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John Turner remembered as principled politician, loyal friend, great Canadian – CBC.ca

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Former prime minister John Turner was honoured as a principled politician, a loyal friend and a passionate protector of the environment today as family, friends and dignitaries gathered in Toronto for a scaled-back state funeral.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told mourners Turner was a “great Canadian” who fought tirelessly to protect the environment and to build a more just Canada.

He recalled how Turner said that democracy doesn’t happen by accident.

“He knew we could rise to any challenge, and meet any moment, if we believed in one another and stood together,” he said.

“Today, more than ever, we need people like John. His legacy calls on us to not wait for change to happen, but to stand up and build a better country for everyone.”

Turner died Sept. 19 at age 91.

Due to the pandemic, public health protocols — including mask wearing, sanitizing and physical distancing — were followed at the church service at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica.

There will be no public lying-in-state for public viewing and the church service was by invitation only.

Former prime minister John Turner stands in front of a portrait of himself on Parliament Hill in September 2004. He was honoured as a principled politician and a great Canadian at a state funeral today. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

Turner’s friend Richard Alway told the gathering the former prime minister had a pragmatic and conciliatory style that served him well as he dealt with the provinces on constitutional matters, advanced major justice reforms and sold official bilingualism to western premiers.

Alway said Turner took deep pride in his efforts to introduce legal aid to make the justice system more accessible, and in his work on changes to the judicial appointment process to ensure selections are made on merit rather than political ties.

“One looks to our south today to see the value of that reform,” he said.

Turner had ‘a gift for friendship’

Alway recalled how Turner’s private life was focused on family, friends and faith.

“He had a positive personality and a gift for friendship. And his friends are legion,” he said.

Turner was also remembered for his accomplishments as a champion sprinter and swimmer and for his efforts to protect the environment.

“I think John Turner’s wilderness identity contributed much to the granite resolve and clarity of purpose that made him one of the great leaders of this nation,” said friend Michael de Pencier in a tribute.

Daughter Elizabeth Turner said her father loved nature and the outdoors, and when people complained about the weather he would ask: “Are you a Canadian or a tourist?”

‘Grace and dignity’

She said he was kind to everyone he met, from barbers to restaurant waiters.

“John Turner believe in taking the high road. He set an incredible example, whether struggling with back issues in the 1984 and 1988 campaigns, addressing negative commentary from the press, or dealing with spiteful treatment from his own party members,” she said.

“He handled himself with great grace and dignity.”

WATCH / John Turner’s daughter reflects on the former PM’s life

Elizabeth Turner addressed the state funeral for her father, former prime minister John Turner, at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto. 2:13

Before the ceremony, former governor general David Johnston called Turner a man of “integrity, civility and practicality.”

Former Progressive Conservative prime minister and cabinet minister Kim Campbell said she didn’t always agree with Turner but she always respected him. Calling him a remarkable Canadian, she said he had a decency about him that was widely admired.

Former Liberal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale called Turner a “wonderful friend” who was always helpful. He recalled how Turner kept track of his friends’ birthdays and would call them with best wishes on their special day.

“That loyalty is one thing a lot of people will remember John for,” he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledges Geills Turner, wife of John Turner, during the state funeral service for the former Canadian prime minister at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica in Toronto on Tuesday, October 6, 2020. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

CBC is broadcasting special live coverage of the ceremony, hosted by Rosemary Barton, which began at 10 a.m. ET on CBC News Network, CBC.ca, CBC Gem, the CBC News app YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

St. Michael’s can hold up to 1,600 people. Because of pandemic restrictions, however, only about 160 guests, chosen by the former prime minister’s family, have been invited to the funeral. The burial will take place in private and no reception will follow the church service.

John McDermott sang Amazing Grace as guests entered with staggered arrivals, but the service did not include congregational singing due to COVID-19 protocols.

The family has asked that, instead of flowers, donations be made to the World Wildlife Fund Canada and the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation.

Past state funerals have included public processions in the streets of Ottawa and periods of lying in state — usually in Parliament — to give Canadians an opportunity to pay their final respects.

State funerals are rare. Only 31 state funerals have been held in Canada since Confederation in 1867, including 12 for prime ministers, seven for governors general and eight for cabinet ministers.

The last state funeral for a Canadian prime minister was for Pierre Trudeau in 2000.

Three other members of Parliament have been given state funerals: the assassinated Thomas D’Arcy McGee in 1868 and, more recently, NDP leader Jack Layton and former finance minister Jim Flaherty.

The government announced the national flags on the Peace Tower and all federal buildings and establishments in Canada will fly at half-mast to honour Turner’s memory. Flags will be at half-mast until the sunset on the day of his funeral.

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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