Politics

Canada Post and its workers’ union are entering a fresh round of mediated negotiations as a nationwide postal strike enters its fourth day Both sides return to the bargaining table Monday with a special mediator, Peter Simpson, who was appointed by the federal government last week.“The focus of the special mediator is for the parties to reach a deal,” Matthieu Perrotin, press secretary for Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, said in a statement to Global News on Monday.“Canadians are counting on the parties to reach a deal. Negotiated agreements are always the best way forward.”More than 55,000 Canada Post workers went on strike Friday, halting mail and parcel services across the country. Some post offices have also been shuttered amid the job action.On Monday, Canada Post said both “parties...

By David Baxter The Canadian Press Posted November 18, 2024 7:25 am Updated November 18, 2024 9:00 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Parliament closes in on its eighth week of gridlock over a privilege motion, as Canada Post employees are on strike and calls emerge to exclude Mexico from upcoming trade talks. While question period has continued, other house business is on hold due to a Conservative privilege motion calling on the government to turn over unredacted documents on...

By Dylan Robertson The Canadian Press Posted November 18, 2024 7:35 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday. The meeting will take place a day after The Associated Press reported that Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russia.Trudeau is also scheduled to meet today with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, for the first time since each took office. ...

President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied long-range missiles was met with ominous warnings from Moscow, a hint of menace from Kyiv and nods of approval from some Western allies. Biden’s shift in policy added an uncertain but potentially crucial new factor to the war on the eve of its 1,000-day milestone.News of Biden’s change came on the day a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy, a city in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring 84 others.On Monday, another Russian missile attack started fires in two apartment blocks in Odesa, in southern Ukraine. At least eight people were killed and 18 were injured, including a child, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said.Washingt...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending his embattled carbon-pricing program on the world stage, and he argues that misinformation is threatening environmental progress. Trudeau arrived today in Brazil for the G20 leaders summit, and addressed a conference held by the anti-poverty group Global Citizen.He touted Canada’s consumer carbon levy, arguing it is among the world’s strongest but “an easy political target” in Canada.Trudeau acknowledged pushback to the policy, but he said it is being fuelled by what he called propaganda and misinformation that affordability is in contrast with fighting climate change.He said his Liberal party has already won three elections on carbon pricing as an issue, and he said the policy is “very much in question” for the next election. ...

By The Staff The Canadian Press Posted November 17, 2024 3:04 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government could have acted faster on reining in immigration programs, after blaming “bad actors” for gaming the system. Trudeau released a nearly seven-minute video on YouTube Sunday talking about the recent reduction in permanent residents being admitted to Canada and changes to the temporary foreign worker program.Over the next two years, the permanent residency stream is being reduced by about 20 per cent to 365,000 in 2027. ...

Canada’s public safety minister says he’s confident in the work of agencies tasked with detaining and removing people in the country illegally and preventing security threats crossing into the U.S., but will boost enforcement resources if necessary. Dominic LeBlanc says that work by the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) should prove to the incoming Donald Trump administration — whose newly appointed “border czar” has called the Canada-U.S. border a “huge national security issue” — that Ottawa shares their concerns about border security.“I’m very confident in the work that they can do with their American counterparts, and we’ll reassure the American administration that we’re prepared to do the work that’s necessary,” LeBlanc told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Su...

The incoming Donald Trump administration and Republicans in Congress still see Canada as a friend and ally, but will continue to press Ottawa on addressing border security and defence spending, a prominent conservative advisor says. Georganne Burke, who has worked in both U.S. and Canadian politics and supported Trump’s return to the White House, says those two issues in particular will be major sticking points in the Canada-U.S. relationship unless the Liberal government shows it’s willing to act in the ways Trump wants.“The government has to get serious and understand that (Trump and Republicans) are not asking for anything crazy,” she told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block. “They’re simply saying, ‘Can you guys do what’s needed on the border and can...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to leave Peru this morning for the G20 summit in Brazil as Ottawa seeks its place in a rift between the United States and booming economies in the developing world. The Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum with leaders ranging from long-standing allies such as French President Emmanuel Macron to populist firebrands like Argentine President Javier Milei.They’re meeting in Rio de Janeiro to try to find common ground on issues ranging from solving global hunger to setting rules around digital currencies.The summit comes less than two weeks after American voters decided to send Donald Trump back to the White House next year. During the campaign, Trump promised to pull the U.S. out of global institutions and raise tariffs on foreign goods.John Kirton, h...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Mexico has been a “solid partner” in North American trade negotiations, but acknowledged that Donald Trump’s concerns about Chinese investment in its economy need to be addressed. Trudeau was walking a delicate line at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Lima, Peru Saturday, as world leaders continue to grapple with Trump’s re-election and the prospect of four years of Republican rule in the United States.“Mexico was a solid partner in advancing the priorities of Canadians, of the priorities and interests of workers across North America,” in the last round of trade negotiations with the U.S., Trudeau told reporters.“And we’ll always look to work with our partners on creating more opportunities. There are concerns around the level of Ch...