India has been ranked sixth in the list of wealthiest countries with a total wealth of $8,230 billion, while the United States topped the chart, says a report.

According to a report by New World Wealth, the United States is the wealthiest country in the world as the total wealth held in 2017 amounted to $64,584 billion, followed by China at the second place with &nbsp;$24,803 billion and Japan with $19,522 billion at third.

Total wealth refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in each country/city. It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities. The report, however, excludes government funds from its figures.

Others in the list include United Kingdom (4th, $9,919 billion), Germany (5th, $9,660 billion), France (7th, $6,649 billion), Canada (8th, $6,393 billion), Australia (9th, $6,142 billion) and Italy (10th, $4,276 billion).

The report further noted that India was the best-performing wealth market globally in 2017 as its total wealth swelled from $6,584 billion in 2016 to $8,230 billion in 2017, registering a 25 per cent growth. 
Meanwhile, during the period under consideration, China&#39;s wealth saw an increase of 22 per cent and global wealth rose by 12 per cent (from $192 trillion at the end of 2016 to $215 trillion at the end of 2017).

Over the past decade (2007-2017) India&#39;s total wealth increased from $3,165 billion in 2007 to $8,230 billion in 2017, a jump of 160 per cent.

The report further noted that India is home to 3,30,400 HNWIs (individuals with $1 million or more in net assets).

Globally, India was ranked 9th in this aspect while US topped the list with 50,47,400 HNWIs (high-net-worth individuals). India is also home to 20,730 multi-millionaires, 7th largest in the world. &nbsp;And in terms of resident billionaires, India with 119 such individuals was named among the top three countries globally, after the US and China.

A billionaire is defined as an individual with $1 billion or more in net assets.

&quot;In general, it was a good year for all W10 (wealthiest 10) markets, thanks to strong global stock market gains - the MSCI world index was up 23 per cent and the Dow Jones (DJIA) was up 26 per cent during the year (in USD terms),&quot; the report said, adding &quot;wealth held in China, India, USA, Japan and Australia all grew strongly over the past year&quot;.

According to a report by New World Wealth, the United States is the wealthiest country in the world

India has been ranked sixth in the list of wealthiest countries with a total wealth of $8,230 billion, while the United States topped the chart, says a report. According to a report by New World Wealth, the United States is the wealthiest country in the world as the total wealth held in 2017 amounted to $64,584 billion, followed by China at the second place with $24,803 billion and Japan with $19,522 billion at third. Total wealth refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in each country/city. It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities. The report, however, excludes government funds from its figures. Others in the list include United Kingdom (4th, $9,919 billion), Germany (5th, $9,660 billion), France (7th, $6,649 billion), Canada (8th, $6,393 billion), Australia (9th, $6,142 billion) and Italy (10th, $4,276 billion). The report further noted that India was the best-performing wealth market globally in 2017 as its total wealth swelled from $6,584 billion in 2016 to $8,230 billion in 2017, registering a 25 per cent growth. Meanwhile, during the period under consideration, China's wealth saw an increase of 22 per cent and global wealth rose by 12 per cent (from $192 trillion at the end of 2016 to $215 trillion at the end of 2017). Over the past decade (2007-2017) India's total wealth increased from $3,165 billion in 2007 to $8,230 billion in 2017, a jump of 160 per cent. The report further noted that India is home to 3,30,400 HNWIs (individuals with $1 million or more in net assets). Globally, India was ranked 9th in this aspect while US topped the list with 50,47,400 HNWIs (high-net-worth individuals). India is also home to 20,730 multi-millionaires, 7th largest in the world. And in terms of resident billionaires, India with 119 such individuals was named among the top three countries globally, after the US and China. A billionaire is defined as an individual with $1 billion or more in net assets. "In general, it was a good year for all W10 (wealthiest 10) markets, thanks to strong global stock market gains - the MSCI world index was up 23 per cent and the Dow Jones (DJIA) was up 26 per cent during the year (in USD terms)," the report said, adding "wealth held in China, India, USA, Japan and Australia all grew strongly over the past year".

India ranked sixth wealthiest country with total wealth of $8,230 billion: Report

Exiled Zimbabwe opposition leader Roy Bennett and his wife, Heather, died in a helicopter crash in Canada on Thursday.

The Founding Movement for Democratic Change treasurer, Bennett, was travelling with his wife and five other people when the helicopter crashed in a mountainous rural area of northern New Mexico.&nbsp;

Out of the six people on the helicopter, only one survived who raised the alarm.&nbsp;

&quot;I have just confirmed from three separate reliable sources that Roy and Heather Bennett have been tragically killed in a helicopter accident in North America,&quot; former Zimbabwe government minister David Coltart wrote on Facebook.&nbsp;

Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti also paid tribute to Bennette and wrote: Just learnt of the tragic passing on in Canada of Heather and Roy Pachedu Badze Bennett. What a serious loss to mankind What a blow to Charles and the rest of the family. What a blow to our struggle. I can&rsquo;t believe I can&rsquo;t believe I will never speak to you again Badze !

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Just learnt of the tragic passing on in Canada of Heather and Roy Pachedu Badze Bennett. What a serious loss to mankind What a blow to Charles and the rest of the family . What a blow to our struggle . I can&rsquo;t believe I can&rsquo;t believe I will never speak to you again Badze !
&mdash; TENDAI BITI (@BitiTendai) <a href="https://twitter.com/BitiTendai/status/954027218900054017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The 60-year-old was based in South Africa and served time in jail under former President Robert Mugabe. During his time in exile &sbquo; he played a role in activism for Zimbabwe&sbquo; and particularly the MDC&sbquo; in South Africa.

The Founding Movement for Democratic Change treasurer, Bennett, was travelling with his wife and five other people when the helicopter crashed in a mountainous rural area of northern New Mexico

Exiled Zimbabwe opposition leader Roy Bennett and his wife, Heather, died in a helicopter crash in Canada on Thursday. The Founding Movement for Democratic Change treasurer, Bennett, was travelling with his wife and five other people when the helicopter crashed in a mountainous rural area of northern New Mexico. Out of the six people on the helicopter, only one survived who raised the alarm. "I have just confirmed from three separate reliable sources that Roy and Heather Bennett have been tragically killed in a helicopter accident in North America," former Zimbabwe government minister David Coltart wrote on Facebook. Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti also paid tribute to Bennette and wrote: Just learnt of the tragic passing on in Canada of Heather and Roy Pachedu Badze Bennett. What a serious loss to mankind What a blow to Charles and the rest of the family. What a blow to our struggle. I can’t believe I can’t believe I will never speak to you again Badze ! Just learnt of the tragic passing on in Canada of Heather and Roy Pachedu Badze Bennett. What a serious loss to mankind What a blow to Charles and the rest of the family . What a blow to our struggle . I can’t believe I can’t believe I will never speak to you again Badze ! — TENDAI BITI (@BitiTendai) January 18, 2018 × The 60-year-old was based in South Africa and served time in jail under former President Robert Mugabe. During his time in exile ‚ he played a role in activism for Zimbabwe‚ and particularly the MDC‚ in South Africa.

Zimbabwe opposition leader Roy Bennett and wife die in helicopter crash

A Canadian woman has accepted that she killed her friend and was sentenced to seven years for manslaughter on Monday.

Police arrested Cheyenne Rose Antoine, 21, after discovering the murder weapon in a Facebook picture she posted along with the victim Brittney Gargol, 18.

Gargol was found dead near a landfill in Saskatoon in March, 2015. The police said that the 18-year-old was strangled, and found a belt near her body. The same belt was part of the picture Antoine posted hours before killing Gargol.

CBC reported that Antoine showed up at a friend&#39;s place hysterical after the murder and confessed to strangling Gargol. She said they had got drunk and into a heated argument.

Later, Antoine accepted in her plea that she is responsible for Gargol&#39;s death but said she does not remember killing her.

&quot;I will never forgive myself. Nothing I say or do will ever bring her back. I am very, very sorry... It shouldn&#39;t have ever happened,&quot; Antoine said in a statement.

One of the relatives of Gargol, her aunt Jennifer, said the family &quot;can&#39;t stop thinking about what happened that night&quot;.

Antoine accepted in her plea that she is responsible for Gargol's death but said she does not remember killing her.

A Canadian woman has accepted that she killed her friend and was sentenced to seven years for manslaughter on Monday. Police arrested Cheyenne Rose Antoine, 21, after discovering the murder weapon in a Facebook picture she posted along with the victim Brittney Gargol, 18. Gargol was found dead near a landfill in Saskatoon in March, 2015. The police said that the 18-year-old was strangled, and found a belt near her body. The same belt was part of the picture Antoine posted hours before killing Gargol. CBC reported that Antoine showed up at a friend's place hysterical after the murder and confessed to strangling Gargol. She said they had got drunk and into a heated argument. Later, Antoine accepted in her plea that she is responsible for Gargol's death but said she does not remember killing her. "I will never forgive myself. Nothing I say or do will ever bring her back. I am very, very sorry... It shouldn't have ever happened," Antoine said in a statement. One of the relatives of Gargol, her aunt Jennifer, said the family "can't stop thinking about what happened that night".

Facebook selfie helps nab woman who killed her friend in Canada

Days after reports of gurudwaras banning entry of Indian officials&nbsp;emerged, the Ministry of External Affairs&nbsp;has negated the issue saying that they take no cognizance of &quot;fringe elements that spread hate and disharmony&quot;.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said &quot; Majority of Sikhs in Canada and other parts of world share warm relations with India and want better relations with India and their country of residence. We take no cognizance of fringe elements that spread hate and disharmony. &quot;

Earlier a report highlighted on the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sikh-community-bans-entry-of-indian-officials-into-us-canada-gurudwaras-29006" target="_blank">restriction imposed on Indian officials from the Gurudwaras in US and Canada</a>.&nbsp;

Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC) and American Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (APGC) who claim&nbsp;to be the largest umbrella organisations of Sikh gurudwaras in the US have banned entry of Indian officials from 96 gurudwaras in the country. Before this 14 gurudwaras in Ontario, Canada banned the entry of Indian diplomatic officials.

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Majority of Sikhs in Canada &amp; other parts of world share warm relations w/India &amp; they want better relations w/India &amp; their country of residence. We take no cognizance of fringe elements that spread hate&amp;disharmony: MEA on reports of Gurudwara&#39;s banning entry of Indian officials <a href="https://t.co/iyj0L4dwAa">pic.twitter.com/iyj0L4dwAa</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/951424825280544768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Referring to relations with Pakistan, Raveesh Kumar said terror and talks cannot go together. He added that talks on terror can definitely&nbsp;go ahead.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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&#39;We have said terror &amp;talks cannot go together but talks on terror can definitely go ahead,&#39; MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Pakistan <a href="https://t.co/EyTLEDfZUo">pic.twitter.com/EyTLEDfZUo</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/951427871087742976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Speaking on NSA level talks, he said that the External Affairs Ministry raised the issue of cross-border&nbsp;terrorism in the NSA level talks with Pakistan.

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I am agreeing that talks took place &amp; our issue was eliminating terrorism from the region, we of course raised the issue of cross-border terrorism in those talks: MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on NSA level talks b/w India &amp; Pakistan <a href="https://t.co/DE26LaOyrL">pic.twitter.com/DE26LaOyrL</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/951428122926227456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

'Majority of Sikhs in Canada and other parts of world share warm relations with India,' MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said

Days after reports of gurudwaras banning entry of Indian officials emerged, the Ministry of External Affairs has negated the issue saying that they take no cognizance of "fringe elements that spread hate and disharmony". MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said " Majority of Sikhs in Canada and other parts of world share warm relations with India and want better relations with India and their country of residence. We take no cognizance of fringe elements that spread hate and disharmony. " Earlier a report highlighted on the restriction imposed on Indian officials from the Gurudwaras in US and Canada. Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC) and American Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (APGC) who claim to be the largest umbrella organisations of Sikh gurudwaras in the US have banned entry of Indian officials from 96 gurudwaras in the country. Before this 14 gurudwaras in Ontario, Canada banned the entry of Indian diplomatic officials. Majority of Sikhs in Canada & other parts of world share warm relations w/India & they want better relations w/India & their country of residence. We take no cognizance of fringe elements that spread hate&disharmony: MEA on reports of Gurudwara's banning entry of Indian officials pic.twitter.com/iyj0L4dwAa — ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2018 × Referring to relations with Pakistan, Raveesh Kumar said terror and talks cannot go together. He added that talks on terror can definitely go ahead. 'We have said terror &talks cannot go together but talks on terror can definitely go ahead,' MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Pakistan pic.twitter.com/EyTLEDfZUo — ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2018 × Speaking on NSA level talks, he said that the External Affairs Ministry raised the issue of cross-border terrorism in the NSA level talks with Pakistan. I am agreeing that talks took place & our issue was eliminating terrorism from the region, we of course raised the issue of cross-border terrorism in those talks: MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on NSA level talks b/w India & Pakistan pic.twitter.com/DE26LaOyrL — ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2018 ×

We take no cognizance of fringe elements that spread hate and disharmony: MEA on US, Canada gurudwaras banning entry of Indian officials

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sikh-community-bans-entry-of-indian-officials-into-us-canada-gurudwaras-29006" target="_blank">Sikh community bans entry of Indian officials into </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sikh-community-bans-entry-of-indian-officials-into-us-canada-gurudwaras-29006" target="_blank">US</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sikh-community-bans-entry-of-indian-officials-into-us-canada-gurudwaras-29006" target="_blank">, Canada gurudwaras</a>

The Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC) and American Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (APGC) who claim&nbsp;to be the largest umbrella organisations of Sikh gurudwaras in the US have banned entry of Indian officials from 96 gurudwaras in the country.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/not-mandatory-to-sing-national-anthem-in-cinema-halls-supreme-court-28984" target="_blank">Not mandatory to sing national anthem in cinema halls: Supreme Court</a>

The Supreme<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/supreme-court-to-review-order-on-screening-of-national-anthem-in-movie-theatres-on-tuesday-28923">&nbsp;Court on Tuesday modified its order&nbsp;</a>on the national anthem. India&#39;s highest court said it was not mandatory to sing the national anthem in cinema halls.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/china-silent-over-gen-rawats-remarks-on-pla-troop-reduction-in-dokalam-29018" target="_blank">China silent over Gen Rawat&#39;s remarks on PLA troop reduction in Dokalam</a>

China today skirted a direct response to Army chief General Bipin Rawat&#39;s remarks that there was a major reduction of Chinese troops in Dokalam, but insisted that its soldiers stationed in the area were exercising &quot;sovereignty rights&quot;.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/china-denies-plans-to-set-up-military-base-in-pakistan-29016" target="_blank">China denies plans to set up military base in Pakistan</a>

China on Tuesday denied as &quot;unnecessary&quot; speculation reports that it was planning to build a military base at Jiwani in Pakistan&#39;s Balochistan province close to the strategic Chabahar port, which is being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/south-africa-train-collision-injures-200-people-28997" target="_blank">South Africa train collision injures 200 people</a>

Around 200 people were injured on Tuesday when two passenger trains collided in a suburb of South Africa&#39;s main city Johannesburg, emergency services network ER24 said

Sikh community bans entry of Indian officials into US, Canada gurudwaras The Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC) and American Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (APGC) who claim to be the largest umbrella organisations of Sikh gurudwaras in the US have banned entry of Indian officials from 96 gurudwaras in the country. Not mandatory to sing national anthem in cinema halls: Supreme Court The Supreme Court on Tuesday modified its order on the national anthem. India's highest court said it was not mandatory to sing the national anthem in cinema halls. China silent over Gen Rawat's remarks on PLA troop reduction in Dokalam China today skirted a direct response to Army chief General Bipin Rawat's remarks that there was a major reduction of Chinese troops in Dokalam, but insisted that its soldiers stationed in the area were exercising "sovereignty rights". China denies plans to set up military base in Pakistan China on Tuesday denied as "unnecessary" speculation reports that it was planning to build a military base at Jiwani in Pakistan's Balochistan province close to the strategic Chabahar port, which is being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan. South Africa train collision injures 200 people Around 200 people were injured on Tuesday when two passenger trains collided in a suburb of South Africa's main city Johannesburg, emergency services network ER24 said

WION Evening News Brief, January 9, 2018

The United States and Canada will be co-hosting a meeting of foreign ministers in Vancouver to demonstrate international solidarity against North Korea&#39;s continued nuclear and missile tests.

The meeting is scheduled for January 2018.

The so-called Vancouver Group will also include Australia, Belgium, Britain, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.

Canada&#39;s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland met with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this Tuesday.

Freeland noted that the pressure campaign on North Korea would not abate until the country agreed to give up its nuclear ambitions.

North Korea&#39;s intercontinental ballistic missile stunt sparked an outcry among world leaders with US President Donald Trump calling for more stringent sanctions on the Pyongyang regime.

Kim Jong-un&#39;s government also fired two missiles over Japan previously this year, threatening to &quot;sink&quot; Japan into the sea.

