Canada will provide a military transport plane to support United Nations peacekeeping missions for another year despite losing its bid for a temporary seat on the UN Security Council.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s office confirmed the continued deployment of a CC-130 Hercules in support of UN missions in Africa on Sunday, ending months of speculation about the fate of the mission.
“The Canadian Armed Forces are playing an important role in transporting critical supplies and personnel to support the UN in the region,” Sajjan said in a statement to The Canadian Press.
“We understand the importance of Canada working with our international allies and partners like the United Nations, which is why we have renewed Canadian Armed Forces support for an additional year.”
???????? is committed to <a href=”https://twitter.com/UNPeacekeeping?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@UNPeacekeeping</a> & working w/ partners across Africa to address gaps & provide innovative contributions.<br> <br>That is why the <a href=”https://twitter.com/CanadianForces?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CanadianForces</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hercules?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Hercules</a> CC-130J plane will extend its mission in Entebbe by a year to continue supporting vital <a href=”https://twitter.com/UN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@UN</a> work in the region. <a href=”https://t.co/n15muoYBZS”>pic.twitter.com/n15muoYBZS</a>
Trudeau also promised the UN that Canada would provide a helicopter detachment, which operated in Mali from June 2018 to September 2019. He also pledged a quick reaction force comprised of up to 200 troops, which has yet to be fulfilled.
Many saw the promises as an attempt by the Liberal government to bolster its bid for a two-year seat on the UN Security Council, and there had been questions about the CC-130 after Canada lost to Norway and Ireland on the first ballot in June.
Sajjan also said that the Hercules recently resumed flights to and from Uganda after a four-month suspension due to COVID-19.
“Following a temporary operational pause due to COVID-19, the tactical detachment in Uganda has recently completed a 10-day mission out of Entebbe,” he said. The plane moved about 42 tonnes worth of cargo and 400 passengers, he said.
Hercules deployment is ‘pioneering’: expert
Canadian Forces College professor Walter Dorn, one of Canada’s foremost experts on peacekeeping, welcomed the extension, which he described as “pioneering” since the plane isn’t assigned to one specific UN mission but helps many in Africa.
“It’s a pioneering service,” he said. “The first national contribution for multi-operation air service in UN history, with operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan already serviced and other missions to be added.”
Dorn nonetheless lamented that the Hercules is only available for five days a month, even as he noted that Canada’s overall contribution to peacekeeping remains at an all-time low with 34 police officers and military personnel around the world.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is travelling to Bermuda today to give a eulogy at the funeral for businessman Peter Green.
Green was a lifelong family friend to Trudeau and, as reported by the National Post, his family owns a luxury estate in Jamaica where Trudeau has stayed at no cost.
Trudeau’s last holiday trip to the posh Caribbean locale stirred a raft of political controversy at the start of the year, which came as Canadians were tightening their belts due to the higher cost of living.
Parliament’s ethics watchdog ruled out investigating Trudeau’s repeat vacations at the island villa after establishing the two men were in fact close friends.
Former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau made headlines for his stays at the same estate dating back to at least the mid-1970s.
The prime minister is expected back in Ottawa later today, according to an itinerary published by his office.
The elder Trudeau was also godfather to Green’s son, Alexander, who spoke at his funeral on Oct. 3, 2000.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
CARIBOU, N.S. – The ferry company that provides service between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island says it expects to get one of its boats back in the water before the end of the sailing season.
Northumberland Ferries says repairs to the MV Confederation — which was removed from service on Sept. 15 after it collided with a wharf — should be finished by Dec. 3.
The company says the vessel could then resume serving its route between Caribou, N.S., and Wood Islands, P.E.I., on Dec. 6.
Northumberland Ferries says it has concluded mechanical failure was not a factor in the collision and its investigation is continuing.
Once the ferry is back in the water, the company plans to offer four daily four round trips until the season ends on Dec. 20.
Northumberland Ferries has said the MV Saaremaa 1, which was also pulled from service in September, will not return this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia NDP has released its election platform, which emphasizes affordability and housing and commits to spending an additional $2 billion over two years.
Its pledges include building 30,000 new affordable rental homes and temporarily removing the provincial tax on gasoline while inflation is high.
Party leader Claudia Chender says the measure would save drivers 15.5 cents per litre at the pump, but she did not say at what point the tax would be reintroduced.
Chender says, if elected, the NDP would address affordability by increasing income assistance rates and removing the provincial tax on phone bills, internet and groceries that are not already tax-free.
To tackle health-care access, the NDP says it would open 15 new collaborative family doctor clinics in its first year in power, with 15 additional clinics added in each of the next two years.
When asked if Nova Scotia can afford to spend $2 billion on the NDP platform’s planned spending from 2025-2027, Chender says inaction would carry too great a cost.
“Nova Scotia can’t afford not to fix the housing crisis, can’t afford not to fix our access to primary care, can’t afford not to make sure that everyone can pay the bills each month,” she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
