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Justin Trudeau dines with pop star Katy Perry in Montreal, goes mountain-climbing with son in Switzerland

Justin Trudeau dines with pop star Katy Perry in Montreal, goes mountain-climbing with son in Switzerland

Calgary Herald5 days ago
Former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is having a busy summer, having vacationed in Switzerland with his 17-year-old son Xavier Trudeau and having dinner with pop star Katy Perry at a Montreal restaurant.
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On Tuesday, the gossip website TMZ posted photographs of Perry and Trudeau dining at Le Violon, located in Montreal's La Plateau neighbourhood. The eatery has a focus on seafood dishes and seasonal Quebec produce. The restaurant was included in the Michelin Recommended list and ranked 11th on a list of the best 100 restaurants in Canada.
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'Katy and Justin were lovely. Very kind and warm with the staff,' the restaurant told National Post in a statement. 'Chef Danny Smiles stopped by their table during the night to say hello, and before heading out, they came into the kitchen to thank the whole team. It was a pleasure having them.'
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Trudeau has been separated from Sophie Grégoire since 2023 after 18 years together. Perry confirmed her separation from film star Orlando Bloom this July, after being engaged for three years.
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In addition to the Montreal dinner, Trudeau took a father-son trip to Switzerland, and was mountain climbing in Zermatt, in Valais, a canton in southwest Switzerland. Trudeau shared six photos on his Instagram with a caption giving details about the trip.
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View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Justin Trudeau (@justinpjtrudeau)
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'Took @xavtrudeau_ to Zermatt, Switzerland for some mountaineering, hiking, via ferrata-ing, and more melted cheese than anyone should safely eat.'
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Trudeau also shared an Instagram story video showing the views of being at the top of the mountain Pollux, at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters.
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After more than nine years as prime minister, Trudeau announced his resignation in early January. He did not run for his seat in Parliament in the federal election held in late April.
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Trudeau has often been seen in the outdoors over the years. In 2019, he stopped to take selfies with a woman while hiking Vancouver's Grouse Grind. In late 2024, his family vacationed at RED Mountain in southern B.C. for a week.
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The trip to Switzerland happened just a week after his son released his first EP, 'When Does It End.' The R&B EP has five tracks and a musical project that follows Xavier's first releases in January 2025.
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A convicted priest is back at work. Child advocates want Pope Leo to act
A convicted priest is back at work. Child advocates want Pope Leo to act