Japan, on the other hand, has signed a deal with the US to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/japan-to-bolster-its-missile-defence-system-against-north-koreas-threats-27161">introduce Aegis Ashore</a> missile in a move to combat &#39;increasing North Korean threats&#39;.&nbsp;

&quot;Japan is reportedly planning a record $46 billion defence budget for the next fiscal year in the wake of the North Korean threat,&quot; reported AFP.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Japan, on the other hand, has signed a deal with the US to introduce Aegis Ashore missile in a move to combat 'increasing North Korean threats'

The United States and Canada will be co-hosting a meeting of foreign ministers in Vancouver to demonstrate international solidarity against North Korea's continued nuclear and missile tests. The meeting is scheduled for January 2018. The so-called Vancouver Group will also include Australia, Belgium, Britain, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey. Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland met with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this Tuesday. Freeland noted that the pressure campaign on North Korea would not abate until the country agreed to give up its nuclear ambitions. North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile stunt sparked an outcry among world leaders with US President Donald Trump calling for more stringent sanctions on the Pyongyang regime. Kim Jong-un's government also fired two missiles over Japan previously this year, threatening to "sink" Japan into the sea. Japan, on the other hand, has signed a deal with the US to introduce Aegis Ashore missile in a move to combat 'increasing North Korean threats'. "Japan is reportedly planning a record $46 billion defence budget for the next fiscal year in the wake of the North Korean threat," reported AFP. (With inputs from agencies)

US, Canada to host talks to keep 'pressure' on North Korea

A 57-year-old Indian-origin man from Canada was sentenced by a federal court in Arizona to 46 months of imprisonment on charges of travelling to the US to have sex with a minor girl.

Dilbagh Singh, from Ontario, Canada, had pleaded guilty to the charges.

According to court documents, in January 2017, Singh began an online relationship with an individual he believed to be a 15-year old girl.

Over the course of nearly four months, Singh told the girl that he wanted to engage in various sex acts with her.

In May 2017, Singh travelled from Canada to Flagstaff, Arizona, to meet the girl and to have sex with her.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Dilbagh Singh, 57, from Ontario, Canada, had pleaded guilty to the charges

A 57-year-old Indian-origin man from Canada was sentenced by a federal court in Arizona to 46 months of imprisonment on charges of travelling to the US to have sex with a minor girl. Dilbagh Singh, from Ontario, Canada, had pleaded guilty to the charges. According to court documents, in January 2017, Singh began an online relationship with an individual he believed to be a 15-year old girl. Over the course of nearly four months, Singh told the girl that he wanted to engage in various sex acts with her. In May 2017, Singh travelled from Canada to Flagstaff, Arizona, to meet the girl and to have sex with her. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

US: Indian-origin man jailed for 46 months for seeking sex with minor girl

Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed three trade agreements on Monday as Ottawa tries to diversify commercial ties amid tough NAFTA negotiations with Washington.

At a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, the two leaders signed an action plan on energy cooperation as well as two memoranda of understanding on food products and a &quot;Canada learning initiative.&quot;

The details of the agreements are unclear.

&quot;The opportunities for deepening our economic and people-to-people ties are tremendous,&quot; Trudeau said in opening remarks.&nbsp;

&quot;Canada is deeply interested in further engagement and trade across the Pacific and I know we&#39;re going to continue to have wonderful and fruitful discussions,&quot; he added.

Li told Trudeau it was rare for China to have such a &quot;close, intimate relationship&quot; with another nation.&nbsp;

&quot;China-Canada relations are indeed headed toward a golden stage,&quot; he said.

Li visited Ottawa in September last year, when the two sides agreed to double bilateral commerce by 2025.

During the December 3-7 official visit, Trudeau &quot;will promote a progressive trade agenda and tourism initiatives&quot;, according to his office.

He will meet government and business leaders as part of Canada&#39;s concerted push to diversify its trade, the bulk of which is currently with the United States.

Trudeau said he also plans full and frank discussions on &quot;issues like good governance, human rights, and the rule of law&quot;.

The visit to China is Trudeau&#39;s second since he came to power two years ago, and comes as trilateral talks with the United States and Mexico to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement appear to be headed toward a deadlock.

Canada and Mexico staunchly oppose US proposals for a NAFTA sunset clause, minimum US content in car parts and nixing of the pact&#39;s trade dispute mechanism.

The US has adopted a more protectionist tone under President Donald Trump and his &quot;America First&quot; policy.

Beijing, meanwhile, has openly courted increased trade with Canada, including calling for a free trade deal.

China is currently Canada&#39;s second-largest trading partner, far behind the United States, with annual bilateral trade worth more than Can$85 billion (US$67 billion).

During the visit to Beijing and Guangzhou, Trudeau will also meet President Xi Jinping and Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People&#39;s Congress or legislature.

The prime minister is popular in China, where citizens have affectionately nicknamed him &quot;Little potato,&quot; as his surname sounds similar to the word &quot;potato&quot; in Mandarin.&nbsp;

His father, who established diplomatic ties with China in 1970, was named &quot;senior potato&quot;.&nbsp;

Internet users on domestic social media platforms focused on Trudeau&#39;s appearance, with one commentator hailing him as &quot;the most handsome foreign leader&quot;.&nbsp;

Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed an action plan on energy cooperation as well as two memoranda of understanding on food products and a 'Canada learning initiative'

Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed three trade agreements on Monday as Ottawa tries to diversify commercial ties amid tough NAFTA negotiations with Washington. At a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, the two leaders signed an action plan on energy cooperation as well as two memoranda of understanding on food products and a "Canada learning initiative." The details of the agreements are unclear. "The opportunities for deepening our economic and people-to-people ties are tremendous," Trudeau said in opening remarks. "Canada is deeply interested in further engagement and trade across the Pacific and I know we're going to continue to have wonderful and fruitful discussions," he added. Li told Trudeau it was rare for China to have such a "close, intimate relationship" with another nation. "China-Canada relations are indeed headed toward a golden stage," he said. Li visited Ottawa in September last year, when the two sides agreed to double bilateral commerce by 2025. During the December 3-7 official visit, Trudeau "will promote a progressive trade agenda and tourism initiatives", according to his office. He will meet government and business leaders as part of Canada's concerted push to diversify its trade, the bulk of which is currently with the United States. Trudeau said he also plans full and frank discussions on "issues like good governance, human rights, and the rule of law". The visit to China is Trudeau's second since he came to power two years ago, and comes as trilateral talks with the United States and Mexico to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement appear to be headed toward a deadlock. Canada and Mexico staunchly oppose US proposals for a NAFTA sunset clause, minimum US content in car parts and nixing of the pact's trade dispute mechanism. The US has adopted a more protectionist tone under President Donald Trump and his "America First" policy. Beijing, meanwhile, has openly courted increased trade with Canada, including calling for a free trade deal. China is currently Canada's second-largest trading partner, far behind the United States, with annual bilateral trade worth more than Can$85 billion (US$67 billion). During the visit to Beijing and Guangzhou, Trudeau will also meet President Xi Jinping and Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress or legislature. The prime minister is popular in China, where citizens have affectionately nicknamed him "Little potato," as his surname sounds similar to the word "potato" in Mandarin. His father, who established diplomatic ties with China in 1970, was named "senior potato". Internet users on domestic social media platforms focused on Trudeau's appearance, with one commentator hailing him as "the most handsome foreign leader".

China, Canada sign trade agreements during Trudeau's visit

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has delivered a historic apology to the LGBTQ community for past injustices committed against them.

The Guardian quoted the Canadian prime minister, as saying, in the House of Commons, that the gay intellectuals would be at increased risk of blackmail by Canada&#39;s adversaries was nothing short of a witch-hunt.

&quot;This is the devastating story of people who were branded criminals by the government - people who lost their livelihoods, and in some cases, their lives,&quot; Trudeau said.

&quot;These aren&#39;t distant practices of governments long forgotten. This happened systematically, in Canada, with a timeline more recent than any of us would like to admit,&quot; he added.

The Canadian prime minister said the people were constantly monitored for anything that could be construed as gay behaviour at their workplaces, bars, parks and even their homes were under watch. Those admitted after interrogations to being gay were forced to leave their jobs.

&quot;It is with shame and sorrow and deep regret for the things we have done that I stand here today and say: We were wrong. We apologise. I am sorry. We are sorry,&quot; Trudeau said to a standing ovation.

&quot;For state-sponsored, systemic oppression and rejection, we are sorry,&quot; he added.

On November 20, Trudeau had announced that his Government would offer a formal apology to the LGBTQ community.

&quot;On November 28, the Government will offer a formal apology to LGBTQ2 Canadians in the House - for the persecution &amp; injustices they have suffered, and to advance together on the path to equality &amp; inclusion,&quot; Trudeau said on Twitter.

The Canadian prime minister&#39;s announcement came at a time when Australia voted in favour of marriage equality, while the Turkish capital Ankara has banned all gay rights functions.

The apology is expected to be the most comprehensive ever offered by any national government for past persecution of sexual minorities.

The Canadian government has already taken other steps to reduce discrimination against sexual and gender minorities, such as passing legislation that bans discrimination against transgender Canadians and equalising the laws of consent for intercourse.

Earlier in July, Justin Trudeau became the first sitting prime minister to march in the Halifax Pride parade.

Dressed up in a pink shirt and white pants, the prime minister waved and yelled &quot;Happy Pride!&quot; to thousands of people along the parade route, stopping periodically to take selfies as members of the crowd called out his name.

'This is the devastating story of people who were branded criminals by the government - people who lost their livelihoods, and in some cases, their lives,' Trudeau said

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has delivered a historic apology to the LGBTQ community for past injustices committed against them. The Guardian quoted the Canadian prime minister, as saying, in the House of Commons, that the gay intellectuals would be at increased risk of blackmail by Canada's adversaries was nothing short of a witch-hunt. "This is the devastating story of people who were branded criminals by the government - people who lost their livelihoods, and in some cases, their lives," Trudeau said. "These aren't distant practices of governments long forgotten. This happened systematically, in Canada, with a timeline more recent than any of us would like to admit," he added. The Canadian prime minister said the people were constantly monitored for anything that could be construed as gay behaviour at their workplaces, bars, parks and even their homes were under watch. Those admitted after interrogations to being gay were forced to leave their jobs. "It is with shame and sorrow and deep regret for the things we have done that I stand here today and say: We were wrong. We apologise. I am sorry. We are sorry," Trudeau said to a standing ovation. "For state-sponsored, systemic oppression and rejection, we are sorry," he added. On November 20, Trudeau had announced that his Government would offer a formal apology to the LGBTQ community. "On November 28, the Government will offer a formal apology to LGBTQ2 Canadians in the House - for the persecution & injustices they have suffered, and to advance together on the path to equality & inclusion," Trudeau said on Twitter. The Canadian prime minister's announcement came at a time when Australia voted in favour of marriage equality, while the Turkish capital Ankara has banned all gay rights functions. The apology is expected to be the most comprehensive ever offered by any national government for past persecution of sexual minorities. The Canadian government has already taken other steps to reduce discrimination against sexual and gender minorities, such as passing legislation that bans discrimination against transgender Canadians and equalising the laws of consent for intercourse. Earlier in July, Justin Trudeau became the first sitting prime minister to march in the Halifax Pride parade. Dressed up in a pink shirt and white pants, the prime minister waved and yelled "Happy Pride!" to thousands of people along the parade route, stopping periodically to take selfies as members of the crowd called out his name.

Justin Trudeau delivers historic apology to Canada's LGBTQ community

Passengers waiting at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday made the most of their time at the airport when their flight departure got delayed.&nbsp;

WestJet passengers scheduled to depart from Toronto were told by the airline staff of a 30-minute&nbsp;delay in their departure as they were waiting for the pilot to arrive. Much to the amusement of the airline staff and airport authorities, the passengers did not show frustration and&nbsp;started having fun.&nbsp;

According to CNN,&nbsp;Newfoundlanders Sean Sullivan and Sheldon Thornhill took out their&nbsp;guitar and accordion&nbsp;and started playing it while other&nbsp;passengers sang and danced along. All this was recorded by a traveller named Michelle Sacrey Philpott.&nbsp;

As told to CNN, Philpott said,&nbsp;&ldquo;Everyone cheered. We got the instruments out again and started to continue singing and dancing. Newfoundlanders love to sing and dance. It is such a huge part of our culture.&rdquo;

Watch the video:&nbsp;

<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="476" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmichellesacrey.philpott%2Fvideos%2F10155578792685932%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=267" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="267"></iframe>

&nbsp;

There was a 30-minute delay in departure as they were waiting for the pilot to arrive

Passengers waiting at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday made the most of their time at the airport when their flight departure got delayed. WestJet passengers scheduled to depart from Toronto were told by the airline staff of a 30-minute delay in their departure as they were waiting for the pilot to arrive. Much to the amusement of the airline staff and airport authorities, the passengers did not show frustration and started having fun. According to CNN, Newfoundlanders Sean Sullivan and Sheldon Thornhill took out their guitar and accordion and started playing it while other passengers sang and danced along. All this was recorded by a traveller named Michelle Sacrey Philpott. As told to CNN, Philpott said, “Everyone cheered. We got the instruments out again and started to continue singing and dancing. Newfoundlanders love to sing and dance. It is such a huge part of our culture.” Watch the video:

Watch: Passengers sing and dance at Canada airport after flight gets delayed

Within the space of a few moments, Jagmeet Singh became one of Canada&rsquo;s most admired politicians. His cool-under-pressure reaction to being confronted by an angry heckler is just one of the reasons Singh is considered to be the favourite contender for leadership of the federal New Democratic Party.

A video of the Sept. 6 incident at Singh&rsquo;s campaign event in Brampton, Ont., went viral and has been viewed millions of times in Canada and around the world. Moments into the event, an angry white woman interrupted Singh and shouted Islamophobic and vitriolic statements at him, and physically gesticulated, demonstrating her feeling of entitlement &mdash; to space, voice and position - in relation to others at the event.

Singh seemed undeterred by the outburst. His response to her rant was <a href="https://youtu.be/j2onmR-oBIY" nofollow="" rel="">to rally his audience to help him relay his campaign message</a>. He asked his guests to chant: &ldquo;Love and courage.&rdquo;

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="445" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j2onmR-oBIY" width="754"></iframe>

What is the nature of Singh&rsquo;s call for love? His political slogan is based on a message of universal love and courage. Singh&rsquo;s message &mdash; and chant that evening &mdash; is uniquely situated among the slogans of the <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2017/09/16/the-four-candidates-who-would-lead-the-ndp.html" nofollow="" rel="">three other candidates</a>: <a href="http://www.charlieangusndp.ca/" nofollow="" rel="">Charlie Angus</a> &ldquo;Got your back,&rdquo; <a href="http://www.nikiashton2017.ca/" nofollow="" rel="">Niki Ashton</a> &ldquo;Building a movement, together,&rdquo; and <a href="http://en.guycaron.ca/" nofollow="" rel="">Guy Caron,</a> &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s Build a Progressive and Sustainable Economy.&rdquo;

The dramatic events at the Sept. 6 meeting demonstrate something about Singh, as a person and as a candidate. It also points to new undercurrents of religion and spirituality and its role &mdash; not only in Canadian politics&nbsp;but also in the leadership race for the NDP.

Singh&rsquo;s campaign and potential leadership arrive in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-trump-emboldening-right-wing-extremism-in-canada-82635" nofollow="" rel="">climate of increasing hatred</a>, fear and division. His call for universal love is coherent with Sikhism, which challenges the division between daily life and a devotional love that guides all thought and action. How does the language of love and courage relate to a New Democratic Party trying to find its way in a shifting political landscape?

Singh&rsquo;s outward appearance solicits questions from some Canadians &mdash; as in the case of the heckler &mdash; regarding his secular position: To what degree does Singh&rsquo;s religion relate to his policy ideas or conduct?

Canada: Judeo-Christian values?

Canadian political institutions and traditions are imbued with Judeo-Christian values and symbols. Yet the separation of church and state maintains religion does not dictate the making of policy and law. However, in the game of politics, courting ethno-racial, national and religious identified voters has become a central art of party campaign strategists.

Political parties of all persuasions have had to navigate this division in a variety of ways. In Canada, the left social democratic tradition, represented now by the NDP, has had less experience with faith-based movements and the religious identity of its leaders than their right-wing counterparts and left-leaning parties elsewhere in the world. Singh&rsquo;s leadership challenge will likely change that.

While Singh is positioned as a secular politician, his ethos, sense of justice and formation of his identity is connected to a Sikh practice. The very essence of the message of universal love and courage is embedded in a Sikh devotion, rather than a secular idea of loving all humankind. Practising Sikhism defines a way of life &mdash; one that is contemplative, meditative and committed to spiritualism and positive actions.

The Clash of Civilizations

To understand the contemporary role of religion in politics, we need to look at one of our turning points: 9/11. The attacks on New York City and the Pentagon served as a marker of the time foreign and domestic policy in <a href="https://theconversation.com/9-11-anniversary-understanding-extremist-motives-could-stop-further-violence-83773" nofollow="" rel="">North America was called upon to name Islamic terrorism as a universal enemy</a>.

Once North America and other western governments embraced <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/1993-06-01/clash-civilizations" nofollow="" rel="">the rhetoric of a civilization divide</a>, the psyche of liberal democratic nations split apart. The already tenuous divide between the religious and secular began to rupture further.

