Immigration minister looking into revoking terror suspect’s citizenship
CHURCH POINT, N.S. (CP) – Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he plans to look into whether the man accused of plotting a terror attack in Toronto should have his Canadian citizenship revoked.
Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and his son Mostafa Eldidi, 26, were arrested in Richmond Hill, Ont., and face nine terrorism charges including conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
When the RCMP announced the charges on July 31 they said the two men were “in the advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto.”
The elder Eldidi, who is a Canadian citizen, is also charged with one count of aggravated assault outside the country.
At a news conference in Church Point, N.S., today, Miller says he’s also tasked his deputy minister with establishing a timeline of events of how he became a citizen.
According to federal legislation, Canada has the ability to revoke a person’s citizenship if they obtained it by providing false information or hiding relevant facts.
Homeland Security takes steps to tighten asylum rules at Canadian border
By: Kelly Geraldine Malone
WASHINGTON (CP) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says people seeking asylum at the border with Canada will have less time to consult a lawyer before making their case, as President Joe Biden’s asylum halt makes its way to Canada’s doorstep.
Biden announced sweeping changes mostly targeted at the U.S. border with Mexico in June, as the issue remains a thorn in the Democrats’ side ahead of the November election. The new procedural changes, which the department confirmed Tuesday, will affect migrants crossing into the U.S. from Canada.
The number of migrants crossing between Canada and the United States is much smaller than at the U.S.-Mexico border, but recent increases have caught the attention of Republicans.
The Department of Homeland Security said it reviewed the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and concluded that it could streamline the process without affecting access to fair procedures for determining a claim to asylum.
Under the agreement, which came into effect in 2004, refugees must seek asylum in the first of the two countries they land in.
Canada’s foreign worker program ‘breeding ground’ for modern slavery: report
By: Anja Karadeglija
OTTAWA (CP) – A recently released international report says Canada’s temporary foreign worker program is a “breeding ground” for contemporary slavery.
The final report by a United Nations special rapporteur who visited Canada last year says a power imbalance prevents workers from exercising their rights.
A worker’s status is dependent on a closed work permit that is specific to their employer. If an individual is fired, they may be deported from Canada.
Workers are subject to a wide range of abuses and aren’t always aware of their rights, the report says.
It notes the government puts much of the responsibility for informing workers about their rights on the employer, “despite the obvious conflict of interest.”
Special rapporteur Tomoya Obokata cites reports of issues including wage theft, long working hours with limited breaks and insufficient personal protective equipment.
The report also notes allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation, along with physical, emotional and verbal abuse.
Obokata also found that workers have difficulty accessing health care.
Trade minister criticizes higher U.S. softwood lumber duties as unfair, unwarranted
WASHINGTON (CP) – Canada’s international trade minister is criticizing the U.S. Department of Commerce for nearly doubling duties on softwood lumber, saying the move is unfair and unwarranted.
Minister Mary Ng says the U.S. has significantly increased duties on softwood lumber from Canada, from 8.05 per cent to 14.54 per cent.
It’s the latest salvo in a bilateral back-and-forth that Ottawa has described as a drag on efforts to improve the cost and supply of housing.
Ng says the increase will harm consumers and producers on both sides of the border and called for a lasting resolution to this long-standing dispute.
The BC Lumber Trade Council says it couldn’t come at a worse time, exacerbating already challenging conditions.
President Kurt Niquidet says in a news release it will affect manufacturing operations, jobs and communities around the province.
Saskatchewan community evacuated due to wildfire
SANDY BAY, SASK. (CP) – The leadership of a Saskatchewan First Nation is calling for immediate action hours after issuing a general evacuation order due to an encroaching wildfire.Officials with the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation announced the move, saying the Flanagan fire was directly threatening their community of Sandy Bay.
A late Tuesday statement from Chief Peter Beatty and the Prince Alberta Grand Council takes aim at the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, suggesting that the provincial entity is not approving the activation of hundreds of First Nations firefighters.
Beatty said not utilizing such an available and qualified resource was a serious oversight that endangers lives and communities.
The last update from the SPSA said the blaze was estimated to be about 130 square kilometres in size and was burning within 20 kilometres of the community.
Ont municipalities saw 1,400 encampments in 2023
ONTARIO (CP) – Cities and towns across Ontario saw at least 1,400 homeless encampments in their communities last year, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which is asking the province for guidance on how to handle them, as well as more help to house and support people.
The number comes from an AMO survey of municipal service managers and is contained in a policy paper the association has released in advance of their conference next week, during which it is hoping for some commitments from Ontario.
Several municipalities have sought injunctions in order to deal with encampments, with mixed results, and it’s time for the province to provide some guidance on the issue, AMO says.
Kingston is one city that has turned to the courts, and Mayor Bryan Paterson said it’s expensive, time consuming, divisive, and not a good solution.
Quebec suffering ‘extremely difficult’ wave of severe weather, minister says
MONTREAL (CP) – Quebec’s public security minister says the province is experiencing an “extremely difficult” period of climate-related disasters.
François Bonnardel spoke to reporters this morning from Ste-Julienne, Que., a small community 55 kilometres north of Montreal that was one of many Quebec municipalities hit by torrential rain last week.
Bonnardel says the situation has improved in recent days, but 34 municipalities and 53 roads are still affected by the record-breaking rainfall.
The minister says Quebec has suffered from a number of extreme weather events in the last several years, including intense spring flooding in 2017 and 2019 and forest fires last summer.
Bonnardel called on insurance companies to “be present” for their customers who are looking for answers and need to talk to someone.
The minister met this morning with mayors from the region before holding his first press conference since Friday’s rainfall.
Liberal government refuses to say if it approved bonus for CBC CEO Catherine Tait
OTTAWA (CP) – The Liberal government is refusing to say if it approved a bonus for the head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
It is up to the federal government to determine if Catherine Tait is eligible for a bonus following a review of her performance and recommendation by the board of directors at CBC/Radio-Canada.
CBC deferred questions to the federal government and Canadian Heritage, which oversees the Crown corporation, deferred questions to the Privy Council Office, which supports cabinet and the prime minister.
Citing privacy laws, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office says it cannot disclose details, even though some of that information was made public in past years.
The government wouldn’t say whether Tait met her performance targets for the 2023-24 fiscal year, or if the board recommended that she receive a bonus.
This year, CBC paid out $18.4 million in bonuses to nearly 1,200 employees, managers and executives after eliminating hundreds of jobs.
