‘I feel like an afterthought': Canadians fleeing Middle East criticize government response
Minister Anita Anand says Canada has helped more than 500 Canadians leave Israel and Iran, but face challenges over their airspace. Heather Wright explains.
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National Observer
14 minutes ago
- National Observer
Ottawa refuses to release its budget for Canada Day festivities in the capital
The federal government has set a budget for Canada Day programming in the National Capital Region this year but is refusing to say what it is. The budget for Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa and across the river in Gatineau, Que., typically ranges in the millions of dollars and pays for things like fireworks displays, performances and national broadcasts. A spokesperson for Heritage Canada said in a statement that while there is a budget for the events, the department won't provide the number until after the celebrations are over. "To ensure the most accurate information is made public, the total cost will be available upon request after the final tallies have been completed this summer," the spokesperson said. Neither Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault nor Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne responded to requests for comment about the budget for Canada Day this year. This is the first Canada Day since US President Donald Trump threatened to annex the country and embroiled much of the world in a trade war. Angus Reid polling from early in the trade dispute in February showed a jump in national pride in the face of Trump's "51st State" talk. Some 44 per cent of respondents said at the time they were "very proud" to be Canadian — up 10 points since just a few months earlier and reversing a long trend of declining national pride tracked by the pollster. A wave of "buy Canadian" sentiment followed after the US levied tariffs against Canada. A late May poll from Research Co. suggested three in five Canadians were still avoiding buying American goods when they could, though that was down four percentage points from a poll in March. Because the Angus Reid and Research Co. polls were conducted online, they can't be assigned a margin of error. In recent years, Heritage Canada has spent between $4.25 million and $5.5 million on July 1 festivities in the National Capital Region. Those figures fell below $3 million in 2020 and 2021 as the event went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the Canada 150 celebrations in 2017, the federal government spent more than $9 million over the course of three days that featured a royal visit from King Charles and Queen Camilla, who were the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall at the time. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
National Observer
14 minutes ago
- National Observer
Crime bill with stronger bail, sentencing provisions coming in fall: justice minister
The Liberal government will table a bill this fall introducing stricter bail conditions and sentencing for some crimes, particularly those involving organized crime, human trafficking, home invasion and car theft, Justice Minister Sean Fraser said in an interview. "It's perhaps obvious, given the tenor around the criminal justice system, that reforms are in order," Fraser told The Canadian Press. The government will consider including additional reforms but "at minimum" will implement the crime policies the Liberals promised during the spring federal election, Fraser said. Fraser was named justice minister by Prime Minister Mark Carney in May, following an election campaign which saw Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre blame the Liberals for a wave of violent crime. In their campaign platform, the Liberals in turn promised to make bail more difficult to get for some offences, including car thefts involving violence or organized crime, home invasions, and some human trafficking and smuggling offences. They also promised tougher sentencing guidelines for repeat car thieves and violent and organized crime, and to allow for consecutive sentencing for some cases of car theft and for serious and violent offences. Fraser said some parts of the country have seen an increase in certain kinds of criminal activity. "Auto thefts, though they may be down in the GTA this year compared to last, we have seen a trend where it was becoming a bigger problem," he noted, adding some of that was driven by organized crime. The changes to the law will establish a stronger deterrent, Fraser said. "It's not just a reaction to something you read about in a headline," he said. "It's meant to send a signal to deter problematic behavior that you want to address, to help people feel safe." Fraser said the government will consult on its plans and he's open to suggestions based on expertise and evidence. This bail reform plan comes two years after the Liberals introduced other bail-reform legislation in 2023. That came after calls from provincial leaders and many police chiefs to make bail more difficult to access for repeat violent offenders. The bill, which took effect in January 2024, made changes to bail for some firearms and weapons offences, and some circumstances in which the alleged crime involves intimate partner violence. The plan to introduce tougher measures comes after years of Conservatives accusing the Liberals of taking a "soft" approach to crime. Asked whether the coming legislation amounts to an admission the Conservatives had a point, Fraser said he views it "differently." "We hear from Canadians more broadly that there is a challenge with the criminal justice system," he said. "There is a challenge with the bail system." Fraser said that while he takes issue with what he called the Conservatives' "simplistic" slogans, Canadians across the country have "real concerns" that can't be dismissed "just because it's being raised in the House of Commons in a way that some may find inconvenient." He said that while there are areas where the federal government can do more, provincial governments — some of which have called for federal bail reform — have a big role to play. That role includes making sure judges and justices of the peace who make bail decisions have proper training, and detention centres have enough capacity, Fraser said. "We want to come into this conversation knowing that we've taken care of the challenges that fall within the federal government's purview, but we also want to enter a conversation with provinces and territories to say that we are not the only cook in the kitchen," he said. Fraser added the federal government also wants to bring provinces and territories together to work on gathering the data needed to address crime and justice issues at the local level. "The circumstances in rural Nova Scotia may not reflect the circumstances in downtown Toronto or in Canada's North," he noted. The federal government wants to take a wider approach to crime prevention that also addresses mental health, addictions, youth employment and affordable housing, Fraser said. "We also want to make sure that we go upstream and prevent fewer people from falling into a criminal lifestyle," he said.
Cision Canada
20 minutes ago
- Cision Canada
Canada joins new NATO Defence Investment Pledge Français
THE HAGUE, the Netherlands, June 25, 2025 /CNW/ - The world is increasingly dangerous and divided, with the rules-based international system under unprecedented pressure and global conflict becoming more frequent and volatile. To meet this moment, Canada and its Allies are building their defence capabilities to strengthen our collective security. Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced that Canada and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allies have agreed to a new Defence Investment Pledge of investing 5 per cent of annual GDP by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective security. The commitment aligns with Canada's own strategic defence and security goals. As part of this 5 per cent pledge, Canada will invest 3.5 per cent of GDP for core military capabilities, expanding on our recent investments. That means further investments in our Canadian Armed Forces, modernizing our military equipment and technology, building up Canada's defence industries, and diversifying our defence partnerships. An additional 1.5 per cent of GDP will be dedicated to investments in critical defence and security-related expenditure, such as new airports, ports, telecommunication, emergency preparedness systems, and other dual-use investments which serve defence as well as civilian readiness. Importantly, the progress of this pledge will be reviewed in 2029 to ensure Allies' expenditures align with the global security landscape. At the Summit, Canada and its Allies reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and the leaders agreed on the imperative for a just and lasting peace. Canada's contributions to Ukraine's defence and its defence industries, including Canada's $2 billion in military assistance announced last week at the 2025 G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, are included in our NATO contributions, as the security of Ukraine is critical to our collective security. Quotes "The world is increasingly dangerous and divided. Canada must strengthen our defence to better protect our sovereignty, our interests, and our Allies. These investments won't just build our military capacity – they will build our industries and create good, high-paying jobs at home. If we want a more secure world, we need a stronger Canada." — The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada "Canada is a proud founding member of the Alliance. In an increasingly unstable and unpredictable world, we are making the critical investments needed to keep Canadians safe, support our Armed Forces, and strengthen our role in Europe and on the world stage. The renewed Defence Investment Pledge to invest 5 per cent of GDP by 2035 reaffirms Canada's strong commitment to our security, to our sovereignty, and to NATO." — The Hon. , Minister of National Defence The Hague Summit Declaration Canada and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization This document is also available at
