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#Ottawa; #FirstMinisters'Meeting; #FirstNations; #JustinTrudeau; #ChrystiaFreeland
Ottawa, Feb 28 (Canadian-Media): It was announced by Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, that the next First Ministers’ Meeting would be held in Ottawa on March 13, 2020, media reports said. 
Justin Trudeau. Image credit: official website
This will be the sixth First Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Trudeau since 2015. Trudeau will be joined by the Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland.
Government of Canada is transferring $81.6 billion this year to provinces and territories to support important health and social services for Canadians, including $41.9 billion for the Canada Health Transfer, $15 billion for the Canada Social Transfer, $20.6 billion in equalization payments, and $4.2 billion under the Territorial Formula Financing program. First Ministers will focus during the meeting on keeping our economy competitive, progressing on issues concerning all Canadians, including ways to create clean growth and mitigate climate change, developing our natural resources sustainability, creating good, middle class jobs, focus on health care and infrastructure needs, transfers to provinces and territories, and Northern priorities. First Ministers will also meet with leaders of the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council on March 12, 2020. to discuss how they can work together to advance the priorities of First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis Nation. “Canadians have been clear about the importance of working together...so we can create jobs and economic growth, build healthy and safe communities, fight climate change, and make life more affordable for Canadians...create new opportunities for all Canadians and continue to build a country that works for everyone,” said Trudeau and added, “There is no relationship more important to me and to Canada than the one with Indigenous peoples...how we can work together to make a real difference for Indigenous families and communities across the country.”
Freeland said that "We are committed to working collaboratively with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous leaders in the interests of all Canadians," said Freeland.
Federal, provincial, and territorial partners are working to implement the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, which includes more than 50 actions to reduce emissions, economy growth, changing climate adaptation.
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#MohawksProtesters; #Blockades; #QuebecandOntarioRailTrackBlocked; #RCMP Ottawa, Feb 27 (Canadian-Media): During this morning's meeting of the House of Commons, when MP Doug Shipley asked the Public Safety Minister Bill Blair whether the ongoing protests along rail tracks in Quebec and Ontario were being examined as terrorist activity under the Criminal Code, Blair replied that these are not terrorist acts, media reports said.  Bill Blair. Image credit: Facebook page But Blair agreed that the protesters had crossed a line when they started burning goods on rail lines across Canada and added that as minister, he has a responsibility to leave it to police to use their discretion in investigating potentially criminal acts. Blair also said the people who live there have a right to be protected by police. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, who was also at the committee meeting told the committee Thursday morning that RCMP had been very patient with the protesters for several days before they were injuncted. "We have the discretion of a couple of things in an injunction, mostly about the timing and the intensity. So we can decide when and how we will enforce it even though the injunction is in place." Lucki said dialogue between the B.C. RCMP and the hereditary chiefs continued. "We have a specific policy that we have created specifically for Indigenous blockades," she said. "Of course, enforcement is the last option." Last week, the RCMP in British Columbia moved its officers out of an outpost on Wet'suwet'en territory to a nearby detachment in the town of Houston. But the hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en Nation were determined that RCMP leave their traditional territory entirely and the pipeline company ceases work in the area. "I think there's a very important principle: There are thousands of Canadians that live in that area [that] are entitled to policing services," Blair said. "They are entitled, as every Canadian is, to be served and protected by a police service, and that's what takes place in all parts of Canada, including in British Columbia." #Indigenous; #Mohawks; #SixNationsOfGrandRiver; #Protesters; #GoTransitShutDown Ottawa (Ontario), Feb 25 (Canadian-Media): In protest to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)'s efforts to end Mohawks of Tyendinaga's blockade of a rail line near Belleville, Ontario, protesters from Six Nations of the Grand River near Hamilton shut down GO Transit early Tuesday morning, media reports said. "As the result of the ongoing police investigation along the tracks between Aldershot GO and Hamilton GO, our trains will not be able to service Niagara Falls GO, St. Catharines GO, Hamilton GO or West Harbour GO stations on Tuesday morning," GO Transit announced on its website.  