This reinforced a binary division and <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/clash-ignorance/" nofollow="" rel="">emboldened a powerful discourse of racism and Islamophobia</a>. The basic premise is that Islam represents something universally distinct from Christian belief systems.

This <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/books/review/14yoshino.html" nofollow="" rel="">discourse of racism and difference</a> has gained strength and societal control through the election of conservative governments with moral platforms that build on fears and anxieties of susceptible citizens.

Sixteen years of corrosive discourses since 9/11 has led to: Us vs. Them, the Clash of Civilizations and racism. We are now at the point of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-canadian-ugly-american-does-racism-differ-north-of-the-border-81388" nofollow="" rel="">normalization of white supremacy</a> .&nbsp;It is no longer an oddity or a left-wing conspiracy theory to discuss the presence of fascism and neo-Nazis &mdash; these are events widely circulated in our social media feeds and featured during the evening new .

Religious discrimination in Canada

Islamophobia and racism are often understood to be twinned structures of oppression. In many ways they are, but there are complex differences between them. They disseminate and exist in different political, cultural and social taxonomies.

<a href="http://www.mediaed.org/transcripts/Edward-Said-The-Myth-of-Clash-Civilizations-Transcript.pdf" nofollow="" rel="">Islamophobia operates through systems of stereotypes</a>, often misunderstanding or misrepresenting the traditions, religious practices and customs of highly diverse ethno-national and racial communities. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/is-islamophobia-real-maher-harris-aslan/381411/" nofollow="" rel="">Islamophobia</a> has been manufactured in multiple ways in society through popular culture, media, policy and criminalizing targeting Islam and Muslims.

Racism is a larger systemic operation of power denigrating one race while validating or elevating another.

When the Harper Conservatives were in government, they attempted to map onto Canadian national values a form of social conservatism. This was articulated through a distinction between Canada and the &ldquo;<a href="https://theconversation.com/media-portrays-indigenous-and-muslim-youth-as-savages-and-barbarians-79153" nofollow="" rel="">barbaric cultural practices&rdquo; of others</a>.

The clear lines that were being drawn between what <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2675751009/" nofollow="" rel="">Harper referred to as &ldquo;old stock Canadians&rdquo;</a> during a 2015 federal leaders&rsquo; debate brought into discourse front and center the relationship between white supremacy and Islamophobia. It connected the dots between a normative white Christian Canadian identity that could stand against the racialized others.

Now the Conservative Party has a leader who proudly accepts the label: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AndrewScheerMP/videos/1532870230080057/" nofollow="" rel="">&ldquo;Harper with a Smile.&rdquo;</a>&ldquo; Andrew Scheer has the support of social conservatives in the Conservative Party. He has steadfastly <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/scheer-five-things-policies-1.4137120" nofollow="" rel="">supported free speech over the condemnation of Islamophobia</a> and was absent during the House of Commons vote for the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/03/23/m-103-anti-islamophobia-motion-house-passes_n_15567120.html" nofollow="" rel="">Anti-Islamophobia Motion M-103</a>, overwhelmingly passed in the House of Commons.

When losing your cool is not an option

Singh said his ability to remain cool under pressure was largely owed to his experience of being a brown, Sikh and turbaned man, growing up in the 1980s in Brampton, Ont., just northwest of Toronto.

His past experiences of religious and racist intolerance helped to fortify him against racist language and assault.

In the moment in which the racist woman yelled at him, she assumed he was a Muslim. Many wondered why Singh did not attempt to correct her misconceived perception; he is not a Muslim, but rather, a Sikh.

Suggesting such a distinction in the moment, he said, would only further the misunderstanding that somehow being Muslim means such treatment is considered justifiable. His reaction, he said, should not be to proclaim his religion. By not correcting this misconception, Singh was acting in solidarity against Islamophobia.

Sikhs have been affected throughout the post-9/11 discourses of Islamophobia, mainly because of this misunderstood identity. In the U.S., and elsewhere, there has been a <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/columnists/sikhs-have-been-living-in-fear-of-hate-crimes-since-911/article4468643/?arc404=true" nofollow="" rel="">rise in hate bias attacks against Sikhs</a>, with the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/us/shooting-reported-at-temple-in-wisconsin.html" nofollow="" rel="">2012 Oak Creek, Wis., shooting</a> as a visible example.

While there are those who, in the similar vein as Singh, has sought to challenge Islamophobia by standing in solidarity, there have also been many instances where Sikhs in America, the U.K. and Canada painstakingly distinguish themselves from Muslims.

However, in countless examples, when Islamophobia is experienced in the public sphere against properly identified Muslims, there has been a lack of outcry.

In Canada, the <a href="https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-city-mosque-shooting-what-we-know-so-far/article33826078/" nofollow="" rel="">shooting deaths in Quebec&rsquo;s Sainte-Foy&rsquo;s Mosque</a>, in which Azzedine Soufiane, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubakar Thabthi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, and Ibrahim Barry were killed, was unmistakably an act of terrorism. Canadians across the country mourned this tragedy. And yet was it recognized as an act of terrorism against the citizens of this state?

The day-to-day effects of Islamophobia have led to many <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hate-crimes-muslims-statscan-1.4158042" nofollow="" rel="">Muslims living with heightened experiences of fear</a> and not knowing what they might encounter on a walk to school, a day at work or even waiting for a bus.

The left social-democrats of the NDP hold steadfastly to their conception of justice, fairness and equality in a secular world. The ways in which people are encountering the public today, however, is seemingly much murkier than these stark divisions.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83857/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />The issues of racism, religious intolerance and social justice are not central issues for any federal political party. These issues, however, should no longer be viewed as separate from major policy platforms including health, welfare reform, employment, national defence, national security, aboriginal relations and education. Perhaps a political leader such as Jagmeet Singh will be able to navigate these debates with an alacrity and style we have yet to witness in the Canadian political world.

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" nofollow="" rel="">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/jagmeet-singh-battles-racism-in-canadian-politics-with-love-83857" nofollow="" rel="">original article</a>.

Singh, one of Canada?s most admired politicians, has based his political slogan on a message of universal love and courage.

Within the space of a few moments, Jagmeet Singh became one of Canada’s most admired politicians. His cool-under-pressure reaction to being confronted by an angry heckler is just one of the reasons Singh is considered to be the favourite contender for leadership of the federal New Democratic Party. A video of the Sept. 6 incident at Singh’s campaign event in Brampton, Ont., went viral and has been viewed millions of times in Canada and around the world. Moments into the event, an angry white woman interrupted Singh and shouted Islamophobic and vitriolic statements at him, and physically gesticulated, demonstrating her feeling of entitlement — to space, voice and position - in relation to others at the event. Singh seemed undeterred by the outburst. His response to her rant was to rally his audience to help him relay his campaign message. He asked his guests to chant: “Love and courage.” What is the nature of Singh’s call for love? His political slogan is based on a message of universal love and courage. Singh’s message — and chant that evening — is uniquely situated among the slogans of the three other candidates: Charlie Angus “Got your back,” Niki Ashton “Building a movement, together,” and Guy Caron, “Let’s Build a Progressive and Sustainable Economy.” The dramatic events at the Sept. 6 meeting demonstrate something about Singh, as a person and as a candidate. It also points to new undercurrents of religion and spirituality and its role — not only in Canadian politics but also in the leadership race for the NDP. Singh’s campaign and potential leadership arrive in a climate of increasing hatred, fear and division. His call for universal love is coherent with Sikhism, which challenges the division between daily life and a devotional love that guides all thought and action. How does the language of love and courage relate to a New Democratic Party trying to find its way in a shifting political landscape? Singh’s outward appearance solicits questions from some Canadians — as in the case of the heckler — regarding his secular position: To what degree does Singh’s religion relate to his policy ideas or conduct? Canada: Judeo-Christian values? Canadian political institutions and traditions are imbued with Judeo-Christian values and symbols. Yet the separation of church and state maintains religion does not dictate the making of policy and law. However, in the game of politics, courting ethno-racial, national and religious identified voters has become a central art of party campaign strategists. Political parties of all persuasions have had to navigate this division in a variety of ways. In Canada, the left social democratic tradition, represented now by the NDP, has had less experience with faith-based movements and the religious identity of its leaders than their right-wing counterparts and left-leaning parties elsewhere in the world. Singh’s leadership challenge will likely change that. While Singh is positioned as a secular politician, his ethos, sense of justice and formation of his identity is connected to a Sikh practice. The very essence of the message of universal love and courage is embedded in a Sikh devotion, rather than a secular idea of loving all humankind. Practising Sikhism defines a way of life — one that is contemplative, meditative and committed to spiritualism and positive actions. The Clash of Civilizations To understand the contemporary role of religion in politics, we need to look at one of our turning points: 9/11. The attacks on New York City and the Pentagon served as a marker of the time foreign and domestic policy in North America was called upon to name Islamic terrorism as a universal enemy. Once North America and other western governments embraced the rhetoric of a civilization divide, the psyche of liberal democratic nations split apart. The already tenuous divide between the religious and secular began to rupture further. This reinforced a binary division and emboldened a powerful discourse of racism and Islamophobia. The basic premise is that Islam represents something universally distinct from Christian belief systems. This discourse of racism and difference has gained strength and societal control through the election of conservative governments with moral platforms that build on fears and anxieties of susceptible citizens. Sixteen years of corrosive discourses since 9/11 has led to: Us vs. Them, the Clash of Civilizations and racism. We are now at the point of the normalization of white supremacy . It is no longer an oddity or a left-wing conspiracy theory to discuss the presence of fascism and neo-Nazis — these are events widely circulated in our social media feeds and featured during the evening new . Religious discrimination in Canada Islamophobia and racism are often understood to be twinned structures of oppression. In many ways they are, but there are complex differences between them. They disseminate and exist in different political, cultural and social taxonomies. Islamophobia operates through systems of stereotypes, often misunderstanding or misrepresenting the traditions, religious practices and customs of highly diverse ethno-national and racial communities. Islamophobia has been manufactured in multiple ways in society through popular culture, media, policy and criminalizing targeting Islam and Muslims. Racism is a larger systemic operation of power denigrating one race while validating or elevating another. When the Harper Conservatives were in government, they attempted to map onto Canadian national values a form of social conservatism. This was articulated through a distinction between Canada and the “barbaric cultural practices” of others. The clear lines that were being drawn between what Harper referred to as “old stock Canadians” during a 2015 federal leaders’ debate brought into discourse front and center the relationship between white supremacy and Islamophobia. It connected the dots between a normative white Christian Canadian identity that could stand against the racialized others. Now the Conservative Party has a leader who proudly accepts the label: “Harper with a Smile.”“ Andrew Scheer has the support of social conservatives in the Conservative Party. He has steadfastly supported free speech over the condemnation of Islamophobia and was absent during the House of Commons vote for the Anti-Islamophobia Motion M-103, overwhelmingly passed in the House of Commons. When losing your cool is not an option Singh said his ability to remain cool under pressure was largely owed to his experience of being a brown, Sikh and turbaned man, growing up in the 1980s in Brampton, Ont., just northwest of Toronto. His past experiences of religious and racist intolerance helped to fortify him against racist language and assault. In the moment in which the racist woman yelled at him, she assumed he was a Muslim. Many wondered why Singh did not attempt to correct her misconceived perception; he is not a Muslim, but rather, a Sikh. Suggesting such a distinction in the moment, he said, would only further the misunderstanding that somehow being Muslim means such treatment is considered justifiable. His reaction, he said, should not be to proclaim his religion. By not correcting this misconception, Singh was acting in solidarity against Islamophobia. Sikhs have been affected throughout the post-9/11 discourses of Islamophobia, mainly because of this misunderstood identity. In the U.S., and elsewhere, there has been a rise in hate bias attacks against Sikhs, with the 2012 Oak Creek, Wis., shooting as a visible example. While there are those who, in the similar vein as Singh, has sought to challenge Islamophobia by standing in solidarity, there have also been many instances where Sikhs in America, the U.K. and Canada painstakingly distinguish themselves from Muslims. However, in countless examples, when Islamophobia is experienced in the public sphere against properly identified Muslims, there has been a lack of outcry. In Canada, the shooting deaths in Quebec’s Sainte-Foy’s Mosque, in which Azzedine Soufiane, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubakar Thabthi, Abdelkrim Hassane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, and Ibrahim Barry were killed, was unmistakably an act of terrorism. Canadians across the country mourned this tragedy. And yet was it recognized as an act of terrorism against the citizens of this state? The day-to-day effects of Islamophobia have led to many Muslims living with heightened experiences of fear and not knowing what they might encounter on a walk to school, a day at work or even waiting for a bus. The left social-democrats of the NDP hold steadfastly to their conception of justice, fairness and equality in a secular world. The ways in which people are encountering the public today, however, is seemingly much murkier than these stark divisions. The issues of racism, religious intolerance and social justice are not central issues for any federal political party. These issues, however, should no longer be viewed as separate from major policy platforms including health, welfare reform, employment, national defence, national security, aboriginal relations and education. Perhaps a political leader such as Jagmeet Singh will be able to navigate these debates with an alacrity and style we have yet to witness in the Canadian political world. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Jagmeet Singh battles racism in Canadian politics with love

Almost four months after it first denied entry into Canada to a retired Indian paramilitary officer and subsequently expressed regret over the matter, the Canadian government has reiterated that security forces are a &ldquo;huge contributor to the safety and security of all&rdquo; and that while some &quot;irritants&quot; and disputes may emerge between two countries but best of friends can always talk through those issues keeping the bigger picture in mind.

In May this year, Tejinder Singh Dhillon, a retired officer of India&rsquo;s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had been declared inadmissible under Canada&rsquo;s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and was told by the Vancouver airport immigration authorities that he could not granted entry into Canada since he was a part of the CRPF - a force which they said &ldquo;committed widespread and systemic human rights abuses, torture, arbitrary detention, murder and sexual assault&quot;.

Dhillon was then deported back to India, causing&nbsp;a furor. But before the matter could erupt into a diplomatic row, the Canadian High Commission in India intervened and restored his visa allowing him to go back to Canada. The Canadian High Commission had termed it as an incident that had &ldquo;happened at the lower level&rdquo; and something that &ldquo;shouldn&rsquo;t have happened&rdquo;.

&ldquo;We did address that immediately. We feel very strongly that&nbsp;Forces are a huge contributor to the safety and security of all residents of India including myself. We did a post-mortem and took stock of what transpired,&rdquo; Canada&rsquo;s High Commissioner to India Nadir Patel told WION/DNA in an exclusive conversation today.

&ldquo;Reality is that every relationship will have some irritants or disputes or disagreements. But best of friends can talk through those issues and keep the bigger picture in mind. That&rsquo;s what Canada and India have done and that&rsquo;s what we will do,&rdquo; Patel added.

Asked about the discomfort in the Indian establishment over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau&#39;s presence at an event that featured Khalistani flags and posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Canadian High Commissioner said, &ldquo;We won&#39;t let the diversity and the harmony that exists in Canada be sidetracked by a few individuals who have certain views and those views are certainly not shared by the Government of Canada. And that&#39;s been made very clear. To be able to talk through these things and know that we value our relationship with India is paramount.&rdquo;

Patel also said that the Canadian government was close to firming up the dates for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau&rsquo;s India visit and that both PM Trudeau and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are very keen to make this happen. He added that the Trudeau&rsquo;s visit to India will happen soon

The Canadian High Commissioner further said that the relationship between India and Canada is the strongest it&rsquo;s ever been and that there was a lot of interaction at the top levels between both sides. The Foreign Ministers of both countries are set to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week. Also, three Cabinet ministers from Canada are set to visit India in the coming weeks.

Stating that &ldquo;all matrix were showing a strengthening of the relationship&rdquo; Patel further underlined that trade between India and Canada had gone up by 30 percent in the past couple of years and that investments from Canada into India were up 15 billion dollars during the same period.

He also underlined the fact the largest Indian diaspora community in the world on per capita basis lives in Canada, a huge&nbsp;1.3 million Canadians of Indian origin.

