Politics

Israel-Hamas hostage deal offers hope for longer-term peace in Gaza: Trudeau

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters before caucus, Wednesday, November 22, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld TTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a truce-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas might set the groundwork for an eventual end to the fighting. “This is an important bit of progress, but we have to redouble our efforts now to get toward a lasting peace,” Trudeau told reporters Wednesday morning on Parliament Hill. “This humanitarian pause is what Canada and others have been calling for, for weeks now.” He was speaking after Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, helped mediate ideal between Israel and Hamas, in which 50 hostages of Hamas are to be released in stages over four days, in exchange for what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinians prisoners held by Israel. The Israeli government said it would extend the truce by an additional day for every 10 hostages released, while Hamas is promising that hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including fuel, will be allowed to enter Gaza. Global Affairs Canada has said one Canadian is missing, but won’t confirm if that person is being held hostage. The United States said the group of about 240 hostages included American and Canadian citizens in a statement on the weekend. Trudeau added that the deal loomed large during a call with G20 leaders held Wednesday morning, and he hopes it will allow for more Canadians to leave the Gaza Strip. Six weeks of Israeli airstrikes have destroyed large parts of the Palestinian territory. “It is going to allow for hostages to finally be liberated; it’s going to allow for significant amounts of humanitarian aid to get in to the civilians and the innocent people in Gaza who desperately need it,” he said. “It’s going to allow for protecting of civilian life, including hopefully getting even more Canadians and foreign nationals out.” Montreal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said in a post on X, formally known as Twitter, that he was “very pleased that a deal has been reached” during his visit to Israel this week alongside other Canadian MPs. He said he has met with many hostage families in Israel, and he is happy that the deal between Israel and Hamas will lead to the release of 50 hostages and the delivery of significant humanitarian aid to Gaza. On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly expressed hope that a deal would allow all foreign nationals in Gaza to get out of the war zone, saying that still included roughly 200 people connected to Canada. No Canadians were among those on Wednesday’s list of foreign nationals approved to cross into Egypt from Gaza. Joly had said Tuesday that Canada wants “a humanitarian truce, which would lead to a potential ceasefire,” but Trudeau didn’t use the word “ceasefire” in his comments on Wednesday. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called the deal a relief, but said there must be an “immediate and unconditional” release of all hostages. “Hamas deserves no praise for agreeing to do less than the bare minimum,” the group posted on X. “The Canadian-listed terrorist organization has for weeks been negotiating with innocent Jewish lives, seeking to trade Israeli babies and mothers for Palestinians held on and convicted of terror related offences.” The National Council of Canadian Muslims echoed Trudeau’s comments that a temporary pause should lead to a longer peace, and asked Ottawa to take a leadership role. “Israeli leaders have vowed to keep the war going. Canada now must become a global leader in gathering support among allies and partners for a just peace — an end to violence that works for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the group wrote in a statement. The council wants Canada to convene international leaders to help broker a permanent ceasefire, stop arms exports to Israel if it vows to continue fighting and “take a clear stance on the rhetoric of ethnic cleansing from extremist leaders” in the Israeli government. The group’s requests come after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared “we are fighting human animals,” and Israel’s intelligence ministry issued a “concept paper” on the possibility of transferring the 2.3 million people living in Gaza to Egypt or other countries. The latest Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. Israel launched a retaliation campaign, including airstrikes and a ground offensive, which the health officials in Gaza say has killed more than 12,700 people. A cease-fire agreement between the Hamas militant group and Israel has been confirmed by both parties, along with Washington and Qatar, which helped broker the deal that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week. The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free over a four-day period at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Israel is to release some Palestinian prisoners in exchange. Egyptian state media say the truce will begin Thursday morning. Egypt helped mediate the cease-fire agreement, which would bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 11,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday to back the agreement that the war would continue even if a deal was reached. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas. JERUSALEM — The Israeli army says it has released an award-winning Palestinian poet it detained in Gaza. Mosab Abu Toha has been contributing pieces to western media since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, painting a dire picture of its toll on civilians through his personal experience. His family announced Monday that Abu Toha had been arrested while evacuating to southern Gaza from his home in the hard-hit Jabaliya refugee camp. Abu Toha last posted to X on Nov. 15, writing: “Alive. Thanks for your prayers.” Diana Buttu, a

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Canadians want to see carbon price paused on all home heating fuel, poll suggests

