Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Europe next week to meet with other world leaders about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The trip begins Sunday and will include stops in the United Kingdom, Latvia, Germany and Poland.
At a news conference Friday in Mississauga, Mr. Trudeau said the meetings will be about how to further support Ukraine.
He also said leaders will be discussing “how to stand up even more for democracy, to stand against Russia aggression and to work very hard on combatting the kind of disinformation and misinformation that we know is a facet of day-to-day life these days, but a particularly strong facet of this conflict, this war, in Ukraine.”
While Mr. Trudeau took questions on a range of topics Friday, he was in Mississauga to announce federal funding for local transit projects, including the purchase of new hybrid buses, support for a new rapid transit bus corridor along Dundas Street and upgrades to Mississauga’s existing bus corridors.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
UKRAINE
COD PROCESSOR SAYS `NO THANKS’ TO RUSSIAN PRODUCT – Newfoundland’s largest cod processing plant halts Russian imports, putting workers out of a job. “It’s a significant part of our business,” says Alberto Wareham, president and chief executive officer Icewater Seafoods in Arnold’s Cove. “But it’s just the right thing to do.” Story here.
CALL FOR HELP FOR MOTHER AND CHILD STRANDED IN TURKEY – A Ukrainian-Canadian man living in Ottawa says his cancer-stricken sister and her son are stranded in Turkey and have been denied immediate help by Canada, Turkey and the UN refugee agency. Story here.
NWT MLA WORRIED ABOUT RUSSIA AND ARCTIC – As Russia intensifies its assault on Ukraine, the MLA for one of the Northwest Territories’ northernmost ridings wants to know what’s being done to safeguard Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic. Story here from CBC.
RUSSIAN PLANE GROUNDED AT PEARSON – An Antonov cargo plane that carried COVID-19 test kits to Canada has been grounded at Toronto’s Pearson Airport as part of the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Story here.
OTHER HEADLINES
ELLIOTT DEPARTING PROVINCIAL POLITICS – Ontario Deputy Premier Christine Elliott will not seek re-election in June but will continue in her job as Minister of Health until then. Ms. Elliott, who ran three times for the leadership of the provincial Progressive Conservatives, says she made the decision to not run in the coming provincial election after “considerable reflection and discussion” with her family. Story here.
TORY LEADERSHIP RULES BOLSTER PROSPECT OF CHAREST RUN: SPOKESMAN – Rules adopted for the federal Conservative leadership race to replace Erin O’Toole are good news for prospective candidate Jean Charest, says a spokesperson for the former Quebec premier. Story here.
AITCHISON CONSIDERS BID FOR TORY LEADERSHIP – Scott Aitchison, a two-time MP from the Ontario riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka, is putting together a team for a Conservative leadership bid and is expected to announce his candidacy next week, according to Global News. The story is here.
POILIEVRE CRITICIZES CHAREST – Conservative leadership contender Pierre Poilievre thinks that former Quebec premier Jean Charest’s “record” will speak for itself when it comes to raising taxes. Mr. Poilievre told The National Post Conservatives have to ask themselves if they will be better served by Mr. Charest, who he says has a history of raising taxes on Canadians and Quebecers, or someone like him who served in Stephen Harper’s government. Story here.
WE’D ALLOW KKK IF IT WAS LEGAL: U.S. WEBSITE THAT HELPED CONVOY FUNDRAISING – A co-founder of a U.S. Christian website that helped facilitate Canadian convoy fundraising efforts told a parliamentary committee that his website would allow the Ku Klux Klan to raise money through the platform, if the activity was legal. Story here.
DEFUND MOVEMENT CONSIDERS PROTEST POLICING – The defund movement – which seeks to reduce police budgets and reallocate funding to things like mental health services and affordable housing – is at a crossroads, and organizers have watched what has unfolded in Ottawa, Windsor and Coutts, Alta. with a mix of optimism, cynicism and resignation. Story here.
MANTIOBA PREMIER SAYS SHE WORKED HARD AS HEALTH MINISTER – Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson denies any suggestion she took weekends off during her stint as health minister, after being forced by the Opposition, which secured access to her work calendar, to defend her commitment to the job. Story here from CBC.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, March 4, accessible here. After Friday, the House is not sitting again until March 21.
