Families who lost loved ones in the destruction of Flight PS752 held protests today in cities across Canada, the U.S., Germany and the United Kingdom to demand justice.
Iran’s military shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight shortly after takeoff in Tehran on Jan. 8, killing all 176 passengers onboard — including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
Canadian officials said Iran stalled for months before sending the plane’s “black box” data recorders to France for downloading and analysis.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization released a preliminary report in August and said that only 19 seconds of the cockpit conversation was recorded after the first missile strike — but did not reveal details of what that recording captured. A second missile hit the plane 25 seconds later, according to Iran.
Several Canadian cabinet ministers said the report provided only “limited and selected information” and demanded that Iran explain why the airspace over Tehran was kept open on a night of heavy military activity, and why the missiles were launched in the first place.
More than two dozen family members and friends spread out on Parliament Hill in Ottawa this afternoon wearing matching black masks with the word “justice” on them. It was one of six rallies that took place in Canada today; other rallies went forward in Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Calgary.
Hamed Esmaeilion took to the microphone in Ottawa on behalf of the association representing victims’ families in Canada with a list of demands. He lost his wife Parisa Eghbalian and her nine-year old daughter, Reera, in the crash.
“The families demand there must be a fair, comprehensive investigation without any interference by the Iranian government,” said Esmaeilion.
Hamed Esmaeilion’s wife Parisa Eghbalian and her nine-year old daughter Reera Esmaeilion died on Flight PS752. He spoke at the protest on Parliament Hill on behalf of an association representing victims’ families in Canada on Oct. 5, 2020. (Ashley Burke/CBC News)
Canada creating a forensics team
Families are also calling on countries that lost citizens in the tragedy to publicly release any information they’ve obtained about what happened.
Canada announced last Friday it’s creating its own forensics and assessment team to “collect, organize and analyze all available information, evidence and intelligence” about Flight PS752. The former deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Jeff Yaworski, is heading the team, which also includes representatives of several government departments and agencies.
Ralph Goodale, the federal government’s special adviser on Flight PS752, recommended the team be assembled to help the federal government address a “complex international process that’s unfortunately very difficult and very challenging.”
“The evidence, the witnesses, the site are all within the control of Iran,”Goodale said as he attended the protest on Parliament Hill today. “Therefore, the other countries that were so tragically affected like Canada and others … to gain access to that information requires a complex pursuit of international procedures.”
The forensics team will “double-check, triple-check and critique” what Canada is hearing from other authorities including Iran, he said.
“To make sure every question is properly asked, and every answer is properly given,” said Goodale. “Where there’s a gap or a defect or deficiency in our view, this forensics team will be able to point out exactly what those defects are.”
Champagne accuses ICAO of not doing enough
Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne said Canada will not be “intimated ever by an Iranian regime who would not want us to get to the bottom of this.”
The families are also calling on the countries that cooperate through the International Civil Aviation Organization to adopt a resolution condemning the destruction of Flight PS752. In 2014, the 36-state council condemned the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine.
Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Transport Minister Marc Garneau attended the rally. (Ashley Burke/CBC National News)
Champagne accused ICAO of not doing enough today.
“I have said many times I want ICAO to do more to uphold the air safety international convention,” he said. “They should take ownership of what needs to be done next to bring justice, but also support the Safer Sky Initiative Canada’s been launching.”
ICAO said it has “urged the Islamic Republic of Iran to conduct the accident investigation in a timely manner” and in compliance with international conventions. ICAO spokesperson Anthony Philbin also said its council did adopt new standards and recommended practices on conflict zone risk assessments and responsibilities.
Ukraine meeting with Iran this month
Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada, said his country is scheduled to speak with Iran over Oct. 18-21 to raise concerns on behalf of five countries that lost citizens. The talks are expected to cover a broad range of issues, including compensation for victims’ families.
“We are not satisfied with the amount of information we get from Iran,” Shevchenko told CBC News at the Ottawa protest.
Masoud Pourjam’s brother Mansour died in the crash and he is still haunted by what happened. He said he still wakes up around 3 a.m. most mornings — the same hour he learned his brother had died.
“It’s still a nightmare for me,” said Pourjam. “As days go by, I still have no closure for that.”
Mehrdokht Hadi drove from Toronto to attend the rally in Ottawa after losing two of her friends on the flight.
“Everybody’s lives have been touched,” she said. “Our lives are not the same after what happened that night.”
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.
