Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit Cuba next week to strengthen ties and boost trade, four decades after his father made a historic visit to the Communist-ruled island and struck up a friendship with revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

Canada has long been one of Cuba&#39;s closest Western allies. Trudeau will meet with Raul Castro, Fidel&#39;s younger brother and successor as president, during his visit, Trudeau&#39;s office said.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a former prime minister, in 1976 became the first NATO leader to visit the island since its revolution, at one point exhorting &quot;Viva Castro!&quot;

Pierre Trudeau&#39;s trip was controversial in view of the Cold War enmity between Cuba and the United States. His son&#39;s visit is not viewed as such, given the resumption of US-Cuban diplomatic ties last year and a landmark visit by US&nbsp;President Barack Obama in March.

Justin Trudeau will follow his stay in Havana with a visit to Argentina, ruled by centre-right President Mauricio Macri, on his way to Peru to participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting.

&quot;Cuba and Argentina are two of our closest partners in the hemisphere,&quot; Trudeau said in a statement.

&quot;I look forward to working with President Castro and President Macri to stimulate more trade and investment with Canada, grow the middle class, and foster closer people-to-people ties for the benefit of all our citizens.&rdquo;

Canada and Mexico were the only two nations in the Americas to have kept ties with Cuba after the 1959 revolution, and trade, tourism and investment from the two countries has filled in some gaps from the US&nbsp;embargo.

Cuba and Canada trade over $1 billion worth of goods per year and Canadian companies have significant investments in mining, power, oil and gas, agribusiness and tourism in Cuba.

Many countries are rushing to renew ties with Cuba since its detente with the United States in hopes of capturing a share of Cuban business.

A string of foreign leaders including the Iranian president and Japanese prime minister have visited the island in recent months, meeting with Raul and Fidel Castro.

It was not yet clear whether Trudeau will meet with Fidel, 90, who became friends with his father and was an honorary pallbearer at his funeral in Montreal in 2000.

(Reuters)

Canada and Mexico were the only two nations in the Americas to have kept ties with Cuba after the 1959 revolution

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit Cuba next week to strengthen ties and boost trade, four decades after his father made a historic visit to the Communist-ruled island and struck up a friendship with revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Canada has long been one of Cuba's closest Western allies. Trudeau will meet with Raul Castro, Fidel's younger brother and successor as president, during his visit, Trudeau's office said. Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a former prime minister, in 1976 became the first NATO leader to visit the island since its revolution, at one point exhorting "Viva Castro!" Pierre Trudeau's trip was controversial in view of the Cold War enmity between Cuba and the United States. His son's visit is not viewed as such, given the resumption of US-Cuban diplomatic ties last year and a landmark visit by US President Barack Obama in March. Justin Trudeau will follow his stay in Havana with a visit to Argentina, ruled by centre-right President Mauricio Macri, on his way to Peru to participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting. "Cuba and Argentina are two of our closest partners in the hemisphere," Trudeau said in a statement. "I look forward to working with President Castro and President Macri to stimulate more trade and investment with Canada, grow the middle class, and foster closer people-to-people ties for the benefit of all our citizens.” Canada and Mexico were the only two nations in the Americas to have kept ties with Cuba after the 1959 revolution, and trade, tourism and investment from the two countries has filled in some gaps from the US embargo. Cuba and Canada trade over $1 billion worth of goods per year and Canadian companies have significant investments in mining, power, oil and gas, agribusiness and tourism in Cuba. Many countries are rushing to renew ties with Cuba since its detente with the United States in hopes of capturing a share of Cuban business. A string of foreign leaders including the Iranian president and Japanese prime minister have visited the island in recent months, meeting with Raul and Fidel Castro. It was not yet clear whether Trudeau will meet with Fidel, 90, who became friends with his father and was an honorary pallbearer at his funeral in Montreal in 2000. (Reuters)

Canada's Trudeau to visit Cuba, 40 years after father's historic trip

Some foreign visitors to Canada will be allowed to identify themselves as male, female or other in a border document being introduced this week, officials said on Monday, as Canada joins a handful of nations offering gender neutral options.

The new Electronic Travel Authorizations (eTAs) with three gender options will be introduced on Thursday for travellers flying into or through Canada, officials said.

Canada also has taken steps toward allowing people who have changed genders to switch the designation on passports and other documents, said a spokeswoman for the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the federal agency that issues travel documents.

Having the ability to designate an &quot;other&quot; gender option on identity documents such as travel, residency or employment papers has become a cause among many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups who represent people who do not consider themselves to be male or female.

&quot;IRCC is committed to facilitating the issuance of identification with a sex designation that reflects a person&#39;s gender identity,&quot; the Canadian spokeswoman said.

Australia offers passport options of male, female or X, while Nepal, New Zealand and a handful of other countries also offer third options. Other nations have taken similar steps on some internal documents.

Lambda Legal, a US&nbsp;nonprofit group that promotes LGBT rights, said it commended the Canadian government and called on the US&nbsp;government to follow suit.

&quot;This small step of inclusiveness for visitors is yet another reason for Canada to implement a third gender marker on passports, an option currently under serious consideration,&quot; Paul Castillo, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an email.

&quot;Inaccurate documents serve only to discriminate and impose barriers upon people who are neither male nor female.&quot;

The Canadian eTA form, available online, has been designed to give provide applicants with an option to select a third gender of &quot;other,&quot; the spokeswoman said.

The eTA is required for travellers from countries where a Canadian visa is not required, officials said. It does not apply to US&nbsp;residents.

(Reuters)

The new Electronic Travel Authorizations with 3 gender options will be introduced on Thursday for travellers flying into or through Canada

Some foreign visitors to Canada will be allowed to identify themselves as male, female or other in a border document being introduced this week, officials said on Monday, as Canada joins a handful of nations offering gender neutral options. The new Electronic Travel Authorizations (eTAs) with three gender options will be introduced on Thursday for travellers flying into or through Canada, officials said. Canada also has taken steps toward allowing people who have changed genders to switch the designation on passports and other documents, said a spokeswoman for the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the federal agency that issues travel documents. Having the ability to designate an "other" gender option on identity documents such as travel, residency or employment papers has become a cause among many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups who represent people who do not consider themselves to be male or female. "IRCC is committed to facilitating the issuance of identification with a sex designation that reflects a person's gender identity," the Canadian spokeswoman said. Australia offers passport options of male, female or X, while Nepal, New Zealand and a handful of other countries also offer third options. Other nations have taken similar steps on some internal documents. Lambda Legal, a US nonprofit group that promotes LGBT rights, said it commended the Canadian government and called on the US government to follow suit. "This small step of inclusiveness for visitors is yet another reason for Canada to implement a third gender marker on passports, an option currently under serious consideration," Paul Castillo, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an email. "Inaccurate documents serve only to discriminate and impose barriers upon people who are neither male nor female." The Canadian eTA form, available online, has been designed to give provide applicants with an option to select a third gender of "other," the spokeswoman said. The eTA is required for travellers from countries where a Canadian visa is not required, officials said. It does not apply to US residents. (Reuters)

Canada to allow foreign visitors to identify as male, female or other at border

The European Union (EU) and Canada signed a free trade agreement on Sunday, the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)&nbsp;though it must still clear some 40 national and regional parliaments in Europe in the coming years to enter fully into force.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the treaty along with the heads of EU institutions, a step that should enable a provisional implementation of the pact early in 2017 with the removal of most import duties.

CETA&#39;s&nbsp;passage has not been smooth.

Many critics, like The Guardian&#39;s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/06/transatlantic-trade-partnership-ttip-canada-eu">George Monbiot</a>,&nbsp;fear that the CETA uses too broad a definition of both investment and expropriation, and will give the largest corporations solid grounds to sucessfully sue governments when they believe their &quot;future anticipated profits&quot; might be threatened by any new law. In this sense, this removes power from a country&#39;s government to rule the country as it sees fit.

Monbiot cites the example of laws preventing banks from becoming too large to fail; if a bank believes a government restriction would limit their profit, they could sue the government.

Some 100 anti-globalisation protesters clashed with police outside the venue in Brussels, trying to break down barriers in front of the main entrance and hurling red paint. A Reuters photographer saw police detain some people.

French-speakers in southern Belgium, a minority within their own small country and accounting for less than one&nbsp;per cent of the 508 million EU consumers likely to be affected by CETA, raised objections that held up the deal until a breakthrough on Thursday, confirmed by regional parliamentary votes on Friday.

&quot;All&#39;s well that end&#39;s well,&quot; said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. &quot;We have 20 ongoing negotiations and today we are fixing the global standards the European Union and the European Commission want others to accept.&quot;

&nbsp;

The Canada agreement is seen as a springboard to a larger EU deal with the United States, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership&nbsp;(TTIP), which has been the target of labour unions and environmental and other protest groups.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said TTIP talks were not dead, contrary to what some politicians in Germany and France have said. Belgian and Austrian politicians have said the same, but Malmstrom says it&#39;s necessary to wait for the&nbsp;next US&nbsp;president,&nbsp;taking office in January,&nbsp;to resume the process.

