In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Apr. 11 …
What we are watching in Canada …
OTTAWA — Canada is targeting Russia’s defence industry with its latest round of sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says the new measures impose restrictions on 33 entities in the Russian defence sector.
She says the organizations have provided support to the Russian military — directly or indirectly — and are therefore complicit in the pain and suffering stemming from Vladimir Putin’s unjustifiable war in Ukraine.
The measures usher in asset freezes and prohibitions on listed entities including the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Integral SPB and Shipyard Vympel JSC.
Following Russia’s attack that began Feb. 24, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 700 individuals and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Canada has levied sanctions on more than 1,100 individuals and entities.
“Canada has always and will always stand by Ukraine,” Joly said in a statement. “Today’s measures are the latest example of our unwavering support for Ukraine and its people.
“We will continue to support the brave men and women fighting for their freedom, and we demand that those responsible for atrocities be held accountable.”
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Also this …
VICTORIA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to be in Victoria today.
He is expected to make an announcement highlighting investments in electric vehicle infrastructure.
The federal budget tabled last week placed a heavy emphasis on transitioning to the green economy, with new investments in critical minerals and metals, expanding the availability of zero-emission vehicles and charging stations.
The new national emissions reduction plan added a goal this month that one in five new cars sold be zero emissions by 2026, and by 2030, the target is 60 per cent.
That is up from the 50 per cent goal the Liberals set less than a year ago.
Trudeau is also expected to meet with Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps later in the day.
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And this …
REGINA — Christine Enns said she was shocked when a rapid test showed she had tested positive for COVID-19.
Enns, who received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and a booster shot, already had the virus in early February and thought reinfection was rare.
“I started feeling sick three to four days ago thinking, ‘This feels like COVID.’ I took five tests and …today it came back positive,” the bakery owner said Friday from her home in Warren, Mba., about 45 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
“It did come as a surprise to me because of all the things I put in place to not get it. Now that I had it twice, I don’t feel quite as invincible.”
Reinfection of COVID-19 was considered unusual, but then the Omicron variant arrived.
“Because Omicron is so different, previous infection doesn’t protect you,” Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, said last week.
He said public health data suggests up to 10 per cent ofinfected Canadians who have recently had BA.2 — a sub-variant of Omicron — previously had BA.1 or a previous infection, like the Delta variant.
This aligns with recent studies done in England that suggest 10 per cent of reported cases are reinfections.
“That shows just because you got Omicron once doesn’t mean you’re bulletproof now,” Shahab said.
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What we are watching in the U.S. …
SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla CEO Elon Musk won’t be joining Twitter’s board of directors as previously announced.
The tempestuous billionaire remains Twitter’s largest shareholder.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted the news, which followed a weekend of Musk tweets suggesting possible changes to Twitter, including making the site ad-free.
Nearly 90 per cent of Twitter’s 2021 revenue came from ads.
Agrawal didn’t offer an explanation for Musk’s apparent decision, although he dropped one major hint.
The Twitter board “believed having Elon as a fiduciary of the company, where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward,” he wrote.
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What we are watching in the rest of the world …
KYIV, Ukraine — A showdown looms in Ukraine after Russia appointed a new military commander and looked to concentrate its attacks in the east, while Ukraine’s president said his troops will hold their ground, urging Western leaders, in particular President Joe Biden, to do more.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Sunday in a nightly address that this week will be as crucial as any during the war, saying “Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state.”
Ukraine’s fate as the war shifts south and east depends on whether the United States will help match a surge in Russian weaponry, he said.
“To be honest, whether we will be able to (survive) depends on this,” Zelenskyy said in a “60 Minutes” interview. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the confidence that we will be receiving everything we need.”
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was due to meet today in Moscow with Putin, after meeting with Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Austria, a member of the European Union, is militarily neutral and not a member of NATO.
More than six weeks of war in Ukraine has flattened cities, killed untold thousands and isolated Moscow economically and politically, and experts say the next phase of the battle may begin with a full-scale offensive that could determine the course of the conflict.
Questions remain about the ability of depleted and demoralized Russian forces to conquer much ground after their advance on the capital, Kyiv, was repelled by determined Ukrainian defenders. Britain’s Defense Ministry says Russia is trying to compensate for mounting casualties by recalling veterans discharged in the past decade.
Ukrainian authorities accuse Russian forces of committing war crimes against civilians, including airstrikes on hospitals, a missile attack that killed at least 57 people at a train station and other violence.
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In entertainment …
TORONTO — The directors of “Scarborough” say the suburban drama’s standout showing at the Canadian Screen Awards is a testament to the east Toronto community that made it possible.
The book-to-screen adaptation collected three marquee prizes at Sunday’s televised bash, including best picture, making it the top film winner with a grand total of eight trophies over the weeklong celebration of cinema, television and digital media.
Leading the TV winners was CTV’s “Transplant,” which cleaned up the drama categories.
The medical show won best drama series and acting honours for leads Hamza Haq and Laurence Leboeuf, for an overall haul of eight prizes.
CBC’s gender-fluid millennial dramedy “Sort Of” nabbed best comedy series, clinching a total of three trophies for its inaugural season.
Another big winner on Sunday’s awards broadcast was CBC’s “Kim’s Convenience,” which saw stars Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Jean Yoon respectively named best lead actor and actress in a comedy series.
The prize for best feature-length documentary went to “Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy” from filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers from the Kainai First Nation.
Tailfeathers was also recognized for performing talents as best lead actress in “Night Raiders,” adding a sixth award to the Indigenous thriller’s collection.
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Did you see this?
OTTAWA — The federal government has announced $100 million in additional humanitarian support to respond to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Saturday during a social media fundraiser.
“Whether it’s food, water, shelter, or medical aid — we will continue to have your backs and provide the assistance you need at this time,” Trudeau said in a statement. “We are standing up for Ukraine.”
With Saturday’s announcement, Canada has provided $245 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Of that, $145 million has been allocated to United Nations organizations, the Red Cross Movement, and to non-governmental organizations.
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser told reporters that Canada has already approved more than 30,000 applications under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel program.
Repeating an announcement made in March, Fraser said Canada is exempting more Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion from providing biometrics before coming to Canada.
He said Canada won’t require biometrics from people under the age of 18, over the age of 60, and those with previous Canadian visas that have no immigration issues.
As well, Ukrainians arriving in Canada will be eligible for two weeks of temporary hotel accommodation and up to six weeks of income support.
Fraser said the income support will be $500 per week. He said many of the people arriving have family or other connections in Canada, so it’s unclear how many will need the temporary accommodations.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Apr. 11, 2022
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.
