Why would female lawyers represent men in sexual crimes?
Heather Mallick is a Toronto-based columnist covering current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Bluesky @hmallick.bsky.social
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Vancouver Sun
8 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canada denounces Hong Kong's bounties on pro-democracy advocates living abroad
The Canadian government is condemning Hong Kong's law enforcement authorities after they issued bounties and warrants for 19 pro-democracy activists, some of whom live in Canada. In a joint statement, federal Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Saturday that Canada will not tolerate what it describes as an attempt for Hong Kong 'to conduct transnational repression abroad.' The statement came after Hong Kong police announced Friday warrants and rewards for 19 activists for 'suspected contravention' of its National Security Law for their roles in promoting self-determination in the Chinese special administrative region. 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. Some of the activists named, including Canadian Victor Ho, already faced warrants stemming from an announcement from Hong Kong in December and have a HK$1 million reward for information for their arrests. 'The new warrant … will help to draw more attention for (the) international community to realize that the transnational repression of (China) is so toxic and dangerous to normal people on exercising freedom of expression and speech,' Ho said in a text message to The Canadian Press. Ho added he was not surprised to hear his name on the new warrant list again, and the best policy on handling the situation is 'to keep everyday business as usual as possible.' The new list of 19 people added at least three other Canadian residents to the list with rewards of HK$200,000 offered, including Vancouver-based activist Keung Ka-wai. Keung said while he is somewhat concerned about his safety, he does not plan to stop his work in the Hong Kong democratic movement as he has already been arrested nine times and jailed twice for his participation before leaving for Canada. 'It is very important to us because that is our dream,' Keung said of the pro-democracy movement. 'And we have to do what must be done to develop the democracy of Hong Kong. 'I think it is really important to me and to every Hong Konger.' Hong Kong police said in its announcement that they are calling on those on the wanted list to return and turn themselves in instead of 'making more mistakes,' but Keung said he has no plans to do so. Ho agreed, adding that he is not concerned about his personal safety and has cut off all contact with Hong Kong family members since last year, and Global Affairs Canada has reached out to find out how many people living in the country are being targeted. In their joint statement, Anand and Anandasangaree criticized the warrants and say Canada 'stands in solidarity' with other 'international partners whose citizens and residents have also been affected by the new development,' which it calls an 'act of transnational repression.' 'The individuals targeted yesterday under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law in Hong Kong include Canadians and people with close ties to Canada,' their statement said. 'Canada reiterates its previous calls to repeal this law, which violates Hong Kong's international human rights obligations, and withdraw all related warrants and bounties.' Back in December, Ho responded in a Facebook post to his name being on the then-announced wanted list as the 'best Christmas present.' 'A Canadian citizen like me … has the protection of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and exercised his right to the freedom of speech,' said Ho, who is the former editor-in-chief of the Sing Tao Daily newspaper. Ho helped launched a plan in Canada to elect an unofficial 'Hong Kong parliament' in 2022, and the organizers' Facebook page says voting wrapped in June and garnered 15,702 total votes. — with files from The Associated Press Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
8 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Canada denounces Hong Kong's bounties on pro-democracy advocates living abroad
The Canadian government is condemning Hong Kong's law enforcement authorities after they issued bounties and warrants for 19 pro-democracy activists, some of whom live in Canada. Article content In a joint statement, federal Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Saturday that Canada will not tolerate what it describes as an attempt for Hong Kong 'to conduct transnational repression abroad.' Article content Article content Article content The statement came after Hong Kong police announced Friday warrants and rewards for 19 activists for 'suspected contravention' of its National Security Law for their roles in promoting self-determination in the Chinese special administrative region. Article content Article content 'The new warrant … will help to draw more attention for (the) international community to realize that the transnational repression of (China) is so toxic and dangerous to normal people on exercising freedom of expression and speech,' Ho said in a text message to The Canadian Press. Article content Ho added he was not surprised to hear his name on the new warrant list again, and the best policy on handling the situation is 'to keep everyday business as usual as possible.' Article content Article content The new list of 19 people added at least three other Canadian residents to the list with rewards of HK$200,000 offered, including Vancouver-based activist Keung Ka-wai. Article content Article content Keung said while he is somewhat concerned about his safety, he does not plan to stop his work in the Hong Kong democratic movement as he has already been arrested nine times and jailed twice for his participation before leaving for Canada. Article content 'It is very important to us because that is our dream,' Keung said of the pro-democracy movement. 'And we have to do what must be done to develop the democracy of Hong Kong. Article content 'I think it is really important to me and to every Hong Konger.' Article content Hong Kong police said in its announcement that they are calling on those on the wanted list to return and turn themselves in instead of 'making more mistakes,' but Keung said he has no plans to do so. Article content Ho agreed, adding that he is not concerned about his personal safety and has cut off all contact with Hong Kong family members since last year, and Global Affairs Canada has reached out to find out how many people living in the country are being targeted.
National Post
12 hours ago
- National Post
Andrew Richter: Keeping supply management is economic suicide
Article content Thus a question worth considering is what accounts for this support. No doubt part of the explanation is the power of several key domestic interest groups. Both the Dairy Famers of Canada and the Egg Farmers of Canada spend heavily on ads promoting it, and they have succeeded in persuading many Canadians that supply management results in safer products and more consistent supply. Article content In addition, supply management has strong support from most of Canada's media. The Toronto Star and the CBC go apoplectic at the mere mention of changes to it, and the generally centrist Globe and Mail is also quite supportive, in spite of its (supposed) commitment to free markets. Only National Post offers consistent criticism. Article content And lastly, supporters have succeeded in persuading Canadians that the program's demise would decimate our dairy sector, as they argue that domestic producers could not possibly compete with larger international players. Article content That last argument is particularly questionable, as there is little reason to doubt that in the absence of state-controlled quotas and prices, Canadian dairy farmers would become more efficient and innovative. Article content Article content Indeed, a similar argument was made decades ago with regards to wine. For years Canada's wine market was carefully regulated and foreign wines were heavily tariffed. Canadian producers argued that without such taxes the industry would be destroyed, as it could not possibly compete with French, Italian, and Spanish wines. Article content In fact, the opposite occurred. With the opening of the market, Canadian producers were suddenly forced to offer a better product, and the result has been an explosion in both the number of domestic producers (now approaching 1,000) and the quality of our wines. Indeed, Canadian wines now routinely win international competitions, something that would have been unthinkable 40 or 50 years ago (when something called Baby Duck seemed to be the best we could do!). Article content In sum, the Canada-U.S. trade talks have entered their final phase. But a familiar obstacle remains. The Canadian government seems totally committed to supply management, even if this support comes at the cost of killing a potential agreement. Such an outcome would be catastrophic, as Ottawa would literally be committing economic suicide. And yet this result is very much in play, and might be unavoidable if the U.S. decides that there will be no agreement unless Canada agrees to make dramatic changes to the program. Article content
