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Prime Minister announces byelection in Mississauga-Lakeshore riding on Dec. 12

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set the date for a federal byelection in the Greater Toronto Area.

Voters in Mississauga-Lakeshore will head to the polls to pick their new member of Parliament on Dec. 12.

The seat became empty earlier this year when former Liberal MP Sven Spengemann announced he was resigning to take a job at the United Nations.

The governing Liberals hope he’s replaced by former Ontario Liberal finance minister Charles Sousa, who had represented a provincial riding in Mississauga for more than a decade.

The party announced Sousa as their candidate on Saturday, the day before Trudeau set the byelection date.

The riding has largely been represented by federal Liberals, save for when the Conservatives held it under former prime minister Stephen Harper’s majority government from 2011 to 2015.

Ron Chhinzer, a Peel Regional Police officer, is running for the Tories in the byelection, which will be the first held since Pierre Poilievre became party leader.

Julia Kole, a former provincial constituency assistant in the area, is the New Democrats’ candidate, while Mary Kidnew, a lifelong Mississauga resident, will represent the federal Greens.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2022.

 

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Trudeau says he’s ‘still waiting’ for Quebec premier’s plan on temporary immigration

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MONTREAL – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Quebec’s premier of saying things that he “knows aren’t true” about immigration as the two leaders continue to clash over the issue.

His response comes after Premier François Legault last week asked the Bloc Québécois to support a Conservative non-confidence motion to topple the government on the grounds the federal Liberals haven’t acted strongly enough to reduce temporary immigration in Quebec.

“It is a shame to hear the (premier) of Quebec sharing things and declarations on immigration that he simply knows are not true,” Trudeau said in Montreal on Thursday alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

“We have worked together constructively, or we have certainly worked with members of his team constructively, over the past many, many months to take action in response to the challenges around immigration in Quebec.”

Despite the Bloc’s refusal to vote against the Liberals in the confidence vote, Legault has suggested immigration should be a ballot-box question in the next federal election. He has asked all the parties to commit to cutting the number of non-permanent residents to his province by half.

Trudeau said Thursday that his government has worked to limit the number of newcomers by closing a popular pathway used by asylum seekers, by re-imposing a visa requirement on visiting Mexican nationals, and by moving to limit the numbers of new temporary workers and international students arriving in the country.

Trudeau said that while his government has acted, his provincial counterpart has yet to present a plan for how to reduce the temporary workers that fall under provincial jurisdiction.

“I asked Mr. Legault to give us a plan, his plan, particularly on temporary foreign workers here in Quebec,” Trudeau said. “And many, many months later, we are still waiting to see what his plan is for his responsibilities around temporary immigration here in Quebec.”

Legault has previously said that in the last two years, the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec has doubled to 600,000 from 300,000, which he says is putting pressure on housing, schools and public services.

The Quebec premier last month announced a six-month freeze on certain low-wage temporary foreign worker applications in Montreal, but admitted that the move would only reduce the numbers by about 3,500.

He has asked Trudeau to reduce the number of non-permanent residents that are under federal jurisdiction from about 420,000 to 210,000, and has also repeatedly called for Ottawa to hand over more powers to Quebec over immigration.

Legault was also in Montreal Thursday for his own meeting with Macron, but did not answer reporters’ questions on the way out.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

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CSE should make changes or stop using polygraphs: watchdog report

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OTTAWA – A new watchdog report says there are fundamental issues with the use of polygraphs for security screening by Canada’s cyberspy agency.

It calls for the Communications Security Establishment and the federal government to urgently address them or stop using the tests for security screening altogether.

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency says it’s the first time a Canadian independent review body has done such a detailed assessment on this type of program.

The report says CSE’s use of polygraph tests, and the Treasury Board’s authorization of the tests for security screening, raises “serious concerns” under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

It says CSE policies didn’t adequately address privacy issues, and outlines concerns involving the collection and use of personal and medical information.

It also cites “repetitive and aggressive” questioning by examiners, often resulting from an assessment that was initially negative.

Such questioning “risks causing some subjects to inadvertently fabricate information in an effort to explain an unfavourable polygraph assessment,” it outlines.

The tests measure physiological responses like heart rate and blood pressure to detect deception.

But the review body says the research it looked at “simply does not support the existence of a scientific consensus supporting the reliability or validity of the polygraph as a means to detect deception.”

The report says CSE placed too much importance on the polygraphs, “to the extent that other, less intrusive security screening activities were insufficiently used or not used at all.”

It adds that the polygraph results were “de facto determinative” in making decisions related to security screening.

The watchdog says in a background document the Treasury Board should “undertake a thorough analysis to support which screening tools it promotes and requires while being mindful that security screening does not grant an organization the licence to override the fundamental privacy protections granted under Canadian law.”

In a document responding to the report, CSE and the Treasury Board defended the use of polygraphs.

The Treasury Board said the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency is “proposing to remove a security measure that has been in successful use for almost four decades, and that is applied to only a small fraction of the public service for protection of only the most sensitive information.”