Supporters claim CETA will increase Canadian-EU trade by 20 per cent and boost the EU economy by 12 billion Euros ($13 billion) a year and Canada&#39;s by C$12 billion ($9 billion).

For Canada the deal is thought by some to be important for&nbsp;reducing&nbsp;its reliance on the neighbouring United States as an export market.

For the EU, it is a first trade pact with a G7 country and a success plucked from the jaws of defeat at a time when the bloc&#39;s credibility has taken a beating from Britain&#39;s vote in June to leave after 43 years of membership.

&quot;This has been a very long process. A huge majority of people in Europe are in favour of Europe, but there are concerns and we need to engage with them,&quot; Malmstrom said. &quot;The Commission cannot do that alone.&quot;

&nbsp;

Not the last act

Sunday&#39;s signing will not be the last act. Assuming the European Parliament gives its assent, the CETA could come into force partially early next year. However, full implementation, which would include a contentious investment protection system, will ensue only after clearance by more than three dozen national and regional parliaments.

The Belgian experience shows this outcome is no given. One of the&nbsp;main focuses of protests against the CETA and the TTIP remains the system to protect foreign company&#39;s investments.

Critics say its provision for arbitration panels to rule on disputes with states can be abused by multinational companies to dictate public policy, such as on environmental standards. The EU and Canada say their investment protection system guarantees the right of governments to regulate, make use of independent judges and be more transparent.

The Guardian reported that the consultation process the EU only grudgingly launched regarding the TTIP proposal to grant new legal rights to corporations received as many as 150,000 responses, 97 per cent of which were hostile. &quot;To say there is no mandate for such agreements is an understatement,&quot; said&nbsp;George Monbiot&#39;s in response to the above numbers.&nbsp;

The deal will eliminate tariffs on almost 99 per cent of goods. The beneficiaries would include, for example, carmakers or the EU textile sector, for which Canadian duties of up to 18 per cent can be imposed at present.

Service companies could also benefit and EU companies would be able to tender for public contracts at Canadian provincial and municipal level, the first time Canada has offered this.

Canada would be able to send larger quotas of pork, beef and wheat to the EU market, and EU dairy producers would be able to export more than double the current amount of &quot;high quality&quot; cheeses to Canada.

($1 = 0.9107 Euros)

($1 = 1.3396 Canadian dollars)

(With inputs from Reuters)

Some 100 anti-globalisation protesters clashed with police in Brussels, where a photographer saw some being detained by cops

The European Union (EU) and Canada signed a free trade agreement on Sunday, the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) though it must still clear some 40 national and regional parliaments in Europe in the coming years to enter fully into force. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the treaty along with the heads of EU institutions, a step that should enable a provisional implementation of the pact early in 2017 with the removal of most import duties. CETA's passage has not been smooth. Many critics, like The Guardian's George Monbiot, fear that the CETA uses too broad a definition of both investment and expropriation, and will give the largest corporations solid grounds to sucessfully sue governments when they believe their "future anticipated profits" might be threatened by any new law. In this sense, this removes power from a country's government to rule the country as it sees fit. Monbiot cites the example of laws preventing banks from becoming too large to fail; if a bank believes a government restriction would limit their profit, they could sue the government. Some 100 anti-globalisation protesters clashed with police outside the venue in Brussels, trying to break down barriers in front of the main entrance and hurling red paint. A Reuters photographer saw police detain some people. French-speakers in southern Belgium, a minority within their own small country and accounting for less than one per cent of the 508 million EU consumers likely to be affected by CETA, raised objections that held up the deal until a breakthrough on Thursday, confirmed by regional parliamentary votes on Friday. "All's well that end's well," said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. "We have 20 ongoing negotiations and today we are fixing the global standards the European Union and the European Commission want others to accept." The Canada agreement is seen as a springboard to a larger EU deal with the United States, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which has been the target of labour unions and environmental and other protest groups. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said TTIP talks were not dead, contrary to what some politicians in Germany and France have said. Belgian and Austrian politicians have said the same, but Malmstrom says it's necessary to wait for the next US president, taking office in January, to resume the process. Supporters claim CETA will increase Canadian-EU trade by 20 per cent and boost the EU economy by 12 billion Euros ($13 billion) a year and Canada's by C$12 billion ($9 billion). For Canada the deal is thought by some to be important for reducing its reliance on the neighbouring United States as an export market. For the EU, it is a first trade pact with a G7 country and a success plucked from the jaws of defeat at a time when the bloc's credibility has taken a beating from Britain's vote in June to leave after 43 years of membership. "This has been a very long process. A huge majority of people in Europe are in favour of Europe, but there are concerns and we need to engage with them," Malmstrom said. "The Commission cannot do that alone." Not the last act Sunday's signing will not be the last act. Assuming the European Parliament gives its assent, the CETA could come into force partially early next year. However, full implementation, which would include a contentious investment protection system, will ensue only after clearance by more than three dozen national and regional parliaments. The Belgian experience shows this outcome is no given. One of the main focuses of protests against the CETA and the TTIP remains the system to protect foreign company's investments. Critics say its provision for arbitration panels to rule on disputes with states can be abused by multinational companies to dictate public policy, such as on environmental standards. The EU and Canada say their investment protection system guarantees the right of governments to regulate, make use of independent judges and be more transparent. The Guardian reported that the consultation process the EU only grudgingly launched regarding the TTIP proposal to grant new legal rights to corporations received as many as 150,000 responses, 97 per cent of which were hostile. "To say there is no mandate for such agreements is an understatement," said George Monbiot's in response to the above numbers. The deal will eliminate tariffs on almost 99 per cent of goods. The beneficiaries would include, for example, carmakers or the EU textile sector, for which Canadian duties of up to 18 per cent can be imposed at present. Service companies could also benefit and EU companies would be able to tender for public contracts at Canadian provincial and municipal level, the first time Canada has offered this. Canada would be able to send larger quotas of pork, beef and wheat to the EU market, and EU dairy producers would be able to export more than double the current amount of "high quality" cheeses to Canada. ($1 = 0.9107 Euros) ($1 = 1.3396 Canadian dollars) (With inputs from Reuters)

EU and Canada free trade deal, not binding just yet

A former Canadian nurse has been arrested and charged with murdering eight elderly patients at two retirement homes in Canada&#39;s Ontario province, police said on Tuesday.&nbsp;

The nurse administered drugs to the victims, five women and three men in the towns of Woodstock and London, between 2007 and 2014. It is a highly unusual case as such cases are almost unheard of in the country.&nbsp;

Woodstock Police Chief William Renton told a televised news conference that the accused, Elizabeth Wettlaufer faces eight counts of first-degree murder and continues to remain in custody.&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;re not in a position at this time to comment further on the specifics of the drug as it forms part of the evidence that is now before the courts. All I can offer there is there are obviously a number of drugs that are stored and available in long-term care facilities,&quot; the police said.&nbsp;

Records from the College of Nurses show Wettlaufer registered as a nurse in 1995 but resigned on September 30, one day after police launched their investigation after receiving a tip.

Police said the male and female victims were all aged between 75 to 96. Renton declined to give further details and said he could not speculate on the motive.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

The former nurse, charged with first-degree murder, had drugged eight victims in Canada's Ontario province between 2007 and 2014

A former Canadian nurse has been arrested and charged with murdering eight elderly patients at two retirement homes in Canada's Ontario province, police said on Tuesday. The nurse administered drugs to the victims, five women and three men in the towns of Woodstock and London, between 2007 and 2014. It is a highly unusual case as such cases are almost unheard of in the country. Woodstock Police Chief William Renton told a televised news conference that the accused, Elizabeth Wettlaufer faces eight counts of first-degree murder and continues to remain in custody. "We're not in a position at this time to comment further on the specifics of the drug as it forms part of the evidence that is now before the courts. All I can offer there is there are obviously a number of drugs that are stored and available in long-term care facilities," the police said. Records from the College of Nurses show Wettlaufer registered as a nurse in 1995 but resigned on September 30, one day after police launched their investigation after receiving a tip. Police said the male and female victims were all aged between 75 to 96. Renton declined to give further details and said he could not speculate on the motive. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Canadian nurse charged with murder of eight retirement home patients

Iran today requested help from the UN to send a plane to Yemen to evacuate the wounded from Saturday&rsquo;s deadly air strike on a funeral ceremony.

The country&rsquo;s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed &quot;shock and indignation&quot; over the air strikes in Sanaa, AFP reported.

&quot;In view of the gravity of the situation in Yemen and the devastation caused by the attacks against the funeral hall, the Iranian Red Crescent Society is proposing to arrange for humanitarian assistance, including medical supplies, to the Yemeni people and evacuating the injured to hospitals in Iran,&quot; Zarif wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, AFP reported.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the attack that killed more than 140 mourners and injured over 525.

&quot;Not only Saudi Arabia, but also those who have supported the aggression by the Saudi-led coalition against Yemeni people should be held accountable for the war crimes perpetrated in Yemen over the past year and a half,&quot; Zarif wrote, AFP reported.

Ban earlier condemned the attack and called for an investigation of the air strikes.

