Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Invokes The Emergencies Act

[Rick Plant]

Ottawa police say they are aware of planned Canada Day protests



Ottawa police say they are aware of planned protests for Canada Day, and say they won’t allow a repeat of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ occupation that took over downtown earlier this year.

Police said in a statement Friday they have received several questions about planned protests and other commentary online, and have been planning accordingly for weeks.

“We will not allow for conditions that led to the unlawful protests in February to reoccur,” police said. “We are applying lessons learned from the unlawful protest as well as the Rolling Thunder and associated protests to build our plan.”

Police say they expect Heritage Canada celebrations—taking place at LeBreton Flats this year because of construction on Parliament Hill—to be larger than usual. They are also expecting several other large events throughout the city.

"These factors, combined with an increased level of protests and demonstrations, are guiding our planning,” they said Friday. “There will be significant road closures and a major increase in police presence. We will be bringing multiple extra policing resources from several services.

Organizers are planning events from late June through Canada Day and the rest of the summer to protest remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Many are affiliated with, or expressed support for, the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest that took over downtown Ottawa for three weeks in January and February.

The group Veterans for Freedom is holding a three-day conference in Ottawa next week and is coordinating a June 30 route for James Topp and his supporters to walk through parts of Ottawa to the National War Memorial.

Topp is a Canadian soldier who was charged by the Department of National Defence in May after publicly speaking out against federal vaccine requirements while in uniform.

The group is also planning Canada Day celebrations on the lawn of the Supreme Court of Canada, a march to City Hall, and a dance party on Parliament Hill that evening.

Police say they will continue to prohibit vehicles in and around places of national significance, as was done for the ‘Rolling Thunder’ event in late April.

"The right to lawful and peaceful demonstrations will always be protected,” police said. “The operational planning team is mindful that we do not want to overshadow this important and celebratory event. We will have the resources and plan to respond to safety issues immediately."

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-police-say-they-are-aware-of-planned-canada-day-protests-1.5951621

[Rick Plant]

'Freedom Convoy’ caught police, institutions off-guard, ex-Ottawa police chief says

Ottawa’s former police chief, who resigned amid heavy criticism of the force’s handling of the “Freedom Convoy” protest in February, says Canada’s institutions and police services were unprepared for the scale of the demonstration.

Peter Sloly says the protest represents a “paradigm shift” in the kinds of security events facing Ottawa and he is calling for the street in front of Parliament Hill to be closed to vehicles to prevent another massive national security threat.

Sloly spoke out for the first time since he stepped down during the heat of the protest on Feb. 15, when Ottawa’s downtown streets were seized by hundreds of big-rigs, other trucks and thousands of demonstrators protesting COVID-19 restrictions and the Liberal government.

He tells a parliamentary committee the easiest way to prevent another national security threat from approaching Parliament Hill would be to close Wellington Street to traffic and install barriers and bollards to control the flow of people and potential threats.

He also suggests placing Wellington Street under the jurisdiction of Parliamentary Protective Services instead of the Ottawa police, though he warned that will be a costly solution and won’t solve communication issues between the various police services that operate on and near Parliament Hill.

Sen. Vernon White, who served as Ottawa police chief from 2007 to 2012, told the committee he’s been advocating for the closure of Wellington Street and Elgin Street near the National War Memorial since a terrorist stormed the Hill in 2014.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8888466/freedom-convoy-caught-police-off-guard-ex-ottawa-police-chief/

[Rick Plant]

Canada commits $27M on easing migration pressures at Summit of the Americas

Deal includes promise to welcome 4,000 more migrants from Latin America, Caribbean by 2028

Leaders from across the Americas, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, signed on Friday to what U.S. President Joe Biden called a "historic commitment" to ease the pressure of northward migration.

The agreement, the central accomplishment of the Summit of the Americas in California, commits Canada to spend $26.9 million this year on slowing the flow of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection also includes a Canadian promise to welcome an additional 4,000 migrants from the region by 2028, as well as a pre-existing plan to bring in 50,000 more agricultural workers from Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean.

Canada is already a beacon of hope for migrants from all over the world, Trudeau said during his closing news conference when asked why a G7 country is taking so few additional newcomers.

Simply bringing more and more people in doesn't address the underlying issues of economic, social and governmental instability that compel people to pack up and leave in the first place, he said.

