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In The News for today: Alberta pension plan a no-brainer and APEC summit continues

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Alberta pension panel hears calls to exit CPPThe panel hearing feedback on whether Alberta should quit the Canada Pension Plan is hearing from multiple callers that it’s time to embrace a “no-brainer” provincial program.A number of callers to the panel’s latest telephone town hall say the province is contributing far more than it gets back in Confederation and that it’s time to look after Alberta first.One caller says if Albertans can get a better deal going it alone, then it’s a no-brainer.A number of other callers say they are against leaving, asking why Alberta wants to abandon a national plan that is working.Premier Danielle Smith’s government is gathering public opinion on whether there is an appetite to hold a referendum on leaving the C-P-P.China syndrome: Trudeau keeps Xi at a distanceBlame the alphabet for the fact Justin Trudeau and Xi Jinping had a c...

First person charged under Australia’s foreign interference laws denies working for China

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Lawyers for the first person to be charged under Australia’s foreign interference laws insisted in court Friday that a donation to a hospital made via a federal government minister was not a covert attempt to curry favor on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.Melbourne businessman and local community leader Di Sanh Duong, 68, has pleaded not guilty in the Victoria state County Court to a charge of preparing for or planning an act of foreign interference. Vietnam-born Duong, who came to Australia in 1980 as a refugee, faces a potential 10-year prison sentence if convicted in the landmark case.He is the first person to be charged under federal laws created in 2018 that ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics and make industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime. The laws offended Australia’s most important trading partner, China, and accelerated a deterioration in bilateral relations.The allegation centers on a novelty check that Duong ha...

Rogers Sugar strike taking some of the sweetness out of holiday season for bakers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

A bitter strike at the Rogers Sugar refinery in Vancouver is taking some of the sweetness out of the holiday season for bakers and candy-makers.Across Western Canada, small businesses that depend on sugar are struggling with shortages and higher costs as labour action at one of the country’s few sugar processing facilities stretches into a seventh week.At Le Gateau Bakeshop in Vancouver, owner Tanya Muller is growing increasingly concerned. During the busy Christmas season, she typically goes through 150 to 200 kilograms of sugar per week making the 20 different varieties of holiday cookies her bakery specializes in.But right now, the maximum amount of the sweet stuff her wholesale supplier can give her is two bags, or 40 kilograms, per week. “We’ve been doing things like lining up early in the morning at Costco and trying to get in first thing to see what’s available there. And sometimes that works, and sometimes, you know, Costco doesn’t have anything...

Canada’s Haiti envoy: ‘Nothing is moving fast enough’ to end country’s gang crisis

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s ambassador to Haiti says he hopes the world will move faster to help the country emerge from a prolonged period of lawlessness that has other Caribbean leaders on edge.“When it comes to Haiti, nothing is moving fast enough,” André François Giroux said in an interview this week.“The needs are critical. You’ve got three crises in parallel here: humanitarian, safety and political.”For more than three years, Haiti has faced violence, widespread sexual assaults and a hunger crisis. Violent gangs have filled a power vacuum, taking over the capital of Port-au-Prince in brazen gun battles before spreading to rural regions and occupying farms.Kidnappings are pervasive in Haiti. When asked how many Canadians have been taken in by gangs, Global Affairs Canada said the number of Canadian citizens requesting consular assistance in Haiti for any reason was 175 in 2022. The number stands at 134 so far this year.In October, the United Nations Se...

After close encounter at APEC summit, Trudeau appears to steer wide berth around Xi

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Blame the alphabet for the fact Justin Trudeau and Xi Jinping had a close encounter at this week’s APEC summit. China and Canada routinely rub elbows when leaders gather for photos at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. But outside the family photo, officials took pains to point out that the two leaders shared little Thursday beyond a perfunctory hello. Look for the prime minister to be asked during today’s closing news conference whether he plans to change that anytime soon. U.S. President Joe Biden spent four hours with his Chinese counterpart Wednesday in an effort to ease lingering tensions. Whether Trudeau has any plans to follow Biden’s lead remains to be seen.“I think it’s good for the U.S. that the two presidents had their discussion. I think it’s good for the world,” said Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. The two leaders agreed to resume military communications and reached a p...