Railway shutdown. Image credit: Pixaby The GO service announced the following trains will not operate Tuesday morning: Niagara Falls 05:23 – Union Station 07:50; West Harbour GO 06:09 – Union Station 07:20; West Harbour GO 07:09 – Union Station 08:20 Hamilton & West Harbour passengers' schedule: West Harbour: Departures at 06:09 and 07:09 – replaced by shuttle buses to Aldershot GO; Hamilton: Departures at 05:48, 06:18, 06:48 and 07:18 – replaced by shuttle buses to Aldershot GO; In addition to shuttle bus service, Route 18 bus service from Hamilton GO to Aldershot GO will run as normal; There will be limited parking at Hamilton and West Harbour stations. Given the limited parking at Aldershot GO, commuters may want to consider using Burlington, Appleby or Bronte GO stations. Niagara Falls & St. Catharines passengers' schedule: In addition to the shuttle bus service, Route 12 bus service which departs from Niagara Falls Bus Terminal and St. Catharines Fairview Mall will run as normal. The indigenous group said it started the day by burning an injunction delivered by CN Rail. The demonstration is to support Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' opposing to build the $6-billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in B.C., restricting the transport of goods across the country over the past two weeks. The situation was being monitored by CN Rail. Company officials from CN and CP rail, who owned the section of the tracks. Media were not allowed by Hamilton police to approach the railroad Monday night and also declined to comment. "Until RCMP are cleared off Wet'suwet'en land ... we'll continue to stand here in Hamilton, we'll continue to stand across Turtle Island and block the rails. This is not it; Hamilton is not it at all," said Sonia Hill Sonia Hill, who identified as Mohawk from Six Nations of Grand River. Continuous global rise of coronavirus cases prompt Canada to prepare pandemic response plan2/24/2020 #CoronavirusIncrease; #Pandemic; #China; #COVID-19; #VirisSpreadingFastGlobally; #WHO; Ottawa, Feb 24 (Canadian-Media): The continuous increase of Coronavirus cases around the globe has prompted Canada to prepare a pandemic response plan, media reports said. The world is threatened, said Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam, by the evolution of a respiratory illness called COVID-19 posed by the fast spread of novel coronavirus at the community level, person-to-person, in several other countries. "These signs are concerning, and they mean that the window of opportunity for containment ... for stopping the global spread of the virus, is closing," Tam told reporters in a teleconference Monday. "It also tells countries like Canada, that have been able to manage and detect cases so far, that we have to prepare across governments, across communities, and as families and individuals, in the event of more widespread transmission in our community."  Dr Theresa Tam. Image credit: Twitter handle World Health Organization (WHO) so far hasn't declared it a pandemic as it fears labelling the outbreak a pandemic could cause unnecessary alarm. Tam added that Canada's course of action for the preparation of the pandemic response plan would be much the same whether the WHO declares a pandemic or not. Canada's pandemic response plan built in 2009, said Tam would serve as the foundation for any change in the current outbreak, including accelerating research, helping international efforts to develop a vaccine abroad, expanding laboratory testing capabilities and access to diagnostic tools, and taking stock of essential supplies to make sure authorities don't run short. Although Canada has been successful in detecting imported cases and preventing person-to-person spread within communities, but it is still preparing for other scenarios, Tam said. #Mohawksprotesters; #OPP, #BarricadesComingDown; #CNNRail Ottawa, Feb 24 (Canadian-Media): Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had begun to remove Mohawks of Tyendinaga protesters in a camp near Belleveille, Ont. Monday when Mohawks were still demonstrating early Monday despite a warning from OPP and CN Rail on to clear the area by midnight Sunday, media reports said.  OPP Image credit: Twitter handle Passenger and freight train traffic had been shut down by the protest by Mohawks of Tyendinaga, who have set up two camps along CN rail lines since Feb. 6 in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and their efforts to stop construction of a $6-billion Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in northern B.C. An injunction had been enforced B.C. RCMP earlier this against those obstructing the area for construction. Addressing the demands of the Canada's hereditary chiefs late last week, officers of RCMP in British Columbia had moved out of the post on Wet'suwet'en territory to a nearby detachment on Friday while still continued to patrol the area. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that after two weeks of patience and failed attempts at negotiation, barricades on rail lines and other major transportation routes must come down. When Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief refused to comply with the negotiations, since the RCMP were still on their territory, according to a phone recording, RCMP officers begun to remove demonstrators from the camp near Belleveille, Ont.
#Vancouver; #CanadaClimatePolicy; #TechOilsandsMine
Vancouver, Feb 24 (Canadian-Media): An ongoing debate over climate policy in Canada led Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. to pull its application to build a $20.6-billion oilsands project in northern Alberta, media reports said. 
Mines & Technology. Image credit: Twitter handle
Teck CEO and president Don Lindsay said in a letter to Canada's federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, that customers want policies to reconcile resource development and climate change.
Participation agreements with the Tech company on the mine had been signed by Fourteen First Nations and Metis communities and was pending a decision by from Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government by the end of the month on the 260,000-barrel-per-day Frontier oilsands mine. The Albertans were greatly disappointed by Teck's decision to take a $1.13-billion writedown on the project, which would have created 7,000 construction jobs, 2,500 operating jobs and brought in more than $70 billion in government revenue. "It is what happens when governments lack the courage to defend the interests of Canadians in the face of a militant minority," Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a statement.