Canada has also called for a prompt investigation into the air strikes, that are one of the deadliest since the Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign against the Shiite insurgents in March 2015.

&ldquo;The Saudi-led coalition must move forward now on its commitment to investigate this incident,&quot; Canadian foreign minister Stephane Dion said in a statement condemning the attack, AFP reported.

&quot;Canada calls on all parties in Yemen to avoid an escalation of violence as a result of this incident.&quot;

Dion said. &quot;Canada urges all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, and to commit to political dialogue and to a lasting cessation of hostilities to halt the tragic loss of civilian life.&quot;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The Iranian foreign minister has written to the UN chief requesting a plane for evacuation of the wounded

Iran today requested help from the UN to send a plane to Yemen to evacuate the wounded from Saturday’s deadly air strike on a funeral ceremony. The country’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed "shock and indignation" over the air strikes in Sanaa, AFP reported. "In view of the gravity of the situation in Yemen and the devastation caused by the attacks against the funeral hall, the Iranian Red Crescent Society is proposing to arrange for humanitarian assistance, including medical supplies, to the Yemeni people and evacuating the injured to hospitals in Iran," Zarif wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, AFP reported. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the attack that killed more than 140 mourners and injured over 525. "Not only Saudi Arabia, but also those who have supported the aggression by the Saudi-led coalition against Yemeni people should be held accountable for the war crimes perpetrated in Yemen over the past year and a half," Zarif wrote, AFP reported. Ban earlier condemned the attack and called for an investigation of the air strikes. Canada has also called for a prompt investigation into the air strikes, that are one of the deadliest since the Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign against the Shiite insurgents in March 2015. “The Saudi-led coalition must move forward now on its commitment to investigate this incident," Canadian foreign minister Stephane Dion said in a statement condemning the attack, AFP reported. "Canada calls on all parties in Yemen to avoid an escalation of violence as a result of this incident." Dion said. "Canada urges all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, and to commit to political dialogue and to a lasting cessation of hostilities to halt the tragic loss of civilian life." (WION with inputs from AFP)

Iran offers to treat wounded from Yemen funeral airstrike, Canada demands probe

If the world is looking at Canada, it&rsquo;s because of Prime Minister Trudeau&rsquo;s heart and hair. He&rsquo;s photogenic, which critics take as proof he&#39;s a selfie-taking cerebral lightweight (as if Stephen Harper fended&nbsp;off Vanity Fair photographers). Critics&nbsp;also mock&nbsp;Trudeau&#39;s pathologically progressive PR (handshaking Syrian refugees at the airport, proclaiming himself a feminist, etc) as affected or&nbsp;mawkish. Yet&nbsp;however cultivated&nbsp;Trudeau&#39;s&nbsp;media image is, it does&nbsp;seem to accurately reflect him as a person. Probably nobody&nbsp;thinks&nbsp;Trudeau is secretly a woman-hating xenophobe.&nbsp; 
 
In an era where political campaigns are essentially advertising contests, should a serious person&nbsp;ignore a politician&#39;s chosen&nbsp;symbols? No. While it&#39;s&nbsp;definitely calculated, the symbolism&nbsp;a politician selects for mass appeal&nbsp;does reveal a lot, and does have intrinsic value. 
 
Internationally, Trudeau&rsquo;s aura is a meaningful breath of fresh air to millions of Indians tired of rancid patriarchy and caste oppression, or Modi speaking twee platitudes from one side of his mouth and strident <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/133014/new-face-india-anti-gandhi">hindutva</a> from the other. Or to anybody tired and terrified of Trump. As leaders around the world tack right by appealing to lizard-brain paranoia, it&rsquo;s understandable and meaningful that people are inspired by a symbolic counterbalance. 
 
Policy matters above all, not talk or imagery. But no doubt Canada&rsquo;s Muslims prefer that the Prime Minister doesn&rsquo;t dog whistle at them (<a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/10/05/stephen-harpers-dog-whistle-populist-politics.html">like Canada&rsquo;s thrice-elected last Prime Minister</a>). The marginalised shouldn&rsquo;t be spat on by the person most capable of improving their lives. Politics of division from the top <a href="http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/11/23/Muslim-Assaults-Canada/">breeds</a>&nbsp;violence. If inclusive branding does absolutely nothing but ensure the absence of that, that&rsquo;s something.&nbsp; 
 
But there&rsquo;s a limit. Liberals believe in their ideals until they&rsquo;re faced with a choice, to embody them or make a lot of money.&nbsp; 
 
For all Trudeau&rsquo;s outsized display of heart he presides over a government selling $15-billion worth of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, the generous sponsor of&nbsp;terrorists and <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html">radical Wahhabi madrassas</a> around the world. 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/19432753795_234e50aa59_b-20160915124053.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
Trudeau enjoying a gay pride parade in Toronto, very much&nbsp;not in Riyadh.
</div>

 
Trudeau commendably supports the LGBT community whereas Saudi Arabia sometimes stones them to death, but rather than condemn the House of Saud he is weaponizing them. The Canadian-made &ldquo;jeeps&rdquo; will be mounted with machine guns, and possibly anti-tank missiles. The <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-saudi-arms-deal-what-weve-learned-so-far/article28180299/">well-founded fear</a> is they will be used against dissenting Saudi civilians. Saudi Arabia is currenly targeting civilian infrastructure in <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/crimes-against-humanity-britains-complicity-in-saudi-arabias-terror-campaign-against-yemen/5545686">Yemen</a>, also. This makes arming Saudi Arabia not just unethical but likely illegal under Canada&rsquo;s weapons export laws. It&rsquo;s worth considering that a Saudi Arabian&nbsp;openly expressing Trudeau&#39;s views in&nbsp;may be at risk of the Canadian-made weapons Trudeau&#39;s party signed off on. (Or just a&nbsp;public <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/29/world/middleeast/raif-badawi-wife-saudi-arabia.html">lashing</a>, if he&#39;s lucky.) 
 
The deal was brokered by Canada&rsquo;s Conservative Party, who crowed about job creation (as if arming violent foes is honourable, if a Canadian is paid to do it). But Trudeau&rsquo;s Liberals opted not to cancel it. That they didn&rsquo;t initiate the deal gives the Liberals undeserved plausible deniability. Each party is blaming the other for a human right&rsquo;s travesty, and they&rsquo;re both right. 
 
The Canadian tradition of speaking from the left and governing from the right is on display in Trudeau&rsquo;s attitude to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TTP). The TPP, if ratified, would be the biggest &ldquo;free trade&rdquo; deal in history, but international trade is only a minor part of it. Corporations don&#39;t like being beholden to&nbsp;international law, so the TPP lets them rewrite it. Negotiations have been conducted in secret since 2010 (thankfully there have been <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/final-leaked-tpp-text-all-we-feared">leaks</a>). In addition to impacting 18,000 tariffs, the deal includes measures to punish corporate whistleblowers, needlessly restrict copyright and intellectual property laws, and enable companies to sue governments if their social spending cuts into their market. The TPP only exists so that the profits of major corporations will legally supersede the public interest in court. 
&nbsp;

<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Either ideological TPP proponents are naive and gullible enough to believe that CEOs and politicians secretly met for five years to discuss how best to uplift the middle class and impoverished.</h5>

<h5>Or, the people praising the TPP are the&nbsp;very people who stand to profit by it, and they&nbsp;know the game is rigged because they supervised or participated in the rigging.&nbsp;</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Either ideological TPP proponents are naive and gullible enough to believe that CEOs and politicians secretly met for five years to discuss how best to uplift the middle class and impoverished. Or, the TPP is praised?by the very people who stand to profit, and who know the game is rigged because they supervised or participated in the rigging.?" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

&nbsp;

During Canada&rsquo;s 2015 election Trudeau was officially non-committal to the TPP, unwilling to hastily sign an unknown thing. On becoming Prime Minister he hastily signed an unknown thing. Now he says he won&rsquo;t ratify it, that being hasty.&nbsp; 
 
Nobody, including Trudeau, has adequately explained why the onus is on the public to demonstrate what parts of the TPP are objectionable, rather than why it&rsquo;s being thrust on the people in the first place. To the extent leaders are talking about the TPP at all, their justifications are dubious; jobs and the economies of twelve countries can&rsquo;t all simultaneously grow. It&rsquo;s a zero-sum game, something has to give. In physics, every action has an opposite and equal reaction.&nbsp;Only in the junk science of free trade deals does everything constantly expand without an&nbsp;eventual correction. NAFTA promised the US 200,000 jobs, and ended up <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/05/trans-pacific-partnership-obama-fast-track-nafta/">costing over 600,000</a> in the manufacturing sector alone.&nbsp; 
 
Either ideological TPP proponents are naive and gullible enough to believe that CEOs and politicians secretly met for five years to discuss how best to uplift the middle class and impoverished. Or, the people praising the TPP are the&nbsp;very people who stand to profit by it, and they&nbsp;know the game is rigged because they supervised or participated in the rigging.&nbsp; 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/trudeaunatives2-20160915013114.jpg" />

<div class="media-description">
Trudeau has worked to repair relationships with Canada&#39;s Natives. How he reconciles&nbsp;their interests and environmental stewardship&nbsp;with proposed pipelines&nbsp;will be watched closely.
</div>

 
To be sure, even if Trudeau resolved to stop selling the Saudis arms and halt the TPP, he&rsquo;s a small cog international politics. All national leaders&nbsp;are surrounded by vulture lobbyists and purchased bureaucrats, who collectively decide things. For example, how Trudeau will reconcile the competing pressure to build pipelines with his pledge to protect the environment and improve relations with aboriginal people remains to be seen, but <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/tough-calls-ahead-for-trudeau-on-aboriginal-issues/article31913955/">early signs</a> lean towards big oil.&nbsp;Nobody should expect Trudeau to singlehandedly shape Canada, let alone the world.