"It's not simply enough to say, 'We'll just keep accepting people.' We need to do that, and we will, because that's the country we are," Trudeau said.

"But we also need to be making deliberate, targeted efforts to make sure people don't feel compelled, that the only choice they have is to put themselves and their families at tremendous risk in order to leave their communities in their country."

Progressive initiatives

To that end, the government announced an additional $118 million for progressive initiatives aimed at improving the lives of people where they already live in Latin America and the Caribbean.

That includes $67.9 million to promote gender equality; $31.5 million in health and pandemic response spending; $17.3 million on democratic governance and $1.6 million for digital access and anti-disinformation measures.

"Each of us is signing up for commitments and recognizing the challenges that we all share, and the responsibilities that impact all of our nations," Biden said earlier in the day, the 19 other leaders at the summit standing on the stage behind him.

He blamed the growing migratory pressure on the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, made worse by the war in Ukraine and what he called the "turmoil" wrought by autocracies in the region.

Colombia, he said, is hosting millions of refugees from Venezuela, while as much as 10 per cent of Costa Rica's population consists of migrants — a problem he said demands a collective approach for the sake of the hemisphere's health and well-being.

"Our security is linked in ways that I don't think most people in my country fully understand, and maybe not in your country as well," Biden said. "Our common humanity demands that we care for our neighbours by working together."

The $26.9-million portion of Canada's commitment will go toward improving integration and border management, protecting the rights of migrants, gender equality measures and tackling human smuggling.

4 key pillars

The L.A. declaration is based on four key pillars, Biden said: stability and assistance for communities, wider legal migratory routes, humane migration management and co-ordinated emergency response.

The White House said it seeks "to mobilize the entire region around bold actions that will transform our approach to managing migration in the Americas."

It includes commitments from an array of Latin American and Caribbean nations on everything from economic stabilization and humanitarian relief to "regularizing" migrants living illegally in host countries.

Colombia, for instance, has already regularized 1.2 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees, and has agreed to do the same for 1.5 million more by the end of the summer.

Not surprisingly, the U.S. is doing the heaviest lifting, including $25 million US to support countries that are implementing new regularization programs, $314 million US for stabilization efforts and a $65-million US pilot project to support agricultural workers.

The Biden administration is also committing to resettle 20,000 refugees from the Americas over the next two years, three times the current resettlement rate, the White House said.

At the same time as the funding and resettlement efforts, the U.S. plans to crack down on human smuggling operations, including a new campaign that's "unprecedented in scale" aimed at disrupting and dismantling criminal smuggling enterprises in Latin America.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-summit-of-the-americas-1.6485483

[Rick Plant]

Canada's Justin Trudeau Announces "Freeze" On Handgun Ownership

"We're introducing legislation to implement a national freeze on handgun ownership," Justin Trudeau told a news conference, joined by dozens of families and friends of victims of gun violence.



Ottawa: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday a proposed freeze on handgun ownership in Canada that would effectively ban their importation and sale, following recent mass shootings in the United States.
The bill must still be passed by Parliament, with the ruling Liberals holding only a minority of seats.

"We're introducing legislation to implement a national freeze on handgun ownership," Trudeau told a news conference, joined by dozens of families and friends of victims of gun violence.

"What this means is that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada," he said. "In other words, we're capping the market for handguns."

Days after Canada's worst mass shooting left 23 dead in rural Nova Scotia in April 2020, the government banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms.

But Trudeau acknowledged Monday that gun violence continues to rise.

The government statistical agency reported last week that firearms-related violent crimes account for less than three percent of all violent crimes in Canada.

But since 2009 the per capita rate of guns being pointed at someone has nearly tripled, while the rate at which a gun was fired with an intent to kill or wound is up five-fold.

Almost two-thirds of gun crimes in urban areas involved handguns.

Police often point to smuggling from the United States -- which is reeling from recent shootings at a school in Texas and at a supermarket in New York state -- as the main source of handguns.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino estimated there are about one million handguns in this country -- up significantly from a decade ago.

Trudeau commented, "People should be free to go to the supermarket, their school or their place of worship without fear. People should be free to go to the park or to a birthday party without worrying about what might happen from a stray bullet.