Vancouver Sun

time4 hours ago

  • Vancouver Sun

A convicted priest is back at work. Child advocates want Pope Leo to act

VATICAN CITY – He was the personification of shame in the Vatican, the lone prisoner in the three-cell jail of the world's smallest sovereign state. Now, the Rev. Carlo Alberto Capella – convicted of possessing and distributing a 'large quantity' of child pornography while serving as a Vatican diplomat in Washington – is presenting Pope Leo XIV, the new American pontiff, with one of the first challenges of his papacy. Capella, a 58-year-old Italian priest, was investigated by U.S. and Canadian authorities for almost two years for gathering and sharing child pornography while a senior diplomat at the Holy See's embassy in Washington. In 2017, the U.S. State Department asked the Vatican to waive his diplomatic immunity, a request it denied. Instead, Capella was recalled to Rome, where he admitted to tracking down 'repugnant' images and, in a rare Vatican criminal trial a year later, was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. In recent weeks, reports have emerged on Catholic blogs of his 2022 release and quiet return to work at the Holy See's Secretariat of State. His restoration to the powerful department has outraged advocates for the survivors of abuse by Catholic clerics. They insist that even though he was never accused of sexual abuse, a convicted priest who consumed child pornography has no place in a prominent Vatican office. 'Why not give him a job scrubbing floors, or bathrooms, at the Vatican,' said Peter Isely, a member of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP. 'Why is he still an official member of the state department? It's wrong on every level.' As Pope Leo is confronted with demands to act, he becomes the fourth pontiff since the 1990s to face scrutiny, and potentially judgement, over how he handles the still-emerging cases of sexual crimes committed by clerics. Pope John Paul II faced both contemporary and posthumous criticism for his handling of abuse cases. The issue dogged Benedict XVI even more, with a chorus of complaints seen as one of several factors contributing to his historic decision to retire. Pope Francis enacted reforms aimed at addressing the scandals, yet survivor groups routinely took him to task for failing to adopt a policy of zero tolerance including mandatory reporting to civil authorities. Now advocate groups are looking to Leo to chart a different course, and even reverse Francis on the Capella case. Capella's attorney, Roberto Borgogno, said in an interview that his client was released a year early, in the first part of 2022, for 'good behavior' and resumed work at the secretariat in January 2023. Pope Francis, Borgogno said, approved Capella's return and had at least one direct post-release conversation with him about his contrition. 'These are certainly decisions made logically, rationally, by the pontiff at the time,' Borgogno said. The direct involvement of Francis and the specifics of Capella's living arrangement and monitoring have not been previously reported. Capella, whose work is limited to checking translations and doing archival work, now lives just outside the Vatican, in a center for retired diplomats, his lawyer said. His work computer is monitored by Vatican officials, though he has an unmonitored personal cellphone. Borgogno noted that while Capella had not been defrocked, Vatican authorities stripped him of his elevated title of monsignor. Though he returned to the secretariat in 2023, Capella was considered to be 'on probation' and only recently appeared on the Holy See's official personnel registry. 'It's merely a desk job,' Borgogno said. 'He won't be carrying out pastoral work; he won't be in contact with people on the outside.' Through Borgogno, Capella declined an interview request. The renewed focus on Capella comes as Archbishop Guy de Kerimel of Toulouse, France, faces criticism for appointing a priest, convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy in 1993, to the senior post of archdiocesan chancellor, citing the moral imperative of forgiveness. Victims groups are now calling on Leo to intervene in both instances. 'This is a test,' said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of a watchdog group that tracks abuse cases in the Catholic Church. 'To me, it brings up bigger questions of the Vatican's continued rejection of zero tolerance for sex offenders. I think these two things together really put all eyes on Pope Leo. We're all wondering if he will be tougher on sex abusers than Pope Francis was.' The Secretariat of State did not respond to a detailed request for comment. A senior Vatican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter said he didn't know whether Leo had been briefed on the cases or intended to take specific action. It's hardly unheard of for a pope to reverse a predecessor's decision – Francis, for instance, curbed use of the traditional Latin Mass after Pope Benedict XVI had relaxed restrictions on it. 'The pope clearly has jurisdiction in the matter … it will all be up to him,' said Giovanni Maria Vian, former editor of the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, and a historian of early Christianity. 'He's likely aware of the [Capella] case. It wouldn't be unusual if he took action.' The official described Capella's job as one in which he has minimal contact with the public and can 'earn his keep.' His return to work is a chance for Capella to 'redeem' himself, the official said, arguing that no punishment for such priests will ever 'be enough' for some victims advocates. If everyone who does wrong 'gets shunned,' the official said, 'few of us would still be standing.' The Washington Post reported in 2021 that Capella had been allowed to participate in a work-release program in which he spent mornings at the small Vatican office that sells certificates of papal blessings for personal occasions. Now, Capella's case is once again underscoring how the Holy See routinely approaches wrongdoing by clerics – from the religious standpoint of mercy and a spirit of Catholic atonement. That vision has clashed with that of victims advocates, who see Capella's return to the secretariat in any capacity, as well as the senior appointment of a convicted rapist in France, as evidence of an overly lenient approach. The demands for action have raised questions about how the new pope will handle perhaps the thorniest issue facing the faith he leads: tainted priests. Under Francis, the Vatican sought to address widespread allegations of church complicity. In 2019, he convened an unprecedented summit on clerical sexual abuse, later imposing a sweeping law requiring church officials to report accusations of abuse or official cover-ups to their superiors. But the law did not require allegations to be reported to civil authorities, and victims groups have pointed to more-recent scandals in Switzerland and elsewhere as evidence that not enough has changed. They say Leo should remove Capella from the secretariat and overturn the recent French appointment to show his commitment to zero tolerance. Leo has a mixed record on handling abuse cases. As a bishop in Peru, for instance, he won praise for moving against the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae – a secretive, archconservative Catholic group that expanded from Lima to several countries and was accused of systematic sexual and psychological abuse. At the same time, he was accused of lax oversight in the handling of abuse allegations by three women in his diocese of Chiclayo. Last month, in a note honoring a Peruvian journalist whose work helped expose sexual abuse within the Sodalitium group, Leo called for a cultural shift inside the church. It is necessary to instill 'throughout the Church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse: abuse of power or authority, of conscience or spirituality, of sexual abuse,' he wrote. 08-02-2025 01:57PM Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .