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A shed sits at the side of a house, containing home heating oil, in Halifax, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael MacDonald OTTAWA – A new poll suggests Canadians are broadly in favour of the federal government’s decision to exempt home heating oil from its price on carbon, and would welcome expanding the relief to all forms of home heating fuel. The governing Liberals announced last month a three-year reprieve from the carbon price for property owners who depend on heating oil, along with funding to help people make the switch to electric heat pumps. The abrupt about-face from a government that considers tackling climate change a cornerstone priority triggered an uproar in Ottawa over a controversial measure that has proven politically useful on both sides of the aisle. Climate activists denounced the reprieve as a short-sighted move that risks doing permanent damage to the Liberal government’s efforts to limit the impact of climate change. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, meanwhile, has vowed he would do away with the carbon price altogether as prime minister, rallying supporters at events across the country with cries of “axe the tax.” Just over half of respondents to the online Leger survey said they knew about the carve-out, while 48 per cent said they were not aware of it. Despite that, 63 per cent said they support the decision and only 37 per cent said they were opposed to it. Support was highest among those under age 44. The poll also suggests most people would be happy to see all forms of home heating fuel exempted : 70 per cent of respondents said they support an expansion, although that dropped to 58 per cent among people under 25. More than 1.2 million Canadian homes use home heating oil, according to Natural Resources Canada, and about a quarter of those are in Atlantic Canada. Almost a third of Atlantic Canadian homes rely on heating oil, meaning the policy has a disproportionate impact in that region. The Liberals have been accused by their critics of trying to save votes in Atlantic Canada. Some 78 per cent of Atlantic Canadians who took part in the survey said they were happy about the move. Opposition was highest in Quebec, where 43 per cent of respondents said they disagreed. Albertans were most likely to support an expansion to all home heating fuel, at 78 per cent, while 40 per cent of Quebec respondents felt the opposite. Asked about their grasp of the carbon pricing mechanism overall, about 44 per cent expressed a somewhat good or very good understanding, while 56 per cent said they understand it poorly or not at all. Men were more likely to say they understand the carbon price than women. Leger surveyed 1,531 people online, asking a range of questions about the carbon price. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. OTTAWA – A Conservative private member’s bill to exempt more fuel used by farmers from the carbon price is stirring up intense lobbying efforts in the Senate, and leaving the Liberals on the verge of being forced to carve up their signature climate policy even more. Alberta Sen. Paula Simons said that the effort to convince senators of how to vote on this bill is extreme from both sides of the debate. She said she’s concerned that rhetoric is outpacing reality in every direction. “I’ve never been lobbied like this on private member’s bill,” Simons said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “This bill has become symbolic and it’s being used as a wedge issue.” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has already made eliminating the carbon price the centrepiece of his political messaging ahead of the next federal election, has launched a full-on campaign to get the bill passed. That includes new ads launched on Wednesday. The premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario all wrote letters to senators asking them to vote in favour of the bill. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has reached out to some senators himself, seeking to push the government’s reasons for not wanting the legislation to pass. Simons said senators are receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of emails about it, most of them sent by bots. Bill C-234 was introduced by Ontario Conservative MP Ben Lobb in February 2022, and passed the House of Commons last March with the support of all parties except the Liberals. The bill seeks to take the carbon price off natural gas and propane used by farmers for heating their buildings or running their grain dryers. Farmers are already exempt from the price on pollution for gasoline and diesel to run their farm vehicles and machinery, but they have said the carbon price is costing them thousands of dollars for heating barns and drying their crops. Dave Carey, co-chair of the Agriculture Carbon Alliance, told the Senate agriculture committee in September that there are “no viable alternatives” for heating and cooling livestock barns and greenhouses, or for grain drying. He said the carbon price isn’t an incentive to change, but rather is a “significant financial burden on producers who don’t have other viable options.” Tom Green, senior climate adviser at the David Suzuki Foundation, told the committee there are things farmers can do to lower their fossil-fuel use for both barns and grain dryers, pointing to poultry farms that have installed solar roofs or thick insulation that reduced their energy consumption. He also noted that the government has grant programs to help them transition to lower-emitting options, and offsets farmers’ carbon costs with a tax credit. That tax credit came into being after Bill C-234 was first introduced. It is not connected to the actual carbon price that is paid or the amount of fuel that is used, but is instead calculated based on a farm’s income. Greenhouse operators can also get 80 per cent of the carbon price taken off when they buy fuel for their greenhouse operations. “Bill C-234 sets Canada on a slippery