"Gun violence is a complex problem," he said. "But at the end of the day, the math is really quite simple: the fewer the guns in our communities, the safer everyone will be."

The proposed law would also strip anyone involved in domestic violence or stalking of their firearms license, and take away guns from those deemed to be a risk to themselves or others, as well as strengthen border security and criminal penalties for gun trafficking

It would also ban long-gun magazines capable of holding more than five bullets.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/canadas-justin-trudeau-announces-freeze-on-handgun-ownership-3039178

[Rick Plant]

338Canada: Why Canada’s Conservatives are choking on diesel fumes

In a contest for the soul of the party, here’s why frontrunner Pierre Poilievre is playing to party voters who supported the convoy protest.



MONTREAL, Que. — Canada’s Conservatives often boast about the size of their tent, though its capacity is being tested by wildly differing viewpoints on the Freedom Convoy protest.

Questions about the trucker convoy took center stage last week when five of six leadership candidates met to debate in Ottawa — not far from where hundreds of trucks and thousands of protesters took neighborhoods around Parliament hostage in February.

The divide in opinion on the convoy, which could hardly be starker, may be on display again Wednesday when candidates gather in Edmonton for a rematch.

The debate is not just over leadership, but also about the soul of the party. Pierre Poilievre is leading a front-runner campaign with ideals that could wrest the Conservatives to the right.

During their first showdown, Jean Charest lambasted Poilievre for openly supporting the protest. And the former Quebec premier was met by wild booing when he suggested the blockades were illegal.

Meanwhile, social conservative candidate Leslyn Lewis accused Poilievre of not doing enough — supporting the convoy only when it was convenient for him to do so.

Ahead of Wednesday’s matchup we have new data from EKOS Research Associates that sheds light on how Canadians, and especially conservative voters, feel about this issue.

What polls say about the protests

Here is the question put to the field: “As you may know, the convoy protests were a protest movement made up of truckers and other demonstrators who, among other things, blockaded several Canadian cities and border crossings with the United States in February 2022. The protest was sparked by vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers, but later grew to a push for an end to all pandemic restrictions. To what extent do you support or oppose this movement?”

Among all of the poll’s respondents, a clear majority, 63 percent, opposed the convoy, against 23 percent who expressed support for the protests.

Breaking down the results by polling region, the data shows that a majority of voters opposed the blockades in all polling regions of the country, including 68 percent in Quebec, 63 percent in Ontario, 55 percent in British Columbia, and even 51 percent in Alberta.

So then why would leadership candidates spend so much time and political capital focused on an issue that most Canadians object to? The answer lies in the breakdown by voting intentions.

Almost 90 percent of Liberal voters and 83 percent of NDP voters opposed the convoy.

But among CPC voters? A plurality of respondents, 46 percent, actually supported the convoy, against only 30 percent who opposed it. This helps to explain why last week’s debate seemed designed not so much for the general public as it was for internal CPC consumption.

In fact, the tally among CPC supporters stood much closer to those of the People’s Party of Canada, the fringe far-right party led by former Beauce MP Maxime Bernier (the PPC received 4.9 percent of the popular vote in the 2021 federal election, and failed to win a single seat) than the average Canadian electorate.

Among all voters, Charest and Poilievre stand in a statistical tie with 24 and 22 percent, respectively. Patrick Brown, who skipped last week’s debate but will be on stage Wednesday, stands in third place with 11 percent, while Lewis was a distant fourth with 5 percent.

However, when we break down voting intention results and isolate data from current CPC supporters, the numbers show a dominant lead for Poilievre: Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed chose the Carleton MP, against only 14 percent who preferred Charest — a crushing 43-point lead in favor of Poilievre.

It would be a safe assumption to presume conservative voters, who overwhelmingly favor Poilievre according to this poll (and other recent polls from various sources), would be much closer to a representative sample of CPC members, that is, those who will actually get to cast a vote for this leadership race. Therefore, one must assume Poilievre is leaps and bounds ahead of the field in member support.

Moreover, if we crossover the convoy support and preferred CPC leader data, we observe a significant divide. On one side is Charest and Brown. On the other, Poilievre and Lewis.

Among respondents who favor Jean Charest for CPC leader, 85 percent opposed the convoy, among Brown’s supporters, 82 percent opposed the convoy.

