Quick Quotes: What the leaders said during the first Conservative leadership debate | Canada News Media
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Quick Quotes: What the leaders said during the first Conservative leadership debate

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OTTAWA — Conservative leadership contenders faced each other in debate for the first time at the Shaw Conference Centre in Ottawa as part of the Canada Strong and Free Network conference. Patrick Brown was the only candidate to miss the debate. Here are some key quotes from Jean Charest, Roman Baber, Scott Aitchison, Leslyn Lewis and Pierre Poilievre.

“The consistency of our message is absolutely crucial. We need to put together a principled Conservative platform that resonates with all Canadians in all parts of the country, and then we need to be consistent with that. We have to work together as a team. And until we can work together as a team Canadians are not going to trust us.” — Scott Aitchison on why Conservatives lost the last few elections

“We lost the last two elections because many Canadians weren’t sure where we stand. We should not be running to the right during leadership and running to the left during the general.” — Roman Baber on why Conservatives lost the last few elections

“The results and the outcomes speaks for itself. One thing that we have to be clear on, in the next campaign and the next leader, is that we welcome new Canadians. They are part of the family. They are welcome and they are Canadians, period. But those who were part of that campaign and proposed this idea need to account for that.” — Jean Charest on the Conservatives 2015 barbaric hotline campaign promise

“Mr. Pierre Poilievre has ran from the media the last few days because he doesn’t want to declare whether he’s pro-life or pro-choice. As a leader he is going to have to declare that. He cannot just be a minister of finance if he wants to be a prime minister. He is going to have to deal with social Conservative issues, which he has been running from this entire campaign.” — Leslyn Lewis on her stance on abortion.

“I did go to the trucker protests, both on Parliament Hill and in my community. I was on the street. I was supporting those who were fighting for their freedoms. In fact, I opposed the vaccine mandates as soon as they were announced.” — Pierre Poilievre on his opposition to COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

“I come from the former Soviet Union. I know what democracy is all about and I know how precious our democracy is. And the fact that the Conservative movement failed to stand up for democracy is something that is going to remain with us for a generation.” — Baber on COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

“Every time I hear a Conservative talking about some conspiracy theory, I realize that there’s another group of swing voters in the GTA that just are not going to come our way. Because all we do is yell and scream at each other. We’re witnessing it now. I actually like all these people in this table, around this dais as well, they’re good folks. And here we are calling each other names. What Canadian is going to trust this lot? We’ve got to do better.” — Aitchison on winning votes in Ontario.

“We have a weather advantage because liquefied natural gas is a process of cooling it down. What do we have in Canada? Cold weather. It is our most abundant natural resource. So Let’s cool it down, turn it into liquid, send it overseas, sell it and turn dollars for dictators into paychecks for our people.” — Poilievre on his plan for natural gas production.

“I stand with a record as a Conservative all my life. I’ll give you an example. I believe in fiscal conservatism, the Liberal government that succeeded me, Mr. Couillard that followed, left an $8-billion surplus after 15 years to Mr. Legault. $8 billion. You’re not going to see that in your lifetime again.” — Charest on allegations that he is a Liberal.

“Our charter needs to be defended. Parents have a right to raise their children in accordance with their values, and I will introduce a parental rights bill to stop government encroachment on parental rights.” — Leslyn Lewis in her closing arguments.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2022

 

Laura Osman, The Canadian Press

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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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 Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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