Spotlight on terror laws at trial of man found guilty in London attack

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

TORONTO — A landmark trial that put Canada’s terrorism laws in the spotlight has culminated in a guilty verdict, but what role terror allegations played in the jury’s decision to convict Nathaniel Veltman in a deadly attack on a Muslim family will remain a mystery.Jurors on Thursday found the 22-year-old Veltman guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for hitting the Afzaal family with his truck while they were out for a walk in London, Ont., on June 6, 2021.The judge overseeing the trial, Justice Renee Pomerance, had instructed the jury they could deliver a first-degree murder verdict if they unanimously agreed that the Crown established Veltman had intended to kill the victims, and planned and deliberated his attack.She also told the jurors they could reach a first-degree murder conviction if they found that the killings were terrorist activity.Juries do not provide details on how they reach their decisions, nor can they be questi...

Debate over ‘from the river to the sea’ chant rages after Calgary protester charged

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

CALGARY — A debate is raging over a phrase being chanted by pro-Palestinian activists at rallies across the country after a protester was charged in Calgary.Police charged Wesam Cooley, also known as Wesam Khalid, earlier this month with causing a disturbance. A hate motivation has been applied.Police said two groups of protesters gathered at city hall on Nov. 5 to show support for Palestine and Israel amid the conflict in the Middle East. Officers met with each group to address the safety of participants and discuss some of the language and signage from past protests.Police allege Cooley took to the stage, acknowledged the conversation with officers then repeatedly used an “antisemitic phrase” while encouraging the crowd to follow along.Cooley’s lawyer, Zachary Al-Khatib, said it appears Cooley was arrested for chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestinians will be free.”Al-Khatib said there’s nothing hateful about calling for freedom and equa...

Powerful earthquake shakes southern Philippines; no tsunami warning

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful undersea earthquake shook the southern Philippines on Friday, officials said. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries, and no tsunami warning was in effect.The quake measured magnitude 6.7 and was located 26 kilometers (16 miles) from Burias at the southern tip of the Philippines, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology measured the quake at magnitude 7.2 and said it was only 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep. Shallow earthquakes are more likely to cause damage on the Earth’s surface.The Philippines experiences regular earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The Associated Press

More than 240 Rohingya refugees afloat off Indonesia after they are twice refused by residents

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

ACEH UTARA, Indonesia (AP) — Some 240 Rohingya Muslims, including women and children, are afloat off the coast of Indonesia after two attempts to land were rejected by local residents.Officials said the boat most recently tried to land in Aceh Utara district, in Indonesia’s Aceh province, on Thursday afternoon, but left a few hours later.It is the fourth boat to reach Indonesia’s northernmost province since Tuesday. Three others arrived in a different district and were allowed to land.Residents of the Ulee Madon beach in Muara Batu sub-district said they would not accept the latest group as Rohingya have have come to the area several times and caused discomfort to the residents.“From a humanitarian perspective, we are concerned, but from another perspective, they are causing commotion. We provided shelter to them, but we also cannot accommodate them,” Saiful Afwadi, a traditional leader at Muara Batu sub-district said on Friday.Rahmat Karpolo, a head of village, said that the reside...

Commission welcomes political agreement to better protect workers against lead and diisocyanates exposure

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:14 GMT

The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached on 14 November between the European Parliament and the Council on the Commission's proposal to amend two Directives: for lead, the Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances at work , and for lead and diisocyanates, the Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work.The update will improve workers' protection from the health risks linked to the exposure to dangerous chemicals: lead and diisocyanates. In the case of lead, significantly reduced exposure limits will help prevent health issues of workers, for example affecting reproductive functions and foetal development. For diisocyanates, new exposure limits will prevent cases of occupational asthma and other respiratory diseases.This agreement marks an important step toward implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan as regards occupation...