Almost four months after it first denied entry into Canada to a retired Indian paramilitary officer and subsequently expressed regret over the matter

Almost four months after it first denied entry into Canada to a retired Indian paramilitary officer and subsequently expressed regret over the matter, the Canadian government has reiterated that security forces are a “huge contributor to the safety and security of all” and that while some "irritants" and disputes may emerge between two countries but best of friends can always talk through those issues keeping the bigger picture in mind. In May this year, Tejinder Singh Dhillon, a retired officer of India’s Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had been declared inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and was told by the Vancouver airport immigration authorities that he could not granted entry into Canada since he was a part of the CRPF - a force which they said “committed widespread and systemic human rights abuses, torture, arbitrary detention, murder and sexual assault". Dhillon was then deported back to India, causing a furor. But before the matter could erupt into a diplomatic row, the Canadian High Commission in India intervened and restored his visa allowing him to go back to Canada. The Canadian High Commission had termed it as an incident that had “happened at the lower level” and something that “shouldn’t have happened”. “We did address that immediately. We feel very strongly that Forces are a huge contributor to the safety and security of all residents of India including myself. We did a post-mortem and took stock of what transpired,” Canada’s High Commissioner to India Nadir Patel told WION/DNA in an exclusive conversation today. “Reality is that every relationship will have some irritants or disputes or disagreements. But best of friends can talk through those issues and keep the bigger picture in mind. That’s what Canada and India have done and that’s what we will do,” Patel added. Asked about the discomfort in the Indian establishment over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's presence at an event that featured Khalistani flags and posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Canadian High Commissioner said, “We won't let the diversity and the harmony that exists in Canada be sidetracked by a few individuals who have certain views and those views are certainly not shared by the Government of Canada. And that's been made very clear. To be able to talk through these things and know that we value our relationship with India is paramount.” Patel also said that the Canadian government was close to firming up the dates for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s India visit and that both PM Trudeau and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are very keen to make this happen. He added that the Trudeau’s visit to India will happen soon The Canadian High Commissioner further said that the relationship between India and Canada is the strongest it’s ever been and that there was a lot of interaction at the top levels between both sides. The Foreign Ministers of both countries are set to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week. Also, three Cabinet ministers from Canada are set to visit India in the coming weeks. Stating that “all matrix were showing a strengthening of the relationship” Patel further underlined that trade between India and Canada had gone up by 30 percent in the past couple of years and that investments from Canada into India were up 15 billion dollars during the same period. He also underlined the fact the largest Indian diaspora community in the world on per capita basis lives in Canada, a huge 1.3 million Canadians of Indian origin.

Forces huge contributor to safety & security of all says Canada months after Deportation drama involving retired CRPF IG

The G-20 (Group of 20)&nbsp;is an international forum which was formed with the purpose of establishing international cooperation on global economic and financial&nbsp;issues. The forum plays an important role in decision making on issues of international relevance.

G20 countries account for three-quarters of global trade. The G-20 countries produce more than&nbsp;80 per cent of the global economic&nbsp;output.&nbsp;

Around two-third&nbsp;of the global population lives in G-20 member countries.&nbsp;

The G-20 started in 1999 as a meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis that sent shockwaves through the global economic community.

In 2008, the first G-20 Leaders&rsquo; Summit was held, and the group played a key role in responding to the global financial crisis that rattled world markets causing massive financial instabilty and leading to the collapse of financial institutions.&nbsp;Its decisive and coordinated actions boosted consumer and business confidence and supported the global&nbsp;economic recovery.&nbsp;

How it works 
Each year in December&nbsp;a different G-20 member country assumes presidency of the forum. To ensure continuity, the presidency is supported by a &ldquo;troika&rdquo; (Trio) made up of the current, immediate past and next host countries. Being an informal group, the group has no permanent secretariat.&nbsp;

The G-20 president is responsible for bringing together the G-20 agenda in consultation with other members and in response to developments in the global economy. The summit and the preparatory processes &ndash; often including more than 60 ministerial and working group meetings per year &ndash; are coordinated by the respective host country.

Members of G20 
The twenty members of the forum are :

<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>Argentina</li>
				<li>Australia</li>
				<li>Brazil</li>
				<li>Canada</li>
				<li>China</li>
				<li>France</li>
				<li>Germany</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>India</li>
				<li>Indonesia</li>
				<li>Italy</li>
				<li>Japan</li>
				<li>Republic of Korea</li>
				<li>Mexico</li>
				<li>Russia</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>Saudi Arabia</li>
				<li>South Africa</li>
				<li>Turkey</li>
				<li>The United Kingdom</li>
				<li>The united States</li>
				<li>The European Union</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

 
&nbsp;

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The map displays the member countries, which represent two-thirds of the world population (Image source: g20.org) (Others)
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At the invitation of each Presidency, international organisations also regularly attend the G20 meetings. These organisations include the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the World Bank (WB), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations (UN). The German G20 Presidency has also invited the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2017.

Spain attends the G-20 Summits as a permanent guest. The Presidency can also invite representatives of regional organisations and guests to the G-20 Summit.&nbsp;

India and G20

India has enacted a number of legislations and taken steps to tackle issues like black money, terror financing and food security which can be traced back to G-20. &nbsp;

For instance, India enacted the&nbsp;National Food Security Act with the objective to provide food and nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate quantity of food at affordable prices to people.&nbsp;

India stands to gain from G-20 knowledge sharing and best practices of improving food security without increasing water consumption to unsustainable levels. The same can then also form part of implementation under the National Water Policy of India.

G-20 has emerged as an important forum where global leaders come together to discuss issues of international significance. At a time, when countries like US are turning inwards and showing signs of protectionism, forums like G-20 have assumed all the more importance to steer the global economic community.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

G20 is an international informal forum where India has made the mark of an emerging economy which aspires to take the world along with it towards development

The G-20 (Group of 20) is an international forum which was formed with the purpose of establishing international cooperation on global economic and financial issues. The forum plays an important role in decision making on issues of international relevance. G20 countries account for three-quarters of global trade. The G-20 countries produce more than 80 per cent of the global economic output. Around two-third of the global population lives in G-20 member countries. The G-20 started in 1999 as a meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis that sent shockwaves through the global economic community. In 2008, the first G-20 Leaders’ Summit was held, and the group played a key role in responding to the global financial crisis that rattled world markets causing massive financial instabilty and leading to the collapse of financial institutions. Its decisive and coordinated actions boosted consumer and business confidence and supported the global economic recovery. How it works Each year in December a different G-20 member country assumes presidency of the forum. To ensure continuity, the presidency is supported by a “troika” (Trio) made up of the current, immediate past and next host countries. Being an informal group, the group has no permanent secretariat. The G-20 president is responsible for bringing together the G-20 agenda in consultation with other members and in response to developments in the global economy. The summit and the preparatory processes – often including more than 60 ministerial and working group meetings per year – are coordinated by the respective host country. Members of G20 The twenty members of the forum are : Argentina Australia Brazil Canada China France Germany India Indonesia Italy Japan Republic of Korea Mexico Russia Saudi Arabia South Africa Turkey The United Kingdom The united States The European Union The map displays the member countries, which represent two-thirds of the world population (Image source: g20.org) (Others) × At the invitation of each Presidency, international organisations also regularly attend the G20 meetings. These organisations include the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the World Bank (WB), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations (UN). The German G20 Presidency has also invited the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2017. Spain attends the G-20 Summits as a permanent guest. The Presidency can also invite representatives of regional organisations and guests to the G-20 Summit. India and G20 India has enacted a number of legislations and taken steps to tackle issues like black money, terror financing and food security which can be traced back to G-20. For instance, India enacted the National Food Security Act with the objective to provide food and nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate quantity of food at affordable prices to people. India stands to gain from G-20 knowledge sharing and best practices of improving food security without increasing water consumption to unsustainable levels. The same can then also form part of implementation under the National Water Policy of India. G-20 has emerged as an important forum where global leaders come together to discuss issues of international significance. At a time, when countries like US are turning inwards and showing signs of protectionism, forums like G-20 have assumed all the more importance to steer the global economic community.

All you need to know about G-20

China and Canada have signed an agreement vowing not to conduct state-sponsored cyber attacks against each other aimed at stealing trade secrets or other confidential business information.

According to a statement released by the Canadian government on its website, the agreement was reached during talks between Canada&#39;s national security and intelligence adviser, Daniel Jean, and senior communist party official Wang Yongqing

&quot;This is something that three or four years ago (Beijing) would not even have entertained in the conversation,&quot; an unnamed Canadian government official told the Globe and Mail.

The new agreement only covers economic cyber-espionage, which includes hacking corporate secrets and proprietary technology, and does not deal with state-sponsored cyber spying for intelligence gathering.

&quot;The two sides agreed that neither country&#39;s government would conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors,&quot; the Canadian Government said in the statement. China&#39;s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some countries, including the United States, have long accused Beijing of sponsoring hacking attacks on companies in an effort to acquire sensitive foreign technology. China denies those accusations and says that it is also a victim of hacking.

In 2015 China and the United States came to a similar understanding on corporate cyber-espionage after the Obama administration had mulled targeted sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies for cyber attacks against US commercial targets. US cyber security executives and government advisors said breaches attributed to China-based groups had dropped around the time of that agreement.

China this month put into effect a new cyber security law designed to strengthen critical infrastructure, even as many global tech firms and lobbies said the rules skewed the playing field against foreign firms.

The agreement was reached during talks between Canada's national security and intelligence adviser, Daniel Jean, and senior communist party official Wang Yongqing

China and Canada have signed an agreement vowing not to conduct state-sponsored cyber attacks against each other aimed at stealing trade secrets or other confidential business information. According to a statement released by the Canadian government on its website, the agreement was reached during talks between Canada's national security and intelligence adviser, Daniel Jean, and senior communist party official Wang Yongqing "This is something that three or four years ago (Beijing) would not even have entertained in the conversation," an unnamed Canadian government official told the Globe and Mail. The new agreement only covers economic cyber-espionage, which includes hacking corporate secrets and proprietary technology, and does not deal with state-sponsored cyber spying for intelligence gathering. "The two sides agreed that neither country's government would conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors," the Canadian Government said in the statement. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some countries, including the United States, have long accused Beijing of sponsoring hacking attacks on companies in an effort to acquire sensitive foreign technology. China denies those accusations and says that it is also a victim of hacking. In 2015 China and the United States came to a similar understanding on corporate cyber-espionage after the Obama administration had mulled targeted sanctions against Chinese individuals and companies for cyber attacks against US commercial targets. US cyber security executives and government advisors said breaches attributed to China-based groups had dropped around the time of that agreement. China this month put into effect a new cyber security law designed to strengthen critical infrastructure, even as many global tech firms and lobbies said the rules skewed the playing field against foreign firms.

China, Canada vow not to conduct cyber attacks on private sector

On a highway in Banff National Park in western Canada, tourists hastily park their cars to catch a glimpse of a bear at the edge of the forest.

&quot;We&#39;ve seen some amazing animal life up here, much more than a lot of other places that we&#39;ve gone camping,&quot; Tony Garland, a 60-something American who drove up from Seattle, told AFP.

Garland is part of a wave of American and Asian tourists flowing into Canada&#39;s national parks, known for their awe-inspiring beauty, in part thanks to a favorable exchange rate.

Record attendance is expected this year -- admission is free for both locals and foreign tourists as part of celebrations marking the country&#39;s founding 150 years ago.

But while the expected influx will be a boon to the tourism industry, the increased traffic also means more reckless behavior by visitors -- approaching or feeding wild animals, stomping on flora, and littering along park roadways.

That behavior has raised concerns about how best to ensure the natural wonders of the country&#39;s more than 40 treasured national parks are protected.

&quot;Since January, we&#39;ve doubled the number of reservations for campsites from what it was at the same time last year,&quot; said Parks Canada&#39;s Banff tourism manager Greg Danchuk.

&quot;We have a responsibility to do both, to preserve nature and provide opportunities for people to visit,&quot; said Danchuk.

&nbsp;

More money, more problems

Canada&#39;s national parks contribute Can$1.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) annually to the economy, and employ 22,700 people, according to government figures. In its March budget, the federal government increased funding for Parks Canada by more than Can$300 million over the next two years.

But critics say that money is not going towards conservation efforts, and accuse the government agency of putting commercial interests first in recent years.

&quot;By law, Parks Canada... actually have to put nature first and they haven&#39;t been,&quot; said Anne-Marie Syslak, executive director of the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). &quot;Too many people too fast without conservation as the priority -- it&#39;s a real risk for these parks.&quot;

Garland acknowledged that he&#39;d seen some dodgy behavior during his visit to Banff, located in the Rocky Mountains and the most popular of Canada&#39;s parks, with four millions visitors last year.

&quot;Some of the people don&#39;t seem to be that educated (about wildlife),&quot; he said. &quot;They get out of their cars and go near the bears, which is kind of crazy.&quot;

&nbsp;

Development pressures

Edward Johnson, an ecology professor at the University of Calgary in Alberta, said many communities on the edges of the towering Rocky Mountains, once full of miners and oil workers, have repurposed themselves as tourist havens.

In Johnson&#39;s view, tourism and conservation are not mutually exclusive -- monies spent locally by tourists can be used to support conservation efforts, for example.

&quot;The more people who want to come out and see natural areas, the more likely you&#39;re able to preserve more natural areas,&quot; he explained, while adding: &quot;It&#39;s a double-edged sword.&quot;

Johnson said studies on the impact of development over the long term are insufficient. &quot;You have to think carefully about your development and make everyone aware of what the consequences are, one way or the other,&quot; he said.

Also, Parks Canada is still spending more on tourism promotion than on conservation. &quot;Tourism and conservation should lie hand in hand,&quot; echoed Syslak, &quot;because people are coming to these areas for their natural beauty and wildlife.&quot;

&quot;We also have a responsibility to be stewards of these lands so that we have these animals and we keep these places in a good state for the future,&quot; she said.

(AFP)

Record attendance is expected this year, but the increased traffic means more reckless behaviour from visitors

On a highway in Banff National Park in western Canada, tourists hastily park their cars to catch a glimpse of a bear at the edge of the forest. "We've seen some amazing animal life up here, much more than a lot of other places that we've gone camping," Tony Garland, a 60-something American who drove up from Seattle, told AFP. Garland is part of a wave of American and Asian tourists flowing into Canada's national parks, known for their awe-inspiring beauty, in part thanks to a favorable exchange rate. Record attendance is expected this year -- admission is free for both locals and foreign tourists as part of celebrations marking the country's founding 150 years ago. But while the expected influx will be a boon to the tourism industry, the increased traffic also means more reckless behavior by visitors -- approaching or feeding wild animals, stomping on flora, and littering along park roadways. That behavior has raised concerns about how best to ensure the natural wonders of the country's more than 40 treasured national parks are protected. "Since January, we've doubled the number of reservations for campsites from what it was at the same time last year," said Parks Canada's Banff tourism manager Greg Danchuk. "We have a responsibility to do both, to preserve nature and provide opportunities for people to visit," said Danchuk. More money, more problems Canada's national parks contribute Can$1.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) annually to the economy, and employ 22,700 people, according to government figures. In its March budget, the federal government increased funding for Parks Canada by more than Can$300 million over the next two years. But critics say that money is not going towards conservation efforts, and accuse the government agency of putting commercial interests first in recent years. "By law, Parks Canada... actually have to put nature first and they haven't been," said Anne-Marie Syslak, executive director of the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). "Too many people too fast without conservation as the priority -- it's a real risk for these parks." Garland acknowledged that he'd seen some dodgy behavior during his visit to Banff, located in the Rocky Mountains and the most popular of Canada's parks, with four millions visitors last year. "Some of the people don't seem to be that educated (about wildlife)," he said. "They get out of their cars and go near the bears, which is kind of crazy." Development pressures Edward Johnson, an ecology professor at the University of Calgary in Alberta, said many communities on the edges of the towering Rocky Mountains, once full of miners and oil workers, have repurposed themselves as tourist havens. In Johnson's view, tourism and conservation are not mutually exclusive -- monies spent locally by tourists can be used to support conservation efforts, for example. "The more people who want to come out and see natural areas, the more likely you're able to preserve more natural areas," he explained, while adding: "It's a double-edged sword." Johnson said studies on the impact of development over the long term are insufficient. "You have to think carefully about your development and make everyone aware of what the consequences are, one way or the other," he said. Also, Parks Canada is still spending more on tourism promotion than on conservation. "Tourism and conservation should lie hand in hand," echoed Syslak, "because people are coming to these areas for their natural beauty and wildlife." "We also have a responsibility to be stewards of these lands so that we have these animals and we keep these places in a good state for the future," she said. (AFP)

In Canada, parks thrive but conservationists cry foul

Canada&#39;s main opposition Conservative Party elected Andrew Scheer as its leader Saturday to take on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the next election, expected in 2019.

Scheer, 38, is a lawmaker from western Saskatchewan province who has pledged to reduce government spending and trim deficits.

After a year of campaigning, he defeated 12 other hopefuls at a suspenseful party meeting outside Toronto.

Scheer now faces the difficult task of uniting two deeply divided wings of the party ahead of the next election.

He succeeds interim leader Rona Ambrose, who took over from then prime minister Stephen Harper after his defeat in the 2015 elections.

Harper was credited with uniting the right and breaking the Liberals&#39; stranglehold on power over most of the last century in Canada.&nbsp;

(AFP)

Scheer is a lawmaker from western Saskatchewan province who has pledged to reduce government spending and trim deficits

Canada's main opposition Conservative Party elected Andrew Scheer as its leader Saturday to take on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the next election, expected in 2019. Scheer, 38, is a lawmaker from western Saskatchewan province who has pledged to reduce government spending and trim deficits. After a year of campaigning, he defeated 12 other hopefuls at a suspenseful party meeting outside Toronto. Scheer now faces the difficult task of uniting two deeply divided wings of the party ahead of the next election. He succeeds interim leader Rona Ambrose, who took over from then prime minister Stephen Harper after his defeat in the 2015 elections. Harper was credited with uniting the right and breaking the Liberals' stranglehold on power over most of the last century in Canada. (AFP)

Canada's opposition Conservatives pick Scheer to run against Trudeau in 2019

Terming it an incident that had &ldquo;happened at a lower level&rdquo; and admitting that &ldquo;&iuml;t shouldn&#39;t have happened&rdquo;, the Canadian High Commission today restored the visa of retired Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) official Tejinder Singh Dhillon who was denied entry into Canada a few days back.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/canada-denies-entry-to-retired-cop-says-crpf-indulged-in-rights-violations-15957">Also Read: Canada denies entry to retired cop, says CRPF indulged in rights violations</a>

Significantly, while issuing a fresh visa to Dhillon, the Canadian High Commission also stamped the earlier &ldquo;Cancelled&rdquo; visa with a stamp that stated &ldquo;Cancelled Without Prejudice&rdquo;. In another gesture to salvage the situation that had the potential to erupt into a diplomatic row, the High Commission also provided an air ticket to Dhillon to travel to Toronto where he was originally supposed to go attend a wedding when he was denied entry into Canada.

