Politics

Poilievre promises revamped natural-disaster response in next election platform

Published

1 year ago

July 14, 2023

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party’s platform in the next election will include a new approach to dealing with natural disasters.

At a news conference in Vancouver, the Leader of the Official Opposition said the federal government needs a better, co-ordinated approach to responding to forest fires, floods and other natural disasters.

“We have resources scattered across the country that need to be co-ordinated and deployed more quickly so that places that have surplus resources can quickly make them available to places that are in desperate need to respond to a natural disaster,” he said.

“Part of our election platform will be to counter these natural disasters with better, centrally co-ordinated responses in co-operation with local and provincial authorities.”

Mr. Poilievre’s remarks were prompted by news of the death of a B.C. firefighter, a member of the B.C. Wildfire Service, who died while battling a fire in southeastern B.C., just outside Revelstoke. Story here.

The Conservative Leader’s comments come as British Columbia has put out a call for national and international help to fight about 350 wildfires that are also blanketing communities in thick smoke.

Canada is in the midst of its worst wildfire season on record, with nearly 95,000 square kilometres burned, almost ten times the average amount burned by this point in the summer over the last 25 years.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said earlier this summer that Canada has sufficient resources to deal with this season’s wildfires, and is open to feedback on that response.

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Politics

New Brunswick election candidate profile: Green Party Leader David Coon

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

FREDERICTON – A look at David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick:

Born: Oct. 28, 1956.

Early years: Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, he spent about three decades as an environmental advocate.

Education: A trained biologist, he graduated with a bachelor of science from McGill University in Montreal in 1978.

Family: He and his wife Janice Harvey have two daughters, Caroline and Laura.

Before politics: Worked as an environmental educator, organizer, activist and manager for 33 years, mainly with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

Politics: Joined the Green Party of Canada in May 2006 and was elected leader of the New Brunswick Green Party in September 2012. Won a seat in the legislature in 2014 — a first for the province’s Greens.

Quote: “It was despicable. He’s clearly decided to take the low road in this campaign, to adopt some Trump-lite fearmongering.” — David Coon on Sept. 12, 2024, reacting to Blaine Higgs’s claim that the federal government had decided to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Politics

New Brunswick election profile: Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

FREDERICTON – A look at Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.

Born: March 1, 1954.

Early years: The son of a customs officer, he grew up in Forest City, N.B., near the Canada-U.S. border.

Education: Graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.

Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, Marcia, and settled in Saint John, N.B., where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.

Before politics: Hired by Irving Oil a week after he graduated from university and was eventually promoted to director of distribution. Worked for 33 years at the company.

Politics: Elected to the legislature in 2010 and later served as finance minister under former Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward. Elected Tory leader in 2016 and has been premier since 2018.

Quote: “I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real. But we need to figure out how to manage it.” — Blaine Higgs in a year-end interview in 2023, explaining changes to school policies about gender identity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Politics

Climate, food security, Arctic among Canada’s intelligence priorities, Ottawa says

Published

5 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – The pressing issues of climate change and food security join more familiar ones like violent extremism and espionage on a new list of Canada’s intelligence priorities.

The federal government says publishing the list of priorities for the first time is an important step toward greater transparency.

The government revises the priorities every two years, based on recommendations from the national security adviser and the intelligence community.

Once the priorities are reviewed and approved by the federal cabinet, key ministers issue directives to federal agencies that produce intelligence.

Among the priorities are the security of global health, food, water and biodiversity, as well as the issues of climate change and global sustainability.

The new list also includes foreign interference and malign influence, cyberthreats, infrastructure security, Arctic sovereignty, border integrity and transnational organized crime.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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