GUNTER: Trudeau cost Canada a chance to get into global LNG game — Trump and U.S. are reaping the benefit
GUNTER: Trudeau cost Canada a chance to get into global LNG game — Trump and U.S. are reaping the benefit

Toronto Sun

time5 hours ago

  • Toronto Sun

GUNTER: Trudeau cost Canada a chance to get into global LNG game — Trump and U.S. are reaping the benefit

President Donald Trump reads from a paper and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listens after reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and the EU at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland Sunday, July 27, 2025. Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / AP Last Sunday, at President Donald Trump's golf resort in Scotland (a.k.a. King Donald's summer palace), Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union pledged European countries would buy US$750 billion (over $1 trillion Canadian) of U.S. energy – largely LNG – over the next three years in return for Trump promising to impose only 15% tariffs on the union's member states. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Boy, those American and European trade negotiators must be dunces. Don't they know that three years ago, then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a special trip to Canada to ask our government to sell tens of billions in LNG to his country? Our economic genius of a prime minister, Justin Trudeau rejected Scholz's request because 'there is no business case' for selling LNG to Europe. The Germans almost immediately turned around and signed a 15-year agreement with Qatar for about $1.5 billion a year in LNG from that Gulf state. This past Thursday, the South Koreans made a similar deal with the U.S. — $100 billion (about $138 billion Canadian) in energy over four years, primarily LNG. What's wrong with these countries? Can they not see that the greatest economic mind of the 21st Century, Justin Pierre James Trudeau, had decreed it was foolhardy to sign such agreements? Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The U.S. deals with the EU and Korea just for LNG are worth about $800 billion Canadian over the next four years. The rest of the sales are for oil and nuclear fuels. A good part of that market might have been Canada's had we not been ruled by a 'green' dreamweaver and eco-cultist who prevented this country from jumping into the world LNG market early in the game. Now the Americans have sucked up a lot of the oxygen in the room, and it will be hard for Canada to get a foothold, even if current Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney gets off his duff and agrees to more pipelines and LNG ports. Trudeau's thinking (which remains Carney's thinking until the current Liberal government does more than just talk a good game) cost Canada at least $400 billion in investment during the Trudeau decade, drove down our per capita income, dropped us out of the 25 richest countries in the world, distorted our housing market and drove up prices and unemployment. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Even after the change in prime ministers this year, the OECD still projects Canada will have the lowest level of economic growth of any developed country in the world for at least the next 20 years, because we just can't bring ourselves to do the tough work of becoming an energy superpower. Do you have any idea how much government revenue could be generated from $400 billion? At least $100 billion in corporate taxes and energy royalties. And that doesn't include more income tax collected from more Canadians working at higher-paying jobs. I was being facetious above, of course, when I said Trudeau was an economic genius. I would list him and the economic devastation he wrought as the worst government this country has ever had. He and his woke, 'green' obsessed cabinet dug a huge pit and threw us in it. (Then he trotted off to a Katy Perry concert and date.) This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Mark Carney may sound and look more competent than Trudeau, but is he? Just about half of his cabinet were ministers in Trudeau's cabinet and were just as obsessed as Justin with combatting climate change and shutting down oil and gas. They voted in lockstep with Trudeau for the emission caps, harsh eco regulations, EV mandate, net-zero power grid and opposition to resource development and pipelines. Carney himself spent the better part of a decade, before becoming P.M., acting as the U.N.'s ambassador on 'green' investing (even though in his own portfolio he retained millions of shares in oil companies). He also frequently advocated leaving most of today's proven oil and gas reserves in the ground. Count me skeptical that this leopard has changed his spots. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun. Toronto Blue Jays Homes Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Columnists

Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu eyes new markets, smaller trade delegations
Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu eyes new markets, smaller trade delegations

Global News

time7 hours ago

  • Global News

Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu eyes new markets, smaller trade delegations

