Highlights from the news file for Monday, May 1
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TORIES ACCUSE SAJJAN OF 'STOLEN VALOUR': Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding fast amid angry calls for Harjit Sajjan's resignation and accusations the embattled Liberal defence minister has "stolen valour" from Canadian Forces colleagues. Opposition parties have launched an all-out attack against Sajjan, who apologized again today for having described himself as the architect of Operation Medusa, Canada's largest battle in Afghanistan in 2006. Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose went so far as to accuse Sajjan of stealing credit for the actions of others — something military personnel call "stolen valour." Conservatives have also called on House of Commons Speaker Geoff Regan to look into Sajjan's claims that the Tories, and not the Liberals, cut tax benefits to Canadian soldiers in Kuwait. The NDP are also blasting the minister amid calls for a new probe into the mistreatment of Afghan detainees, which Sajjan refused to entertain last year. But Trudeau says the defence minister simply made a mistake and has apologized fully.
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STRONG QUAKES JOLT YUKON, NORTHWESTERN B.C.: Dozens of aftershocks rattled parts of southern Yukon and northern British Columbia after a strong earthquake shook the area Monday morning. Natural Resources Canada reported the first quake with a magnitude of 6.2 hit at 5:31 a.m. Pacific time. It was centred in a remote area 77 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska, and 127 kilometres southwest of Whitehorse. The U.S. Geological Survey website showed that the shaker was followed by many more over the next 90 minutes, including aftershocks with magnitudes of 6.3 and 5.2. Four hours after the quake, the geological survey had recorded more than 50 temblors, and aftershocks continued to shake the area. Earthquakes over a magnitude of six can cause damage to buildings, even well-built ones. Both the National Weather Service in the U.S. and Emergency Info B.C. said the quakes were not expected to trigger a tsunami.
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LAWYER SAYS SENATOR WON'T ADDRESS AIDE'S ALLEGATIONS: A lawyer for Don Meredith said Monday the senator will not address sexual harassment allegations contained in a published news report. The weekend article by HuffPost Canada cited a former female aide alleging the senator repeatedly groped her behind closed doors. The woman, who was not named, also alleged Meredith threatened to wreck her employment prospects if she complained to anyone about him. Meredith's lawyer, Bill Trudell, said the senator would not respond to the accusations. Meredith could find out within days what punishment the Senate ethics committee will be recommending for his unrelated sexual relationship with a teenage girl. The committee has been pondering a range of sanctions from reprimand to outright expulsion.
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MANITOBA SETS UP REFUGEE RECEPTION CENTRE: The Manitoba government is transforming a former seniors residence into a reception centre for asylum-seekers who walk across the border. The centre is being set up in Gretna, Man., an official border crossing close to Emerson where refugee claimants have been walking through fields to reach Canada from the United States. The province says the centre will provide short-term shelter, food and help with the necessary refugee claimant paperwork. In an emailed statement, the government says it expects up to 60 people could be housed in the vacant building. It says the vast majority of asylum-seekers will be moved to Winnipeg within days. A few hundred people have walked across open fields and through ditches into Manitoba since Jan. 1.
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TRUMP PROTECTIONISM HAS EU LOOKING TO CANADA: The EU's agriculture minister says the Trump administration's protectionist approach means European food and drink companies are seeking new opportunities in Canada. Phil Hogan tells The Canadian Press that's one reason why he is leading a trade mission of 60 European firms to Canada this week. Hogan says he left that European business delegation at home while he was in Washington last week for talks with U.S. officials. And he says he's confident Parliament will ratify the Canada-EU free trade deal before the summer break, which will mean more than 90 per cent of it will take effect under what is called provisional application. Negotiations towards a similar EU-U.S. trade deal are not officially dead, but Hogan says that with Trump in the White House, they are currently on hold. He says Trump's anti-trade policies represent an opportunity for Canada and the EU to build on trade links with each other and with other non-U.S. partners.
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U.S. SAYS CONDITIONS NOT RIGHT FOR KIM JONG UN MEETING: The White House says conditions aren't right for President Donald Trump to meet with Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite Trump's openness to that possibility in the future. Trump told Bloomberg he'd be open to a meeting under the right circumstances and that if it were appropriate, "I would be
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FORMER ONTARIO LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR CHARGED: A former lieutenant-governor of Ontario has been charged with six counts of wilfully exceeding federal political donation limits, including contributing more than legally allowed to Justin Trudeau and a rival candidate during the 2013 Liberal leadership contest. The charges against Henry N.R. Jackman, widely known as Hal, span a period of five years from 2008 to 2013. They were laid Monday by the commissioner of Canada elections, Yves Cote, at the request of the director of public prosecutions. Cote is not disclosing many details about the charges, including which political parties were involved. A spokeswoman for the commissioner says they involve donations to multiple parties, their riding associations and candidates. The commissioner has the discretion to deal with infractions of the Canada Elections Act without laying charges. He can issue letters of caution or conclude what's known as compliance agreements, in which the offender publicly admits responsibility for breaking the law but does not wind up with a record of conviction.
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BRACE FOR CLOSURE, CHAGGER WARNS COMMONS: Government House leader Bardish Chagger is putting her opposition colleagues on notice that the Liberals will be invoking closure on debate in the Commons a lot more often. The Trudeau government is backing down on some of the more contentious changes that it had been proposing to parliamentary procedure — changes that have had Conservative and NDP critics up in arms for weeks. But Chagger says the result will require the government to use "time allocation" — shutting down debate, essentially — more often in order to get things done. In a letter to her opposition counterparts Sunday, Chagger said she would proceed only with those changes promised in 2015 election campaign, including having the prime minister deliver all the responses in one question period each week. Chagger is letting go of more controversial proposals, which the opposition parties have denounced as an attempt by the Liberals to control the parliamentary agenda and curtail their efforts to hold the government to account.
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HOME CAPITAL SEE MORE CASH WITHDRAWALS: Home Capital says it expects to receive an initial $1 billion on Monday from the $2-billion credit line it was provided last week as more customers pulled their savings out of the struggling mortgage lender. Shares of the Toronto-based lender tumbled last week following allegations from Ontario's securities watchdog that it misled investors, accusations it says are without merit and has promised to defend itself against. The news spurred many savers to withdraw their deposits, which Home Capital uses to fund its lending. The stock tumbled another 20.77 per cent, or $1.67, shortly after the Toronto Stock Exchange opened Monday and was trading at $6.37. Home Capital says it expects the total amount in its high-interest savings accounts will dwindle to about $391 million by the end of Monday, a decline of about $1 billion from a week ago. It also says the balance of total guaranteed investment certificates has fallen to $12.86 billion as of Friday, down from $13.01 billion as of last Monday.
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OILERS FANS HELP SING U.S. NATIONAL ANTHEM: The "Star-Spangled Banner" got a unique rendition on Sunday night at Rogers Place. Canadian country singer Brett Kissel came out to sing the U.S. national anthem decked out in an Oilers jersey and guitar prior to Game 3 of Edmonton's Western Conference semifinal game against the Anaheim Ducks. But as he began to sing it, the microphone wouldn't work. After two tries, Kissel threw his hands in the air to conduct the crowd. "Brett knew the mic was gone. As an American, for a Canadian to sing the national anthem was pretty special to me," Oilers forward Patrick Maroon said Monday. "Certainly got me going. That was pretty cool." Oilers anthem singer Robert Clark then gestured with his microphone for the crowd to continue their a capella performance with "O Canada."
The Canadian Press
