Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne will convene a meeting of the International Coordination and Response Group at Canada’s high commission in London, U.K., into the shooting down of a civilian aircraft by Iran’s military last week.
That meeting was scheduled to take place Thursday but has now been confirmed to be taking place at Canada House.
Canadian government confirms Minister @FP_Champagne is convening an in-person meeting of the International Coordination and Response Group at Canada House in London, UK for Thursday 1/2 #cdnpoli#PS752
Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom are the members of that group, formed in the aftermath of the devastating crash that killed 176 people last week when a Ukrainian aircraft leaving Tehran’s international airport was struck by a missile fired by the Iranian military.
Iran initially denied media reports that it had shot down the passenger plane.
It later admitted responsibility, saying its military had mistaken the plane for a “hostile” target during a period of heightened tensions.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada provided an update on the crash investigation on Monday. TSB chair Kathy Fox told reporters TSB has confirmed its role as an expert and accepted Iran’s invitation to attend the accident site as entitled in Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
Two TSB air accident investigators left Canada Friday evening and met up with members of the Canadian consular team in Turkey over the weekend, she said
Fox emphasized that although Iran’s aviation bureau has the right to lead the investigation, they are responsible to communicate the updates of the investigation.
“We will speak up if we feel those answers aren’t coming” from Iranian aviation authorities, said Fox.
Natacha Van Themsche, the TSB’s director of investigations (air) who was also at the press conference, said what happened was clear, but a focus of the TSB investigators will be to understand why the accident happened in the first place and try to understand why the air space had remained open.
The firing of that missile came just hours after Iran had launched roughly two dozen ballistic missiles at coalition military bases in Iraq in response to the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 3 to target and kill by drone strike Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s campaign to expand its influence across the Middle East and the second most senior member of the Iranian regime.
His killing prompted waves of protests in Iraq and Iran against the U.S.
But within days, those turned into protests against the regime after it admitted it had shot down the plane.
Iranian forces have reportedly begun using live ammunition and tear gas to break up those protests.
Of the 176 killed, roughly 57 were Canadian and more than 80 were Iranian.
There are now renewed calls for the Canadian government to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist entity, expanding on the existing listing of the Quds Force, which is a branch of that same Iranian military.
Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Champagne have held rare direct communications with their Iranian counterparts over the past week, stressing the need for a credible investigation into the incident. Those calls have been bolstered through the international response group.
— With files from Global News’ Mike Le Couteur and Emerald Bensadoun.
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.
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.
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.
