Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne has announced the creation of an international working group of countries assembled to press the Iranian regime for a full and thorough investigation of the destruction of Flight PS752.
The group will be made up of representatives from countries whose citizens were passengers on the plane, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Ukraine, Canada and Afghanistan. Iran also had citizens on the plane but it will not be part of the working group.
“Canadians can be rest assured that our government will continue to do everything it can,” he said.
Champagne said that officials with the group’s member nations will talk and share information on a daily basis in an effort to confirm the cause of the crash.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday that multiple intelligence reports indicate that the Ukrainian passenger aircraft that crashed outside of Tehran on Wednesday, killing everyone on board, was shot down by an Iranian missile.
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne details the federal government’s plans for helping the families of the victims of Flight PS752. 1:15
The crash killed 176 people. Initial reports said that 63 of the passengers were Canadian citizens; Champagne said that number has since been revised to 57.
The minister also said that Prime Minister Trudeau has asked Clerk of the Privy Council Ian Shugart to set up an emergency task force of senior officials to ensure that loved ones and family members of the victims have the support they need.
The Liberal government also will be setting up a dedicated process to help families struggling with visa issues related to the crash, he said.
“Our priority at this time is providing support to the affected families. They need us and we are looking at all possible options to do this.”
Champagne said that the parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, Omar Alghabra, has been asked to work directly with families of the crash victims.
Rising tensions
The tragedy happened shortly after Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq housing U.S. and coalition troops — an act of direct retaliation for the Trump administration’s targeted killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani just days earlier.
Asked if he told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Canada was upset at not being warned in advance of the plan to kill the general, Champagne sidestepped the question, saying the U.S. is an important player in the region.
“I won’t get into the details of what I discussed specifically with the secretary. This is a national tragedy for Canada so we spent the bulk of our time speaking about the downing of the aircraft,” he said.
“The U.S. presence in Iraq is essential to be able to provide the security and stability that the Iraqi people have wanted.”
Rising tensions
Canada has about 500 troops in Iraq; some have been moved to Kuwait in recent weeks in response to the ongoing volatility on the ground. About half of those Canadians are with the NATO training mission, while the others — including up to 250 special forces members — are involved in the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition.
Trudeau confirmed that there were Canadian personnel present at one of the two bases targeted by the Iranians when the attack occurred.
Tensions in the region flared up on Dec. 27, when an Iranian-backed militia group killed an American contractor in Iraq.
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne updates the media on the efforts to participate in the investigation into Flight PS752. 0:30
Iran’s civil aviation authority said it’s following international rules and will allow other countries to participate in its investigation of the crash.
But the role Canada is being offered by Tehran amounts to the bare minimum required by the international legal convention on aviation accident investigations — and at this point does not include active participation in the probe of the Ukraine International Airlines flight.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) confirmed Thursday that Iranian authorities have invited it to the crash site and it is “making arrangements” to travel there and work with “other groups and organizations already on site.”
Canada’s designated expert also will be able to receive and review information released by Iran’s aviation officials, monitor the progress of the investigation, and receive a copy of the final investigation report.
Today, Global Affairs Canada told CBC News that it is seeking visas for two TSB investigators and another 10 visas for consular officials. So far, the two visas that Iran has issued are for consular officials.
Champagne was asked if he’s confident that Iran is approaching the investigation of the crash in good faith. “Time will tell,” he said.
“The world is watching. We’ve been clear with them we want to cooperate. Over the course of the next days … we’ll see if they’re genuine in their interest in having a full and transparent investigation. Transparency is what the world, the international community, is looking for now.”
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.