In late September his cabinet approved the construction of a $11.4 billion (Canadian Dollars) terminal to <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/pacific-northwest-lng-decision/article32092033/">export liquefied natural gas</a>&nbsp;that has angered environmentalists&nbsp;and Canadian Aboriginal groups. The project has certain&nbsp;environmental conditions attached, to be named in time, but&nbsp;what they are and&nbsp;whether they&#39;re actually upheld remains to be seen. His image will take a beating if his base thinks his&nbsp;environmental, energy and economic juggling&nbsp;errs&nbsp;too much on the side of business. 
 
But it isn&rsquo;t that his sunshiney&nbsp;symbols are meaningless, just they have limits. Assuming any politician is authentically fond of&nbsp;the environment&nbsp;and opposed to militarisation or&nbsp;obscene concentrations of wealth,&nbsp;they&#39;re still pretty powerless against Big Business. Trudeau fits in here.

So while critics find&nbsp;his ostentatious shows of&nbsp;pluralism&nbsp;corny,&nbsp;at least they&#39;re not&nbsp;just&nbsp;fashionable masks for bigotry.&nbsp;The world needs more leaders who aren&rsquo;t preprogrammed to whip up and then appeal to caveman instincts.&nbsp;Just nobody should think his theater for social, environmental or&nbsp;economic justice will translate into policy that adequately addresses, let alone fixes, the biggest problems facing the world. 
 
(WION)

His sincere and heartening political messaging can be meaningful, but it doesn't stand up to military contracts or Big Business

If the world is looking at Canada, it’s because of Prime Minister Trudeau’s heart and hair. He’s photogenic, which critics take as proof he's a selfie-taking cerebral lightweight (as if Stephen Harper fended off Vanity Fair photographers). Critics also mock Trudeau's pathologically progressive PR (handshaking Syrian refugees at the airport, proclaiming himself a feminist, etc) as affected or mawkish. Yet however cultivated Trudeau's media image is, it does seem to accurately reflect him as a person. Probably nobody thinks Trudeau is secretly a woman-hating xenophobe. In an era where political campaigns are essentially advertising contests, should a serious person ignore a politician's chosen symbols? No. While it's definitely calculated, the symbolism a politician selects for mass appeal does reveal a lot, and does have intrinsic value. Internationally, Trudeau’s aura is a meaningful breath of fresh air to millions of Indians tired of rancid patriarchy and caste oppression, or Modi speaking twee platitudes from one side of his mouth and strident hindutva from the other. Or to anybody tired and terrified of Trump. As leaders around the world tack right by appealing to lizard-brain paranoia, it’s understandable and meaningful that people are inspired by a symbolic counterbalance. Policy matters above all, not talk or imagery. But no doubt Canada’s Muslims prefer that the Prime Minister doesn’t dog whistle at them (like Canada’s thrice-elected last Prime Minister). The marginalised shouldn’t be spat on by the person most capable of improving their lives. Politics of division from the top breeds violence. If inclusive branding does absolutely nothing but ensure the absence of that, that’s something. But there’s a limit. Liberals believe in their ideals until they’re faced with a choice, to embody them or make a lot of money. For all Trudeau’s outsized display of heart he presides over a government selling $15-billion worth of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, the generous sponsor of terrorists and radical Wahhabi madrassas around the world. Trudeau enjoying a gay pride parade in Toronto, very much not in Riyadh. Trudeau commendably supports the LGBT community whereas Saudi Arabia sometimes stones them to death, but rather than condemn the House of Saud he is weaponizing them. The Canadian-made “jeeps” will be mounted with machine guns, and possibly anti-tank missiles. The well-founded fear is they will be used against dissenting Saudi civilians. Saudi Arabia is currenly targeting civilian infrastructure in Yemen, also. This makes arming Saudi Arabia not just unethical but likely illegal under Canada’s weapons export laws. It’s worth considering that a Saudi Arabian openly expressing Trudeau's views in may be at risk of the Canadian-made weapons Trudeau's party signed off on. (Or just a public lashing, if he's lucky.) The deal was brokered by Canada’s Conservative Party, who crowed about job creation (as if arming violent foes is honourable, if a Canadian is paid to do it). But Trudeau’s Liberals opted not to cancel it. That they didn’t initiate the deal gives the Liberals undeserved plausible deniability. Each party is blaming the other for a human right’s travesty, and they’re both right. The Canadian tradition of speaking from the left and governing from the right is on display in Trudeau’s attitude to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TTP). The TPP, if ratified, would be the biggest “free trade” deal in history, but international trade is only a minor part of it. Corporations don't like being beholden to international law, so the TPP lets them rewrite it. Negotiations have been conducted in secret since 2010 (thankfully there have been leaks). In addition to impacting 18,000 tariffs, the deal includes measures to punish corporate whistleblowers, needlessly restrict copyright and intellectual property laws, and enable companies to sue governments if their social spending cuts into their market. The TPP only exists so that the profits of major corporations will legally supersede the public interest in court. Either ideological TPP proponents are naive and gullible enough to believe that CEOs and politicians secretly met for five years to discuss how best to uplift the middle class and impoverished. Or, the people praising the TPP are the very people who stand to profit by it, and they know the game is rigged because they supervised or participated in the rigging. During Canada’s 2015 election Trudeau was officially non-committal to the TPP, unwilling to hastily sign an unknown thing. On becoming Prime Minister he hastily signed an unknown thing. Now he says he won’t ratify it, that being hasty. Nobody, including Trudeau, has adequately explained why the onus is on the public to demonstrate what parts of the TPP are objectionable, rather than why it’s being thrust on the people in the first place. To the extent leaders are talking about the TPP at all, their justifications are dubious; jobs and the economies of twelve countries can’t all simultaneously grow. It’s a zero-sum game, something has to give. In physics, every action has an opposite and equal reaction. Only in the junk science of free trade deals does everything constantly expand without an eventual correction. NAFTA promised the US 200,000 jobs, and ended up costing over 600,000 in the manufacturing sector alone. Either ideological TPP proponents are naive and gullible enough to believe that CEOs and politicians secretly met for five years to discuss how best to uplift the middle class and impoverished. Or, the people praising the TPP are the very people who stand to profit by it, and they know the game is rigged because they supervised or participated in the rigging. Trudeau has worked to repair relationships with Canada's Natives. How he reconciles their interests and environmental stewardship with proposed pipelines will be watched closely. To be sure, even if Trudeau resolved to stop selling the Saudis arms and halt the TPP, he’s a small cog international politics. All national leaders are surrounded by vulture lobbyists and purchased bureaucrats, who collectively decide things. For example, how Trudeau will reconcile the competing pressure to build pipelines with his pledge to protect the environment and improve relations with aboriginal people remains to be seen, but early signs lean towards big oil. Nobody should expect Trudeau to singlehandedly shape Canada, let alone the world. In late September his cabinet approved the construction of a $11.4 billion (Canadian Dollars) terminal to export liquefied natural gas that has angered environmentalists and Canadian Aboriginal groups. The project has certain environmental conditions attached, to be named in time, but what they are and whether they're actually upheld remains to be seen. His image will take a beating if his base thinks his environmental, energy and economic juggling errs too much on the side of business. But it isn’t that his sunshiney symbols are meaningless, just they have limits. Assuming any politician is authentically fond of the environment and opposed to militarisation or obscene concentrations of wealth, they're still pretty powerless against Big Business. Trudeau fits in here. So while critics find his ostentatious shows of pluralism corny, at least they're not just fashionable masks for bigotry. The world needs more leaders who aren’t preprogrammed to whip up and then appeal to caveman instincts. Just nobody should think his theater for social, environmental or economic justice will translate into policy that adequately addresses, let alone fixes, the biggest problems facing the world. (WION)

Canada's Justin Trudeau: Liberal signs and symbols

Canadian oil production will decline by one per cent this year due to lower investment and disruptions from wildfires, says a report released Tuesday.

 
The study also projected that for the first time ever, Canada&#39;s oil sector will lose money,&nbsp;billions, in fact,&nbsp;two years in a row.

 
Canada is the world&#39;s&nbsp;sixth-largest oil producer, and its sector has been hit hard by plunging crude prices over the past two years.

 
An Alberta oil sands production stoppage in May due to wildfires sweeping across the region,&nbsp;which holds the world&#39;s third-largest oil reserve,&nbsp;further exacerbated its woes.

