Ottawa police reported today that they had arrested a third person in connection with threats and comments made on social media as the massive truckers’ “Freedom Convoy” continued to paralyze the downtown core and spill into neighbourhoods. “We want to be very clear, both for the current demonstrations and any planned demonstrations: Illegal activity will not be tolerated,” the police said. [node:read-more:link]
More RCMP officers were called up today to help deal with a blockaded southern Alberta crossing into Montana cause by truckers protesting mandatory coronavirus vaccination. RCMP were prepared to make arrests Feb. 1 as the protest began its fourth day but backed off due to safety concerns as vehicles sped through roadblocks to join the blockade. [node:read-more:link]
Families of Canadian diplomatic staff stationed in Kyiv have been withrawn by the government “due to the ongoing Russian military buildup and destabilizing activities in and around Ukraine,” Global Affairs confirmed today. “We have decided to temporarily withdraw Canadian embassy staff's children under 18 years of age and family members accompanying them.” [node:read-more:link]
Norway is hosting talks between Taliban representatives and western officials in Oslo this week for the first talks in Europe since the group took control of Afghanistan. Human rights and the escalating humanitarian crisis are key issues. [node:read-more:link]
The families of all personnel at the U.S. embassy in Kiyv have been ordered to leave as fears of a Russian invasion increase. The State Department said Jan. 23 that non-essential embassy staff also could leave at government expense. [node:read-more:link]
Despite three decades of effort, Canada's carbon emissions have risen 20 per cent since 1990 and the federal Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner says the country is unprepared for climate disasters. Jerry V. DeMarco also said in his Nov. 24 report that petroleum industry subsidies, which various governments have promised for years to eliminate, have not yielded promised reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. “We can't continue to go from failure to failure,” DeMarco said. “We need action and results, not just more targets and plans.” [node:read-more:link]
The explicit reasons for the eventual dismissal of Drs. Qiu and Cheng from the National Microbiology Laboratory were immediately shrouded in secrecy. Was it legitimate or was it an ignorant reaction during a pandemic? The executive suite revolving door at PHAC in recent years may be contributing to the lack of transparency. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. administration today announced an additional $308 million humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan in a bid to prevent a crisis which has evolved since the Taliban takeover last fall. To be managed by aid organizations, it is to fund shelter, health care, winterization assistance, emergency food aid, water, sanitation and hygiene services. [node:read-more:link]
The UN World Food Programme suspended operations in Sudan’s North Darfur state today following raids on its warehouses in the capital this week. “This theft has robbed nearly two million people of the food and nutrition support they so desperately need,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. “Not only is this a tremendous setback to our operations across the country, but it endangers our staff.” [node:read-more:link]
Although the B.C. government ended fuel rationing today, it has extended the state of emergency in the province’s southern regions for two more weeks due to lingering issues with widespread flooding. [node:read-more:link]
The Trans Mountain pipeline shut down in B.C. in mid-November due to the potential of landslides caused by heavy rains was restarted Dec. 6 but the province said it was not ready to lift a fuel-rationing order. The line transports some 300,000 barrels daily from Alberta. [node:read-more:link]
The UN says the global need for humanitarian aid is rocketing toward an all-time high in 2022 as COVID-19, climate change and regional conflicts exacerbate the prospect of widespread famine. Accordingly, its humanitarian relief arm appealed today for a record US$41 billion in funding to help people it says are most in need, up from $35 billion in 2021 and double what it sought four years ago. [node:read-more:link]
In a bid to preserve fuel supplies for emergency and other essential vehicles in several regions affected by heavy rains and flooding, British Columbia has extended a 30-litre fuel purchase limit by two weeks to Dec. 14. The government also said Nov. 29 that the rationing was needed because the Trans Mountain pipeline which supplies the southwest region with 85 per cent of feedstocks remains closed during to flooding and mudslides. [node:read-more:link]
As the Taliban continue to call for Afghanistan’s frozen assets to released, leaders from an Asian political and economic alliance, including close neighbours, are calling for more foreign support to avoid further economic turmoil and a wave of refugees. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used a Nov. 24 House of Commons emergency debate on B.C.’s floods to not only reassure residents of continued federal help but also to press the government’s case for more aggressive action on climate change. “This is not an isolated case,” he said, also citing devastating wildfires in B.C. last summer and recent flooding in the Atlantic provinces. “We know that this is not an isolated case,” he tsaid. “If the last year has shown us anything, it's the impacts of climate change are here sooner than expected and they're devastating.” [node:read-more:link]