GREEN RECONNECTION TOUR – The Green Party interim leader is to embark on a Canada-wide national Reconnection Tour that begins in Southwestern Ontario next week, March 9 in Windsor, Ontario. Amita Kuttner said in a statement that the tour is an opportunity for Greens across Canada to get reconnected with their party, values and each other.” In the spring, Dr. Kuttner will go on to communities in Quebec, the Maritimes, the Prairies, B.C. and the North. The tour comes after the previous leader Annamie Paul quit last year, calling her run as leader a challenging ordeal. In the 2021 election, Ms. Paul failed to win a seat or increase the party’s seat count.
THE DECIBEL – On Friday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, The Globe and Mail’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife explains the various levels of measures that the federal government has enacted to ratchet up the pressure on Russia’s economy since the invasion of Ukraine began and where things might go next.
Here’s an excerpt:
Menaka Raman-Wilms: As you said, a lot of Western countries have tried to punish Putin for this action by looking at economic sanctions, by essentially targeting money here. What has Canada specifically done when it comes to these economic sanctions and measures here?
Robert Fife : The most significant economic sanctions that have ever been placed on a major world power is what happened last Saturday. The fact that the Canadian government and the European Union and the United States have cut off Russia from the SWIFT banking message system, which basically banks communicate with each other about transactions through what is called the SWIFT messaging system, and that it has basically frozen the foreign reserve exchange of the central Bank of Russia. It is the most crippling economic sanction that has ever been imposed. And it is going to bring Russia to its knees, but it’s not going to bring it to its knees like overnight.
Private meetings. The Prime Minister, at a Mississauga Transit storage facility in West Mississauga, will make a transit announcement and hold a media availability. Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, Ontario’s Minister for Seniors and Accessibility Raymond Cho, and Mayor of Mississauga Bonnie Crombie will also be in attendance. The Prime Minister was also scheduled to meet with members of the Muslim community and members of the Ukrainian community.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how establishment Conservative Jean Charest, back from the past, is the insurgent in the party’s leadership race: “So, if you young folks go ask your parents about Mr. Charest, you might get a sense that he is a blast from politics past. He was once a young high flyer, a Progressive Conservative MP at 25, later leader of the rebuilding party, and then Quebec premier till his government suffered the bruises of nearly a decade in power. His political career seemed spent years ago. Yet on paper, Mr. Charest appears to offer many of the things that Conservatives have been saying for years that they desperately need – notably a brand that would make them electable in Ontario suburbs and parts of Quebec. Inside the Conservative Party, that is by no means enough. A lot of party members don’t really know him. He is a veteran, mainstream politician, but in this race, he is the insurgent.”
Andrew Coyne (The Globe and Mail)on how Russian President Vladimir Putin has driven Russia into a cul-de-sac filled with blood, with no obvious way out: “By invading Ukraine, Mr. Putin has driven his country into a cul-de-sac of blood and madness – one from which there would appear to be no way out. Three possible endgames have been suggested. None look promising. In the first, Ukraine agrees to be partitioned, or some such grubby compromise. It will not happen. In the second, NATO enters the war on Ukraine’s side. It does not dare. And in the third, Mr. Putin is toppled from power. This is by far the most desirable of the three. But it is hard to see how this could happen, so entrenched is his position, and there is very little anyone outside Russia can do to hasten its onset. Only in the fullness of time, I fear, after Russia’s condition has become so dire, its isolation so absolute, might those around him be desperate enough to risk it.”
Robyn Urback (The Globe and Mail)on how, in remaining to fight for his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set the tone for both domestic and international resistance:“How silly it seems now, sobered by the reality of war in Europe, that we once considered “bravery” in politics to be speaking out against a party leader, or breaking with caucus consensus. Bravery is protesting a military invasion of Ukraine seven years after opposition leader Boris Nemstov was assassinated near the Kremlin for doing exactly that. It is Alexey Navalny tweeting from jail – after being poisoned with a nerve agent and nearly dying – that Russian President Vladimir Putin is an “obviously insane czar” for sending “Russians to kill Ukrainians.” And it is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky staying to defend his country when there is a hit out on his life, and when other leaders in his position would have accepted a U.S. offer to evacuate.”
Michael Byers (Contributed to The Globe and Mail)on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal: “And while it does not fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in this instance, the UN General Assembly, unlike the Security Council, is not subject to Russia’s veto power. It could decide to establish a special international criminal tribunal to prosecute Mr. Putin and his generals for the crime of aggression.And because the General Assembly has 193 member states, any such decision would – if widely supported – have global legitimacy. Vladimir Putin, drunk on power and shielded by nuclear weapons, would laugh at such warnings. This is what war criminals always do – until the day when, like Slobodan Milosevic, they are bundled onto a plane and flown to The Hague.”
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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.
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.
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.