Dhillon, who retired from the CRPF as an Inspector General in 2010, was declared inadmissible under Canada&rsquo;s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act with the Vancouver airport immigration authorities maintaining that he could not be granted entry since he was part of the CRPF which &ldquo;committed widespread and systemic human rights abuses, for example torture, arbitrary detention, murder, and sexual assault.&rdquo;

Speaking exclusively to WION/DNA, Dhillon&mdash;who was in Delhi to meet the Canadian High Commission officials&mdash;said, &ldquo;The incident which happened in Vancouver was very unfortunate. I tried to keep my cool and I was very confident because I knew I had nothing against me. But when they tried to accuse my organisation and the country of being involved in such things, I told them that I did not agree with their allegations. I felt offended about it because it affected my organisation and my country.&rdquo;

Appreciating the role of the Indian government in taking up the matter with the Canada government, Dhillon added that he also appreciated the Canada government for the prompt action they took in the matter.

&ldquo;They repeatedly told me that they deeply apologize for what had happened. They also added that this happened at a lower level, and that it shouldn&#39;t have happened,&rdquo; he said.

Asked about the circumstances that led to his ordeal in Canada, Dhillon blamed it squarely on the newly created Canada Border Service Agency.

&ldquo;They are all young people. I don&#39;t think they are much experienced and probably they don&#39;t know how to conduct themselves. But their powers are supreme and they are misusing their powers.&rdquo;

&ldquo;The system needs to be screened, they need to be more educated, they need to respect the dignity of every human being who enters in Canada,&rdquo; he added.

Dhillon said that he had been assured by the Canadian authorities that a &ldquo;strong call&rdquo; will be taken on this to ensure that &ldquo;such things do not happen&rdquo;.

&ldquo;I told them I have a spotless career. I have a President&#39;s Police Medal for distinguished service,&rdquo; Dhillon said adding that since he had served for CRPF which is accused with such charges, they felt that he should not have continued with that force.

&ldquo;In fact, one of the problems they had was that not only did I continue with CRPF but also earned promotions by virtue of helping the force complete its tasks,&rdquo; he added.

Calling it a very &ldquo;immature&rdquo; act at a lower level, Dhillon cited &ldquo;lack of knowledge and lack of proper attitude and maturity&rdquo; as the reasons behind this episode.

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Tejinder Singh Dhillon was denied entry into Canada since he was part of the CRPF

Terming it an incident that had “happened at a lower level” and admitting that “ït shouldn't have happened”, the Canadian High Commission today restored the visa of retired Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) official Tejinder Singh Dhillon who was denied entry into Canada a few days back. Also Read: Canada denies entry to retired cop, says CRPF indulged in rights violations Significantly, while issuing a fresh visa to Dhillon, the Canadian High Commission also stamped the earlier “Cancelled” visa with a stamp that stated “Cancelled Without Prejudice”. In another gesture to salvage the situation that had the potential to erupt into a diplomatic row, the High Commission also provided an air ticket to Dhillon to travel to Toronto where he was originally supposed to go attend a wedding when he was denied entry into Canada. Dhillon, who retired from the CRPF as an Inspector General in 2010, was declared inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act with the Vancouver airport immigration authorities maintaining that he could not be granted entry since he was part of the CRPF which “committed widespread and systemic human rights abuses, for example torture, arbitrary detention, murder, and sexual assault.” Speaking exclusively to WION/DNA, Dhillon—who was in Delhi to meet the Canadian High Commission officials—said, “The incident which happened in Vancouver was very unfortunate. I tried to keep my cool and I was very confident because I knew I had nothing against me. But when they tried to accuse my organisation and the country of being involved in such things, I told them that I did not agree with their allegations. I felt offended about it because it affected my organisation and my country.” Appreciating the role of the Indian government in taking up the matter with the Canada government, Dhillon added that he also appreciated the Canada government for the prompt action they took in the matter. “They repeatedly told me that they deeply apologize for what had happened. They also added that this happened at a lower level, and that it shouldn't have happened,” he said. Asked about the circumstances that led to his ordeal in Canada, Dhillon blamed it squarely on the newly created Canada Border Service Agency. “They are all young people. I don't think they are much experienced and probably they don't know how to conduct themselves. But their powers are supreme and they are misusing their powers.” “The system needs to be screened, they need to be more educated, they need to respect the dignity of every human being who enters in Canada,” he added. Dhillon said that he had been assured by the Canadian authorities that a “strong call” will be taken on this to ensure that “such things do not happen”. “I told them I have a spotless career. I have a President's Police Medal for distinguished service,” Dhillon said adding that since he had served for CRPF which is accused with such charges, they felt that he should not have continued with that force. “In fact, one of the problems they had was that not only did I continue with CRPF but also earned promotions by virtue of helping the force complete its tasks,” he added. Calling it a very “immature” act at a lower level, Dhillon cited “lack of knowledge and lack of proper attitude and maturity” as the reasons behind this episode. (WION)

Ex-CRPF official's visa restored as Canada apologises, issues him air ticket to Toronto

A retired inspector general of the CRPF was denied entry into Canada with airport authorities saying he served in an organisation that allegedly engaged in &quot;terrorism&quot; and &quot;gross human rights violations&quot;, prompting a strong reaction from India.

T S Dhillon landed in Canada with his wife on May 18 and was put on the return flight to India on May 20.

His wife was, however, allowed to proceed to her destination in Canada.

&quot;I landed with my wife in Canada on May 18 as I had a family event to attend. But the Canadian border agency at the airport did not allow me to enter the country.

&quot;I told them that I am a retired senior officer of the Indian police, the CRPF. But, they did not heed to my statements and instead talked to me very rudely and in an unpleasant manner. They told me that my force had indulged in human rights violations,&quot; Dhillon told PTI.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay termed the characterisation of a reputed force like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as &quot;completely unacceptable&quot;.

&quot;We have seen the news report regarding denial of entry by Canadian authorities to a senior retired Indian Police Officer. Such a characterisation of a reputed force like the CRPF is completely unacceptable. We have taken up the matter with the Government of Canada,&quot; Baglay said.

He was a &quot;prescribed senior official in the service of a government that, in the opinion of the Minister, engages or has engaged in terrorism, systematic or gross human rights violations, or genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity&quot;, a document given to Dhillon at the airport read.

In a statement, High Commissioner of Canada Nadir Patel said the language in the document &quot;does not reflect the government of Canada&#39;s policy toward India or any particular organisation, including the Central Reserve Police Force of India. The Central Reserve Police Force plays an important role in upholding law and order in India&quot;.

Regretting any &quot;inconvenience that may have been experienced by this individual and their family&quot;, he said, from time to time, with such a large number of applications, oversights on visa applications can happen.

&quot;In situations where established procedures may not have been followed, a review takes place to avoid any reoccurrence,&quot; he said. 
According to Patel, Canada continues to welcome record numbers of Indian nationals for study, tourism, business, and visiting friends and family.

&quot;Over the past year, over 300,000 Indian nationals have applied to visit Canada,&quot; he said.

He also said Canada values its relationship with India, based on shared values of democracy, pluralism, human rights and rule of law. 
Patel said Canada&#39;s privacy laws prevent him from commenting further.

Dhillon retired from the Central Reserve Police Force as an Inspector General (IG) in 2010.

He was a national level shooter and instrumental in setting up infrastructure for the shooting discipline during the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in the national capital.

Dhillon said he had a valid visa for Canada till 2024 but despite that he was not allowed to enter the country.

&quot;I was finally put on a plane back to India on May 20. I feel bad that the Canadian authorities, at the lower levels, are trying to antagonise a uniformed force of India and the men and women who have given their blood and sweat for the security of the country. 
&quot;The authorities should apologise,&quot; he said.

The officer said while his wife was allowed to enter Canada, he had to leave with a heavy heart, from a country he has visited many times in the last 30 years.

Ties between India and Canada are witnessing a strain in the recent past.

Earlier this month, India had indicated that it had raised with Canada the presence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a recent event in Toronto where two legislators, who had authored a motion in the Ontario Assembly calling the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as &quot;genocide&quot;, were felicitated.

(PTI)

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay termed the characterisation of a reputed force like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as 'completely unacceptable'

A retired inspector general of the CRPF was denied entry into Canada with airport authorities saying he served in an organisation that allegedly engaged in "terrorism" and "gross human rights violations", prompting a strong reaction from India. T S Dhillon landed in Canada with his wife on May 18 and was put on the return flight to India on May 20. His wife was, however, allowed to proceed to her destination in Canada. "I landed with my wife in Canada on May 18 as I had a family event to attend. But the Canadian border agency at the airport did not allow me to enter the country. "I told them that I am a retired senior officer of the Indian police, the CRPF. But, they did not heed to my statements and instead talked to me very rudely and in an unpleasant manner. They told me that my force had indulged in human rights violations," Dhillon told PTI. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay termed the characterisation of a reputed force like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as "completely unacceptable". "We have seen the news report regarding denial of entry by Canadian authorities to a senior retired Indian Police Officer. Such a characterisation of a reputed force like the CRPF is completely unacceptable. We have taken up the matter with the Government of Canada," Baglay said. He was a "prescribed senior official in the service of a government that, in the opinion of the Minister, engages or has engaged in terrorism, systematic or gross human rights violations, or genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity", a document given to Dhillon at the airport read. In a statement, High Commissioner of Canada Nadir Patel said the language in the document "does not reflect the government of Canada's policy toward India or any particular organisation, including the Central Reserve Police Force of India. The Central Reserve Police Force plays an important role in upholding law and order in India". Regretting any "inconvenience that may have been experienced by this individual and their family", he said, from time to time, with such a large number of applications, oversights on visa applications can happen. "In situations where established procedures may not have been followed, a review takes place to avoid any reoccurrence," he said. According to Patel, Canada continues to welcome record numbers of Indian nationals for study, tourism, business, and visiting friends and family. "Over the past year, over 300,000 Indian nationals have applied to visit Canada," he said. He also said Canada values its relationship with India, based on shared values of democracy, pluralism, human rights and rule of law. Patel said Canada's privacy laws prevent him from commenting further. Dhillon retired from the Central Reserve Police Force as an Inspector General (IG) in 2010. He was a national level shooter and instrumental in setting up infrastructure for the shooting discipline during the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in the national capital. Dhillon said he had a valid visa for Canada till 2024 but despite that he was not allowed to enter the country. "I was finally put on a plane back to India on May 20. I feel bad that the Canadian authorities, at the lower levels, are trying to antagonise a uniformed force of India and the men and women who have given their blood and sweat for the security of the country. "The authorities should apologise," he said. The officer said while his wife was allowed to enter Canada, he had to leave with a heavy heart, from a country he has visited many times in the last 30 years. Ties between India and Canada are witnessing a strain in the recent past. Earlier this month, India had indicated that it had raised with Canada the presence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a recent event in Toronto where two legislators, who had authored a motion in the Ontario Assembly calling the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as "genocide", were felicitated. (PTI)

Canada denies entry to retired cop, says CRPF indulged in rights violations

NAFTA partners Mexico, Canada and the United States plan to swiftly renegotiate their free trade deal, the White House announced Wednesday.

President Donald Trump &quot;agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly... to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal,&quot; a statement said.

The announcement came after reports in US media had said that Trump was considering giving formal notice of pulling the United States out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

A draft executive order was in the final stages of review, two White House officials told the Politico news website, and could be unveiled within a week or two. The New York Times had quoted a senior administration official saying Trump was likely to sign such an executive order.

But late Wednesday Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross brushed off the reports as &quot;rumor&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;There was a rumor today that there would be an executive order, just a rumor, and my practice is to comment on things we have actually done or are doing as opposed to commenting on rumors,&quot; he said.

Trump calls NAFTA, established January 1, 1994, a &quot;disaster&quot; and has pledged to renegotiate the terms or abandon the pact altogether.

He blames NAFTA for the loss of millions of US industrial jobs, mostly to Mexico.

His administration also slapped tariffs in recent days on some imports of Canadian timber and threatened to retaliate against Canadian moves that harm US dairy farmers. Timber and milk, however, are not covered by NAFTA.

The White House statement said Trump spoke late Wednesday with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada.&nbsp;

&quot;Both conversations were pleasant and productive,&quot; it said.

Trump was quoted in the statement saying &quot;it is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation. It is an honor to deal with both President Pena Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better.&quot;

(AFP)

President Donald Trump "agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly... to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal," a statement said

NAFTA partners Mexico, Canada and the United States plan to swiftly renegotiate their free trade deal, the White House announced Wednesday. President Donald Trump "agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly... to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal," a statement said. The announcement came after reports in US media had said that Trump was considering giving formal notice of pulling the United States out of the North American Free Trade Agreement. A draft executive order was in the final stages of review, two White House officials told the Politico news website, and could be unveiled within a week or two. The New York Times had quoted a senior administration official saying Trump was likely to sign such an executive order. But late Wednesday Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross brushed off the reports as "rumor". "There was a rumor today that there would be an executive order, just a rumor, and my practice is to comment on things we have actually done or are doing as opposed to commenting on rumors," he said. Trump calls NAFTA, established January 1, 1994, a "disaster" and has pledged to renegotiate the terms or abandon the pact altogether. He blames NAFTA for the loss of millions of US industrial jobs, mostly to Mexico. His administration also slapped tariffs in recent days on some imports of Canadian timber and threatened to retaliate against Canadian moves that harm US dairy farmers. Timber and milk, however, are not covered by NAFTA. The White House statement said Trump spoke late Wednesday with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. "Both conversations were pleasant and productive," it said. Trump was quoted in the statement saying "it is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation. It is an honor to deal with both President Pena Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better." (AFP)

US, Mexico and Canada agree to renegotiate NAFTA: White House

Nobody could claim to be shocked after&nbsp;the presidential candidate who ran on &quot;bomb the sh*t out of them&quot; rained Tomahawk missiles&nbsp;on&nbsp;Syria and dropped what is literally called&nbsp;the &quot;Mother Of All Bombs&quot; in Afghanistan,&nbsp;but tough words against Canada?

Canada is now bracing for trade disputes with the US after what some may see as surprisingly anti-Canadian rhetoric coming from the Trump White House.&nbsp;

On Tuesday Trump&nbsp;said:&nbsp;&quot;People don&#39;t realise that Canada has been very rough on the United States. Everyone thinks of Canada as being wonderful and so do I. I love Canada. But they&#39;ve outsmarted our politicians for years.&quot;&nbsp;

The US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Canada was &quot;not a good neighbour&quot;.

As&nbsp;statements, this is placid stuff by&nbsp;Trump White House standards. These&nbsp;Americans&nbsp;seem to be using Canadian passive aggressiveness against Canada. But in action Trump&#39;s pledge&nbsp;to charge an additional&nbsp;20 per cent tax on softwood lumber, key in the construction industry,&nbsp;from Canada is highly provocative. In a $5 billion industry,&nbsp;US dollars, this amounts to an additional $1 billion.

And Reuters <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-rekindles-trade-conflict-with-canada-over-lumber-14898" target="_blank">reported </a>that the US Commerce department&nbsp;&quot;will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits based on these preliminary rates,&quot; and that&nbsp;&quot;certain companies will be subject to the retroactive collection of cash deposits&quot; for up to 90 days.

Fair play is apparently the US getting hundreds of millions of dollars in cash for something that has already happened.&nbsp;The previous softwood lumber deal expired in October 2015, but what gives the US grounds to make these kind of claims is unclear.

In response, Prime Minister Trudeau&#39;s office has&nbsp;&quot;refuted the baseless allegations by the US Department of Commerce and the decision to impose unfair duties,&quot; according to summary of the call published in <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/04/25/canada-braces-for-tough-times-in-us-lumber-dispute.html" target="_blank">media reports</a>.

&nbsp;

Is this new? No

While it&#39;s tempting to read this as a sign that Trump&#39;s unhinged bellicosity will extend even to Canada--a country&nbsp;the planet largely sees as an innocent darling, although less so as&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/canadas-justin-trudeau-liberal-signs-and-symbols-6370">evidence </a>to the contrary mounts--squeezing Canada for more money despite signed free trade agreements is an American tradition. Complaining about America doing this is a Canadian tradition.

It&#39;s a fight that first erupted in the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-17/u-s-and-canada-say-divisions-remain-in-softwood-lumber-dispute" target="_blank">1980s</a>. In fact,&nbsp;trying to screw Canada on softwood lumber&nbsp;may be the only political&nbsp;precedent Trump has decided not to smash.