Ottawa's new trade minister says he's looking to sign deals in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and beyond — and to convince businesses to actually use the trade agreements Canada has already signed. 'My primary role as Canada's top salesman is to be out there hustling, opening doors for businesses and accessing new markets,' Maninder Sidhu told The Canadian Press. 'My phone has been ringing with opportunities because people want to deal with reliable, stable trading partners.' Prime Minister Mark Carney has tasked Dominic LeBlanc as minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade. Sidhu's job focuses on countries other than the U.S. Export Development Canada says Ottawa has 15 free trade agreements covering 51 countries, offering Canadian exporters preferential access to over 1.5 billion consumers. But Sidhu said Canadian businesses could be doing a lot more to look beyond the U.S., particularly as Washington threatens and imposes a range of tariffs. Story continues below advertisement Sidhu served four years as a parliamentary secretary in roles reflecting all three branches of Global Affairs Canada: aid, trade and diplomacy. The job saw him represent Canada in trade promotion events in Southeast Asia and security forums in the Caribbean. Sidhu worked as a customs broker before politics — a job that focuses on navigating red tape and tariffs to secure the best rate for trading goods. Sidhu said he plans to visit Brazil soon as the South American country seeks to revive trade talks that kicked off in 2018 between the Mercosur trade bloc and Canada. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy His predecessor Mary Ng put an emphasis on large trade missions which took months to plan. The minister would sometimes fill a plane with corporate and business leaders, spending a substantial chunk of time in one or two countries. Sidhu said he is hoping to bring smaller delegations of companies with him on his trips abroad, with a focus on specific sectors, 'whether it's South America, Indo-Pacific to Europe, to Africa.' 'Businesses feel like they're heard, but they're also getting higher-level meetings on the opposite side in the countries that we take them into,' he said. Ottawa is navigating its trade ties with China as the two countries work to revive the decades-old Joint Economic and Trade Commission, a forum to sort out trade irritants. Story continues below advertisement China has been roundly accused of engaging in coercive trade practices and of restricting certain commodities or services like tourism during political disagreements with Ottawa. Sidhu said the goal there is to offer 'stability' to industry, with an emphasis on 'how do we work through those challenges, and how do we make sure that those conversations are facilitated.' Sidhu also downplayed the chances of a bilateral trade deal with the United Kingdom. Trade talks collapsed last year over the U.K.'s desire to sell more cheese in Canada and after Britain blocked Canadian hormone-treated beef. Both countries are using a temporary deal put in place after Britain left the European Union, and the U.K. will soon enter a trade bloc that focuses on the Pacific Rim, Sidhu noted. He said Canada would still be open to a full deal. 'If U.K. and Canadian businesses already have access on 99 per cent of the items that we trade, then if we're looking at trade agreements, we need to make sure that we're getting the best value for our negotiations,' Sidhu said. He also said Canada could consider 'sector-specific agreements' with other countries, instead of comprehensive deals that span most industries. 'We are getting very creative in how we can open up more doors,' he said. Story continues below advertisement Sidhu did not name specific countries where Canada might pursue sector-specific agreements. Canada had been looking at a trade agreement with India that would be limited to certain sectors — before Ottawa suspended talks in 2023 following an assassination the RCMP has linked to New Delhi. Ottawa launched security talks with India this spring and agreed to re-establish high commissioners. Sidhu was circumspect when asked when Canada might re-establish trade talks with India. 'This is a step-by-step approach,' he said, adding that the eventual return of top envoys will help 'to carry out those very important conversations.' Sidhu said Global Affairs Canada is still sorting out how Carney's decision to cut spending in all departments will affect the trade branch. 'It's really going to be a focused approach, of where we can make the best impact,' Sidhu said. The Business Council of Canada has urged Ottawa to expand the number of trade commissioners, who provide the contacts on the ground for Canadian companies looking for export opportunities. While Sidhu did not say whether Ottawa's cuts will mean fewer trade commissioners, he said he's heard a clear message from chambers of commerce that these positions are extremely valuable. 'It comes down to return on investments, what programs are working (and) where can we get the best bang for our buck for Canadian industry and Canadian workers,' he said. Story continues below advertisement 'A lot of the business community doesn't even know that (the Trade Commissioner Service) is there to help. And so my job is to help amplify that.'

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