 
The Conference Board of Canada said the sector is on track to post an annual loss of $10 billion ($7.6 billion US) this year, following a record loss of&nbsp;$11 billion ($8.4 billion US) in 2015.

 
&quot;Canadian oil producers continue to be challenged by the extended battle for market-share that has kept global crude prices stubbornly low,&quot; Conference Board economist Carlos Murillo said in a statement.

 
&quot;For the first time in recorded history, the (Canadian) oil industry is expected to post not only the largest level of losses but also back-to-back consecutive losses,&quot; he said.

 
Profitability concerns led to the significant pullback in investment, resulting in lower production levels, said the report. From 2014 to 2017, investment in the Canadian oil industry will have been cut by an estimated $38 billion ($29 billion US).

 
Companies have been also slow to cut costs, as revenues fell.

 
The Conference Board did offer one glimmer of hope, predicting the industry will return to the black in 2017 if oil prices recover.

(AFP)

For the first time ever, Canada's oil sector might lose money, billions, in fact, two years in a row

Canadian oil production will decline by one per cent this year due to lower investment and disruptions from wildfires, says a report released Tuesday. The study also projected that for the first time ever, Canada's oil sector will lose money, billions, in fact, two years in a row. Canada is the world's sixth-largest oil producer, and its sector has been hit hard by plunging crude prices over the past two years. An Alberta oil sands production stoppage in May due to wildfires sweeping across the region, which holds the world's third-largest oil reserve, further exacerbated its woes. The Conference Board of Canada said the sector is on track to post an annual loss of $10 billion ($7.6 billion US) this year, following a record loss of $11 billion ($8.4 billion US) in 2015. "Canadian oil producers continue to be challenged by the extended battle for market-share that has kept global crude prices stubbornly low," Conference Board economist Carlos Murillo said in a statement. "For the first time in recorded history, the (Canadian) oil industry is expected to post not only the largest level of losses but also back-to-back consecutive losses," he said. Profitability concerns led to the significant pullback in investment, resulting in lower production levels, said the report. From 2014 to 2017, investment in the Canadian oil industry will have been cut by an estimated $38 billion ($29 billion US). Companies have been also slow to cut costs, as revenues fell. The Conference Board did offer one glimmer of hope, predicting the industry will return to the black in 2017 if oil prices recover. (AFP)

Canadian oil production to fall: Report

A rash of gun-toting Americans visiting Canada prompted its border agency to launch a public awareness campaign, reminding Americans about their northern neighbours&#39; relatively strict firearms laws. 
 
&quot;Canadian laws are different than US ones,&quot; the Canada Border Services Agency said in a statement yesterday. 
 
&quot;Non-restricted firearms can be used for hunting purposes and protection against wildlife in remote areas.&quot; 
 
But, it added, the &quot;use of firearms for personal protection, or protection of property is not deemed a valid purpose to import firearms into Canada.&quot; 
 
Switchblades, nunchucks, crossbows, blowguns and brass knuckles are also banned in Canada, it noted. 
 
The announcement comes on the heels of two separate incidents in which Texas retirees were stopped from carrying weapons into the country at a border checkpoint in Saint Stephen, New Brunswick. 
 
A search of their vehicles uncovered several handguns, a shotgun and loose ammunition, which were seized. 
 
The two tourists were also fined more than 1,000 Canadian dollar (USD 775) and kicked out of Canada, along with their wives. 
In the first six months of this year, 413 guns were seized at the border - both from smugglers and gun lovers. The figure is up from 386 guns seized during the same period in 2015, according to government figures. 
 
Authorities have linked recent spikes in violent crimes to the smuggling of handguns and other prohibited weapons from the United States. 
 
US gun culture is also a source of derision in Canada. 
 
Canada only began arming its border guards in 2006. 
 
South of the border, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump provoked fresh debate this month over gun rights when he appeared to suggest that &quot;Second Amendment people,&quot; who view gun ownership as a constitutional right, could take dislike for his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton into their own hands. 
 
(AFP)

The announcement came after Texas retirees were stopped from carrying weapons into the country at a border checkpoint

A rash of gun-toting Americans visiting Canada prompted its border agency to launch a public awareness campaign, reminding Americans about their northern neighbours' relatively strict firearms laws. "Canadian laws are different than US ones," the Canada Border Services Agency said in a statement yesterday. "Non-restricted firearms can be used for hunting purposes and protection against wildlife in remote areas." But, it added, the "use of firearms for personal protection, or protection of property is not deemed a valid purpose to import firearms into Canada." Switchblades, nunchucks, crossbows, blowguns and brass knuckles are also banned in Canada, it noted. The announcement comes on the heels of two separate incidents in which Texas retirees were stopped from carrying weapons into the country at a border checkpoint in Saint Stephen, New Brunswick. A search of their vehicles uncovered several handguns, a shotgun and loose ammunition, which were seized. The two tourists were also fined more than 1,000 Canadian dollar (USD 775) and kicked out of Canada, along with their wives. In the first six months of this year, 413 guns were seized at the border - both from smugglers and gun lovers. The figure is up from 386 guns seized during the same period in 2015, according to government figures. Authorities have linked recent spikes in violent crimes to the smuggling of handguns and other prohibited weapons from the United States. US gun culture is also a source of derision in Canada. Canada only began arming its border guards in 2006. South of the border, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump provoked fresh debate this month over gun rights when he appeared to suggest that "Second Amendment people," who view gun ownership as a constitutional right, could take dislike for his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton into their own hands. (AFP)

Canada to US tourists: Leave your guns at home

Canadian police killed a man on Wednesday, national television news channels reported, after the police said they had identified a suspect after receiving &quot;credible information of a potential terrorist threat&quot;. 
 
The suspect was killed during a police raid in a small Ontario town, CTV News and CBC News reported. 
 
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement they had identified a suspect in a national security threat and taken action to ensure the safety of the public. No further details were provided. 
 
Intelligence sources told Reuters that the suspect was Aaron Driver, who was arrested last year for openly supporting the Islamic State militant group on social media. The sources declined to be identified because they did not have permission to speak to the media. 
 
The sources said Driver, who also uses the alias Harun Abdurahman, lives in Strathroy, Ontario, a small community some 225 kilometres (140 miles) southwest of Toronto. 
 
Driver&#39;s death was not yet officially confirmed and his lawyer was not immediately available for comment.&nbsp;Reports on Twitter late on Wednesday said police had raided a home in Strathroy in relation to the RCMP threat incident. Reporters on the scene later tweeted that the coroner had arrived and a body bag had been loaded into an official vehicle. 
 
The London Free Press newspaper, citing family members, reported that Driver was shot by police after he detonated a device, wounding himself and another person. There was no immediate confirmation of that report. 
 
Driver had not been charged with a crime but in February he was placed on a peace bond, a court order that restricted his movements, required that he stay away from social media and computers and not have contact with Islamic State or similar groups. 
 
He said in February he did not think Canadians should fear him and that people should not be persecuted for their political beliefs, according to CBC news. 
 
Irene Lee, whose parents own a convenience store near Driver&#39;s home, said police arrived on the quiet residential street shortly after 4 pm ET (2000 GMT) and quickly surrounded the house. 
 
&quot;I hear a bomb sound, like a &#39;bang&#39; - I was freaking out because this is a small and quiet town,&quot; she told Reuters. &quot;All of a sudden the policemen were yelling, &#39;everyone get into your houses&#39;.&quot;&nbsp;Lee said police were still outside and had told her they would likely be there all night. 
 
Canada&#39;s public safety minister Ralph Goodale said in a statement released late on Wednesday the public had been &quot;properly protected&quot; following a national security threat, and that he had briefed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 
 
He said Canada&#39;s National Terrorism Threat Level remained unchanged at &quot;medium&quot;.&nbsp;A spokeswoman at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada&#39;s spy agency, declined to comment on the incident, referring all queries to the RCMP. 
 
The RCMP said in its statement the investigation was still underway and it would not provide further comment. Media relations officers did not immediately return phone calls and emails. 
 
