#Canada, #expellingfourRussiandiplomaticstaff, #Montreal, #ChrystiaFreeland, #TheresaMay, #JustinTrudeau, #DonaldTrump Ottawa, Mar 28 (Canadian-Media): Canada is expelling four Russian diplomatic staff, posted at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Ottawa consulate in Montreal. over the poisoning of an ex-spy in Salisbury, United Kingdom (U.K.), media reports said. "The four have been identified as intelligence officers or individuals who have used their diplomatic status to undermine Canada's security or interfere in our democracy," Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement. Chrystia Freeland. Image credit: Twitter handle The March 4 nerve agent attack on Canada's close ally and partner, Sergei Skripal and his daughter in critical condition in Britain, was said to be "a despicable, heinous and reckless act" by Freeland was reported to state. British Prime Minister Theresa May had said her government has concluded that it was "highly likely" that Russia was responsible for the attack on Skripal, a former Russian spy, and his daughter in Salisbury. Theresa May. Image credit: Twitter handle As well, three applications by the Russian government for additional diplomatic staff in Canada will reportedly be denied. Freeland said that steps taken by Canada are in in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and on Consular Relations, . Canada's move followed diplomatic action taken by the U.S. and several European Union (EU) nations. The U.S. administration sent a message Monday to Russia's leaders about the "unacceptably high" number of Russian intelligence operatives in the U.S. by expelling 60 Russian diplomats, and ordering the closure of Russia's consulate in Seattle in response to the attack . This action has prompted harsh condemnation from Russia, who have also threatened to reatalliate against Canada. "We are taking these measures in solidarity with the United Kingdom," Freeland said in the release. "These measures are not aimed at the Russian people, with whom Canadians have long and fruitful ties. Canada remains committed to dialogue and co-operation with Russia on issues where we face common challenges. The nerve agent attack represents a clear threat to the rules-based international order and to the rules that were established by the international community to ensure chemical weapons would never again destroy human lives." 'For national security reasons I can't get into that,' Canada's Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was reported to state. The Russian embassy in Ottawa issued a statement on Twitter calling Canada's decision "highly deplorable and outrageous." "By taking for granted the totally baseless British accusations, in stark violation of due process ahead of ongoing investigation, if any, of the Skripal case, Canada obediently follows the US/UK designed dangerous confrontational policy. This unfriendly move under false and biased pretext delivers yet another serious blow to Russian-Canadian relations and will be met with resolve and reciprocity," the statement read. Piotr Dutkiewicz, a professor and Russian foreign relations expert at Carleton University, warned that Canada may be risking significant blowback in the Canada-Russia relationship, especially in matters touching on the Arctic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone Monday about "measures taken by Canada and the United States to support our common ally against Russia in response to the egregious nerve agent attack in Salisbury," the Canadian government said in a statement. The Russian diplomats will have 10 days to leave the country. (Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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#Brampton, #Ottawa, #Ontario, #Canada, #Indianclothing, #costume, #RubySahota, #CanadianHouseofCommons, #MemberofParliament Ottawa, Mar 25 (Canadian-Media): While participating on March 22nd 2018 in the debate and discussion on the Opposition Motion of the day, Ruby Sahota, Member of Parliament (MP) for Brampton North could not keep silent when one Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) after another referred to her cultural and traditional clothing as a "costume", media reports said. Ruby Sahota. Image credit: Facebook page During questions and comments, Sahota rose to express her outrage and stated as follows: “Mr. Speaker, I am incredibly offended by the speech given by my colleague across the aisle just now. I implore them to stick to the facts and what they are trying to achieve. This reference I have been hearing from debate to debate about costumes is incredibly offensive. I would like to share a little story about a girl growing up here in Canada, which was me, a child of immigrant parents, who struggled constantly to try to be proud of my culture and my heritage. I just could not help just wanting to fit in, and wonder why my parents could not just wear western clothing to my parent-teacher interview. Maybe I would fit in a little better, maybe the kids would not make fun of the clothing we traditionally wear. This reference continually made by the opposition to our clothing being costumes