The federal government spent nearly $400 million on contracts for quarantine hotels during the pandemic, including some $77.2 million in the current fiscal year after many public health restrictions had been eased or lifted. A Health Canada spokesperson pointed out that “designated quarantine facilities met public health guidelines for the purposes of accommodating travellers to quarantine as required by emergency orders under the Quarantine Act.”
The Chinese foreign ministry says a House of Commons motion calling for asylum for Uyghurs in third countries is political meddling and that Canada is “spreading disinformation and misleading the public.” China insists that its Trukic ethnic Muslim minority lives peacefully despite long-standing reports of forced labour and other institutional abuse.
The federal government is considering legislative changes to deal with repeat violent offenders but Justice Minister David Lametti said February 2 that there are no easy solutions. He hopes to meet with his provincial and territorial counterparts after all premiers asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make bail less accessible in cases involving possession of loaded, prohibited or restricted firearms
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told his parliament today that he has no plan to join NATO and will remain militarily neutral while maintaining ties with alliance members through weapons procurements. Kosovo and Bosnia & Herzegovina are the only other Balkan states which have not joined NATO.
A Turkish engineering firm has won two contracts worth some €31.5 million to modernize intelligence infrastructure in the NATO Communications and Information Agency. STM says it is one of the largest software development projects assigned by the alliance to a Turkish company.
Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer says proposed legislation would restrict activities linked to militant Kurdish groups in the hopes of persuading Turkey’s objections to his country’s bid for NATO membership. “It's a broader criminalisation, targeting a large number of activities within a terrorist organisation that are not concretely connected to a particular terrorist crime,” he said.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said February 1 that his government is willing to send troops and police to Haiti as part of a proposed multinational security force. The UN special envoy for Haiti said a week ago that she hoped the Security Council would deal “positively” with the request from Haiti’s government which has been dealing with widespread gang violence.
European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and 15 senior EU officials were in Kyiv today for meetings with the Ukrainian government to discuss economic ties and to show solidarity against Russia’s invasion. European Council President Charles Michel is scheduled to join them February 3 for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Implementation of nearly two-year-old federal legislation to permit medical assistance in dying for mental health reasons would be postponed until at least 2024 through an amendment introduced in the House of Commons today. next year. “It is clear more time is needed to get this right,” explained Justice Minister David Lametti.
Manitoba MP Candice Bergen, interim leader of the Conservative Party between Erin O’Toole’s resignation and Pierre Poilievre’s election, announced February 1 that she had resigned her seat in the House of Commons after more than 14 years. She offered no specific reason for her decision.
Former television journalist Tom Clark has been appointed by Foreign Minister Melanie Joly as Consul General in New York, responsible for cultural and economic relations in neighbouring states as well as Bermuda.
Federal Court of Canada has ruled that a Toronto-area Ontario man is not entitled to employment insurance benefits after he was fired from his healthcare job for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Anthony Cecchetto was placed on unpaid leave in September 2021 and then dismissed. His EI application was denied in October 2021 because he had lost his job due to “misconduct.”
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