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Ex-Minneapolis officer sentenced to nearly 5 years for role in George Floyd’s death

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Former officer Tou Thao listens as prosecutor Erin Eldridge speaks during his sentencing hearing in Hennepin County District Court on Monday in Minneapolis. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune/The Associated Press) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced Monday to four years and nine months — even as he denied wrongdoing. Thao had testified he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” At the sentencing hearing, Thao spoke at length about his growth as a Christian during his 340 days behind bars. He said he was “distressed” by Floyd’s death but denied any role in it. “I did not commit these crimes,” Thao said. “My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God.” Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill responded that he was hoping “for more than preaching” from Thao. “After three years of reflection, I was hoping for a little more remorse,” the judge said. Thao’s lawyer, Robert Paule, said afterward that they will appeal. He declined further comment. Home CCTV Camera in Brmapton Tou Thao, who was a nine-year veteran of the Minneapolis police force, leaves the courtroom after his sentencing hearing on Monday in the death of George Floyd in May 2020. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune/The Associated Press ) Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Assistant Attorney General Erin Eldridge said during the hearing that Floyd’s final words “reverberated across the globe.” Floyd, she said, “narrated his own death over the course of a restraint that lasted more than nine long minutes until he lost consciousness, stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating.” Thao, she said, “stood by and allowed it to happen” and stopped others from moving in to help the dying man. “He knew better, and he was trained to do better,” Eldridge said. Floyd’s killing touched off protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning of police brutality and racism. Cahill found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In his 177-page ruling, Cahill said Thao’s actions separated Chauvin and two other former officers from the crowd, including an emergency medical technician, allowing his colleagues to continue restraining Floyd and preventing bystanders from providing medical aid. “There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao’s actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,” Cahill wrote. He concluded: “Thao’s actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers’ excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid.” Thao had rejected a plea bargain on the state charge, saying “it would be lying” to plead guilty when he didn’t think he was in the wrong. He instead agreed to let Cahill decide the case based on evidence from Chauvin’s 2021 murder trial and the federal civil rights trial in 2022 of Thao and former officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng. That trial in federal court ended in convictions for all three. Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges instead of going to trial a second time, while Lane and Kueng pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter. The sentence Cahill handed down Monday will run concurrently with Thao’s three-and-a-half-year sentence on his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge, which an appeals court upheld on Friday. His state sentence was more than the four years recommended under Minnesota state guidelines. The sentence will be served at federal prison with credit for time served before Thao is transferred to a Minnesota prison to serve out the remainder. Lane and Kueng received three and three-and-a-half-year state sentences respectively, which they are serving concurrently with their federal sentences of 2 1/2 years and 3 years. Thao is Hmong American, while Kueng is Black and Lane is white. Minnesota inmates generally serve two-thirds of their sentences in prison and one-third on parole. There is no parole in the federal system but inmates can shave time off their sentences with good behavior. Best CCTV Security Services in Brampton Former Minnesota police officer J. Alexander Kueng is seen in a booking photograph at Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 3, 2020. Kueng, who is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on a state charge of aiding second-degree manslaughter. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton J. Alexander Kueng sentenced on state charge of aiding 2nd-degree manslaughter The former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back while another officer kneeled on the Black man’s neck was sentenced Friday to three-and-a-half years in prison. J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty in October to a state count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In exchange, a charge of aiding and abetting murder was dropped. Kueng is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, and the state and federal sentence will be served at the same time. Kueng appeared at his sentencing hearing via video from a federal prison in Ohio. When given the chance to address the court, he declined. Floyd’s family members had the right to make victim impact statements, but none did.  Attorney Ben Crump, who has represented the family, said in a statement before the hearing that Kueng’s sentencing “delivers yet another piece of justice for the Floyd family.” “While the family faces yet another holiday season without George, we hope that moments like these continue to bring them a measure of peace, knowing that George’s death was not in vain,” he said. Floyd died on May

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Canada says Armenians face ‘deteriorating humanitarian situation

