Saskatchewan premier says he wouldn't stop vote on separating from Canada
Article content
REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he's a true Canadian but wouldn't stop a public vote on separating from the country if it came forward.
Moe says residents are allowed to trigger provincial legislation for a plebiscite on the issue.
He says he does not judge people for having different opinions but says he supports a united Canada.
Saskatchewan law allows the public to bring forward a petition for a plebiscite as long as 15 per cent of eligible voters sign on.
Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says Moe should rule out a vote on separation.
She says the idea is irresponsible and plays into the hands of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has mused about annexing Canada.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
12 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Canada condemns Iran's attack on Israel, calls for de-escalation: Anand
OTTAWA - The Canadian government is condemning an Iranian attack on Israel after a barrage of long-range missiles was launched at Tel Aviv in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Iran. Israel attacked Iranian missile and nuclear sites Friday and Iran warned of 'severe punishment' before launching its missiles in response.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Albertans to start paying for COVID-19 vaccines after province changes immunization program
Many Albertans will have to start paying for a COVID-19 vaccine this year. In a press release Friday, the Government of Alberta said it was reducing eligibility for publicly-funded immunizations for the virus. The province said just over 1 million COVID-19 vaccines were wasted in the 2023-24 respiratory virus season, equating to 54 per cent of Alberta's order that year. It said the decision was made in response to changes to the federal vaccine procurement process earlier this year, which made provinces responsible for buying their own vaccines. 'Now that Alberta's government is responsible for procuring vaccines, it's important to better determine how many vaccines are needed to support efforts to minimize waste and control costs,' release said. The new vaccine program will roll out in four phases. During the first, only residents in senior's supportive living and home care will be able to get a vaccine for free. The second phase will open provincially-funded COVID-19 vaccines to people with underlying medical conditions or compromised immune systems, people living in congregate living accommodations, people on social programs like AISH or income support or people experiencing homelessness. In the third and fourth phases, all other Albertans starting with those 65 years old or older will be able to purchase a vaccine. Sarah Hoffman, Alberta NDP shadow minister for health, released a statement calling the decision 'callous' and 'anti-science.' 'It's cruel for the UCP government to put further financial burdens on Albertans who want to protect their health and their loved ones and not get COVID,' Hoffman said in the release. 'If the UCP government was really interested in eliminating waste and protecting the health of Albertans it would be promoting vaccines. That way the supply would get used and we would keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.' The province did not give a timeline for the rollout of the new program and did not specify when Albertans would stop being able to get a free COVID-19 vaccine or booster. Anyone who would like a COVID-19 vaccine can pre-order one starting Aug. 11. The province said it doesn't know yet exactly how much a dose will cost but estimates it will be about $110. CTV News Edmonton has reached out to the health minister's office for more information.
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canada's giant immigration industry will have to get used to 'intense' public debate
When I was asked to address members of the immigration division of the Canadian Bar Association, I expected an audience of maybe 25 to 50 lawyers. But last Saturday, 400 immigration lawyers showed up at the Victoria Convention Centre to hear what three Canadian journalists and a think-tank member had to say about the media's impact on migration. The panel was asked to address immigration lawyers' fears that heightened media coverage is 'sparking intense public debate' and influencing 'how immigrants are perceived and how decisions are made.' In addition to offering our thoughts, panel members learned there are actually more than 1,200 immigration lawyers in the Canadian Bar Association, with their numbers mushrooming in the past 15 years. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. 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 Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. I noted there are another 13,000 licensed immigration consultants in Canada, a doubling in just seven years. The lawyers in Victoria let us know, justifiably, that the 'consultants' are not as highly trained as lawyers, or as regulated. On top of these private players employed in the migration sector, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has doubled its staff in a decade to more than 13,000 employees . Altogether, these professionals and workers add up to an army of more than 27,000 immigration specialists (about the same as the number of soldiers and staff employed by Canada's Department of Defence). All make their living helping migrants navigate the complexities of becoming a foreign student, temporary worker, reunified family member, investor immigrant or permanent resident of Canada. In addition, the C.D. Howe Institute maintains another huge cohort that does somewhat the same thing. Unlicensed agents — from the fields of travel, education and labour — also take fees for advising clients on how to get into Canada and stay there. The institute's Tingting Zhang and Parisa Mahboubi, therefore, maintain there should be many more licensed consultants — and that the government should offer better aid to the roughly six million people whose applications are each year processed for entry into Canada. In other words, the 400 lawyers who gathered last week at the Victoria Conference Centre represented just a fragment of the immigration business in Canada. No wonder it's called one of the country's biggest industries. Understandably, the gathered immigration lawyers, the slight majority of whom were women, wanted to do everything they could to help the clients in Canada and around the world who come to them. Their questions and comments all revolved around the hope that borders be more open and the often-labyrinthine migration process easier. They also worried about declining support for immigration. A Leger poll this spring found 58 per cent of Canadians believe migration rates are 'too high' . Even half of those who have been in the country less than a decade feel that way. Given the lawyers' desire to assist their clients, many were wary that in the past two years more journalists have been digging into migration policy and its impact. That's in large part because former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doubled immigration levels and increased the number of guest workers and foreign students by five times . Almost three million non-permanent residents now comprise 7.3 per cent of the population, up from 1.4 per cent in 2015. The lawyers noted that, after decades in which journalists essentially avoided migration issues, many more articles were being written about such topics as the sudden jump in asylum seekers, tens of thousands of international students not attending school, businesses exploiting temporary workers and population pressures on housing and rents. Two panelists, Toronto Star immigration reporter Nicholas Keung and Steve D'Souza of CBC's Fifth Estate, emphasized the value of talking to migrants to develop poignant 'human interest' stories. They have also investigated how bosses, fly-by-night colleges and some migrants have taken part in scams. In response to CBA's concerns that Canada's media were producing 'stories that have become a lightning rod for public sentiment, shaping how immigrants are perceived and how decisions are made,' the journalists on the panel explained it's our duty to cover migration stories, and all stories, in a way that is 'fair, balanced and accurate.' Although panelist Daniel Bernhard, of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, correctly said that some journalism about migration is superficial, I suggested it's generally a good thing Canada's long-standing national taboo against reporting on and debating migration policy has eased. Although some politicians, migration lawyers, consultants and other agents may not always like it, I also said journalists' goal is to responsibly probe to the truth of a matter and, beyond that, to 'let the chips fall where they may.' Since my Vancouver Sun editors about a dozen years ago asked me to produce more analyses about migration, I have learned covering the beat essentially amounts to writing about the 'winners and losers' of migration policy, which in Canada is put together behind closed doors. Some examples. Applied ethicists point to how it's one thing for Canadians to worry about a 'brain drain' — about losing talented citizens to places like the U.S. and Singapore. The more worrisome flip side, for countries in Africa and East Asia, is that Canada is actively draining away their brainy people, be they physicians or entrepreneurs. Then there are the 2.8 million temporary workers in Canada, many of them international students paying exorbitant school fees. Some have been winners, getting solid educations and decent jobs in their homelands or permanent residency in Canada. Others have been exploited for their willingness to work for low wages — which has, in turn, been a losing proposition for other low-skill workers in Canada. The job of tracking migration policies' winners and losers is endless, including covering the squeeze that rapid population growth and the trans-national migration of foreign capital is putting on those trying to pay Canadian housing costs and rents . Suffice it to say, journalists' job is to shine as much light as possible on this vast system, which impacts millions. The ultimate goal is to encourage the creation of policies that best serve the most people, which is one way to advance the common good. dtodd@