(Reuters)

Intelligence sources said the suspect was arrested last year for openly supporting the Islamic State on social media

Canadian police killed a man on Wednesday, national television news channels reported, after the police said they had identified a suspect after receiving "credible information of a potential terrorist threat". The suspect was killed during a police raid in a small Ontario town, CTV News and CBC News reported. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement they had identified a suspect in a national security threat and taken action to ensure the safety of the public. No further details were provided. Intelligence sources told Reuters that the suspect was Aaron Driver, who was arrested last year for openly supporting the Islamic State militant group on social media. The sources declined to be identified because they did not have permission to speak to the media. The sources said Driver, who also uses the alias Harun Abdurahman, lives in Strathroy, Ontario, a small community some 225 kilometres (140 miles) southwest of Toronto. Driver's death was not yet officially confirmed and his lawyer was not immediately available for comment. Reports on Twitter late on Wednesday said police had raided a home in Strathroy in relation to the RCMP threat incident. Reporters on the scene later tweeted that the coroner had arrived and a body bag had been loaded into an official vehicle. The London Free Press newspaper, citing family members, reported that Driver was shot by police after he detonated a device, wounding himself and another person. There was no immediate confirmation of that report. Driver had not been charged with a crime but in February he was placed on a peace bond, a court order that restricted his movements, required that he stay away from social media and computers and not have contact with Islamic State or similar groups. He said in February he did not think Canadians should fear him and that people should not be persecuted for their political beliefs, according to CBC news. Irene Lee, whose parents own a convenience store near Driver's home, said police arrived on the quiet residential street shortly after 4 pm ET (2000 GMT) and quickly surrounded the house. "I hear a bomb sound, like a 'bang' - I was freaking out because this is a small and quiet town," she told Reuters. "All of a sudden the policemen were yelling, 'everyone get into your houses'." Lee said police were still outside and had told her they would likely be there all night. Canada's public safety minister Ralph Goodale said in a statement released late on Wednesday the public had been "properly protected" following a national security threat, and that he had briefed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He said Canada's National Terrorism Threat Level remained unchanged at "medium". A spokeswoman at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada's spy agency, declined to comment on the incident, referring all queries to the RCMP. The RCMP said in its statement the investigation was still underway and it would not provide further comment. Media relations officers did not immediately return phone calls and emails. (Reuters)

Canadian police kill suspect over 'terrorism threat', reports local media

Canada said on Thursday its military is set to deploy up to 60 medical staff to Iraq to run a field hospital for the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group. 
 
&quot;As part of our ongoing commitment, Canada will soon deploy up to 60 medical personnel who will be leading a medical facility alongside coalition partners in northern Iraq,&quot; defence minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement following a meeting in Washington with other coalition members. 
 
Foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion added: &quot;Canada is proud to be contributing to all military and civilian lines of effort of the coalition. This type of integrated approach is essential to help secure long-term stability in the region.&quot; 
 
The medical personnel will join Canadian special forces and trainers already deployed to Iraq as part of the fight against IS. 
 
Canada withdrew from the coalition&#39;s bombing campaign in March following the election of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but Ottawa still provides CP-140 Aurora surveillance and CC-150T Polaris refueling aircraft to the effort. 
 
(AFP)

The medical personnel will join Canadian special forces and trainers already deployed to Iraq as part of the fight against IS

Canada said on Thursday its military is set to deploy up to 60 medical staff to Iraq to run a field hospital for the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group. "As part of our ongoing commitment, Canada will soon deploy up to 60 medical personnel who will be leading a medical facility alongside coalition partners in northern Iraq," defence minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement following a meeting in Washington with other coalition members. Foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion added: "Canada is proud to be contributing to all military and civilian lines of effort of the coalition. This type of integrated approach is essential to help secure long-term stability in the region." The medical personnel will join Canadian special forces and trainers already deployed to Iraq as part of the fight against IS. Canada withdrew from the coalition's bombing campaign in March following the election of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but Ottawa still provides CP-140 Aurora surveillance and CC-150T Polaris refueling aircraft to the effort. (AFP)

Canada military to deploy up to 60 medical staff to Iraq

Reigning champion Andy Murray, fresh from capturing his second Wimbledon title earlier this month, has withdrawn from next week&#39;s Toronto Masters, Tennis Canada announced today. 
 
Murray, the world number two, said his body simply needs more rest after his grass-court championship run. 
 
&quot;My body needs some recovery time after reaching the latter stages of tournaments over the past few months,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m sorry to my fans in Toronto but I look forward to being back in Canada next year.&quot; 
 
The three-time Toronto winner, who also won Grand Slam titles in 2012 at the US Open and 2013 at Wimbledon, had not missed the event since his 2006 debut. 
 
&quot;Certainly we are disappointed,&quot; tournament director Karl Hale said. &quot;Andy is one of the very top players in the world and a fan favourite. He will be missed but we wish him continued success.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

The Scottish tennis star said his body needs rest after reaching the latter stages of tournaments over the past few months

Reigning champion Andy Murray, fresh from capturing his second Wimbledon title earlier this month, has withdrawn from next week's Toronto Masters, Tennis Canada announced today. Murray, the world number two, said his body simply needs more rest after his grass-court championship run. "My body needs some recovery time after reaching the latter stages of tournaments over the past few months," he said. "I'm sorry to my fans in Toronto but I look forward to being back in Canada next year." The three-time Toronto winner, who also won Grand Slam titles in 2012 at the US Open and 2013 at Wimbledon, had not missed the event since his 2006 debut. "Certainly we are disappointed," tournament director Karl Hale said. "Andy is one of the very top players in the world and a fan favourite. He will be missed but we wish him continued success." (AFP)

Andy Murray pulls out of Toronto masters

Canadians rained social media scorn on a performer on Wednesday for inserting the politically-charged phrase &quot;all lives matter&quot; into the lyrics of the Canadian national anthem and holding up the words on a sign during the rendition.&nbsp; 
 
Singer Remigio Pereira, a member of the Canadian quartet The Tenors, seemed to take his group by surprise with the change during the live performance at major league baseball&#39;s All-Star Game in San Diego on Tuesday night. 
 
&quot;Why would you make a political statement with our anthem?&quot; said Twitter user @I_AM_MurrMan. &quot;I hope you get kicked out of your band.&quot; 
 
&quot;All lives matter&quot; is a phrase used by critics of the Black Lives Matter anti-police brutality movement, who say the activists promote bias against other groups including white Americans and law enforcement. 
 
Pereira inserted the line &quot;we&#39;re all brothers and sisters; all lives matter to the great&quot; while holding up a small sign that read &quot;all lives matter&quot; on one side and &quot;united we stand&quot; on the other. 
 
&quot;Memo to MLB: if you&#39;re looking to attract black fans and players, All Lives Mattering the anthem -- even O Canada -- ain&#39;t the way to do it,&quot; tweeted @MorganPCampbell. 
 
The Tenors apologised late on Tuesday, calling Pereira a &quot;lone wolf&quot; who acted without consulting the group and said he would no longer perform with them &quot;until further notice&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
Pereira showed no contrition, saying on Twitter: &quot;I&#39;ve been so moved lately by the tragic loss of life and I hoped for a positive statement that would bring us ALL together. ONE LOVE.&quot; 
 
Tensions are high in the United States after protests over police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and a sniper attack on Dallas police by a black former U.S. soldier who said he wanted to &quot;kill white people&quot;. 
 
The attack injected a new note of fear into two years of largely peaceful protests across the United States over police killings of black people in cities including Ferguson, Missouri, Chicago and Los Angeles. 
 
Pereira did not immediately respond when Reuters reached out to him on Twitter. A publicist for The Tenors said on Wednesday no members are doing interviews and referred to the statement . 
 
(Reuters)

Singer Remigio Pereira, a member of the Canadian quartet The Tenors, sang the line before the start of Major League Baseball's All-Star game

Canadians rained social media scorn on a performer on Wednesday for inserting the politically-charged phrase "all lives matter" into the lyrics of the Canadian national anthem and holding up the words on a sign during the rendition. Singer Remigio Pereira, a member of the Canadian quartet The Tenors, seemed to take his group by surprise with the change during the live performance at major league baseball's All-Star Game in San Diego on Tuesday night. "Why would you make a political statement with our anthem?" said Twitter user @I_AM_MurrMan. "I hope you get kicked out of your band." "All lives matter" is a phrase used by critics of the Black Lives Matter anti-police brutality movement, who say the activists promote bias against other groups including white Americans and law enforcement. Pereira inserted the line "we're all brothers and sisters; all lives matter to the great" while holding up a small sign that read "all lives matter" on one side and "united we stand" on the other. "Memo to MLB: if you're looking to attract black fans and players, All Lives Mattering the anthem -- even O Canada -- ain't the way to do it," tweeted @MorganPCampbell. The Tenors apologised late on Tuesday, calling Pereira a "lone wolf" who acted without consulting the group and said he would no longer perform with them "until further notice". Pereira showed no contrition, saying on Twitter: "I've been so moved lately by the tragic loss of life and I hoped for a positive statement that would bring us ALL together. ONE LOVE." Tensions are high in the United States after protests over police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and a sniper attack on Dallas police by a black former U.S. soldier who said he wanted to "kill white people". The attack injected a new note of fear into two years of largely peaceful protests across the United States over police killings of black people in cities including Ferguson, Missouri, Chicago and Los Angeles. Pereira did not immediately respond when Reuters reached out to him on Twitter. A publicist for The Tenors said on Wednesday no members are doing interviews and referred to the statement . (Reuters)

Outrage after singer inserts 'all lives matter' into Canadian anthem

Toronto&#39;s Archbishop joined several other prominent clergymen who say they will bless same-sex marriages in defiance of a narrow vote by the Anglican Church of Canada not to authorise gay unions. 
 
More than 200 delegates attending the six-day General Synod 2016 narrowly rejected the resolution Monday night after hearing from more than 60 speakers, most of them in favour of gay marriage. 
 
Archbishop Colin Johnson yesterday said that he wanted his gay and lesbian colleagues &quot;to share the joy&quot;. 
 
Johnson said blessing same-sex marriages at the discretion of the bishop and with agreement of local clergy was a logical step in the evolution of the church that he said he would be considering in the coming weeks. 
 