Poilievre supporters stand at the other end of this spectrum. Fifty-one percent approved of the convoy, and only 22 percent opposed. In fact, Poilievre’s numbers are far more similar to Lewis’ than to Charest’s or Brown’s, and, once again, are much closer to the PPC’s than to the average Canadian voter.

Some of those who have expressed that the very soul of the CPC is squarely in play in this leadership race have been accused of hyperbole, but these numbers are just one example of how divided the Conservative movement currently is, and how much healing will be needed within the base once the leadership contest is over.

Nevertheless, there were no calls healing or unity on display last week. Throughout the fiery exchanges during the debate, Poilievre often referred to Charest as a “liberal,” not as a political stand, but as a slur. While this catchphrase evidently works wonders for clicks and likes on social media, it remains to be seen whether this strategy will really help grow the CPC base in time for a general election.

Still, this poll’s data suggest that Poilievre’s unapologetic support for the convoy, along with his offense-first brash style we witnessed at the debate, appeals far more to “purple conservatives” than to “blue liberals.” For a party trying hard not to become “Liberal-lite,” Poilievre seems inclined to lead his party towards becoming “PPC-light.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/11/338canada-canada-conservatives-convoy-protest-00031535

[Rick Plant]

Freeland says Canada’s economic reputation was at risk, prompting Emergencies Act



The risk to Canada’s economic reputation was behind the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to deter the “Freedom Convoy” blockades across the country, the deputy prime minister and finance minister repeatedly told MPs Tuesday.

But Chrystia Freeland — the highest-ranking minister yet to appear before the special committee investigating the government’s unprecedented use of emergency powers — would not share specific data that would have been available at the time the Act was invoked, which would have shown the protests were damaging the national economy.

“It was clear to me that with each passing hour, our economic reputation with the United States as a reliable trading partner and as a reliable investment destination was being damaged,” she said.

She pointed to comments made by Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin in early February, when protesters blocked the key Ambassador Bridge border crossing between her state and Ontario, who said the blockades made the case for more Buy American policies to end the reliance on foreign trade — including with Canada.

“This is so dangerous to Canada, colleagues,” Freeland said.

“I was deeply, deeply concerned that these illegal blockades and this illegal occupation would provoke a whole new wave of protectionism and deeply erode our trading relationship with the United States. That was a real economic threat.”

Such a threat could not be specifically felt in the moment, the minister said, but rather “in the years ahead.”

That didn’t sit well with some members of the committee, including NDP MP Matthew Green, who pressed Freeland for relevant economic data that would have influenced the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.

Their exchange grew testy as Freeland disputed Green’s assertion that reputation and “feelings” don’t matter when it comes to the economy, and specifically its impact on the government’s decision-making.

“I’m not talking about pontification, I’m talking about facts here,” Green said at one point.

“I don’t believe I’m pontificating,” Freeland replied. “The economic impact was absolutely, clearly there.”

“That’s not good enough,” Green shot back.

Some of the economic data figures Freeland pointed to were released after the last trucks were removed from outside Parliament, including Ottawa city council’s estimation that the blockade there cost the city at least $30 million.

Experts predicted at the time of the blockades that the economic impacts could be felt for months afterwards, without giving specific figures.

Yet data showed the blockades at the Ambassador Bridge and Coutts, Alta., border crossings had little impact on cross-border trade, with truckers simply being rerouted to other nearby ports of entry.

While she could not speak to police actions and their needs at the time, Freeland said she was speaking daily with Canadian business leaders and owners who were raising concerns about the economic impact of the blockades.

“These were not people who hyperventilate,” she said. “These were people who could really see every day their businesses being eroded, and therefore the national economy.”

Throughout her appearance, a few MPs from the opposition parties accused Freeland of not providing clear answers to questions, with Green at one point accusing the minister of being “almost contemptible.”

Freeland did speak to the controversial financial measures carried out under the Act, which included directing banks to freeze some protesters’ accounts, as well as those of any donors to the “Freedom Convoy” movement.

She said any decisions to freeze accounts were made independently by financial institutions independent without “political direction,” based on information received from law enforcement and internal data.

The government has said more than 200 bank accounts worth $7.8 million were frozen while the Act was in place. Any affected accounts were unfrozen once the Act was lifted on Feb. 23.