Wilbur Ross continued:&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a question of President Trump messing with the Canadians. We believe the Canadians violated legitimate practice.&rdquo; That Canada violated legitimate practices is a little rich, coming from&nbsp;a man&nbsp;who represents a president&nbsp;currently under FBI investigation for&nbsp;colluding&nbsp;with a hostile foreign government, and who for&nbsp;decades has been so linked to the Russian mafia he may as well be a made man, if he isn&#39;t already. (Here<a href="http://thegopwatchdog.com/136-paths-to-putin/" target="_blank">&nbsp;are 136</a>&nbsp;links between Trump&#39;s orbit and Russia&#39;s.)&nbsp;

But to be fair, the softwood lumber issue does predate&nbsp;Trump, and is&nbsp;sufficiently&nbsp;thorny and complicated to have put these two otherwise chummy, successive governments at odds for&nbsp;decades. Maybe Canada violated agreements, but it&#39;s impossible to hear the US president, the king of the &quot;<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/trump-university-its-worse-than-you-think" target="_blank">bait and switch</a>&quot; con, and take his word for it.

People outside North America may look at this and wonder:&nbsp;If Trump will pick a fight with Canada, which country is immune? Well, they should know,&nbsp;this is an old fight.

But in case&nbsp;anyone thinks the US&nbsp;isn&#39;t being a little ornery&nbsp;with its northern neighbour, Trump is&nbsp;targeting not just lumberjacks&nbsp;but&nbsp;Canada&#39;s other notorious fat cats: Dairy farmers.

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Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult. We will not stand for this. Watch!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/856847826663460865">April 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump has spent months blasting NAFTA, but&nbsp;also recently praised it, and now seems to be harsh&nbsp;on it again. While the lumber fight may be old, moving forward with free trade deals&nbsp;the script&nbsp;is far from clear.

Trying to predict&nbsp;what this erratic,&nbsp;monumentally inexperienced and unqualified guy&nbsp;will do&nbsp;next is anyone&#39;s guess.&nbsp;

(WION)

While it's tempting to see this new trade dispute as Trump's bellicosity extending even to Canada, it's actually Washington-Ottawa tradition

Nobody could claim to be shocked after the presidential candidate who ran on "bomb the sh*t out of them" rained Tomahawk missiles on Syria and dropped what is literally called the "Mother Of All Bombs" in Afghanistan, but tough words against Canada? Canada is now bracing for trade disputes with the US after what some may see as surprisingly anti-Canadian rhetoric coming from the Trump White House. On Tuesday Trump said: "People don't realise that Canada has been very rough on the United States. Everyone thinks of Canada as being wonderful and so do I. I love Canada. But they've outsmarted our politicians for years." The US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Canada was "not a good neighbour". As statements, this is placid stuff by Trump White House standards. These Americans seem to be using Canadian passive aggressiveness against Canada. But in action Trump's pledge to charge an additional 20 per cent tax on softwood lumber, key in the construction industry, from Canada is highly provocative. In a $5 billion industry, US dollars, this amounts to an additional $1 billion. And Reuters reported that the US Commerce department "will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits based on these preliminary rates," and that "certain companies will be subject to the retroactive collection of cash deposits" for up to 90 days. Fair play is apparently the US getting hundreds of millions of dollars in cash for something that has already happened. The previous softwood lumber deal expired in October 2015, but what gives the US grounds to make these kind of claims is unclear. In response, Prime Minister Trudeau's office has "refuted the baseless allegations by the US Department of Commerce and the decision to impose unfair duties," according to summary of the call published in media reports. Is this new? No While it's tempting to read this as a sign that Trump's unhinged bellicosity will extend even to Canada--a country the planet largely sees as an innocent darling, although less so as evidence to the contrary mounts--squeezing Canada for more money despite signed free trade agreements is an American tradition. Complaining about America doing this is a Canadian tradition. It's a fight that first erupted in the 1980s. In fact, trying to screw Canada on softwood lumber may be the only political precedent Trump has decided not to smash. Wilbur Ross continued: “It’s not a question of President Trump messing with the Canadians. We believe the Canadians violated legitimate practice.” That Canada violated legitimate practices is a little rich, coming from a man who represents a president currently under FBI investigation for colluding with a hostile foreign government, and who for decades has been so linked to the Russian mafia he may as well be a made man, if he isn't already. (Here are 136 links between Trump's orbit and Russia's.) But to be fair, the softwood lumber issue does predate Trump, and is sufficiently thorny and complicated to have put these two otherwise chummy, successive governments at odds for decades. Maybe Canada violated agreements, but it's impossible to hear the US president, the king of the "bait and switch" con, and take his word for it. People outside North America may look at this and wonder: If Trump will pick a fight with Canada, which country is immune? Well, they should know, this is an old fight. But in case anyone thinks the US isn't being a little ornery with its northern neighbour, Trump is targeting not just lumberjacks but Canada's other notorious fat cats: Dairy farmers. Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult. We will not stand for this. Watch! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2017 × Trump has spent months blasting NAFTA, but also recently praised it, and now seems to be harsh on it again. While the lumber fight may be old, moving forward with free trade deals the script is far from clear. Trying to predict what this erratic, monumentally inexperienced and unqualified guy will do next is anyone's guess. (WION)

Trump's tough talk on Canadian lumber anything but unprecedented

Canadian federal budgets will focus more on women in a bid to lift their job prospects, improve their quality of life and narrow the country&#39;s wide wage gap between the sexes, the government said on Wednesday, a move that underscores the feminist credentials of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The latest budget, unveiled on Wednesday, included for the first time a separate gender statement detailing the main challenges facing women.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau told Parliament that fewer women joined the workforce than men, and noted they found it harder to reach senior roles in Canadian companies.

&quot;That means as a country we aren&#39;t taking full advantage of the talents, insights and experience of more than half of our population. It seems unfathomable, but it&#39;s true,&quot; he said.

&quot;It&#39;s why we need to do better.&quot;

Trudeau, who took power in November 2015, has stressed the importance of gender equality and made a point of appointing a cabinet with the same number of men and women.

While women account for 47 per cent of the workforce compared with 38 per cent in 1976, Canada has one of the highest gender wage gaps - 19.3 per cent - in the 35-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The budget contained two measures spread over 11-years that the Liberals said should help address the issue - a program to boost early learning and child care and one to build more affordable housing.

The budget statement said women were disproportionately represented in lower-paying occupations and noted that mothers were less likely to work full-time thanks to challenges such as child care.

It also noted that women and girls were more likely to experience poverty, violence and harassment and have trouble finding affordable housing.

Morneau said the statement &quot;ensures all budget measures - not just those aimed specifically at women - help us advance the goals of fairness, workforce participation and gender equality&quot;.

The 2016 budget increased child benefits, included measures to make post-secondary education more affordable and committed more money to affordable housing. Ottawa is also looking at flexible working arrangements for federally regulated employees.

(Reuters)

The latest budget, unveiled on Wednesday, included for the first time a separate gender statement detailing the main challenges facing women

Canadian federal budgets will focus more on women in a bid to lift their job prospects, improve their quality of life and narrow the country's wide wage gap between the sexes, the government said on Wednesday, a move that underscores the feminist credentials of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The latest budget, unveiled on Wednesday, included for the first time a separate gender statement detailing the main challenges facing women. Finance Minister Bill Morneau told Parliament that fewer women joined the workforce than men, and noted they found it harder to reach senior roles in Canadian companies. "That means as a country we aren't taking full advantage of the talents, insights and experience of more than half of our population. It seems unfathomable, but it's true," he said. "It's why we need to do better." Trudeau, who took power in November 2015, has stressed the importance of gender equality and made a point of appointing a cabinet with the same number of men and women. While women account for 47 per cent of the workforce compared with 38 per cent in 1976, Canada has one of the highest gender wage gaps - 19.3 per cent - in the 35-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The budget contained two measures spread over 11-years that the Liberals said should help address the issue - a program to boost early learning and child care and one to build more affordable housing. The budget statement said women were disproportionately represented in lower-paying occupations and noted that mothers were less likely to work full-time thanks to challenges such as child care. It also noted that women and girls were more likely to experience poverty, violence and harassment and have trouble finding affordable housing. Morneau said the statement "ensures all budget measures - not just those aimed specifically at women - help us advance the goals of fairness, workforce participation and gender equality". The 2016 budget increased child benefits, included measures to make post-secondary education more affordable and committed more money to affordable housing. Ottawa is also looking at flexible working arrangements for federally regulated employees. (Reuters)

Women's issues hold centre stage in Canada's new budget

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under increasing pressure on Thursday to deal with asylum seekers illegally crossing into Canada from the United States to avoid a crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump.

Trudeau, who stresses that Canada welcomes refugees, has so far avoided political fallout with Trump. The two talked on the phone about the border and other issues on Thursday but neither government gave many details of the conversation.

Allies and opponents alike say they want a strategy to cope with the dozens of people, mainly from Burundi, Eritrea, Syria, Ghana and Sudan - walking across the border every day.

The number of asylum seekers crossing into Canada at isolated and unguarded border crossings has increased in recent weeks amid fears that Trump will start expelling illegal immigrants, and photos of smiling Canadian police greeting the migrants have gone viral.

The premier of the western province of Manitoba, where many of the refugees end up, on Thursday asked Ottawa for more resources to deal with the new arrivals, some of whom have lost fingers to frostbite in the dangerous crossing.

While Brian Pallister said his province will welcome those in need with &quot;open arms and open hearts,&quot; his call for a national strategy to deal with the arrivals adds to opposition criticism that Trudeau has put national security at risk by embracing asylum seekers.

As of February&nbsp;13, some 3,800 people had made an asylum claim in 2017, up from the same period last year and on track to approach the 2008 peak of 36,867, said Scott Bardsley, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

Bardsley said comparable data for the January&nbsp;1 to February13 period in 2016 was not available.

The asylum seekers are breaking the law because Canada&#39;s policy under a Canada-US&nbsp;Safe Third Country Agreement is to turn back refugees if they make claims at border crossings.

Trudeau and Trump discussed border cooperation in their phone call on Thursday.

The White House said Trump emphasised the importance of working closely with Canada on cross-border issues, &quot;including implementation of his administration&#39;s actions to protect America from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals and others.&quot;

Officials say Trump will soon issue a new executive order to replace the administration&#39;s directive suspending travel to the United States by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries.

Warmer weather could spur more arrivals of asylum-seekers in Canada.

&quot;They know they are in a pickle. If people are coming over in February, what&#39;s it going to be like in June and July?&quot; said University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman.

Polls show Canadians are split over whether Canada should be accepting more or fewer refugees.

But even Liberal legislators are starting to hear from constituents concerned about the arrivals.

&quot;One or two people have raised the issue with me ... and I expect I&#39;ll have a few more&quot; conversations with constituents about the arrivals, said Kevin Lamoureux, member of parliament for Winnipeg North, where many asylum seekers settle awaiting their refugee hearing.

(Reuters)

Trudeau and US President Donald Trump spoke over the phone on Thursday and reportedly discussed border cooperation

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under increasing pressure on Thursday to deal with asylum seekers illegally crossing into Canada from the United States to avoid a crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump. Trudeau, who stresses that Canada welcomes refugees, has so far avoided political fallout with Trump. The two talked on the phone about the border and other issues on Thursday but neither government gave many details of the conversation. Allies and opponents alike say they want a strategy to cope with the dozens of people, mainly from Burundi, Eritrea, Syria, Ghana and Sudan - walking across the border every day. The number of asylum seekers crossing into Canada at isolated and unguarded border crossings has increased in recent weeks amid fears that Trump will start expelling illegal immigrants, and photos of smiling Canadian police greeting the migrants have gone viral. The premier of the western province of Manitoba, where many of the refugees end up, on Thursday asked Ottawa for more resources to deal with the new arrivals, some of whom have lost fingers to frostbite in the dangerous crossing. While Brian Pallister said his province will welcome those in need with "open arms and open hearts," his call for a national strategy to deal with the arrivals adds to opposition criticism that Trudeau has put national security at risk by embracing asylum seekers. As of February 13, some 3,800 people had made an asylum claim in 2017, up from the same period last year and on track to approach the 2008 peak of 36,867, said Scott Bardsley, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. Bardsley said comparable data for the January 1 to February13 period in 2016 was not available. The asylum seekers are breaking the law because Canada's policy under a Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement is to turn back refugees if they make claims at border crossings. Trudeau and Trump discussed border cooperation in their phone call on Thursday. The White House said Trump emphasised the importance of working closely with Canada on cross-border issues, "including implementation of his administration's actions to protect America from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals and others." Officials say Trump will soon issue a new executive order to replace the administration's directive suspending travel to the United States by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries. Warmer weather could spur more arrivals of asylum-seekers in Canada. "They know they are in a pickle. If people are coming over in February, what's it going to be like in June and July?" said University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman. Polls show Canadians are split over whether Canada should be accepting more or fewer refugees. But even Liberal legislators are starting to hear from constituents concerned about the arrivals. "One or two people have raised the issue with me ... and I expect I'll have a few more" conversations with constituents about the arrivals, said Kevin Lamoureux, member of parliament for Winnipeg North, where many asylum seekers settle awaiting their refugee hearing. (Reuters)

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau under pressure to deal with asylum-seekers crossing over from US

Canada will continue to accept asylum seekers crossing illegally from the United States but will ensure security measures are taken to keep Canadians safe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.

The number of would-be refugees crossing into Canada at isolated and unguarded border crossings has increased in recent weeks amid fears that US President Donald Trump will crack down on illegal immigrants, and photos of smiling Canadian police greeting the migrants have gone viral.

Opposition Conservatives want Trudeau&#39; s centre-left Liberal government to stem the flow of asylum seekers from the United States because of security fears and a lack of resources to deal with them.

&quot;One of the reasons why Canada remains an open country is Canadians trust our immigration system and the integrity of our borders and the help we provide people who are looking for safety,&quot; Trudeau told parliament.

&quot;We will continue to strike that balance between a rigorous system and accepting people who need help.&quot;

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen also said Canada would continue to honour the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, which requires it to turn back refugees if they make asylum claims at Canadian border crossings with the United States. Refugee advocates have argued this drives asylum seekers to cross illegally at isolated locations, risking their lives in frigid weather.

Amnesty International and other groups are pressuring the Canadian government to abandon the agreement, arguing the United States is not safe for refugees.

Canadian police said on Monday they had bolstered their presence at the Quebec border and that border authorities had created a temporary refugee centre to process the asylum seekers.

The number of people making refugee claims at Quebec-US border crossings more than doubled from 2015 to 2016. Last month, 452 people made claims in Quebec compared with 137 in January 2016.

The influx is straining resources in the western prairie province of Manitoba and in Quebec, where taxis drop asylum seekers off metres away from the Quebec-U.S.border, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said.

The right-leaning Conservative opposition have called on Canadian authorities to hand illegal immigrants over to US authorities, but Hussen said Canada can honour its refugee agreement with the United States while helping asylum seekers who enter the country illegally.

(Reuters)

&nbsp;

Opposition Conservatives want Trudeau' s government to stem the flow of asylum seekers from the US because of security fears

Canada will continue to accept asylum seekers crossing illegally from the United States but will ensure security measures are taken to keep Canadians safe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. The number of would-be refugees crossing into Canada at isolated and unguarded border crossings has increased in recent weeks amid fears that US President Donald Trump will crack down on illegal immigrants, and photos of smiling Canadian police greeting the migrants have gone viral. Opposition Conservatives want Trudeau' s centre-left Liberal government to stem the flow of asylum seekers from the United States because of security fears and a lack of resources to deal with them. "One of the reasons why Canada remains an open country is Canadians trust our immigration system and the integrity of our borders and the help we provide people who are looking for safety," Trudeau told parliament. "We will continue to strike that balance between a rigorous system and accepting people who need help." Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen also said Canada would continue to honour the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, which requires it to turn back refugees if they make asylum claims at Canadian border crossings with the United States. Refugee advocates have argued this drives asylum seekers to cross illegally at isolated locations, risking their lives in frigid weather. Amnesty International and other groups are pressuring the Canadian government to abandon the agreement, arguing the United States is not safe for refugees. Canadian police said on Monday they had bolstered their presence at the Quebec border and that border authorities had created a temporary refugee centre to process the asylum seekers. The number of people making refugee claims at Quebec-US border crossings more than doubled from 2015 to 2016. Last month, 452 people made claims in Quebec compared with 137 in January 2016. The influx is straining resources in the western prairie province of Manitoba and in Quebec, where taxis drop asylum seekers off metres away from the Quebec-U.S.border, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said. The right-leaning Conservative opposition have called on Canadian authorities to hand illegal immigrants over to US authorities, but Hussen said Canada can honour its refugee agreement with the United States while helping asylum seekers who enter the country illegally. (Reuters)

Canada will continue to accept asylum seekers crossing illegally from US: Justin Trudeau

The only person convicted in the 1985 Air India bombings that killed 331 people is now free, Canada&#39;s parole board said on Wednesday.

Inderjit Singh Reyat had been ordered to live at a halfway house following his release from prison one year ago, after serving two decades behind bars.

