Latest news with #JaimeBattiste
CTV News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Carney leads Canadian delegation to the Vatican for Pope's inaugural mass
Prime Minister Mark Carney is pictured during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, not shown, in Rome, Saturday, May 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld ROME — Prime Minister Mark Carney is at the Vatican today, leading a Canadian delegation attending the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. Carney, a devout Catholic, will be among a number of world leaders and heads of state in attendance who will all have a brief meeting with the pontiff inside Saint Peter's Basilica after the mass. Carney met a number of them on Saturday on his first official visit to Italy, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he hosted at Canada's Official Residence to the Italian Republic. Thirteen Canadian MPs will also attend the mass, including Jaime Battiste, who was part of a reception with Canadian Catholic Cardinals on Saturday evening in Rome alongside the prime minister. The Nova Scotia MP says he's looking forward to hearing how the Pope 'sets the tone' for how he will lead. 'It's kind of like our version of the speech from the throne as members of Parliament,' Battiste told reporters outside Canada's Official Residence. Indigenous leaders have long called on the Vatican to repatriate thousands of Indigenous artifacts taken from communities in Canada. The late Pope Francis had expressed a willingness to return colonial-era artifacts in the Vatican Museum. Battiste said the return of the artifacts came up in his meeting with the Cardinals, and their return is an important step toward reconciliation. 'I've always said that reconciliation is a journey, not a destination, and we all have steps to take on that journey,' Battiste said. 'I was proud to see our prime minister was talking about reconciliation between Indigenous communities and the Catholic church.' Quebec MP Jean-Yves Duclos is also part of the Canadian delegation to the Vatican. He said the church plays an important role in fostering peace between countries. Last week Leo offered to host peace talks at the Vatican between Russia and Ukraine. 'We need more peace in this world, and I think we will be hearing more of that on the part of the Pope,' Duclos told reporters. 'I think (hosting peace talks) is a very important thing that the church can do. The church is not an armed country, it's a small state … with a lot of influence. To try to bring people together, as opposed to divide our humanity, is the right thing to do.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2025. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Liberal leadership candidates clear a challenging fundraising hurdle
OTTAWA — The campaign teams for the remaining Liberal leadership contestants all confirmed Friday they have cleared a major fundraising hurdle, allowing them to remain in the race. The campaigns said they have each paid the party $125,000 that was due today — part of an instalment plan to manage a hefty total entry fee of $350,000. The candidates will have to come up with a final payment of $125,000 by Feb. 17. Former Liberal House leader Karina Gould's campaign confirmed Friday afternoon she cleared the bar and said the average individual donation to her campaign was $150. Her campaign raised questions about how long she could stay in the race when it sent out a fundraising email Tuesday night warning supporters she needed to raise $100,000 by the 5 p.m. deadline. She said Thursday the party establishment tried "as hard as possible" to keep the number of candidates low and that she was working to meet an "extremely aggressive" fundraising deadline. Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste, who was the only First Nations candidate in the race, was forced to drop out of the running when the last payment deadline arrived a week ago. He said his campaign struggled to raise the funds in such a short time. A spokesperson for candidate Frank Baylis, a former Liberal MP and Montreal businessman, confirmed Friday the party received his payment. Baylis told a press conference Thursday that he would meet all the fundraising deadlines. "I understand the party. It's in a very difficult position. This is a very condensed race. We have a very short time period," he said. "But I respect what the party is doing, and we're going to work within the confines of the rules that the parties laid out." Sakshi Mehrotra, a spokesperson for former MP Ruby Dhalla's campaign, said in an email she raised the $125,000 and sent the money off to the party Friday morning. Former central bank governor Mark Carney and former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, widely seen as the front-runners, have both made their payments as well. The Liberal party is looking to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in record time. Trudeau announced Jan. 6 that he would step down as soon as a new leader was elected, and prorogued Parliament until March 24. The party later announced it would elect its next leader on March 9. The candidates will meet in two debates — one in English and one in French — after the Feb. 17 final fee payment deadline passes. The party reported a week ago that nearly 400,000 supporters registered as members to vote in the leadership race before the deadline. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2025. Michel Saba and Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