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton A checkpoint of the Russia peacekeeping force is seen on a road towards the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia, March 14, 2023. (Vahram Baghdasaryan, PHOTOLURE via AP) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton OTTAWA – The Canadian government is again blaming Azerbaijan for escalating tensions in its Nagorno-Karabakh region, saying it is concerned about the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” for Armenians living in that region. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but it is mostly populated by Armenians, and neighbouring Armenia has fought for control of the region for decades. Tensions rose in the area last fall, when the region’s main access road was blocked by groups of people suspected of being affiliated with the Azerbaijan government, and then by officials who have limited vehicle access. Azerbaijan insists the region isn’t under a blockade, despite Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch saying food and essentials are severely restricted. Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it’s been denied access to all routes into the region, resulting in shortages for medicine, food and baby formula. Canada is planning on sending two officials to support a European monitoring mission that is aiming to prevent another war in the region. The Red Cross expressed alarm about Azerbaijan’s blocking of the area shortly after that country’s foreign ministry cited the group’s access to the area as proof that there was no blockade. The Red Cross said last week it has been able to evacuate “more than 600 people in urgent need of medical care since December 2022,” but still has trouble accessing the region in order to provide medical services. Global Affairs Canada said in a social media post Tuesday that Azerbaijan should comply with the International Court of Justice’s order to allow the “unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo” into the region. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry noted that the court order still allows for the inspection of vehicles entering the territory, and has alleged that the route has been used by elements affiliated with Armenia to smuggle weapons into the area. Canadian MPs heard testimony in January about limited access to the region, but the House of Commons foreign affairs committee hasn’t completed its study or issued an interim report on how Canada should respond. The federal government plans to open an embassy in Armenia shortly, and Liberal officials often attend Armenian diaspora events. Canada is sending two officials to support a European mission that is aiming to prevent another war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The unarmed European Union mission in Armenia is a project involving a hundred civilian monitors who keep tabs on the security situation at the border with Azerbaijan. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has announced that Canada will contribute to the mission and send two recruited experts. The mission follows heightened tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an area that is mostly populated by ethnic Armenians but is internationally recognized as being part of Azerbaijan. Joly said in April that she was “deeply concerned” about Azerbaijan escalating the long-running dispute with Armenia over the province by blocking its main access road. Canada has joined similar European Union missions in the past, with military and civilian projects deployed to places such as Afghanistan and the West Bank. The move comes just months before Canada aims to open a full embassy in Armenia this fall. It also follows unconfirmed reports that Canada may loosen its arms embargo against Turkey, which Ottawa barred from receiving weapons after Canadian sensors showed up in drones Azerbaijan used in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in a 2020 war. Tensions rose in the area last fall, when the region’s main access road was blocked by groups of Azerbaijanis who insisted they were independent environmental activists opposed to mining. The Azerbaijan government claims it has no ties to the groups, but others have disputed that assertion. In recent months, the two countries have lowered the temperature in their long-running dispute, but access to the region is reportedly still limited, affecting the availability of food. In April 2022, former foreign minister Stephane Dion presented a report to Joly on supporting Armenian democracy, as part of his role as the Liberals’ special envoy for Europe. The report said Ottawa should prioritize developing Armenia’s “fragile democracy” by helping efforts to fight corruption. It noted that Russia’s influence in the region is waning as Moscow diverts military resources to its invasion of Ukraine, which has put some of its neighbours on edge. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that “strictly technical” issues remain in resolving one of the main disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, neighbours that fought a war over a contested territory. Putin met in various formats in Moscow with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, discussing a dispute over a winding road called the Lachin Corridor. That’s the only authorized connection between Armenia and the contested territory, Nagorno-Karabakh, and it’s a lifeline for supplies to the region’s approximately 120,000 people. Aliyev and Pashinyan, in a broader regional summit meeting Putin hosted in Moscow, lashed out at each other for their positions regarding the land corridor. But Putin said that on the “principal issues, there is an agreement,” and later said all that remained were “surmountable obstacles,” calling them differences in terminology and “strictly technical.” He said representatives of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan would meet in a week to try to resolve the differences. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, Pashinyan said last Wednesday that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other’s territorial integrity within Soviet administrative borders. It added that on Monday, Pashinyan said the territory of Azerbaijan that his government is ready to recognize includes Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan said Thursday: “I want to confirm that Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity, and on this basis we can say that we are moving quite well towards settlement of our relations.” For his part, Aliyev said Thursday that the Armenian leader’s statements ensure that

