SCHLOSS ELMAU, GERMANY — G7 leaders opened their summit Sunday with a discussion about shaping the global economy at a time when conflict and unrest are driving up prices and access to key goods around the world.
Trudeau arrived in Germany Sunday after spending four days at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.
He was greeted at the airport in Munich by a musical Germany welcome party, including former Liberal leader and Canadian Ambassador to Germany Stephan Dion.
From there he boarded a helicopter to take him to Schloss Elmau, a luxurious secluded mountaintop retreat in the Bavarian Alps to meet with his G7 counterparts.
The fallout of Russia’s invasion was at the top of Canada’s agenda at the Commonwealth meeting and is expected to dominate both the G7 discussions and the upcoming NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain on Wednesday.
G7 and other nations have closed ranks and issued sanctions against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February and have collectively spent billions to send aid and arms to the embattled country.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin has retaliated by reducing access to its natural gas supply in some European nations, including Germany, Europe’s largest economy.
“How we get there in the short term, how we build for the medium term, how we ensure that the long term is covered is exactly what we’re going to be talking about over the next couple of days. Not just with our fellow G7 leaders, but with leaders from around the world who will be joining us in Germany to tackle this very issue,” Trudeau said at a press conference in Kigali, Rwanda Saturday at the conclusion of the Commonwealth meeting.
India is not a G7 nation, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz invited the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take part in the talks.
India, which has evolved as a growing market for Russian oil, abstained from a March vote at the United Nations to condemn Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Modi, meanwhile, opted out of attending the Commonwealth Summit and instead met virtually with leaders from Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa.
Trudeau said he’s spoken to Scholz about the need to invest in infrastructure to help wean Europe off of Russian oil, adding Canada can be part of the solution.
The prime minister has not yet said how Canada could help, but it will be the subject of the first session of the talks.
The session will also focus on the impact of rising prices on low-income countries, meeting the financial needs of Ukraine, shielding supply chains from economic shocks and geopolitical threats, the prince minister’s office said.
The conflict in Ukraine has also curtailed supplies of Russian and Ukrainian grain to some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
Trudeau said famine will also be top of mind for the G7 leaders during their retreat in the Bavarian Alps.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to address the leaders over the course of the three-day summit.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2022.
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.