That condition has now been lifted and Reyat may return to a normal life, including &quot;living in a private residence&quot;, parole board spokesman Patrick Storey told AFP in an email.

The Sikh immigrant from India was convicted of making bombs that were stuffed into luggage and planted on two planes leaving Vancouver, and of lying in court to cover for his co-accused.

One bomb tore apart Air India Flight 182 as it neared the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people aboard, including entire families.

The second exploded at Japan&#39;s Narita airport, killing two baggage handlers as they transferred cargo to another Air India plane.

The blasts followed a crackdown on Sikhs fighting for an independent homeland, and those behind it were allegedly seeking revenge for the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by Indian troops.

Reyat was working as a mechanic in westernmost Canada and purchased the dynamite, batteries and detonators used to construct the bombs.

Two alleged co-conspirators were acquitted due to a lack of evidence and, according to prosecutors, because of Reyat&#39;s perjury.

Storey said Reyat&#39;s parole officer has assessed those with whom he will live &quot;to ensure they will not have a negative influence on him&quot;.

Conditions of his release from prison also still apply, including having no contact with the victims&#39; families nor with extremists.

Reyat must also shun all political activities and take counselling for violent tendencies, a lack of empathy and exaggerated beliefs.

(AFP)

Inderjit Singh Reyat, a Sikh immigrant from India, was the only person convicted in the bombings

The only person convicted in the 1985 Air India bombings that killed 331 people is now free, Canada's parole board said on Wednesday. Inderjit Singh Reyat had been ordered to live at a halfway house following his release from prison one year ago, after serving two decades behind bars. That condition has now been lifted and Reyat may return to a normal life, including "living in a private residence", parole board spokesman Patrick Storey told AFP in an email. The Sikh immigrant from India was convicted of making bombs that were stuffed into luggage and planted on two planes leaving Vancouver, and of lying in court to cover for his co-accused. One bomb tore apart Air India Flight 182 as it neared the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people aboard, including entire families. The second exploded at Japan's Narita airport, killing two baggage handlers as they transferred cargo to another Air India plane. The blasts followed a crackdown on Sikhs fighting for an independent homeland, and those behind it were allegedly seeking revenge for the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by Indian troops. Reyat was working as a mechanic in westernmost Canada and purchased the dynamite, batteries and detonators used to construct the bombs. Two alleged co-conspirators were acquitted due to a lack of evidence and, according to prosecutors, because of Reyat's perjury. Storey said Reyat's parole officer has assessed those with whom he will live "to ensure they will not have a negative influence on him". Conditions of his release from prison also still apply, including having no contact with the victims' families nor with extremists. Reyat must also shun all political activities and take counselling for violent tendencies, a lack of empathy and exaggerated beliefs. (AFP)

Canada frees man convicted for 1985 Air India bombing that killed 331 people

Parks Canada has reintroduced a herd of plains bison to the country&#39;s oldest national park in Banff, Alberta, officials said on Monday (February 6), more than 130 years after the iconic North American animal last grazed the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies.

The conservation team moved 16 bison from a protected herd in central Alberta into an enclosed pasture in Banff National Park in the west of the province last week.

The herd will stay under observation in the remote Panther Valley until summer 2018, when the animals will be released into the full 1,189-square-km (460-square-mile) reintroduction zone in the park&#39;s eastern valleys.

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The Moon illuminates the famous Morant&#39;s Curve offering a beautiful view of the frozen Bow River and the Canadian Pacific Railway at Banff National Park. (AFP)
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Parks Canada said bison were once dominant grazers and that bringing them back would restore their missing role in Banff&#39;s ecosystem.

&quot;This would be one of only four plains bison herds in North America that would be fully interacting with their predators and shaping the ecosystem as they did over a hundred years ago,&quot; said Kasper Heuer, the bison reintroduction project manager.

Those predators will include wolves and bears native to the park.

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Partially frozen Bow River makes its way through the Alberta&#39;s Banff National Park in Lake Louise. (AFP)
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Ten pregnant female bison and six young bulls were disease tested and radio-collared before being herded into five shipping containers and driven 400 km (250 miles) across Alberta by truck. The conservation team taped rubber hoses to their horns to prevent the animals injuring each other while in transit.

Since the Panther Valley is not accessible by road, officials attached the shipping containers by a&nbsp;long line to a helicopter and flew them in one at a time for the last 25 km (16 miles).

Vast bison herds of up to 30 million animals once migrated freely across North America. The animal was nearly hunted to extinction, and rangers estimate bison have not grazed in Banff National Park since before it was established in 1885.

Bison have great spiritual meaning for North America&#39;s aboriginal groups, having once provided an important source of food, clothing, and shelter. The reintroduction also coincides with the 150th anniversary of Canada&#39;s 1867 confederation into a federal union.

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Cargo train passes through the famous Morant&#39;s Curve offering a beautiful view of the frozen Bow River. (AFP)
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(Reuters)

It has been more than 130 years since the iconic North American animal last grazed the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies

Parks Canada has reintroduced a herd of plains bison to the country's oldest national park in Banff, Alberta, officials said on Monday (February 6), more than 130 years after the iconic North American animal last grazed the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. The conservation team moved 16 bison from a protected herd in central Alberta into an enclosed pasture in Banff National Park in the west of the province last week. The herd will stay under observation in the remote Panther Valley until summer 2018, when the animals will be released into the full 1,189-square-km (460-square-mile) reintroduction zone in the park's eastern valleys. The Moon illuminates the famous Morant's Curve offering a beautiful view of the frozen Bow River and the Canadian Pacific Railway at Banff National Park. (AFP) × Parks Canada said bison were once dominant grazers and that bringing them back would restore their missing role in Banff's ecosystem. "This would be one of only four plains bison herds in North America that would be fully interacting with their predators and shaping the ecosystem as they did over a hundred years ago," said Kasper Heuer, the bison reintroduction project manager. Those predators will include wolves and bears native to the park. Partially frozen Bow River makes its way through the Alberta's Banff National Park in Lake Louise. (AFP) × Ten pregnant female bison and six young bulls were disease tested and radio-collared before being herded into five shipping containers and driven 400 km (250 miles) across Alberta by truck. The conservation team taped rubber hoses to their horns to prevent the animals injuring each other while in transit. Since the Panther Valley is not accessible by road, officials attached the shipping containers by a long line to a helicopter and flew them in one at a time for the last 25 km (16 miles). Vast bison herds of up to 30 million animals once migrated freely across North America. The animal was nearly hunted to extinction, and rangers estimate bison have not grazed in Banff National Park since before it was established in 1885. Bison have great spiritual meaning for North America's aboriginal groups, having once provided an important source of food, clothing, and shelter. The reintroduction also coincides with the 150th anniversary of Canada's 1867 confederation into a federal union. Cargo train passes through the famous Morant's Curve offering a beautiful view of the frozen Bow River. (AFP) × (Reuters)

Bison return to Canada's oldest national park

In the wake of Sunday&#39;s fatal attack on a mosque in Quebec City, attention is turning to the role of populist talk radio stations and their possible role in whipping up resentment against Muslims.

The day after the massacre at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Qu&eacute;bec, one local talk show host in Quebec City told his listeners several times that two hooded men shouting &quot;Allahu Akbar!&quot; had carried out the attack.

&quot;Is this Islamophobia or an Islamist attack?&quot; asked Sylvain Bouchard on station FM93. In fact, police that day charged a white Quebec man with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon for the attack. Members of Quebec&#39;s Muslim community suggest views expressed on what is known popularly as &quot;radio poubelle&quot; (garbage pail radio) may be encouraging extremist views in a province which has at times struggled to cope with immigration.

Quebec has seen a steady rise of right-wing groups, especially since a heated debate in 2007 about &quot;reasonable accommodation&quot;: how far the province should go to make immigrants feel welcome. The province last year unveiled draft legislation to ban face-coverings in the public sector in a move criticized as marginalizing Muslim women and potentially inflaming anti-immigrant tensions.

&quot;This unhealthy climate is fed by &#39;garbage pail radio&#39; where you can say anything and where the hosts vomit all over Muslims, Jews -- in short, everyone who isn&#39;t &#39;us&#39; but &#39;them,&quot; wrote Michele Ouimet, a columnist for the La Presse daily. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on Tuesday would not answer directly when asked by a reporter whether the radio stations were partly to blame.

But, he added: &quot;Words are important - written words, spoken words. People need to think carefully about that.&quot;

By Tuesday morning, Bouchard had radically changed his tune. &quot;Did I make a mistake? Yes,&quot; he said on air warning listeners to beware of unverified social media messages.

He also interviewed Quebec City Muslims, who called for acceptance in Quebec society, and Mathieu Fiset, a native-born Quebecer, who went from skin-head neo-Nazi to opponent of the alternative-right.

The far-right in Quebec

Several far-right groups are active in Quebec, with their activities increasingly expanding from online discussion to physical displays of protest. Soldiers of Odin, an anti-immigrant group founded in Finland in 2015, has a particularly visible presence in Quebec City, where it has regularly patrolled streets since early last year.

&quot;There is an underground culture of small far-right groups in Quebec,&quot; said Chedly Belkhodja, a professor of public affairs at Concordia University in Montreal. &quot;They feel their values are threatened by immigrants, by the mainstream political elites accepting more immigrants,&quot; he said.

Couillard admitted Quebec society was not perfect.

&quot;Racism, xenophobia and exclusion exist here. We have to recognise that and act together to highlight the path we want society to take,&quot; he said.

Francois Blais, the provincial government minister in charge of the Quebec region, admitted frankly that relations between locals and Muslim immigrants could be better.

&quot;I think native Quebecers in the region still don&#39;t know enough about this community...We are going to focus on organising activities to boost rapprochement,&quot; he told reporters.

(Reuters)

'This unhealthy climate is fed by 'garbage pail radio'... where the hosts vomit all over Muslims, Jews; In short, everyone who isn't 'us''

In the wake of Sunday's fatal attack on a mosque in Quebec City, attention is turning to the role of populist talk radio stations and their possible role in whipping up resentment against Muslims. The day after the massacre at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec, one local talk show host in Quebec City told his listeners several times that two hooded men shouting "Allahu Akbar!" had carried out the attack. "Is this Islamophobia or an Islamist attack?" asked Sylvain Bouchard on station FM93. In fact, police that day charged a white Quebec man with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder with a restricted weapon for the attack. Members of Quebec's Muslim community suggest views expressed on what is known popularly as "radio poubelle" (garbage pail radio) may be encouraging extremist views in a province which has at times struggled to cope with immigration. Quebec has seen a steady rise of right-wing groups, especially since a heated debate in 2007 about "reasonable accommodation": how far the province should go to make immigrants feel welcome. The province last year unveiled draft legislation to ban face-coverings in the public sector in a move criticized as marginalizing Muslim women and potentially inflaming anti-immigrant tensions. "This unhealthy climate is fed by 'garbage pail radio' where you can say anything and where the hosts vomit all over Muslims, Jews -- in short, everyone who isn't 'us' but 'them," wrote Michele Ouimet, a columnist for the La Presse daily. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on Tuesday would not answer directly when asked by a reporter whether the radio stations were partly to blame. But, he added: "Words are important - written words, spoken words. People need to think carefully about that." By Tuesday morning, Bouchard had radically changed his tune. "Did I make a mistake? Yes," he said on air warning listeners to beware of unverified social media messages. He also interviewed Quebec City Muslims, who called for acceptance in Quebec society, and Mathieu Fiset, a native-born Quebecer, who went from skin-head neo-Nazi to opponent of the alternative-right. The far-right in Quebec Several far-right groups are active in Quebec, with their activities increasingly expanding from online discussion to physical displays of protest. Soldiers of Odin, an anti-immigrant group founded in Finland in 2015, has a particularly visible presence in Quebec City, where it has regularly patrolled streets since early last year. "There is an underground culture of small far-right groups in Quebec," said Chedly Belkhodja, a professor of public affairs at Concordia University in Montreal. "They feel their values are threatened by immigrants, by the mainstream political elites accepting more immigrants," he said. Couillard admitted Quebec society was not perfect. "Racism, xenophobia and exclusion exist here. We have to recognise that and act together to highlight the path we want society to take," he said. Francois Blais, the provincial government minister in charge of the Quebec region, admitted frankly that relations between locals and Muslim immigrants could be better. "I think native Quebecers in the region still don't know enough about this community...We are going to focus on organising activities to boost rapprochement," he told reporters. (Reuters)

Talk radio, intolerance in focus as Quebec seeks answers after Mosque mass shooting

US President Donald Trump pledged Sunday to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement in upcoming talks with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.

&quot;We&#39;re meeting with the prime minister of Canada and we will be meeting with the president of Mexico, who I know, and we&#39;re going to start some negotiations having to do with NAFTA,&quot; Trump said while addressing White House staff on his second full day in office.

Trump will receive his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto on January 31. No date has been given for a meeting with Canada&#39;s Justin Trudeau, but it is expected &quot;soon,&quot; according to a readout from a call between the two leaders on Saturday.

Trump praised the Mexican leader, saying: &quot;The president has been really very amazing and I think we are going to have a very good result for Mexico, for the United States, for everybody involved. It&#39;s very important.&quot;

The White House website was updated immediately after Trump&#39;s swearing-in to reflect his campaign commitment to renegotiate the free trade agreement that has linked Canada, the United States and Mexico since 1994.

On the campaign trail, Trump called NAFTA the worst trade deal the United States has ever signed and vowed to renegotiate or rip it up.

The rules governing the free trade agreement allow any country to withdraw simply by notifying other parties. This would start a 180-day clock to allow for new negotiations.&nbsp;

If no new deal is reached by then, the accord would be dissolved.

Since Trump&#39;s November victory, both Canada and Mexico have announced that they are willing to sit down with the new US administration to reexamine the free trade agreement.

Canada has said it expects to keep its 1989 bilateral free trade agreement with the US even if Trump withdraws from NAFTA.

(AFP)

The White House website was updated immediately after Trump's swearing-in to reflect his campaign commitment to renegotiate the agreement

US President Donald Trump pledged Sunday to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement in upcoming talks with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. "We're meeting with the prime minister of Canada and we will be meeting with the president of Mexico, who I know, and we're going to start some negotiations having to do with NAFTA," Trump said while addressing White House staff on his second full day in office. Trump will receive his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto on January 31. No date has been given for a meeting with Canada's Justin Trudeau, but it is expected "soon," according to a readout from a call between the two leaders on Saturday. Trump praised the Mexican leader, saying: "The president has been really very amazing and I think we are going to have a very good result for Mexico, for the United States, for everybody involved. It's very important." The White House website was updated immediately after Trump's swearing-in to reflect his campaign commitment to renegotiate the free trade agreement that has linked Canada, the United States and Mexico since 1994. On the campaign trail, Trump called NAFTA the worst trade deal the United States has ever signed and vowed to renegotiate or rip it up. The rules governing the free trade agreement allow any country to withdraw simply by notifying other parties. This would start a 180-day clock to allow for new negotiations. If no new deal is reached by then, the accord would be dissolved. Since Trump's November victory, both Canada and Mexico have announced that they are willing to sit down with the new US administration to reexamine the free trade agreement. Canada has said it expects to keep its 1989 bilateral free trade agreement with the US even if Trump withdraws from NAFTA. (AFP)

Trump vows to 'start renegotiating' NAFTA with Mexico, Canada

Canada&#39;s new foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland has rejected an offer from Russia to lift their travel ban against her, if Canada removes economic sanctions&nbsp;imposed over Russia&#39;s annexation of Crimea, <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/russia-hints-it-could-lift-freeland-ban/article33575833/">the Globe and Mail reports</a>.

Chrystia Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent and fluent in Russian, was made Canada&#39;s top foreign diplomat as part of a major cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Freeland worked in Moscow as a financial journalist, and is a strong supporter of Ukraine.

Canada&#39;s previous Conservative government had blacklisted many Russian officials to punish the country for its Crimea action. Russia then banned Freeland, an opposition leader in Parliament, including several parliament members as part of retaliatory sanctions. After Moscow imposed sanctions on her, Freeland posted on Twitter at the time declaring it &ldquo;an honour to be on Putin&rsquo;s sanction list.&quot;

&ldquo;There is no quid pro quo for aggression and illegal action on their part,&rdquo; Freeland&rsquo;s communications director Joe Pickerill told The Globe and Mail, one of Canada&#39;s largest&nbsp;newspapers.

Russia on its part has been working through various channels in trying to convince&nbsp;foreign governments to waive the sanctions. According to&nbsp;The Globe and Mail, Russian news agency Sputnik quoted an unidentified Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying the Kremlin was open to allowing Freeland to travel to Russia, but only if Canada lifted economic sanctions and travel bans against Russia.

Canada has however decided to stick to its stand. Soon after being sworn in as foreign affairs minister, Freeland told reporters whether she will be able to travel to Russia was not up to her.

&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a question for Moscow,&rdquo; she told reporters. &ldquo;I am a very strong supporter of our government&rsquo;s view that it is important to engage with all countries around the world, very much including Russia.&rdquo;

Freeland&#39;s appointment to the foreign affairs post is being seen as a bold move by the current Trudeau government, given the fact that US President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, is set to take over the presidency on January 20. The incoming US president might remove US sanctions, which would potentially&nbsp;leave Canada in a difficult situation.&nbsp;

However, the Trump administration may&nbsp;maintain sanctions on Russia in the near future, as Trump&rsquo;s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would recommend maintaining &quot;status quo&quot; on Russia.

