Finance Minister Bill Morneau said today the federal government hasn’t decided if Ottawa would help to cover the security costs associated with a move by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan to Canada.
A report in the London-based Evening Standard Monday said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told the Queen already that Canada would assume some of the costs associated with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex taking up residence here part-time.
Morneau said the government has not yet held any formal talks on the matter.
“No, we haven’t spent any time thinking about this issue,” Morneau told reporters in Toronto.
“We obviously are always looking to make sure, as a member of the Commonwealth, we play a role. We have not had any discussions on that subject at this time.”
Finance Minister Bill Morneau says that, despite reports to the contrary, the government of Canada has not committed to paying for the security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 0:21
The Evening Standard said Trudeau has “agreed taxpayers in his country should pick up the huge bill for the couple’s round-the-clock protection while they are in the country … Trudeau has privately assured the Queen that Harry, Meghan and Archie’s safety will not be jeopardised while they reside there.”
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the prospect of Canada paying for the family’s protection.
The royal couple would not automatically be granted Canadian citizenship, said Mathieu Genest, a spokesperson for Immigration Minster Marco Mendicino, in an emailed statement.
“In order to become legal permanent residents of Canada, they would need to apply through our normal immigration processes. However, members of the Royal Family are not required to seek authorization to come to and stay in Canada as visitors,” the spokesperson said.
“There are no provisions in the Citizenship Act that confer Canadian citizenship status to members of the Royal Family by virtue of their status as a member of the monarchy.”
In announcing their decision to step back from their role as senior members of the Royal Family and divide their time between the U.K. and North America, the couple said they wanted to be financially independent and less reliant on funds from the Sovereign Grant, the pool of public money available to the royals to help them carry out their duties.
The cost associated with protecting the Sussexes has been pegged at more than a $1.7 million a year.
Security costs incurred by the royals have been covered by the British taxpayer — but the status of that funding for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is in doubt in light of their stated intention to withdraw from public life.
Canada has paid the costs associated with past royal tours. In 2010, for example, Canadian taxpayers spent $2.8 million to protect the Queen during her nine-day tour of Canada. Protecting Prince William and his wife Kate during a 2011 visit cost Canada about $1.2 million.
Period of transition will be spent in Canada, U.S.
The Queen, Prince Charles, William and Harry met Monday at the Queen’s winter residence, Sandringham House, to discuss Harry’s future in the House of Windsor.
In a statement issued after the talks, the Queen said all parties agreed that “there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the U.K.”
The Queen said that while she would prefer Harry and Megan “remain full-time working members of the Royal Family,” she respects and “understands their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”
As for the costs associated with a move, the Queen said these are “complex matters” and “there is some more work to be done.”
Prince Harry, left, speaks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a reception after a receiving line for the Queen’s Dinner for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Buckingham Palace in London. (Matt Dunham/AP Photo)
When asked about funding, British Home Secretary Priti Patel, the minister responsible for policing and national security matters, said it would be “thoroughly inappropriate” to comment.
“Talking about it compromises much of the security arrangements and that is not something I will be discussing here today,” Patel said in an interview with the BBC.
“If I may, I think it’s right that the Royal Family now have the time and space to discuss the issues that they need to discuss. Therefore, I am not going to, and neither will the government, give a public commentary in terms of the security arrangements with anybody with protective security.”
The couple spent more than six weeks at a rented mansion on Vancouver Island during the Christmas holiday season. Meghan, an American-born former actress, spent years living in Toronto while filming the legal drama Suits.
Harry also has shown a fondness for Canada. While in the military, he did two stints at the Suffield military base in southeastern Alberta. He also picked Toronto to host the third iteration of the Invictus Games for wounded veterans.
After announcing their dramatic departure from regular royal life, Meghan immediately flew to Canada to be with her son, Archie, who had stayed behind in Canada after the Christmas break.
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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.