is outrageous. I wonder if my colleague is offended I am wearing his costume right now. Would he call a business suit a costume? Should I ask people from around the world what they think about me wearing a white man's costume? Are you offended, because I am incredibly offended that again and again I hear reference to our clothing as costumes. It is not a costume; it is clothing we wear every day, day in and day out. Indians wear that clothing, and it is nothing compared to a uniform of a police officer. The Prime Minister respected our culture and our traditions, and took part and engaged in the clothing we value so dearly. I am so happy that my child, my son, can see a Prime Minister today who respects his culture, his tradition, and where he comes from.” (Reporting by Asha Bajaj) #Alberta, #Canada, #NewDemocraticParty, #TransMountain, #Keystone, #EnbridgeLine3, #UnitedConservativeParty, #JasonKenney Ottawa/Alberta, Mar 24 (Canadian-Media): Alberta’s NDP (New Democratic Party) government had seen a significant deficit on Mar 23 in its fourth provincial budget for the fourth time, media reports said. The government's reported plan -- that predicted deficit of $8.8-billion for the coming year will shrink until it pops into surplus by 2023 -- had not taken into consideration the pipelines that haven’t yet been built, including the Trans Mountain expansion into B.C., which have received opposition both legally and politically. But the government reportedly assumes that Trans Mountain, Keystone and Enbridge’s Line 3 will all be in place by 2021 The New Democrats are also hoping that in provincial election next year United Conservative Party led by Jason Kenney would reportedly utilize the government’s reliance on deficits and debt to shape its attacks. Jason Kenney. Image credit: Facebook page According to official reports, too much reliance by Kenney’s United Conservative Party on the budget deficits and debt would reportedly have risks of its own: “He will certainly come out swinging against this budget, calling the level of debt an outrage and an embarrassment. What he won’t talk about is the fact that there’s no way of rectifying the problem unless the government introduces cuts to programs and services on a scale never seen before, or brings in a sales tax.” (Reporting by Asha Bajaj) ![]() Toronto, Mar 12 (Canadian-Media): Doug Ford, former Toronto city councilor had been elected Saturday as the new Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) party leader in the third ballot of preferential voting. media reports said. Doug Ford. Image credit: Twitter handle Ford had reportedly defeated Christine Elliot, confirmed his party president Jag Badwal. Reportedly thanking his supporters and his family, including his brother and former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, who died in 2016 Ford said, "I will get our party back on track. To the people of Ontario, I say, 'Relief is on its way.' And to Kathleen Wynne I say, 'Your days as premier are numbered,'" Ford was reported to state and added, "To the people of Ontario....I say relief is on its way....And to Kathleen Wynne I say....Your days as Premier are numbered." Toronto Mayor John Tory congratulating Ford on his victory on Saturday said: "will be reaching out to Mr. Ford to arrange a meeting to discuss Toronto's needs." Ford delivered his acceptance speech on Mar 10 reportedly as the new leader of the PC party of Ontario. The runner-up Elliott said that she won't concede and that there were "serious irregularities" in the race. In her statement, Elliott said that thousands of PC members were assigned to incorrect riding and that she won the popular vote. "I will stand up for these members and plan to investigate the extent of this discrepancy," Elliot was reported to state. (Reporting by Asha Bajaj) #DougFord, #ProgressiveConservatives, #PC, #PatrickBrown Ottawa, Mar 10 (Canadian-Media): Doug Ford, the former Toronto city councillor has been elected the new Ontario's Progressive Conservatives (PC) leader beating his rivals Christine Elliott, Caroline Mulroney and Tanya Granic Allen in a tense contest, media reports said. In a distinct populist campaign, Ford had been reportedly telling reporters that he decided to run for "the people." Doug Ford. Image credit: Twitter handle The 44-day long leadership race that had reportedly been prompted by the resignation of former leader Patrick Brown in January after two women accused him of sexual misconduct. When Doug learnt that the registration code was reportedly available only to select members to cast a ballot, Ford got an extension of the voting period with the consent of Mulroney and Granic Allen, though Christine did not agree to this. Turnout of votes was reportedly higher than in any other leadership contest in its history with preferential ballots of 64, 053 cast over the week-long voting period, though 71,450 total members were registered. In the previous record of 2002, reportedly a total of only 44,188 ballots were cast . (Reporting by Asha Bajaj) #ParminderSingh, #OntarioLiberalParty, #BramptonEast, #Ontario, #Canada, #KathleenWynne, #SickKids Hospital, #AkhandPaath