&quot;I am advised that this option would not contravene the marriage canon,&quot; Johnson said. &quot;I am confident it would be supported by the majority, even if not all of our bishops, clergy, laity and the wider community.&quot; 
 
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005, and Monday&#39;s vote puts the Anglican Church, the third largest in Canada, out of step with most Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently took part in a gay pride parade in Toronto.&nbsp;In order for the resolution to have passed, it required two-thirds support from each of three orders--the lay, clergy and bishops. 
 
Meghan Kilty, the director of communications for the Anglican Church of Canada, said yesterday that 155 delegates voted in favour of the resolution and 68 against it, with three members abstaining from the vote. The result was one vote short of what was needed to pass the measure. 
 
Bishop John Chapman in Ottawa, Ontario, said in a statement that he planned to proceed immediately with such unions in his diocese, although no one would be forced to officiate at such a ceremony. 
 
&quot;It is time my friends,&quot; Chapman said. &quot;It is past time.&quot; 
 
&quot;Take heart,&quot; said Rev. Melissa Skelton, bishop of New Westminster, British Columbia. &quot;This is not over.&quot; 
 
The General Synod is held every three years, and the vote was the culmination of work that began when the last General Synod, the church&#39;s legislative body, asked a panel to come up with a draft motion. 
 
About 1.6 million Canadians identify themselves as Anglican, according to Statistics Canada. 
 
The US Episcopal Church, the Anglican body in the United States, is alone among Anglican bodies in approving gay marriage and has faced a backlash for its support of same-sex unions. 
 
(PTI)

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005, and the Anglican Church's opposition to it is out of step with most Canadians

Toronto's Archbishop joined several other prominent clergymen who say they will bless same-sex marriages in defiance of a narrow vote by the Anglican Church of Canada not to authorise gay unions. More than 200 delegates attending the six-day General Synod 2016 narrowly rejected the resolution Monday night after hearing from more than 60 speakers, most of them in favour of gay marriage. Archbishop Colin Johnson yesterday said that he wanted his gay and lesbian colleagues "to share the joy". Johnson said blessing same-sex marriages at the discretion of the bishop and with agreement of local clergy was a logical step in the evolution of the church that he said he would be considering in the coming weeks. "I am advised that this option would not contravene the marriage canon," Johnson said. "I am confident it would be supported by the majority, even if not all of our bishops, clergy, laity and the wider community." Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005, and Monday's vote puts the Anglican Church, the third largest in Canada, out of step with most Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently took part in a gay pride parade in Toronto. In order for the resolution to have passed, it required two-thirds support from each of three orders--the lay, clergy and bishops. Meghan Kilty, the director of communications for the Anglican Church of Canada, said yesterday that 155 delegates voted in favour of the resolution and 68 against it, with three members abstaining from the vote. The result was one vote short of what was needed to pass the measure. Bishop John Chapman in Ottawa, Ontario, said in a statement that he planned to proceed immediately with such unions in his diocese, although no one would be forced to officiate at such a ceremony. "It is time my friends," Chapman said. "It is past time." "Take heart," said Rev. Melissa Skelton, bishop of New Westminster, British Columbia. "This is not over." The General Synod is held every three years, and the vote was the culmination of work that began when the last General Synod, the church's legislative body, asked a panel to come up with a draft motion. About 1.6 million Canadians identify themselves as Anglican, according to Statistics Canada. The US Episcopal Church, the Anglican body in the United States, is alone among Anglican bodies in approving gay marriage and has faced a backlash for its support of same-sex unions. (PTI)

Toronto Archbishop blesses same-sex marriage, despite Church's vote

TransCanada has formally filed a $15-billion suit against the US government for blocking its controversial project for an oil pipeline linking Canada with the Gulf of Mexico, legal documents show. 
 
The company first announced its intention to sue in January, but then sought negotiations toward &quot;an amicable settlement of the dispute&quot; surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline, according to legal documents posted on its website. 
 
Unable to settle, the company formally filed suit late Friday, asserting that denial of a permit to complete the pipeline was &quot;unjustified&quot; under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and that the decision also exceeded US President Barack Obama&#39;s constitutional powers. 
 
The suit is based on Chapter 11 of NAFTA -- the 1994 trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico -- which aims to protect foreign investors from potential losses. 
 
The Calgary-based company is seeking $15 billion for losses it says it suffered because of the pipeline`s rejection. 
 
The decision to block the pipeline, which came seven years after the company first submitted the project, marred US-Canada relations and angered many in the oil industry in both countries. 
 
The pipeline would have carried crude oil from the Alberta tar sands deposits all the way to the US Gulf Coast. The US government`s blocking of the 1,179-mile (1,900 kilometer) Alberta-Nebraska section effectively undermined the entire project. 
 
Environmentalists have assailed the project -- and the move to sue -- arguing that the Alberta deposits produce some of the &quot;dirtiest&quot; crude in the world. 
 
In its latest filings, TransCanada argued that the US government`s decision was not based on technical analysis, but &quot;was symbolic, and based merely on the desire to make the US appear strong on climate change.&quot; 
 
A summit that brings together the leaders of NAFTA`s three countries will be held next week in Ottawa. 
 
(AFP)

The energy giant argues that denial of a permit to complete the pipeline is "unjustified" under the North American Free Trade Agreement

TransCanada has formally filed a $15-billion suit against the US government for blocking its controversial project for an oil pipeline linking Canada with the Gulf of Mexico, legal documents show. The company first announced its intention to sue in January, but then sought negotiations toward "an amicable settlement of the dispute" surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline, according to legal documents posted on its website. Unable to settle, the company formally filed suit late Friday, asserting that denial of a permit to complete the pipeline was "unjustified" under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and that the decision also exceeded US President Barack Obama's constitutional powers. The suit is based on Chapter 11 of NAFTA -- the 1994 trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico -- which aims to protect foreign investors from potential losses. The Calgary-based company is seeking $15 billion for losses it says it suffered because of the pipeline`s rejection. The decision to block the pipeline, which came seven years after the company first submitted the project, marred US-Canada relations and angered many in the oil industry in both countries. The pipeline would have carried crude oil from the Alberta tar sands deposits all the way to the US Gulf Coast. The US government`s blocking of the 1,179-mile (1,900 kilometer) Alberta-Nebraska section effectively undermined the entire project. Environmentalists have assailed the project -- and the move to sue -- arguing that the Alberta deposits produce some of the "dirtiest" crude in the world. In its latest filings, TransCanada argued that the US government`s decision was not based on technical analysis, but "was symbolic, and based merely on the desire to make the US appear strong on climate change." A summit that brings together the leaders of NAFTA`s three countries will be held next week in Ottawa. (AFP)

TransCanada files $15-bn suit over US Keystone pipeline rejection

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is so committed to &quot;work-life balance&quot; that he took a whole day off during a work trip to Japan last month to celebrate his wedding anniversary. It&#39;s an example he wants his cabinet to follow. 
 
If only it were so easy, his ministers say. 
 
Trudeau&#39;s forthright move while abroad for an important foreign visit followed a 2015 election campaign where he stressed the need for more flexible work hours and parent-leave options for Canadians. 
 
While such luxuries are admirable goals, some of his young Liberal ministers struggle to find a balance between their portfolios and their families. 
 
&quot;Who do you love more? Me or Justin Trudeau?&quot; Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said her six-year-old son asked her as she prepared to fly to Japan with the prime minister. 
 
&quot;That was quite heartbreaking,&quot; the 47-year-old mother of three told a recent panel discussion in Winnipeg, saying she felt inadequate both at home and at the office. 
 
&quot;I worry about my kids and also my husband. And I worry at work - I worry my officials will think, &#39;Oh God, we&#39;re the department that has the mom as a minister.&#39;&quot; 
 
Such angst was absent when Trudeau, 44, came to power last November, promising to boost the role of women in society. He&#39;s already become the first Canadian leader to name a gender-balanced cabinet. 
 
Still, there is a chasm between his words and a political system tilted toward labor in a country in which the average Canadian works 1,704 hours annually, more than in Germany and Australia, but less than in the United States, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 
 
&quot;We need to be serious about a family-friendly House of Commons,&quot; Freeland said in an interview. 
 
Freeland is not alone. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna tries to turn off her mobile phone for two hours a night to spend time with her husband and three children. 
 
Indian Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett tries to make time for family on Sunday evenings and long weekends. The pace of work is such that some exhausted aides need to be sent home. 
 
Trudeau has been clear about the need to &quot;recharge our batteries,&quot; Bennett said. &quot;When you&#39;re over-tired, you get grumpy and then you&#39;re not able to do a good job.&quot; 
 
The problem is not limited to the women in cabinet either. 
 
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who says he must fight for time with his two young daughters, on Wednesday told a business audience that he has not gotten work-life balance right. 
 
Trudeau, pressed by Reuters about his ministers&#39; experiences, said quality of work was directly related to peoples&#39; home lives and how much they were sleeping. 
 
&quot;We recognize that being a minister, being a prime minister, is a very demanding job and getting that balance right continues to be a challenge,&quot; he told reporters on June 10. 
 
