OTTAWA —
The federal government says it has tightened rules for Russian aircraft after a commercial airliner was able to circumvent a ban on entering Canadian airspace late last month by falsely claiming to be a humanitarian flight.
Aeroflot Flight 111 was allowed to traverse Canadian airspace en route from Miami to Moscow on Feb. 27 despite Ottawa having banned all Russian aircraft earlier that day in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Officials have previously said Aeroflot 111 was allowed into Canadian airspace because it had registered as a humanitarian flight, a designation that Transport Canada’s head of civil aviation suggested on Monday was deliberately falsified.
While the department is continuing to investigate, Nicholas Robinson told the House of Commons transport committee that officials believed Aeroflot used the humanitarian designation to “circumvent” Canada’s flight ban.
“Humanitarian flights are for emergency purposes,” Robinson said.
“And in this instance, we don’t see that. This action by Aeroflot is one that we’re continuing to investigate and have a great deal of disappointment in.”
The decision to let Aeroflot 111 into Canadian airspace because of its humanitarian designation appears to have been the result of confusion between the Liberal government and Nav Canada, which oversees air-traffic control across the country.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told committee members that the government’s decision to close Canadian airspace to Russian flights did not include any exemptions for humanitarian flights.
“So that’s why there’s an ongoing investigation about what happened and how it happened,” Alghabra said. “I’ve had conversations with Nav Canada about this.”
But Nav Canada vice-president Ben Girard testified that officials followed the organization’s existing regulations of allowing all humanitarian flights into Canadian airspace, which he said was confirmed in an investigation.
“We were found that we did everything in compliance with published regulations and procedures, and the authority that we had at the time,” he said.
It was only later, Girard said, that the ban was “clarified” to include humanitarian flights from Russia.
“The first (notice) did not have any indication of how to proceed with humanitarian flights,” he said in French. “But since that time, as you say, the (notice) has been clarified.”
Girard also revealed that Nav Canada has no actual power to stop Russian flights from entering Canadian airspace. Rather, violations are reported to Transport Canada, which works with police and the military to respond.
Committee members also heard that about 140 Russian flights were traversing Canadian airspace each week before the government’s ban, with 55 flights rerouted around Canada between Feb. 28 and March 7.
About 75 vessels have also been affected by the closure of Canadian waters to Russian-owned and Russian-flagged ships.
Meanwhile, Alghabra acknowledged that Air Canada and other carriers are dealing with higher costs and longer routes to Asian destinations such as India and South Korea as a result of Russia’s retaliatory closure of its own airspace to Canadian aircraft.
“They’ve had to reroute many or all of their flights that typically would fly over Russia,” he said. “So, for example, direct flights to India now are going through Europe, namely Ireland. And that is adding a little bit extra time and extra cost.”
But he suggested airlines and travellers are overwhelmingly supportive of Canada’s ban on Russian aircraft as part of its effort to punish Moscow over its decision to invade Ukraine.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2022.
Tim Houston, who is seeking a second term as Nova Scotia premier, said he had no plans to invite Poilievre to join him on the campaign ahead of the Nov. 26 provincial election. He explained the provincial Progressive Conservatives have no formal ties with the Tories in Ottawa — and he made a point of saying he is not a member of the federal party. Experts say it also is because the latest polls suggest Atlantic Canadians have not warmed to Poilievre. (Nov. 5, 2024)
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — It has been a rough few days for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. First, his 19th-ranked Tigers lost to Louisville on Saturday night, then he was told he couldn’t vote Tuesday at his polling place.
Swinney, whose given name is William, explained that the voting system had locked him out, saying a “William Swinney” had already voted last week. Swinney said it was his oldest son, Will, and not him.
“They done voted me out of the state,” Swinney said. “We’re 6-2 and 5-1 (in the Atlantic Coast Conference), man. They done shipped me off.”
Dabo Swinney had to complete a paper ballot and was told there will be a hearing on Friday to resolve the issue.
“I was trying to do my best and be a good citizen and go vote,” he said. “Sometimes doing your best ain’t good enough. You have to keep going though, keep figuring it out.”
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EDMONTON – The judge leading a fatality inquiry into the knockout death of a boxer is recommending changes to how the sport is regulated and how head injuries are monitored.
Timothy Hague, who was 34, competed in a boxing match licensed by the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission in June 2017 when his opponent, Adam Braidwood, knocked him unconscious.
Hague came to and was able to walk to the dressing room, where he vomited, and was then taken to hospital where he underwent surgery for a large brain bleed.
His condition did not improve, care was withdrawn and Hague died two days after the fight.
Justice Carrie Sharpe with Alberta’s provincial court made 14 recommendations, including that combat sports be overseen by a provincial authority instead of a patchwork of municipal bodies and that there be concussion spotters at every event.
She also recommends that if a fighter receives a blow to the head in a technical knockout, they must provide a brain scan to prove they are fit to compete again.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
