‘A win for democracy,' boasts Alison Coffin as court case over 2021 provincial election concludes
Former NDP leader Alison Coffin alleged she was denied the right to vote in the 2021 election, along with other irregularities. A court case of four years was concluded on Wednesday with a resolution agreed upon by all parties — which saw Liberal MHA John Abbott, who won the race against Coffin, resign.
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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sir John A. Macdonald statue at Queen's Park visible to public for 1st time in 5 years
The public can once again see the statue of John A. Macdonald outside Queens Park. The statue had been surrounded by wooden hoarding for the past five years. It was first covered up in 2020 after demonstrators threw pink paint on it amid wave of protests across the country that took aim at Macdonald as Canadians grappled with the history of residential schools. Workers took down the hoarding Wednesday after a legislative committee voted to remove the covering last month. "As Speaker, I recognize the sensitivities surrounding the history of Canada's first Prime Minister and I welcome all Ontarians to express their views — peacefully," Speaker Donna Skelly said in a statement about the removal of the hoarding. "Violence and acts of vandalism will not be tolerated, and the Legislative Protective Service will actively monitor the statue and grounds." Children's shoes that were placed at the base of the statue after the discovery of possible unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools were "carefully and respectfully" removed and stored prior to the removal of the hoarding, the statement says. The question of what to do with the monument of Canada's first Prime Minister has been controversial. Macdonald is considered an architect of the country's residential school system that took Indigenous children from their families in an effort to assimilate them. WATCH | The complicated legacy of Canada's first PM: The NDP's Sol Mamakwa is a residential school survivor, and the only First Nation member at Queen's Park. He has said the statue is a source of pain. "It's not just a statue," he said last month after the decision to uncover the statue was made. "It's a statue of oppression. It is a statue of colonialism. It is a statue of Indian residential schools." Skelly says she hopes a committee will approve a monument recognizing those who attended residential schools and said Mamakwa would be welcome to join that committee.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Liberal MP criticizes Modi's G7 invitation in meeting with Prime Minister Carney
OTTAWA — B.C. Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal said he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney Wednesday morning to push back against the decision to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta next week. In an interview with The Canadian Press before that meeting took place, Dhaliwal said he spoke with hundreds of people who don't want Modi to attend the upcoming leaders summit — some of them members of the Liberal caucus. "We as Canadians take pride to be a champion on human rights. We are the country of law and justice," Dhaliwal said Tuesday. "When it comes to protecting fundamental rights and serving justice for the victim, it is non-negotiable." In 2023 and 2024, former prime minister Justin Trudeau and the RCMP said there was evidence linking agents of the Indian government to the murder of Canadian Sikh separatism activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in June 2023. Last October, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said the police force had evidence linking Indian government officials to other crimes in Canada, including extortion, coercion and homicide. Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, who led the public inquiry into foreign political interference last year, reported that China and India are among the primary actors behind foreign inference operations targeting Canada. Carney issued an invitation to Modi in a phone call on June 6. Dhaliwal said Wednesday that he met with Carney Wednesday before the weekly Liberal caucus meeting and shared concerns about that invitation that were raised by constituents. "Now that (Modi's) invited, we have to move forward," Dhaliwal said. "(Carney) is alarmed about the issue and he will be very strong in dealing with those issues that are important to Canadians." Gurbux Saini, another B.C. Liberal MP, said the decision to invite Modi to the G7 and the invitation extended to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are undermining Canada's reputation as a champion of human rights. "It is a damaging thing because we have been known in the world as caring and compassionate people who love human rights, and this is something the prime minister is aware of and it has been brought to his attention," Saini said Wednesday. Canada has invited Saudi Arabia's de facto leader to the G7 summit, according to two Canadian government officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about maCanada's invitation list. As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, Riyadh had not indicated whether it had accepted the invitation. Carney did not respond to reporters' questions on his way into the caucus meeting Wednesday. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said some of his constituents have raised concerns with him about "invitations to leaders." "But I think it's important to note that at this time, at a time of crisis, we need to be able to collaborate and of course work out some issues," Sidhu said before entering the caucus room. The crisis Sidhu referred to is the tariff war with the U.S. Dhaliwal, who represents the riding where Nijjar was killed, said Tuesday the invitation betrays Canadian values. "Before we invited him, Prime Minister Modi should have committed that he and his team or his associates or his departments will fully co-operate with the Canadian authorities," Dhaliwal said Tuesday. Carney said he wants to keep policing matters separate from Canada's responsibilities as G7 chair and has argued that India, one of the world's largest economies, belongs at the table. Carney has said India agreed to continue "law enforcement dialogue." Modi's comment on his Friday call with Carney did not mention policing. The NDP condemned the decision to invite Modi. At a press conference on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning, Alberta NDP MP Heather McPherson accused the Carney government of putting "profits over people." "That's appalling. For me, what it indicated, this government has consistently and very clearly chosen profits and the economy over human rights," McPherson said. "I think all Canadians expect their government to provide good, family-sustaining jobs, but not at the expense of human rights." At a Tuesday webinar organized by the Asia Pacific Foundation, a federal think tank, experts argued Canada can use the G7 summit to build a functional relationship with India on trade, clean energy and dealing with China. C. Raja Mohan of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research in New Delhi argued that South Asia's political concerns are going to continue to resonate across the English-speaking world, in part due to high emigration to places like Canada, the U.S. and Britain. He said that creates "a structural problem" where foreign interference and extremist elements among Sikh activists can create tensions for both India and other countries. "This is going to get worse. After all, politics is not going to cease, either in the West or in India," he said. Mohan argued Ottawa and New Delhi must find ways to address these issues through sustained, long-term law enforcement co-operation, rather than "public posturing." "How do you prevent Indian politics from poisoning Canadian politics, or prevent political mobilization within the … Anglo-American world from … generating problems for India?" he asked. "This is something we have to manage over the longer term, and there are not going to be these high-minded, declaratory solutions to this." Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow with the Asia Pacific Foundation, said he suspects India will be observing how Ottawa responds to any protests against Modi in Canada. "New Delhi will be watching this very closely," he said. Kugelman said the G7 visit could be a way to build trust between Canada and India, and might lead to more a substantive reset of relations before the November G20 summit in South Africa. — With files from Nick Murray This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025. David Baxter and Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
Hamilton Spectator
6 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Liberals to cut short study of bill to speed up resource project approvals
OTTAWA - The Liberal government in Ottawa is signalling it plans to push its internal trade and major projects bill through the House of Commons next week at high speed. Government House leader Steven MacKinnon has put a motion on notice that would push the bill through the House of Commons by the end of next week at an unusually rapid pace — leaving just one day to hear from civil society groups, stakeholders and experts. Bill C-5 would grant the government sweeping powers to quickly approve major natural resource and infrastructure projects once cabinet deems them to be in the national interest. The legislation also looks to break down internal trade barriers and make it easier for workers to take jobs in other provinces. MacKinnon rejected a call from the Bloc Québécois this week to split the landmark legislation in two — so the House could speed through the less contentious internal-trade provisions while putting the controversial major projects portion under the microscope. Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed repeatedly to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day, 19 days from now. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
