Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Iceland to meet with Nordic leaders, with the annual meetings likely to be overshadowed by Russia’s internal chaos and the war in Ukraine.
The prime minister’s office had said prior to the trip that Trudeau would look to discuss major issues like the environment and clean energy, as well as security.
But that last issue is likely to be front and centre given the recent rebellion in Russia by the mercenary Wagner Group, which was only resolved with a deal involving the exile of leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
After landing in Iceland, Trudeau spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussing the latest developments in Russia.
Trudeau will meet over the course of two days with the leaders of major Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden — in his role as a guest at an annual meeting of leaders. Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Åland Islands are also represented.
The meetings come two weeks before a NATO summit in Lithuania, a particularly important moment given the war in Ukraine and the recent expansion of NATO to include Finland and, pending support from Turkey and Hungary, Sweden.
Trudeau to meet with Nordic leaders in annual summit, Wagner rebellion on the agenda
Rosemary Barton Live speaks with Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir ahead of the annual Nordic leaders’ meeting taking place in Iceland. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was invited and landed Sunday morning.
On Sunday, the PMO said Trudeau would look to advance Canadian interests around supporting multilateralism, human rights and democratic strength.
In an interview with Rosemary Barton Liveon Sunday, Icelandic Prime Minister� Katrín Jakobsdóttir said Canada had been invited because of its extensive common interests with Nordic countries, particularly when it comes to the Arctic and Ukraine.
Iceland is the only NATO country without a military, though it does have a coast guard. Jakobsdóttir said the invasion of Ukraine had prompted increased investment in infrastructure and things like cybersecurity, but she pushed back against the idea of creating an armed force.
“We try to do our bit differently … We do this not just through political stands and humanitarian stands but also through strengthening our civilian defence,” she told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.
Iceland shutting down embassy in Moscow
Trudeau may also be asked during the summit why Canada has yet to take major steps to reduce Russia’s diplomatic presence in Canada, or Canada’s own footprint in Moscow. Iceland recently announced it would shut down its embassy in Moscow, and Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats accused of espionage earlier this year.
“I suppose the big question for Canada is if Iceland can do it, why are we really sitting on our hands in terms of taking a stronger line against Russia on the diplomatic representation side?” Wesley Wark, senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said in an interview with CBC.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is greeted by Hlynur Gudjonsson, ambassador of Iceland to Canada, and Jeannette Menzies, ambassador of Canada to Iceland, as he arrives in Keflavik, Iceland, on Sunday. Trudeau is in Iceland to attend the Nordic prime ministers’ meeting. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Speaking to Barton, Jakobsdóttir declined to push for other countries to make a similar decision to shut down embassies.
“Obviously circumstances can be different in different countries; this was our decision. I think other countries need to make their own decisions in this,” she said.
Nordic countries also have to grapple with their relationship with Russia on another major issue: the Arctic. Russia has been frozen out of the Arctic Council since its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Roland Paris, a former senior adviser to Trudeau and director of the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, told The Canadian Press that co-operation with Russia is still a major question mark.
“The Arctic has become a strategically more important part of the world as the ice melts,” he said.
“Each of these northern countries has a very clear interest in ensuring the security and sovereignty of their territory.”
Paris said Trudeau may be looking to champion Canada’s investments in the Arctic and in continental defence — through billions in dollars worth of upgrades to NORAD.
“The fact is we are far behind where we need to be in order to secure the Arctic in a world where it will increasingly be an area of geopolitical competition,” he said.
Lack of co-operation there has meant decreased monitoring of the effects of climate change, for instance, Observatory for Arctic Policy and Security director Mathieu Landriault told The Canadian Press.
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. – Police in New Glasgow, N.S., say a 44-year-old woman faces fraud charges after funds went missing from the Pictou East Progressive Conservative Association.
New Glasgow Regional Police began the investigation on Oct. 7, after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reported that an undisclosed amount of money had gone missing from his riding association’s account.
Police allege that a volunteer who was acting as treasurer had withdrawn funds from the association’s account between 2016 and 2024.
The force says it arrested Tara Amanda Cohoon at her Pictou County, N.S., residence on Oct. 11.
They say investigators seized mobile electronic devices, bank records and cash during a search of the home.
Cohoon has since been released and is to appear in Pictou provincial court on Dec. 2 to face charges of forgery, uttering a forged document, theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.
Police say their investigation remains ongoing.
Houston revealed the investigation to reporters on Oct. 9, saying he felt an “incredible level of betrayal” over the matter.
The premier also said a volunteer he had known for many years had been dismissed from the association and the party.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
PICTOU, N.S. – A Nova Scotia excavation company has been fined $80,000 after a worker died when scaffolding collapsed on one of its job sites.
In a decision released Wednesday, a Nova Scotia provincial court judge in Pictou, N.S., found the failure by Blaine MacLane Excavation Ltd. to ensure scaffolding was properly installed led to the 2020 death of Jeff MacDonald, a self-employed electrician.
The sentence was delivered after the excavation company was earlier found guilty of an infraction under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Judge Bryna Hatt said in her decision she found the company “failed in its duty” to ensure that pins essential to the scaffolding’s stability were present at the work site.
Her decision said MacDonald was near the top of the structure when it collapsed on Dec. 9, 2020, though the exact height is unknown.
The judge said that though the excavation company did not own the scaffolding present on its job site, there was no evidence the company took steps to prevent injury, which is required under legislation.
MacDonald’s widow testified during the trial that she found her husband’s body at the job site after he didn’t pick up their children as planned and she couldn’t get in touch with him over the phone.
Julie MacDonald described in her testimony how she knew her husband had died upon finding him due to her nursing training, and that she waited alone in the dark for emergency responders to arrive after calling for help.
“My words cannot express how tragic this accident was for her, the children, and their extended family,” Hatt wrote in the sentencing decision.
“No financial penalty will undo the damage and harm that has been done, or adequately represent the loss of Mr. MacDonald to his family, friends, and our community.”
In addition to the $80,000 fine, the New Glasgow-based company must also pay a victim-fine surcharge of $12,000 and provide $8,000 worth of community service to non-profits in Pictou County.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland on the weekend.
Eugene Earl Spoon, a guest at the hotel, was visiting Newfoundland from Kansas. His remains were found Wednesday morning during a search of the debris left behind after the fire tore through the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake, N.L., on Saturday, the RCMP said in a news release.
“RCMP (Newfoundland and Labrador) extends condolences to the family and friends of the missing man,” the news release said.
Spoon was last seen Friday evening in the community of about 4,800 people in western Newfoundland. The fire broke out early Saturday morning, the day Spoon was reported missing.
Several crews from the area fought the flames for about 16 hours before the final hot spot was put out, and police said Wednesday that investigators are still going through the debris.
Meanwhile, the provincial Progressive Conservative Opposition reiterated its call for a wider review of what happened.
“Serious questions have been raised about the fire, and the people deserve answers,” Tony Wakeham, the party’s leader, said in a news release Wednesday. “A thorough investigation must be conducted to determine the cause and prevent such tragedies in the future.”
The party has said it spoke to people who escaped the burning hotel, and they said alarm and sprinkler systems did not seem to have been activated during the fire. However, Stephen Rowsell, the Deer Lake fire chief, has said there were alarms going off when crews first arrived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
