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Vancouver Sun
25-06-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Sen. Patrick Brazeau collapses while speaking during Senate debate on major projects bill
OTTAWA — Senate debate on the federal government's major projects bill was briefly suspended after a senator collapsed on the floor of the chamber. Sen. Patrick Brazeau rose to speak before collapsing sideways onto the floor. Speaker Raymonde Gagne suspended proceedings for roughly half an hour. Paramedics entered the Senate chamber as many senators momentarily left, and Gagne thanked officials and colleagues for responding quickly after reconvening the session. The Canadian Press has reached out to Brazeau's office about the Quebec senator's condition. 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. The Quebec senator was speaking about Bill C-5, Prime Minister Mark Carney's controversial legislation that would grant Ottawa sweeping new powers to fast-track project permits amid a trade war with the U.S. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said Wednesday she hopes the Senate 'does the right thing this week' and allows for more time to study the legislation and bring forward amendments — a call that went largely unanswered when she issued it to MPs. The legislation was introduced at first reading in the upper chamber on Wednesday after it was fast-tracked through the House of Commons and went through a rare pre-study by the Senate. A programming motion adopted by the chamber fixes the bill to a tight schedule, with a final vote that must take place by the end of Friday. The politically charged legislation has angered Indigenous and environmental groups who criticize the government for rushing to grant itself sweeping new powers to fast-track project permits. But Carney has said Canada is facing an economic crisis due to the trade war with the U.S. and the country urgently needs to approve new 'nation-building' projects. Sen. Paul Prosper said in an interview Tuesday night the bill is moving too quickly through Parliament and it needs to better reflect concerns raised by Indigenous groups who fear that accelerated project approvals will push aside their rights. He has vowed to try to amend the bill but was not ready to say how. 'The overall objective of the bill, I'm sure a lot of people resonate with that and see the need for it,' Prosper said. 'But does it have to be within this prescribed and shortened timeline when you're not following the typical democratic process to consider something like this? 'There are some overarching provisions that allow the government to suspend existing laws and legislation, which is an extraordinary power in that regard. So there might be a need for some parameters around that, just to help ensure certain considerations with respect to the environment and which are integral to ensure Indigenous issues are taken into account.' Woodhouse Nepinak pointed out that the concept of 'free, prior and informed consent' — a condition of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that Canada approved _ is not mentioned in the bill itself, despite Carney and his ministers saying they'll consult with Indigenous Peoples. She said she's also worried about the Indigenous Advisory Council the government wants to insert into the projects approval process. She said the government can't use that body to claim it consulted with First Nations because that consultation wouldn't take into account the varied positions of leaders across the country. 'An advisory council appointed by the government will not be accountable to First Nations and will have no real power to ensure First Nations involvement in the project,' she said. — With additional reporting from Dylan Robertson Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here .
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Four killed in wave of bomb, gun attacks across southwest Colombia
Southwest Colombia has been rocked by a series of explosions and gun attacks near police stations that have left at least four people dead, according to police, an apparent coordinated attack that authorities have blamed on rebel groups. The attacks hit Cali – the country's third-largest city – and the nearby towns of Corinto, El Bordo, and Jamundi, targeting police stations and other municipal buildings with car and motorcycle bombs, rifle fire and a suspected drone, the head of police Carlos Fernando Triana told local radio station La FM on Tuesday. The bombings came just days after the attempted assassination of presidential hopeful Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay at a campaign rally in the capital Bogota, allegedly by a 15-year-old hitman, an attack that rattled a nation with a dark past of assassinations. In Corinto, an AFP journalist witnessed the tangled wreckage of a car that had exploded next to a scorched and badly damaged municipal building. 'There are two police officers dead, and a number of members of the public are also dead,' said Triana. Police later said at least two civilians were among those killed, and 12 others were injured. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, but military and police spokespeople blamed the strikes on the FARC-EMC, which is known to operate in the area. The group is led by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who broke away from the group after it signed a peace deal with the government in 2016. Triana suggested the attacks may be linked to the third anniversary of the killing of FARC dissident leader Leider Johani Noscue, better known as 'Mayimbu'. The bombings just three days after Uribe's attempted assassination have set Colombia further on edge. Uribe, a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Centre party, underwent successful initial surgery on Sunday. The hospital treating him said on Tuesday that he remained stable but in critical condition. 'We continue to take the necessary actions to mitigate the impact of the injuries,' the Santa Fe Foundation hospital added in a statement. Thousands have taken to the streets in major cities to light candles, pray and voice their anger at the assassination attempt. Authorities say they are investigating who was behind the attack on Uribe. Leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has vowed to bring peace to the country, said on Sunday that he had ordered additional security for opposition leaders in response to more threats. Many Colombians are fearful of a return to the bloody violence of the 1980s and 1990s, when cartel attacks and political assassinations were frequent, sowing terror across the nation. Colombia's government has struggled to contain violence in urban and rural areas as several rebel groups try to take over territory abandoned by the FARC after its peace deal with the government. Peace talks between the FARC-EMC faction and the government broke down last year after a series of attacks on Indigenous communities.
