Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne spoke to his Iranian counterpart late last night, and pushed for immediate access to the site of the fatal Ukraine International Airlines plane crash that left at least 63 Canadians dead.
The Kyiv-bound flight crashed Wednesday morning, minutes afer taking off from the Tehran airport, killing all 176 people aboard. Most of those travellers were connecting to Canada, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including dozens of Canadian citizens. Those victims included entire families, academics, students and newlyweds.
According to the minister’s office, Champagne stressed to Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif “the need for Canadian officials to be quickly granted access to Iran to provide consular services, help with identification of the deceased and take part in the investigation of the crash.
“Minister Champagne also condemned Iranian strikes targeting bases in Iraq where coalition forces, including Canadians, are stationed,” notes the statement.
The rare phone call comes as reports out of Iran point to a fire on the Boeing aircraft immediately before it crashed southwest of Tehran. The initial findings by Iran’s civil aviation organization says witnesses both on the ground and in a passing aircraft flying at a higher altitude said the jet was on fire while still in the air.
However, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says his government is considering several possible causes of the crash, which happened soon after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers.
His security council secretary, Oleksiy Danylov, said the possible causes Ukraine is looking at include a missile attack, a collision, an engine explosion or terrorism, adding Ukrainian investigators want to search the crash site for possible Russian missile debris.
Canadian officials said they wouldn’t comment about any potential causes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it is too early to speculate on the cause behind the crash of the Ukraine Airlines flight that killed at least 63 Canadians. 0:35
During a news conference on Wednesday, Trudeau was asked if he could categorically say the crash was not shot down.
“I cannot. It is too early to speculate,” he said.
Difficulty repatriating Canadian air crash victims
The work of probing the cause of the crash and repatriating the bodies of the Canadians will likely be complicated by the fact Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran years ago.
Under then prime minister Stephen Harper, the federal government cut ties with Iran in 2012. The Liberals pledged to re-engage with the country in 2015 but, to date, bilateral relations have not been renewed.
Thomas Juneau, a University of Ottawa expert on the Middle East, said another hampering factor is Iran does not recognize dual citizenship.
The government has already said many of the dead may have been Canadian-Iranians travelling on Iranian passports. In the view of the Iranian government, those individuals could be seen as Iranians, said Juneau.
Canadian consular cases are now handled by Turkey, while Italy represents Canada diplomatically in Tehran.
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.