The board said the recommendation did not consider the current threat environment “or the proven record of that security measure in uncovering adverse information.”

It said the proper use of polygraphs does not conflict with Canadian laws or values.

CSE said polygraphs help establish an individual’s loyalty to Canada but are a “small portion” of its screening apparatus. It indicated it plans to make some changes, including to ensure quality control of the tests.

But it said it plans to continue using the tests, “as it remains confident that the polygraph is an important security screening tool that is particularly necessary in light of the current national security and intelligence landscape.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

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Trudeau, French president Macron meet in Canada as trade deal challenges continue

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OTTAWA – French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say their governments will collaborate more on issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to foreign interference, as they face off against rising populism and misinformation.

“In these troubled times, we have an agenda that is extremely aligned,” Macron said in French during a Thursday visit to Parliament Hill, thanking Trudeau for “the hospitality and especially the shared vision.”

Macron arrived Wednesday evening for a short visit to Ottawa and Montreal, with the pair discussing a slew of issues ranging from the French language and ocean protection to the gang crisis in Haiti and defence.

On Haiti, Macron hinted France might finally meet two years of demands from Trudeau that Paris sanction some of Haiti’s political and economic elites, whom Canada and the U.S. have barred from financial transactions on the basis of support for gangs that are terrorizing the country.

“We will take the necessary actions in terms of sanctions or equipment, as we have discussed ourselves (in France) and within European bodies,” Macron told reporters in French.

The pair also talked about escalating violence between Israel and Lebanon, and an effort led by France and the U.S. for a three-week ceasefire, which Israel has rejected despite support from G7 countries and Gulf states. Macron said he didn’t see that initial rejection as Israel’s final response to the proposal.

The visit follows a March vote by France’s senate to reject the European Union’s trade deal with Canada, against Macron’s wishes.

He said “tempers flared” over the deal, known as CETA, but he is confident the deal will be fully implemented, noting that most of it is operational and boosting trade for both France and Canada.

“If someone is against CETA today, it is someone who never wants to make trade agreements with anyone again, because it has the best standards of any (deals) that we have ratified,” Macron said in French.

After the formal meeting on Parliament Hill, Macron flew to Montreal, where in addition to the news conference he attended a discussion on artificial intelligence with Trudeau and met with Quebec Premier François Legault.

Both governments have overseen measures that limit the role of religion in the public sphere.

Since 2004, France has had a law banning conspicuous religious symbols and garments in public schools, including hijabs and kippahs as well as large Christian crosses. Such policies have inspired laws like Quebec’s Bill 21, which since 2019 has blocked Muslim women from a slew of government jobs.

Macron lamented that France’s policies have been caricatured in the English-speaking world and caused divisive debates. “The French model of secularism is not a model of exclusion of religions,” Macron said, while stressing that France doesn’t impose the model on other countries.

“If it inspires (others) I welcome it, but everyone must pursue their model in a democratic way,” he said, based on local history and living together in harmony.

Both Trudeau and Macron have faced a rise in populist movements and discontent that has challenged each country’s policies on climate change and immigration. This summer, Macron’s allies lost control of the national legislature in a snap election that saw a rise in turnout for left- and right-wing parties.

Trudeau’s government has had a sustained slump in the polls amid frustration over housing costs made worse by a boom in short-term immigration.

Meanwhile, both leaders endorsed a joint statement Thursday on a “stronger defence and security partnership.”

The statement builds on work dating back to the D-Day landings 80 years ago, and pledges to “fight against foreign interference and information manipulation.”

It pledges to “strengthen our co-operation in the area of military equipment support to Ukraine and training” and stick with ongoing work to bring home children abducted by Russia.

“Canada and France will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to thwart Russia’s war of aggression,” reads the statement, which unlike some previous Canadian statements does not mention outright victory for Ukraine.

Both leaders say the statement “will enable us to provide more effective support to Ukraine.”

In the Indo-Pacific, both countries will beef up “strategic and military analysis” and study opportunities for joint patrol missions, such as possibly integrating Canadian support in the deployment of a French aircraft carrier.

The two countries will also increase communication to better respond to “foreign interference operations and information manipulation.”

Later Thursday, a group of protesters waved Palestinian flags and shouted “Shame on you!” near the blocked-off Old Montreal street where the two leaders attended an evening reception in the presence of a few hundred politicians and dignitaries.

In their remarks at the event, Trudeau and Macron took turns painting themselves and their countries as friends and allies who share a common vision on issues including climate change, global armed conflicts and technological change.

“This solid friendship, we need it more than ever, for ourselves and the challenges we face,” said Macron, who concluded his speech with “Long live the friendship between Canada and France!” before he and Trudeau exchanged hugs and went into the crowd to greet the guests.

Macron and Trudeau were in New York earlier this week for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, and they will meet again next week, this time in France, for the Francophonie summit.

Macron last visited Canada in 2018 for a meeting of the G7 leaders, but a French president hasn’t made an official, stand-alone visit to Canada in a decade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

—With files from Émilie Bergeron and Morgan Lowrie in Montreal.



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