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2 U.S. Navy sailors arrested and accused of spying for China

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Best CCTV Camera in Brampton The USS Essex is shown in a Sept. 27, 2018 photo. One of two men charged with spying for China this week was assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, and was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew Freeman/U.S. Navy/Getty Images) Two U.S. Navy sailors were charged Thursday with providing sensitive military information to China — including details on wartime exercises, naval operations and critical technical material. Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8 in those same cities. U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California said the charges reflect that China “stands apart in terms of the threat that its government poses to the United States. China is unrivaled in its audacity and the range of its maligned efforts to subvert our laws.” The cases are separate, and it wasn’t clear if the two were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer as part of a larger scheme. Federal officials at a news conference in San Diego declined to specify whether the sailors were aware of each other’s actions. Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested Wednesday while boarding the ship. He is accused of passing detailed information on the weapons systems and aircraft aboard the Essex and other amphibious assault ships that act as small aircraft carriers. Prosecutors said Wei, who was born in China, was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 while he was applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and admitted to the officer that he knew the arrangement could affect his application. Even so, at the officer’s request, Wei provided photographs and videos of Navy ships, including the USS Essex, which can carry an array of helicopters, including the MV-22 Ospreys, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. The indictment alleges Wei included as many as 50 manuals containing technical and mechanical data about Navy ships as well as details about the number and training of Marines during an upcoming exercise. Wei continued to send sensitive U.S. military information multiple times over the course of a year and even was congratulated by the Chinese officer once Wei became a U.S. citizen, Grossman said. He added that Wei “chose to turn his back on his newly adopted country” for greed. Home CCTV Camera in Brmapton U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman for the Southern District of California, centre, speaks during a press conference Thursday in San Diego detailing the charges. (Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune/The Associated Press) Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton The Justice Department charged Wei under a Espionage Act statute that makes it a crime to gather or deliver information to aid a foreign government. After pleading not guilty in San Diego, Wei was assigned a new public defender who declined to comment following the hearing.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Sheppard told the judge that Wei had passed information to Chinese intelligence as recently as two days ago. He said Wei, who also went by the name Patrick Wei, told a fellow sailor in February 2022 that he was “being recruited for what quite obviously is [expletive] espionage.” Sheppard said Wei has made $10,000 US to $15,000 in the past year from the arrangement with the unnamed Chinese intelligence officer. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison. The officer instructed Wei not to discuss their relationship, to share sensitive information and to destroy evidence to help them cover their tracks, officials said. The Justice Department also charged sailor Wenheng Zhao, 26, based at Naval Base Ventura County, north of San Diego, with conspiring to collect nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for U.S. naval exercise plans, operational orders and photos and videos of electrical systems at Navy facilities between August 2021 through at least this May. The information included operational plans for a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which detailed the location and timing of naval force movements. The indictment further alleges that Zhao photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan. Prosecutors say Zhao, who also went by the name Thomas Zhao, also surreptitiously recorded information that he handed over. If convicted, Zhao could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Best CCTV Security Services in Brampton Best CCTV Camera in Brampton At the Pentagon, Brig.-Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that, “I think we have clear policies and procedures in place when it comes to safeguarding and protecting sensitive information. And so if those rules are violated, appropriate action will be taken.” He declined to discuss any specifics of the cases. But the pair of cases also comes on the heels of another insider-threat prosecution tied to the U.S. military, with the Justice Department in April arresting a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman on charges of leaking classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security topics on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games. Beijing rejects American claims as ‘information warfare’ Home CCTV Camera in Brmapton Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton In this photo provided by Chad Fish, the remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, on Feb. 4. The  appearance of a series of unidentified objects in the sky over a week that were subsequently shot down has prompted questions about why there seems to be a sudden rash of such incidents. (Chad Fish/The Associated Press) The Chinese balloon shot down by the U.S. was equipped to collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial spy program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration said Thursday, citing imagery from

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“Trudeau overhauls his cabinet, drops 7 ministers and shuffling portfolios”