#Alberta; #FirstNations; #TechFrontierMine; #greenhouseGas; #CapOnOilsandsEmissions
Alberta, Feb 23 (Canadian-Media): Alberta government's proposal to cap on oilsands emissions not only alleviates First Nation's concerns over the Teck Frontier oilsands emissions but also gets their support in moving the project forward, media reports said. 
Oilsands. Image credit: Twitter handle
According to Teck estimates about four million tonnes of direct carbon emissions would be emitted by the project per year.
It was estimated by the Oilsands Environmental Coalition (OSEC), carbon emissions from this project would be the equivalent of adding 891,000 cars to roadways. Another concern was raised by Alberta's Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith objected that the approval of the Teck Frontier would hinder Canada to meet its net-zero emission target by 2050. To address this concern, Alberta Environment Minister Jason Nixon announced Friday that a cap on oilsands emissions would be enforced to alleviate concerns over Teck Frontier's greenhouse gas footprint.
An agreement was reached over the weekend between the provincial government and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) ahead of the Liberals' decision on the fate of the $20.6-billion mega-mine this week.
"I am again calling on the federal government to approve the Teck Frontier mine project...The opportunity that this project presents for our Indigenous communities, our province and the thousands of jobs it would create cannot be killed for political reasons. This project has played by the rules. It has followed the process. It's time to get it done," said Nixon. #B.C.; #RCMP; #CNRailBlockade; #CoastalGasLinkPipelineProject; #Injuction British Columbia, Feb 20 (Canadian-Media): As Thursday morning cabinet meeting progressed with an aim to end the CN rail blockades by the Mohawks, tt was hoped by Public Safety Minister Bill Blair that RCMP's offer to leave their outpost on Wet'suwet'en territory in northern B.C. will lead to the barricades coming down, media reports said. Bill Blair. Image credit: Facebook page An injunction issued by he B.C. Supreme Court in December authorizing the police to clear away the protesters who had blocked access to the public road. The Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs refused to comply with peaceful written requests of the RCMP Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Strachan telling them they would leave their territories if the construction of the $6-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline project is not blocked. But when Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and their supporters continued to block construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, RCMP representing the provincial police service in B.C., moved in to enforce this injunction earlier this month. The arrests made were followed by the two-week national protests, the rail blockades and forced Via Rail to nearly 1,000 layoffs Wednesday. CN Rail says it has obtained an injunction to dismantle a rail blockade on Montreal's South Shore. #Ottawa, #LimaGroupMeeting; #VenezuelaCrisis; #WesternHemisphere Ottawa, Feb 20 (Canadian-Media): Lima Group meeting comprising a gathering of foreign ministers from the coalition of Western Hemisphere countries is being hosted by Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne Thursday at the Canadian Museum of History across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill to solve the Venezuela crisis, media reports said.  Francois-Philippe Champagne. Image credit: Twitter handle Venezuela had been under constant pressure for a new presidential election with an aim to oust the country's dictator president, Nicolas Maduro. The opposition legislator Juan Guaido had been recognized by Canada and dozens of other countries as Venezuela's legitimate leader, and view Maduro as an illegitimate president. Guaido is not expected to be at the meeting. The meeting with Lima Group was last hosted one year ago in a call to Venezuela's military to peacefully switch sides, but that never happened. #Ottawa; #Mohawks; #AntiPipelineRailBlockades; #CNRail; #TemporaryLayOffs Ottawa, Feb 19 (Canadian-Media): Addressing the Government of Canada's House of Commons yesterday, Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to have patience after the anti-pipeline rail blockades by Mohawks had disrupted country's transportation network, media reports said. Rail shutdown. Image credit: Pixaby Trudeau said his government prefers to use "dialogue" over the use of force with the Indigenous protesters have been stationed beside the tracks near Belleville, Ont., since Feb. 6 But Protesters stressed said their actions are in solidarity with some of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs in B.C. who oppose a pipeline project running through their traditional territory after B.C.'s ministers of environment and natural gas development issued an environmental assessment certificate on Oct. 23, 2014. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Trudeau's call for more dialogues has worsened the present national crisis in Canadian history and has emboldened demonstrators' decision to continue to hostage the Canadian economy. Temporary layoff notices to had been sent by CN Rail to about 450 Eastern Canadian operational staff. It was also said by a group of rail industry representatives that every day the rail stoppages continue, $425 million worth of manufactured goods sit idle. Meanwhile, it was announced Tuesday by CN Rail that all trains running between Toronto and Windsor, Toronto and Sarnia and on the Toronto-Niagara route as well as partial service between Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa would resume operation as of Thursday morning. |
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