligence he has seen as minister.

Trudeau indicated Wednesday he takes exception to how NSICOP framed the matter, “because it worried Canadians and talked about traitors in Parliament when that is not the assessment that our intelligence agencies put forward.”

The commission of inquiry’s latest round of hearings have focused on ways to better detect and deter foreign meddling.

Trudeau said Wednesday the world is more uncertain and less safe than ever due to the rise of authoritarian powers determined to sow chaos in democracies like Canada.

He said the answer to the aggression of countries like China and Russia is to reinforce the rule of law and the international order.

“We cannot allow might to become right once again in the world.”

The RCMP and other government officials recently told India its diplomats were persons of interest in several investigations into violent crimes in Canada.

On Monday, Canada ordered six Indian diplomats out of the country, and India swiftly retaliated with the expulsion of Canadian diplomats.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government is offering to pay up to $15,000 a year into a new retirement benefits program for doctors in hopes the public money will keep more physicians in the province.

Premier Tim Houston announced the new program Wednesday, saying the annual contributions will be available to Nova Scotia’s roughly 3,000 doctors at an estimated cost to the province of up to $22 million for the 2024 tax year, with that number expected to grow as more physicians sign on.

The annual retirement benefit top-ups were cited by Houston as evidence his party is fulfilling an election platform promise to create a “retirement fund” for doctors.

He said the new program is designed to “recognize the high cost of establishing a practice coming right out of (medical) school,” and to retain doctors as they settle into careers.

“We’re not just competing with other provinces. We’re competing with the rest of the world and our recruitment and retention efforts must reflect that,” said the premier, noting that British Columbia has a similar program.

Dr. Gehad Gobran, president of Doctors Nova Scotia, said during a news conference that the program is expected to attract new physicians because in the first five years of practice they can receive $5,000 annually from the government to put toward their retirement savings without making matching contributions. After five years, they must start making contributions to receive the public top-up.

Doctors who have practised between five and 15 years can receive up to $10,000 annually, if they’ve put in matching funds, while doctors with over 15 years of practice can receive up to $15,000 annually, provided they’ve contributed that amount.

“We’ve been waiting for this a long, long time … this will really help in hiring and retaining physicians here in Nova Scotia,” Gobran said.

Asked what independent evidence exists that retirement programs result in retaining doctors, Gobran replied, “I’m not sure about the evidence as such, but I will tell you that when I started here years ago, I didn’t do any contribution to retirement.”

“When residents graduate, they have a lot to pay on their tuition fees and they don’t pay attention to their (retirement) pension. So having the support of the government, I think that’s a great thing,” Gobran said.

Dana MacKenzie, deputy minister of health, said during a briefing on Wednesday that she didn’t know of independent studies that indicate retirement funding is likely to retain and attract doctors. However, she said the department believed the new program would attract doctors as “these retirement funds (for doctors) aren’t pervasive across the country,” other than in British Columbia.

The Progressive Conservatives have made health care their prime focus over the past four years, but as of this June there were still 160,000 people on a wait-list for primary care.

Houston said the retirement contributions were just one among several measures aimed at reducing the doctor shortages.

He cited a recent announcement that the province will create a new assessment centre for foreign-trained doctors to speed up their certification, with the aim of bringing in 45 more physicians a year. In addition, the province has announced that Cape Breton University will open a medical school, with up to 30 new physicians graduating each year.

On Wednesday, the opposition parties asked why there weren’t more details of the new retirement program, such as projections on what its annual cost will be beyond 2024.

Claudia Chender, leader of the NDP, said she had only seen a “ballpark figure for Year 1” of the program, and would have liked to have heard a lot more details about fiscal projections.

Kelly Regan, the Liberal Party’s health critic, said she wonders whether public funds will go to retirement, or if doctors might just use the contributions for other purposes.

Health Department officials said doctors can invest the money in their choice of retirement funds, whether they be tax-free savings accounts, RRSPs or an independent pension fund. However, unlike locked-in retirement funds, money can be removed from tax-free savings accounts and from RRSPs at any time.

“This won’t necessarily go to a physicians’ retirement because it’s not locked in,” Regan said. “This is an additional payment to physicians, and after the first five years it will be matching contributions. But this is not a pension fund.”

Angela Purcell, director of physician services with the Health Department, estimated during the briefing that the approximate gross income for a family practitioner in Nova Scotia is between $340,000 and $390,000, but this is reduced by office and operating expenses.

Houston said the retirement top-ups were nonetheless a necessary part of a series of measures to keep doctors in Nova Scotia.

“This is something we can layer onto the overall compensation package and send the message that we want you here,” he said.

The program begins this year, with physicians required to show their contributions by the end of March 2025, while physicians with less than five years of practice can also apply for the funds by that date.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

RICHMOND – An Independent election candidate in Richmond, B.C., says her campaign volunteers were subjected to racist insults from a passerby who called them “trash” and abused them for speaking Mandarin.

The incident on Sunday is captured on video, showing a man in a grey suit berating supporters of Richmond Centre candidate Wendy Yuan while they were waving signs at an intersection.

The man is seen swearing at the group and telling them to “take down” the Chinese Communist Party instead of “coming over here on your … little boats.”

Yuan, a former BC United candidate in the riding, says the incident took place on No 3 Road at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, when the man “aggressively” confronted her volunteers.

She says the man’s behaviour was appalling and it was outrageous her volunteers were targeted “with such hate.”

She says her campaign has been too busy to report the matter to police, but “video evidence” was available for authorities to review.

“We must stand united against hate in all its forms. Our campaign is built on inclusivity and positivity, and we will not be deterred by such disgraceful actions,” she said in a news release.

The other candidates in Richmond Centre include Hon Chan for the B.C. Conservatives and the NDP’s Henry Yao.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

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