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Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa after dropping ministers and shuffling portfolios on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today dropped seven ministers and named new ministers of defence and public safety — an almost complete overhaul of his cabinet at a time of heightened tensions overseas and scandals at home. Trudeau unveiled a new cabinet team with a renewed focus on economic priorities, such as housing, during a ceremony at Rideau Hall. This shuffling portfolios promotes seven new faces and tasks more than a dozen ministers with new roles. Reporters asked the prime minister repeatedly whether the shakeup amounts to an admission that his nearly eight-year-old government is slumping. “On the contrary,” he said. “This is a difficult time right now for millions of people in Canada and around the world, and making sure that we have the best possible team aligned to respond to Canadians’ challenges with the supports necessary, but also show that optimism, that ambition for getting us through these consequential times and building a brighter future for everyone —that’s what we’re focused on.” Toronto-area MP Bill Blair takes over the defence portfolio from Anita Anand, who becomes president of the Treasury Board. Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Bill Blair arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) Home CCTV Camera in Brampton Blair, a former police chief who was most recently the minister of emergency preparedness, becomes the country’s point person at NATO and will be responsible for Canada’s response to the war in Ukraine. The Canadian Armed Forces is also reeling from a sexual misconduct scandal; Blair is now responsible for overseeing the military’s attempt to change its culture. New Brunswick’s Dominic LeBlanc will now lead public safety, an often-challenging portfolio that includes the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP. He also takes on the democratic institutions file and will continue to serve as intergovernmental affairs minister. LeBlanc, who represents Beauséjour, will play a key role in determining how the government responds to allegations that China interfered in the past two federal elections, and to the damning report on the Mounties’ handling of the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia. He’ll also have to stickhandle negotiations with the provinces about the future of RCMP contract policing. His predecessor, Marco Mendicino, was dropped from cabinet. His demotion ends a tenure at the cabinet table plagued by multiple controversies, including the government’s poorly received gun control legislation and lingering questions on the foreign interference file. Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Dominic LeBlanc arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton More recently, Mendicino was under intense pressure due to the controversy over the transfer of serial killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison. 7 fresh faces called up Seven new MPs received a promotion to cabinet: Toronto MP Arif Virani, who represents Parkdale—High Park, becomes minister of justice and attorney general of Canada Quebec MP Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who represents the riding of Hochelaga, becomes the minister of tourism and minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions. Gary Anandasangaree, who represents Scarborough—Rouge Park, becomes minister of Crown-Indigenous relations B.C. MP Terry Beech of Burnaby North—Seymour becomes minister of citizens’ services  Toronto-area MP Ya’ara Saks, who represents York Centre, becomes minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health Ottawa-area MP Jenna Sudds, who represents, Kanata—Carleton, becomes minister of families, children and social development  Mississauga—Streetsville MP Rechie Valdez becomes minister of small business Wednesday’s shuffling portfolios also saw several current ministers change positions or add to their portfolios: Pablo Rodriguez becomes transport minister Pascale St-Onge becomes minister of Canadian heritage Mark Holland becomes minister of health Sean Fraser becomes minister of housing, infrastructure and communities Lawrence MacAulay becomes minister of agriculture Jean-Yves Duclos becomes minister of public services and procurement Marie-Claude Bibeau becomes minister of national revenue Gudie Hutchings remains minister of rural economic development but now takes on responsibility for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Diane Lebouthillier becomes minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Harjit Sajjan becomes president of the King’s Privy Council and minister of emergency preparedness, and  keeps his role as minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada Carla Qualtrough becomes minister of sport and physical activity Karina Gould becomes government House leader Ahmed Hussen becomes minister of international development Seamus O’Regan stays on as minister of labour and adds the seniors portfolio Ginette Petitpas Taylor becomes minister of veterans affairs Mary Ng remains minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development but drops small business from her files Jonathan Wilkinson stays put but his portfolio is being renamed “energy and natural resources” Marc Miller becomes minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship Randy Boissonnault becomes minister of employment workforce development and official languages  Kamal Khera becomes minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities. Freeland, Joly staying put Just eight ministers kept their portfolios: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland  Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly  Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, also minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Filomena Tassi  Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, also minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien  Gould recently announced she is expecting her second child in the new year. Trudeau announced Wednesday that Government Whip Steve MacKinnon will serve as House leader in her absence and Ruby Sahota will fill in as whip.  Four of the seven ministers who were dropped announced earlier this week that they would not be running again: Former public services and procurement minister Helena Jaczek Former transport minister Omar Alghabra Former mental health and addictions minister Carolyn Bennett Former fisheries minister Joyce Murray Trudeau did not answer when reporters asked why Mendicino, former justice minister David Lametti and former

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