Honduras’ outgoing president said on Saturday he hoped his country would continue its friendship with Taiwan, as Taipei seeks to maintain relations with the Central American country amid a diplomatic tug-of-war with Beijing.
Honduras is one of just 15 countries that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which China claims as its territory with no right to state-to-state relations.
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s party faces a tough challenge in a November 28 election https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/honduran-opposition-unites-behind-candidate-president-major-shift-2021-10-13 to retain the presidency as a candidate backed by main opposition parties is leading in opinion polls.
If elected, Xiomara Castro has vowed to bring about changes, including establishing official relationship with China.
“At this very moment amid tensions in the region, Honduras is here to demonstrate that we are real friends and only real friendship can be seen at difficult times,” told Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen at the presidential office in Taipei in a meeting broadcast live on Facebook.
“We hope to deepen such friendship and diplomatic ties either within or after my presidency,” said Hernandez, who is completing the second of his two four year terms.
China has sharply increased its military and political pressure https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/taiwan-china-wargames on Taiwan in recent months, including almost daily campaign of military exercises and patrols near the democratic island.
Tsai called Hernandez’s three-day visit “significant” and said she hoped the two countries would continue to “help each other” on the international stage.
Taiwan, which says it is an independent country, had accused China of seeking to use the Honduran election to “create controversy” and warned Honduras not to be drawn in by Beijing’s “flashy and false” promises.
China and Taiwan have for years traded accusations of “dollar diplomacy” as they seek support, offering aid packages in return for diplomatic recognition.
China’s efforts to win over Taiwan’s remaining allies have alarmed Washington, which has been especially concerned about Beijing’s growing influence in Central America and the Caribbean.
There has been widespread speculation about Hernandez’s future and whether a Castro government would allow for him to be extradited to the United States, where he is a target of a narcotics investigation https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-honduras-idUSKBN2A8291.
The president has vehemently denied any links to drugs cartels.
(Reporting By Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
