TORONTO —
Now that Prince Harry has returned to Canada to begin his new “financially independent” life with Meghan and baby Archie, Prime Minister Trudeau still has no answer to the question: who will pay to keep them safe in the country?
A day after the Duke of Sussex touched down in Victoria, B.C. to reunite with Meghan and baby Archie, the prime minister was asked about the family’s security arrangement.
“I have not spoken to her Majesty directly, discussions continue to be ongoing and I have no updates at this moment,” he told reporters during a press conference in Winnipeg.
On Monday evening, the Duke of Sussex landed at Vancouver International Airport shortly after 7 p.m. local time following a whirlwind trip to the U.K. where he finalized his family’s plans to step back from their royal duties. He then caught a connecting WestJet flight to Victoria International Airport on Vancouver Island.
The prince could be seen smiling, sporting a blue toque and carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder as he exited the small WestJet plane and got into an SUV that was waiting on the tarmac.
Meghan and Archie have been reportedly staying at a secluded beachfront mansion on Vancouver Island while Prince Harry was in the U.K. for two weeks.
During his time in England, the prince attended several meetings with the Queen and other senior members of the Royal Family to come to an agreement about his family’s future.
On Saturday, Buckingham Palace announced the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer use their HRH (his/her royal highness titles) or receive public funds for royal duties. The palace also said Prince Harry and Meghan would repay the £2.4 million (C$4.1 million) of taxpayers’ money that was used to renovate Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Castle grounds, where they intend to live when they’re in the U.K.
The statement followed days of uncertainty regarding the couple’s standing in the monarchy after they unexpectedly announced they would be “stepping back” from their official obligations in order to chart a “progressive new role” in both North America and the U.K.
Prince Harry said he didn’t make the decision to step back from his duties “lightly” and that it was with “great sadness” that he would no longer be a working member of the Royal Family during a speech at a charity event in London on Sunday.
On Monday, the prince attended the U.K.-Africa Investment Summit in London before taking a brief meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The Duke of Sussex then boarded a flight to Canada at Heathrow Airport, skipping out on his brother Prince William’s first solo reception at Buckingham Palace.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Sussex was spotted on Monday walking through a park with her two dogs, and Archie strapped in a baby carrier, as two security officers strolled a few paces behind her.
On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Canada did not provide the security guards seen with Prince Harry and Meghan during their stay in the country so far.
“I can tell you, right now, we are not engaged in providing those security services,” he told reporters in Winnipeg.
Blair also said Canadian officials will have to reassess the couple’s security needs as their status as internationally protected persons is currently in flux.
“So there’s an assessment done by our officials who have a responsibility to maintain safety for people who may be vulnerable within our society,” he explained. “So that work is ongoing, but that has not yet been resolved.”
While the Duke and Duchess have cited intrusions from the British media as a primary reason for their move to Canada, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliam said he’s not so sure they will find the relief they’re looking for across the pond.
“They are so famous that their entire lives they’re going to have press intrusion. Indeed, it’s obsessive,” he told CTV’s Your morning on Tuesday. “The press are fascinated with their every move and particularly now. What will they do? How will they in fact become financially self-sufficient, which is what they want to do.”
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.