Toronto, Mar 9 (Canadian-Media): Parminder Singh, the Founding host of CBC’s former Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi broadcast, was elected today as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Brampton East, Ontario, media reports said. “I am thrilled to join Premier Kathleen Wynne’s team to fight for the fairness and opportunity Brampton residents deserve,” Singh, a medical doctor was reported to state. “Brampton residents need a government that invests in care. This Premier has invested in our hospitals, seniors’ homes and child-care spaces. I will add my voice to her strong team to continue delivering for Brampton.” Parminder Singh. Image credit: Facebook page Being a health-care professional, Parminder Singh had reportedly worked as a sports and health commentator for Omni TV, the CBC, 680News and Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. He was the founding host and play-by-play commentator of the acclaimed Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi, and had founded the Toronto Raptors Punjabi Broadcast. He had received his educattion at the University of Toronto, Windsor University School of Medicine and Harvard University. At present he is the the Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer at Healthcare Plus Medical Group, and . Dr Singh had supported local hospitals and charities by organizing various fundraising campaigns. He had chaired Sikhs for SickKids, which helped raise close to $100,000 for SickKids Hospital, and also was able to raise $350,000 for the Brampton Civic Hospital through the Akhand Paath event, a religious ceremony of the Sikhs. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne had recently appointed Dr singh as the candidate at a rally in Brampton on Sunday. Under the leadership of Wynne, the Ontario Liberal Party reportedly plans to create opportunity and fairness for everyone in Ontario's growing economy and its balanced budget. (Reporting by Asha Bajaj) #JustinTrudeau, #Ipsospoll, #Liberals, #Conservatives, #NewDemocraticParty, #NDP, #OmarKhadr, #AndrewScheer, #JagmeetSingh, #federalcarbontax, #NorthAmericanFreeTradeAgreement, #NAFTA, #HenryJacek, #BillMorneau Ottawa, Mar 7 (Canadian-Media): Politicians and political watchers had been worrying over last week's Ipsos poll -- reportedly Canada's largest market research and public opinion polling firm -- survey revealing that Canada PM Justin Trudeau is not unbeatable, media reports said. Justin Trudeau/Facebook There had reportedly been sudden drop of 33 percent in Liberal support and the rise of of 38 percent in Conservatives support which had resulted in Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) earning the support of one voter in five. Liberals and the Conservatives, until last week, reported Ipos polls, had been maintaining the same position as on 2015 night of Trudeau's election as prime minister of Canada. Events such as Omar Khadr affair, Andrew Scheer becoming Conservative leader, Jagmeet Singh becoming leader of the NDP did not have any affect on Trudeau's reputation. Khadr, a Canadian was detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay for ten years had sued the Canadian government for infringing his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and lawsuit was settled in 2017 with a $10.5 million (USD 8 million) payment and an apology by the federal government. Andrew James Scheer, a Canadian politician who was elected Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2017 strongly opposed the federal carbon tax stating that he would balance the federal budget within two years of forming a government. Liberal's downfall had many more causes including Trudeau's India trip which had been strongly disappred by the public because of his performance; support for the grits had tanked in the Prairie provinces; and Trudeau's dragging of NAFTA talks with US President no result till date. Conservatives In Ontario also reportedly had seven points ahead of the Liberals. "If I were the Liberals I would be worried about their support in Ontario," says Henry Jacek, a political scientist at McMaster University in Hamilton. "I do think that the shift in public opinion is substantial and started even before the India trip." Alberta voters, especially, blamed the federal Liberals for the lack of progress in getting Trans Mountain pipeline built. And President Donald Trump's threat to slap tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum exports with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks could reportedly mar the economical image of the country. Besides, recent federal budget delivered by Finance Minister Bill Morneau had disappointed Canadians as there was no promise of balancing the budget. Tuesday's Nanos poll reportedly showed that the Liberals had a narrow lead over the Conservatives. But internal government surveys reportedly showed voters' concerns about the deficits run up by the Trudeau government and Liberals reportedly going after the wrong priorities such as Trudeau's NAFTA talks with the United States. (Reporting by Asha Bajaj) |
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