Hello,
Canada has begun evacuating Canadians from the troubled Caribbean country of Haiti, Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly said Monday.
At a news conference, Joly said evacuees with valid passports are being transported from Haiti to neighbouring Dominican Republic by helicopter.
Fewer than 30 Canadians have said they have valid passports and are ready to travel. Eighteen left on Monday. The minister said 3,000 Canadians in Haiti are registered with her department. About 300 have said they would be possibly interested in leaving.
“The security situation is untenable at the airport and all commercial flights have been cancelled,” Joly said. “That is why, in these circumstances, it is important for us to bring Canadians to safety.”
Haiti has been in a profound security crisis since mid-2021, when gangs took control of key infrastructure and started violent turf wars that have led to a collapse of most medical and food systems in the country.
- Explainer: What is going in in Haiti?
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
Canada welcomes Gaza ceasefire vote at UN Security Council, Joly says: “We hope that this [resolution] will be sending a clear message to all parties involved,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in Ottawa.
Liberal MPs call on Finance Minister to fund disability benefit in next budget: In a letter shared on social media, MP Ryan Turnbull says the benefit, which is designed to help keep people with disabilities out of poverty, is a “legacy social policy” for the government.
Bell CEO ordered to appear at House of Commons committee over job cuts: Members of Parliament have issued a summons to Mirko Bibic to compel his testimony before the Commons heritage committee next month about the company’s decision to cut thousands of jobs across the country.
Ontario extends gas tax cut: Premier Doug Ford announced that Ontario is extending a 5.7-cent-per-litre cut to the provincial gas tax until the end of the year. The cut, said Ford, is factored into the provincial budget scheduled for release tomorrow.
Supreme Court launches appeal hearing on airline industry’s objections to passenger protection rules: The country’s top court heard government and industry arguments for and against Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which went into effect in 2019 and outline how airlines are to treat customers whose flights are disrupted or whose luggage is lost.
Former MP arrested, alleges drug dealing involved in dispute over son’s home: Peter Penashue, intergovernmental affairs minister and president of the Queen’s Privy Council under prime minister Stephen Harper, was arrested in Labrador on Saturday after a long-simmering dispute Penashue claims is fuelled by illicit drug dealing and police inaction. The CBC reports.
THIS AND THAT
Commons, Senate: The House of Commons is on a break until April 8. The Senate sits again April 9.
Deputy Prime Minister’s day: Chrystia Freeland is in Ottawa, but had no public events scheduled.
Ministers on the road: Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, in Montreal, delivered remarks at the Solutions to Workforce Challenges Forum. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, in New York, participated in a fireside chat at Columbia University’s school of international and public affairs to discuss Canada-U.S. collaboration on emerging technologies as part of a two-day visit to the city. Health Minister Mark Holland and Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings, in the Newfoundland and Labrador city of Corner Brook, with Premier Andrew Furey, announced an agreement to invest almost $256-million to improve health care access and services in the province. International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen, in St. John’s, reaffirmed Canada’s commitment of $24.5-million in funding for the International Youth Internship Program. Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, and Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, in Winnipeg, announced support for 17 organizations based in the Prairies to address gender-based violence.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
In the Toronto area, Justin Trudeau was scheduled to deliver remarks at a community event in honour of Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
- Related: “In the realm of international diplomacy, every visit by a world leader carries some weight and significance. But the visit by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Canada this weekend stands out as a particular milestone. It’s been four decades since a Greek prime minister has visited Canada. This is a surprisingly long diplomatic lapse for two countries that share deep ties. And it’s no coincidence that the visit is happening now.” – Theo Argitis
LEADERS
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, in Sidney, B.C., held private meetings.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Halifax, with Lisa Roberts, the NDP candidate for the riding of Halifax, hosted a roundtable on housing, participated in a news conference with Roberts, and joined her on the Unifor Local 100 picket line at the Autoport vehicle processing and transshipment hub.
No schedules released for Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
THE DECIBEL
On today’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, Globe reporter Dave McGinn elaborates on his reporting on the struggles that single parents face and explained how Canada’s policies to help families fall short. The Decibel is here.
TRIBUTE
Brian Mulroney: At a state funeral on Saturday, the former prime minister was celebrated as a political powerhouse who took massive risks for the better of the country. Story here.
- Related: “In some ways, a funeral is always about the distance between what is public and what is private, between the different degrees of knowing, missing and remembering when someone is gone. There are always the people to whom the dead most belonged, standing on their own island of grief in a sea of others who genuinely wish them well and mourn the deceased too, but whose purchase on the loss is a more distant one.” – Shannon Proudfoot
OPINION
Ottawa is not the parent of the provinces
“Much of the legacy of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is at risk, for the simple reason that the Prime Minister made the mistake of assuming the federal government was superior to the governments of the provinces. It isn’t and they aren’t. As a result, court rulings have pared back parts of the Liberal agenda, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is committed to repealing much of the rest, cheered on by rebellious premiers.” – The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
To build a new resource project, Indigenous participation is now essential
“The Fort McKay First Nation in northern Alberta is surrounded by oil sands projects. Like other Indigenous communities in the area, it endures noise and emissions, and has concerns about water, air quality and boreal forest destruction. But the First Nation has also, over the decades, adapted to living amidst the mines and in situ projects north of Fort McMurray” – Kelly Cryderman
The two solitudes of Steven Guilbeault
“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith asked Justin Trudeau to fire him. Ontario’s Doug Ford ridiculed him. Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives see him as a gaffe-prone target of opportunity. But some of his colleagues in the Liberal cabinet think that a lot of their Quebec seats depend on his reputation. When it comes to Steven Guilbeault, there are two solitudes.” – Campbell Clark
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