Apr 4 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is condemning Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians as abhorrent and senseless and says new Canadian sanctions are coming against Russia as a result. "This weekend, the world witnessed an abhorrent and senseless attack on innocent civilian lives in Bucha," said Joly during a trip to Helsinki Monday. Her […]
Mar 31 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Russia's blocking of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and its bombing of medical facilities should be the subjects of an international war crimes investigation, says Canada's international development minister. Harjit Sajjan offered that view as a half dozen extra RCMP investigators head to The Hague to assist in the International Criminal Court investigation of […]
Mar 29 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Canada is sending additional RCMP officers to assist the International Criminal Court investigation into possible war crimes by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says the "war machine" of President Vladimir Putin is destroying houses, hospitals and schools. "In the face of Putin and the Russian military's flagrant […]
Mar 28 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that while the Russian invasion may be driving up energy prices, it is still providing the impetus to drive the world towards developing greener energy sources. "The resolve of the world to reduce its dependency on Russian oil and gas is morphing into a heightened urgency for the […]
Mar 11 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — WARSAW, Poland — As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepared to speak to reporters before departing Warsaw on Friday, the Russian war on Ukraine appeared to be entering an ominous new phase. Russian airstrikes on cities in western Ukraine signaled an attempt by its forces to expand its attack beyond the country's other regions further north […]
Mar 10 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — WARSAW, Poland — As Kate Kliuchnyk and her mother, Yuliia, pondered the next chapter of their lives in the crisp sunshine outside Warsaw's Central Station on Thursday morning, a brief smile flashed across their faces. "We really hope that everything will be good, that we will come home," said Kate, 19, who fled her home […]
Mar 9 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — BERLIN — Canada's foreign affairs minister called for a ceasefire in Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, arguing the Ukrainian government needs the breathing room as it heads into talks with the Putin regime. "We need to make sure to support Ukrainians while diplomatic talks are happening by imposing maximum pressure … it’s more than […]
Mar 8 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — ĀDAŽI, Latvia — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised Baltic leaders Tuesday that Canada will stand with them to fight the Kremlin's war on Ukraine and its cyberattacks on their countries. Trudeau is in Latvia where he met privately with Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, followed by an expanded session via teleconference with leaders from Estonia and […]
Mar 7 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — LONDON — Canada poked Russia in the eye on Monday by sanctioning 10 people identified by Vladimir Putin's top domestic opponent as the federal government works with allies to hammer Russia's economy in response to that country's invasion of Ukraine. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in London at the start of a four-country visit to […]
Mar 6 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — LONDON — As Olivia Milton and her husband packed up their four-year-year son up for trips to their Kyiv neighbourhood bomb shelter, they crafted a narrative to explain the flurry of activity to him. With the Russian war on Ukraine underway, Milton, 33, said they told him there was a "crazy man" who was "kind […]
Feb 2 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — The Canadian Medical Association and a group of domestic and international activists are calling on the federal government to do more to boost COVID-19 vaccination efforts in less developed countries in order to end the pandemic. Dr. Katharine Smart, the president of the leading association of Canadian medical professionals, says raising the international […]
Jan 21 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Strengthening Haiti's beleaguered police emerged a key theme Friday as Canada, the United States and several other allies held talks to help the embattled, poverty-racked Caribbean nation. Canada committed $15 million toward Haiti's National Police Academy to provide "support for professional and inclusive policing" as part of a broader new $50-million spending package […]
Jan 13 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — An international watchdog is taking Canada to task in a new report over what it says are serious domestic and foreign policy challenges on human rights. The annual report of the New York-based Human Rights Watch says that while the Trudeau government has made efforts on advancing rights issues during its first six […]
Jan 5 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Iran has snubbed yet another deadline set by Canada and its allies to negotiate a settlement for the families of those killed when its military shot down a passenger jet two years ago. And that comes as no surprise to the spokesman for families and loved ones of the people killed on Jan. […]
Jan 4 2022 — Mike Blanchfield — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — Hackers targeted a Tuesday virtual news conference held by lawyers and family members of victims of the Iranian military's downing of a passenger jet two years ago. The family members, along with their legal team, had begun a video media availability to discuss a court decision that awarded them millions. An Ontario court […]