But&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-senator-mccain-has-concerns-about-tillerson-nomination-10714">Tillerson has raised alarm</a> bells among Democrats and Republicans for his various ties to Russia, including being CEO of ExxonMobil while the company found billions of dollars worth of oil in northern Russia, and personally being awarded the &quot;Order of Friendship&quot; award by none other than Vladimir Putin.&nbsp;

Trump himself has praised Putin for months, even after&nbsp;allegations released only yesterday that the Kremlin has &quot;compromised&quot; Trump by gaining personal and financial information over him.&nbsp;

In a press conference after the explosive story broke,&nbsp;<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/11/politics/donald-trump-press-conference-highlights/">Trump conceded for the first time</a> that he believes it was&nbsp;Russia who hacked the Democrats&#39; computers ahead of the election. However,&nbsp;Putin, he said, &quot;should not be doing it. He won&#39;t be doing it. Russia will have much greater respect for our country when I am leading it than when other people have led it&quot;.

On October 19, during a&nbsp;Presidential debate on live television, Donald Trump explicitly&nbsp;encouraged&nbsp;the Russians to hack his rival, Hillary Clinton.

&quot;Russia, if you&#39;re listening, I hope you&#39;re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing&quot;, he said, referencing Clinton&#39;s email.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNa2B5zHfbQ" width="560"></iframe>

(WION)

'There is no quid pro quo for aggression and illegal action on their part' Freeland's office said about Russia annexing Crimea

Canada's new foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland has rejected an offer from Russia to lift their travel ban against her, if Canada removes economic sanctions imposed over Russia's annexation of Crimea, the Globe and Mail reports. Chrystia Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent and fluent in Russian, was made Canada's top foreign diplomat as part of a major cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Freeland worked in Moscow as a financial journalist, and is a strong supporter of Ukraine. Canada's previous Conservative government had blacklisted many Russian officials to punish the country for its Crimea action. Russia then banned Freeland, an opposition leader in Parliament, including several parliament members as part of retaliatory sanctions. After Moscow imposed sanctions on her, Freeland posted on Twitter at the time declaring it “an honour to be on Putin’s sanction list." “There is no quid pro quo for aggression and illegal action on their part,” Freeland’s communications director Joe Pickerill told The Globe and Mail, one of Canada's largest newspapers. Russia on its part has been working through various channels in trying to convince foreign governments to waive the sanctions. According to The Globe and Mail, Russian news agency Sputnik quoted an unidentified Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying the Kremlin was open to allowing Freeland to travel to Russia, but only if Canada lifted economic sanctions and travel bans against Russia. Canada has however decided to stick to its stand. Soon after being sworn in as foreign affairs minister, Freeland told reporters whether she will be able to travel to Russia was not up to her. “That’s a question for Moscow,” she told reporters. “I am a very strong supporter of our government’s view that it is important to engage with all countries around the world, very much including Russia.” Freeland's appointment to the foreign affairs post is being seen as a bold move by the current Trudeau government, given the fact that US President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, is set to take over the presidency on January 20. The incoming US president might remove US sanctions, which would potentially leave Canada in a difficult situation. However, the Trump administration may maintain sanctions on Russia in the near future, as Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would recommend maintaining "status quo" on Russia. But Tillerson has raised alarm bells among Democrats and Republicans for his various ties to Russia, including being CEO of ExxonMobil while the company found billions of dollars worth of oil in northern Russia, and personally being awarded the "Order of Friendship" award by none other than Vladimir Putin. Trump himself has praised Putin for months, even after allegations released only yesterday that the Kremlin has "compromised" Trump by gaining personal and financial information over him. In a press conference after the explosive story broke, Trump conceded for the first time that he believes it was Russia who hacked the Democrats' computers ahead of the election. However, Putin, he said, "should not be doing it. He won't be doing it. Russia will have much greater respect for our country when I am leading it than when other people have led it". On October 19, during a Presidential debate on live television, Donald Trump explicitly encouraged the Russians to hack his rival, Hillary Clinton. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing", he said, referencing Clinton's email. (WION)

Canada's new foreign minister refuses Russia's offer to lift travel ban

&nbsp;

Mexico&#39;s new foreign minister vowed that his country will negotiate with US President-elect Donald Trump&#39;s administration &quot;without fear.&quot; President Enrique Pena Nieto brought former finance minister Luis Videgaray back to his cabinet last week to seek &quot;constructive&quot; relations with Trump, who has vowed to upend trade ties with Mexico.

Videgaray had resigned as finance minister in September, a week after it was revealed that he orchestrated a much-criticized pre-election meeting between Trump and Pena Nieto in Mexico City.

&quot;We will negotiate with great confidence in ourselves, without fear, knowing how important Mexico is for the United States in economic, social and political terms,&quot; Videgaray said at a meeting with Mexican ambassadors.

Trump has angered Mexicans with his anti-immigrant rhetoric and his vow to make the neighboring country pay for a giant wall along their border. The Republican President-elect, who takes office on January 20, has also caused the peso to plunge as investors fret over his plan to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada.

Trump has also pledged to slap import tariffs of as much as 35 per cent on companies that ship jobs abroad. Trump made similar threats to US automaker General Motors and Japan&#39;s Toyota last week for making cars in Mexico, while Ford announced the cancellation of a new $1.6 billion factory in the neighboring country.

Despite concerns about Trump&#39;s protectionist policies, exports of Mexican-made cars to the United States rose by 9.6 per cent in December compared to the same month in 2015, according to the Mexican Automobile Industry Association (AMIA). AMIA president Eduardo Solis said the United States would have to withdraw from NAFTA in order to impose tariffs because the pact&#39;s rules keep such import taxes for cars at zero per cent.

The Mexican government could also take legal action at the World Trade Organization if tariffs of more than 2.5 per cent are imposed on light vehicles and 25 per cent on pickup trucks, Solis said.

(AFP)

&nbsp;

Mexico's new foreign minister has vowed to take a tough stand during US-Mexico trade negotiations

Mexico's new foreign minister vowed that his country will negotiate with US President-elect Donald Trump's administration "without fear." President Enrique Pena Nieto brought former finance minister Luis Videgaray back to his cabinet last week to seek "constructive" relations with Trump, who has vowed to upend trade ties with Mexico. Videgaray had resigned as finance minister in September, a week after it was revealed that he orchestrated a much-criticized pre-election meeting between Trump and Pena Nieto in Mexico City. "We will negotiate with great confidence in ourselves, without fear, knowing how important Mexico is for the United States in economic, social and political terms," Videgaray said at a meeting with Mexican ambassadors. Trump has angered Mexicans with his anti-immigrant rhetoric and his vow to make the neighboring country pay for a giant wall along their border. The Republican President-elect, who takes office on January 20, has also caused the peso to plunge as investors fret over his plan to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada. Trump has also pledged to slap import tariffs of as much as 35 per cent on companies that ship jobs abroad. Trump made similar threats to US automaker General Motors and Japan's Toyota last week for making cars in Mexico, while Ford announced the cancellation of a new $1.6 billion factory in the neighboring country. Despite concerns about Trump's protectionist policies, exports of Mexican-made cars to the United States rose by 9.6 per cent in December compared to the same month in 2015, according to the Mexican Automobile Industry Association (AMIA). AMIA president Eduardo Solis said the United States would have to withdraw from NAFTA in order to impose tariffs because the pact's rules keep such import taxes for cars at zero per cent. The Mexican government could also take legal action at the World Trade Organization if tariffs of more than 2.5 per cent are imposed on light vehicles and 25 per cent on pickup trucks, Solis said. (AFP)

We will negotiate without fear with US on trade: Mexico

The Maritime Bhangra Group is making the&nbsp;Canadian winter&nbsp;feel much&nbsp;less cold.&nbsp;

Videos of this Indian-origin trio&nbsp;from&nbsp;Halifax,&nbsp;Nova Scotia, on Canada&#39;s east coast, are&nbsp;being passed around the internet for&nbsp;making&nbsp;terrible winter chores like shovelling snow look very&nbsp;fun.

There&#39;s&nbsp;no telling how many North American&nbsp;children have watched this&nbsp;and bolted&nbsp;into subzero temperatures&nbsp;to dance and occassionally shovel.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eHhKMu8jrfw" width="560"></iframe>

Generations of Canadians have dressed up like Santa, but then they mostly stuffed their face with turkey and liquor&nbsp;rather than danced boisterously.

These gentleman have other ideas.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I8K2m1jx37I" width="560"></iframe>

Hopefully&nbsp;white Canada&nbsp;can manage to produce three people who can tactfully return the gesture by incorporating elements of&nbsp;Canadian culture, whatever that is, into videos honouring the Indian community around Holi or Diwali.

More likely they&#39;ll probably just blame&nbsp;immigrants for&nbsp;waging a war against&nbsp;Christmas and feel mortal outrage if someone utters&nbsp;that terrible sentence, &quot;happy holidays&quot;.&nbsp;

(WION)

2016: Musicians are all dead, Trump will be president, winters are freezing. Canada and the world needs the infectious joy of these men

The Maritime Bhangra Group is making the Canadian winter feel much less cold. Videos of this Indian-origin trio from Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Canada's east coast, are being passed around the internet for making terrible winter chores like shovelling snow look very fun. There's no telling how many North American children have watched this and bolted into subzero temperatures to dance and occassionally shovel. Generations of Canadians have dressed up like Santa, but then they mostly stuffed their face with turkey and liquor rather than danced boisterously. These gentleman have other ideas. Hopefully white Canada can manage to produce three people who can tactfully return the gesture by incorporating elements of Canadian culture, whatever that is, into videos honouring the Indian community around Holi or Diwali. More likely they'll probably just blame immigrants for waging a war against Christmas and feel mortal outrage if someone utters that terrible sentence, "happy holidays". (WION)

Indian Bhangra dancers meet Canadian winter, with excellent results

On December 6, 1989, a 25-year-old man entered a classroom in Montreal, Canada. He blamed feminism for ruining his life. Next, he physically separated the women from the men, then shot all the women. He shot 24 in total that day, killing 14. (Four men were injured in the crossfire, too.)

Since 1991, Canada has marked the day of the l&#39;&Eacute;cole Polytechnique de Montr&eacute;al massacre each year. Hopefully, men reflect about what it really means. (Women already know.)

It&rsquo;s easy to condemn violence against women when it&rsquo;s in the form of an outright massacre and the motive, in case there was any doubt, is stated explicitly.

Very few attacks against women make headlines or become national days of commemoration. Women often live through this stuff quietly, privately, day to day.

What do they live? It&rsquo;s hard for men to know. Imagination is a bad substitute for lived experience, and statistics here are by definition incomplete since many attacks are unreported. But for my purposes, stats are unnecessary.

While certainty is impossible, consider: every man knows a woman who has been violated by a man. You might not know who they are, but you know them. An attack may haunt a woman&rsquo;s life without her closest people even knowing it ever happened. Women around you are affected, whether you know it or not.

I know at least several female rape victims, both here in India and back in my native Canada. &nbsp;It&rsquo;s heartbreaking. Thankfully, I&rsquo;ve never had a single male buddy tell me a woman violated him. It happens, and when it does it&rsquo;s no less major, but men do not spend life worrying about being safe from women.

While I personally don&rsquo;t know any male victims, I do know a man from high school who was arrested this year for murdering and torturing his girlfriend. He was 18 when I was 14, but was nice to me and made everyone around him laugh. It should come as a surprise to learn someone you know was raped or is a sadistic killer.

This is anecdotal, and the example is extreme. It&#39;s not a jumping off point for extrapolation, but I didn&#39;t cherry pick it either. It just happens to be my experience. While violence against women is far more common than the reverse, I don&rsquo;t mean to reduce women&rsquo;s lives to a constant attempt to evade horror at the hands of a man. Often we get along great!

Determining what percentage of men is dangerous is relevant to people more interested in defending Male Honour than female lives. Precaution is prudent, whatever the percentage. If a woman is at a party and only two of ten guys there are creeps, both things are true: most men are safe, but she is still in danger. Her safety, not a man&rsquo;s perception of his gender&rsquo;s worth, is what matters.

I suspect that many men vastly underestimate the threats women face. It can happen innocently enough. Why would a man, who has spent every day of life as a man, know how scary life can be as a woman? More women are bravely speaking out against this in public. It&rsquo;s an important conversation. That, men aren&rsquo;t listening enough is regrettable but profoundly unsurprising. It&rsquo;s probably not from indifference or cruelty, just many things are vying for their attention and people select what to engage in based on what&rsquo;s most pleasant, not most important.

Maybe some men are reluctant to believe women potentially face such terrible and prevalent threats because they feel implicated in it&mdash;guilt by gender association, no matter how blameless they are. People usually think favorably about their own. Country, gender, race, religion -- whatever. Believing women exaggerate is more comfortable than believing how dangerous your fellow men can be.

This reflection may sound like I&rsquo;m bashing men. I&rsquo;m not! I&rsquo;m friends with many dudes! I&rsquo;m only trying to shine a light on what some do to women. This conversation sometimes feels like it needs to be entered into on a declared side, Team Man or Team Woman. No!

I&rsquo;ve written nothing radical here. Just be decent, and trust women when they talk about creepy or violent men. This topic is difficult and women need support now. It&rsquo;s a hard time for many. Female Ghostbusters was a victory, then they got President Pussy Grabber.

So on this occasion that calls for remembrance and action on violence against women, men from Canada, India and everywhere should do what they can to consider how different life as a female can be, then treat women accordingly.

(WION)

If more men knew how violent their kind can be to women, women would be and feel much safer, writes WION's Jeff Halperin

On December 6, 1989, a 25-year-old man entered a classroom in Montreal, Canada. He blamed feminism for ruining his life. Next, he physically separated the women from the men, then shot all the women. He shot 24 in total that day, killing 14. (Four men were injured in the crossfire, too.) Since 1991, Canada has marked the day of the l'École Polytechnique de Montréal massacre each year. Hopefully, men reflect about what it really means. (Women already know.) It’s easy to condemn violence against women when it’s in the form of an outright massacre and the motive, in case there was any doubt, is stated explicitly. Very few attacks against women make headlines or become national days of commemoration. Women often live through this stuff quietly, privately, day to day. What do they live? It’s hard for men to know. Imagination is a bad substitute for lived experience, and statistics here are by definition incomplete since many attacks are unreported. But for my purposes, stats are unnecessary. While certainty is impossible, consider: every man knows a woman who has been violated by a man. You might not know who they are, but you know them. An attack may haunt a woman’s life without her closest people even knowing it ever happened. Women around you are affected, whether you know it or not. I know at least several female rape victims, both here in India and back in my native Canada. It’s heartbreaking. Thankfully, I’ve never had a single male buddy tell me a woman violated him. It happens, and when it does it’s no less major, but men do not spend life worrying about being safe from women. While I personally don’t know any male victims, I do know a man from high school who was arrested this year for murdering and torturing his girlfriend. He was 18 when I was 14, but was nice to me and made everyone around him laugh. It should come as a surprise to learn someone you know was raped or is a sadistic killer. This is anecdotal, and the example is extreme. It's not a jumping off point for extrapolation, but I didn't cherry pick it either. It just happens to be my experience. While violence against women is far more common than the reverse, I don’t mean to reduce women’s lives to a constant attempt to evade horror at the hands of a man. Often we get along great! Determining what percentage of men is dangerous is relevant to people more interested in defending Male Honour than female lives. Precaution is prudent, whatever the percentage. If a woman is at a party and only two of ten guys there are creeps, both things are true: most men are safe, but she is still in danger. Her safety, not a man’s perception of his gender’s worth, is what matters. I suspect that many men vastly underestimate the threats women face. It can happen innocently enough. Why would a man, who has spent every day of life as a man, know how scary life can be as a woman? More women are bravely speaking out against this in public. It’s an important conversation. That, men aren’t listening enough is regrettable but profoundly unsurprising. It’s probably not from indifference or cruelty, just many things are vying for their attention and people select what to engage in based on what’s most pleasant, not most important. Maybe some men are reluctant to believe women potentially face such terrible and prevalent threats because they feel implicated in it—guilt by gender association, no matter how blameless they are. People usually think favorably about their own. Country, gender, race, religion -- whatever. Believing women exaggerate is more comfortable than believing how dangerous your fellow men can be. This reflection may sound like I’m bashing men. I’m not! I’m friends with many dudes! I’m only trying to shine a light on what some do to women. This conversation sometimes feels like it needs to be entered into on a declared side, Team Man or Team Woman. No! I’ve written nothing radical here. Just be decent, and trust women when they talk about creepy or violent men. This topic is difficult and women need support now. It’s a hard time for many. Female Ghostbusters was a victory, then they got President Pussy Grabber. So on this occasion that calls for remembrance and action on violence against women, men from Canada, India and everywhere should do what they can to consider how different life as a female can be, then treat women accordingly. (WION)

Every man knows a woman who has been violated by a man

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