Freeland told the committee that RCMP never provided a list of donors to financial institutions to be targeted under the emergency measures. She later added that court orders would have taken too long to have the desired effect, which was to cut off the “Freedom Convoy” movement and deter future blockades.

Freeland repeatedly said invoking the Emergencies Act was a “last resort” for the government to crack down on the blockades and give police the necessary powers to remove protesters and their vehicles after weeks of inaction.

“It was an agonizing time, I think, for many Canadians, and it was an agonizing time for everyone in government, because we had to balance some serious things against each other,” she said.

“We did not invoke the Emergencies Act lightly. That’s why it took some time.”

Following Freeland’s appearance, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told the committee it took several days for the “Freedom Convoy” movement to rise to the level of a national emergency, prompting his ministry and others to step in.

He also tried to clarify that the government never received a recommendation from police to invoke the Emergencies Act.

Marco Mendicino, Blair’s successor as public safety minister, has come under fire for telling the committee that police asked for the government to invoke the Act, despite the heads of the RCMP and Ottawa police saying otherwise.

"(Police) were clearly having difficulties in affecting the lawful purpose of restoring public order in the city of Ottawa, protecting the people of Ottawa, to opening up those vital trade corridors (under existing laws),” he said. “I needed to understand why.

“One of the considerations the government has to consider before invoking the Act is to ensure that no other law of Canada can be applied to these circumstances. So I think it was absolutely essential and appropriate to consult with law enforcement.”

Mendicino has used similar language to try and clarify his earlier comments, but that has not stopped Conservatives from calling for his resignation. The minister has defended his actions.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8920882/emergencies-act-freeland-freedom-convoy-blockades-ottawa/

[Rick Plant]

Prime Minister signs historic land claim settlement with Siksika First Nation


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Siksika Nation Chief Ouray Crowfoot participate in a signing ceremony on the Siksika Nation in Siksika Nation, Alta

SIKSIKA, ALTA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the chief of the Siksika First Nation have signed a historic land claim settlement, which the federal government says is one of the largest agreements of its kind in Canada.
Trudeau and Marc Miller, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, participated in a signing ceremony Thursday with Chief Ouray Crowfoot, council and community members.

"We're gathered today to right a wrong from the past," Trudeau said during the ceremony.

"We're gathered to give ourselves a chance to start rebuilding trust between us, nation to nation."

The federal government said the settlement dates back more than a century when Canada broke its Blackfoot Treaty promise and took almost half of Siksika Nation's reserve land, including some of its agricultural lands, to sell to people who settled in the area.

The agreement provides $1.3 billion in compensation to Siksika Nation to resolve outstanding land claims, which include about 46,500 hectares of Siksika's Reserve and certain mineral rights taken by Canada.

Trudeau said it's important to move forward as partners with Indigenous people.

"This settlement will enable you to invest in your priorities like infrastructure, education and supports for Elders and youth," he told those gathered. "It will create new economic, social and cultural opportunities."

Crowfoot said the settlement doesn't make up for past wrongs, but it will make a difference in people's lives.

"Canada needs to stop using the word reconciliation. You will never reconcile, you will never make it whole," he said.

"This land claim -- $1.3 billion, that's a lot of money -- it will never make it whole of what it was before. But we've got to move forward. What the $1.3 (billion) can do is provide opportunities, opportunities we didn't have before.

"I do see the tide turning for Siksika. I see us becoming a thriving nation."

Siksika's website says each member of the First Nation is to receive $20,000 in July as part of the settlement.

Siksika Nation includes approximately 8,000 members.

Elder nation members told CTV news they want the true history of their people to be shared.

"These things happened to my people and it's my wish to go out there and tell our story and people listen," said Angeline Ayoungman.

Young nation members say they are optimistic that this progress will benefit future generations.

"It's a big thing for me because I can tell my daughter about this historic moment that happened here," said Tasheena Black Kettle.

"You know it can be very beneficial for a lot of people you know it can mean getting a new vehicle, being able to go to college, getting a better experience, getting a better chance at life," said Desmond Pelly.

He later added, "It's a light at the end of a dark tunnel for a lot of people that are struggling with poverty."

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/prime-minister-signs-historic-land-claim-settlement-with-siksika-first-nation-1.5929590