The Canadian prime minister is not the only world leader to see value in balance. 
 
U.S. President Barack Obama sometimes takes time for tourism during trips abroad, such as a recent round of golf with British Prime Minister David Cameron at a course outside London. 
 
Trudeau&#39;s efforts suffered a setback on Wednesday when a committee probing ways of making Parliament more family-friendly decided against recommending the institution shut down on Fridays to allow legislators to return home earlier. 
 
The measure met resistance from opposition legislators who said they needed to hold the government to account five days a week. 
 
Trudeau is sensitive to ministers&#39; personal lives and tries to schedule meetings so they can make family or constituency commitments, said House leader Dominic LeBlanc. 
 
&quot;On an evening or a weekend, if you get a phone call from the Prime Minister, he begins by, &#39;Sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but...&#39;&quot; he said. 
 
Skeptics wonder how much Trudeau can achieve. 
 
Chris Higgins, a professor at the University of Western Ontario&#39;s Ivey Business School and co-author of three national studies on working life, is not convinced by the prime minister&#39;s reason for downtime in Japan. 
 
&quot;What he&#39;s doing has nothing to do with work-life balance. He&#39;s just taking a day off,&quot; he said in an interview. &quot;People talk about (balance) a lot, but a lot of people don&#39;t really want it. They really want to focus on their careers.&quot; 
 
Adding to the challenge is the enormity of Canada, the world&#39;s second-largest country by area. It can take Liberal legislator Larry Bagnell 14 hours to fly home to the Yukon territory in the far northwest. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s brutal. Two days of your life are gone, flying, per week,&quot; said Bagnell, the father of children ages 4 and 7. &quot;It&#39;s very hard to do justice to time with your children.&quot;

Trudeau took a full day off during a work trip to celebrate his wedding anniversary

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is so committed to "work-life balance" that he took a whole day off during a work trip to Japan last month to celebrate his wedding anniversary. It's an example he wants his cabinet to follow. If only it were so easy, his ministers say. Trudeau's forthright move while abroad for an important foreign visit followed a 2015 election campaign where he stressed the need for more flexible work hours and parent-leave options for Canadians. While such luxuries are admirable goals, some of his young Liberal ministers struggle to find a balance between their portfolios and their families. "Who do you love more? Me or Justin Trudeau?" Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said her six-year-old son asked her as she prepared to fly to Japan with the prime minister. "That was quite heartbreaking," the 47-year-old mother of three told a recent panel discussion in Winnipeg, saying she felt inadequate both at home and at the office. "I worry about my kids and also my husband. And I worry at work - I worry my officials will think, 'Oh God, we're the department that has the mom as a minister.'" Such angst was absent when Trudeau, 44, came to power last November, promising to boost the role of women in society. He's already become the first Canadian leader to name a gender-balanced cabinet. Still, there is a chasm between his words and a political system tilted toward labor in a country in which the average Canadian works 1,704 hours annually, more than in Germany and Australia, but less than in the United States, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. "We need to be serious about a family-friendly House of Commons," Freeland said in an interview. Freeland is not alone. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna tries to turn off her mobile phone for two hours a night to spend time with her husband and three children. Indian Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett tries to make time for family on Sunday evenings and long weekends. The pace of work is such that some exhausted aides need to be sent home. Trudeau has been clear about the need to "recharge our batteries," Bennett said. "When you're over-tired, you get grumpy and then you're not able to do a good job." The problem is not limited to the women in cabinet either. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who says he must fight for time with his two young daughters, on Wednesday told a business audience that he has not gotten work-life balance right. Trudeau, pressed by Reuters about his ministers' experiences, said quality of work was directly related to peoples' home lives and how much they were sleeping. "We recognize that being a minister, being a prime minister, is a very demanding job and getting that balance right continues to be a challenge," he told reporters on June 10. The Canadian prime minister is not the only world leader to see value in balance. U.S. President Barack Obama sometimes takes time for tourism during trips abroad, such as a recent round of golf with British Prime Minister David Cameron at a course outside London. Trudeau's efforts suffered a setback on Wednesday when a committee probing ways of making Parliament more family-friendly decided against recommending the institution shut down on Fridays to allow legislators to return home earlier. The measure met resistance from opposition legislators who said they needed to hold the government to account five days a week. Trudeau is sensitive to ministers' personal lives and tries to schedule meetings so they can make family or constituency commitments, said House leader Dominic LeBlanc. "On an evening or a weekend, if you get a phone call from the Prime Minister, he begins by, 'Sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but...'" he said. Skeptics wonder how much Trudeau can achieve. Chris Higgins, a professor at the University of Western Ontario's Ivey Business School and co-author of three national studies on working life, is not convinced by the prime minister's reason for downtime in Japan. "What he's doing has nothing to do with work-life balance. He's just taking a day off," he said in an interview. "People talk about (balance) a lot, but a lot of people don't really want it. They really want to focus on their careers." Adding to the challenge is the enormity of Canada, the world's second-largest country by area. It can take Liberal legislator Larry Bagnell 14 hours to fly home to the Yukon territory in the far northwest. "It's brutal. Two days of your life are gone, flying, per week," said Bagnell, the father of children ages 4 and 7. "It's very hard to do justice to time with your children."

Canada PM pushes work-life balance, cabinet too busy to listen

Thousands of evacuees who fled a massive wildfire in the Canadian oil hub of Fort McMurray are set to return home today, though concerns ranging from contaminated drinking water to insurance claims linger as the city seeks to rebuild.

More than 80,000 residents were ordered to leave when the wildfire surged into the area four weeks ago, and officials expect the remote northern Alberta city to absorb roughly 14,000 to 15,000 residents as a re-entry plan spanning two weeks gets underway today.

The blaze was a devastating blow to a community already reeling from a two-year slump in global crude prices. It shuttered more than a million barrels per day of crude production, though some facilities had started to resume operations.

&quot;We are not going to stay, we&#39;ll go back and maybe remove some items,&quot; said Brenda Waterman, her face anxious over the unknown extent of fire damage to her home and chemical containments. &quot;I&#39;ve never experienced anything like this before, it&#39;s like a dream.&quot;

John Smith, 77, and his wife, Joyce, were bracing for heavy traffic on the main highway leading into the city, as well as what may lie ahead.

&quot;We didn&#39;t even have time to empty the garbage,&quot; he said. &quot;I&#39;m going in first with a flashlight and wearing a mask, and one of us will open the doors and windows and flush the house out.&quot;

Authorities have assembled extra police and emergency officials, and are urging travelers to remain patient and orderly as they grapple with traffic-snarled roads and hobbled infrastructure.

Grocery stores and pharmacies among other local businesses were poised to re-open with reduced stocks, and power and gas has been restored to a majority of structures in the areas awaiting returnees.

About 10 percent of the city&#39;s homes were destroyed by the blaze, which has blackened more than 580,000 hectares (2,239 square miles).

Even so, some 2,000 residents who had expected to return this week were ordered to hold off because of the risks posed by debris and contaminants including &quot;caustic&quot; ash.&nbsp;

Authorities have also issued a boil-water advisory and advised returnees to carry with them at least two weeks&#39; worth of food, water and prescription medication. Deteriorating air quality could force officials to suddenly change re-entry change plans.

Other challenges include limited medical services and labyrinthine insurance claims, as well as wildlife that has been scavenging the desolate neighborhoods for food.&nbsp;

&quot;It won&#39;t really hit you until you walk into it,&quot; said Adam Tucker, a 50-year-old oil sands worker, as he prepared to drive home.

Evacuees who fled the massive wildfire in the Canadian oil hub of Fort McMurray begin to return home, but worry about water contamination and insurance claims

Thousands of evacuees who fled a massive wildfire in the Canadian oil hub of Fort McMurray are set to return home today, though concerns ranging from contaminated drinking water to insurance claims linger as the city seeks to rebuild. More than 80,000 residents were ordered to leave when the wildfire surged into the area four weeks ago, and officials expect the remote northern Alberta city to absorb roughly 14,000 to 15,000 residents as a re-entry plan spanning two weeks gets underway today. The blaze was a devastating blow to a community already reeling from a two-year slump in global crude prices. It shuttered more than a million barrels per day of crude production, though some facilities had started to resume operations. "We are not going to stay, we'll go back and maybe remove some items," said Brenda Waterman, her face anxious over the unknown extent of fire damage to her home and chemical containments. "I've never experienced anything like this before, it's like a dream." John Smith, 77, and his wife, Joyce, were bracing for heavy traffic on the main highway leading into the city, as well as what may lie ahead. "We didn't even have time to empty the garbage," he said. "I'm going in first with a flashlight and wearing a mask, and one of us will open the doors and windows and flush the house out." Authorities have assembled extra police and emergency officials, and are urging travelers to remain patient and orderly as they grapple with traffic-snarled roads and hobbled infrastructure. Grocery stores and pharmacies among other local businesses were poised to re-open with reduced stocks, and power and gas has been restored to a majority of structures in the areas awaiting returnees. About 10 percent of the city's homes were destroyed by the blaze, which has blackened more than 580,000 hectares (2,239 square miles). Even so, some 2,000 residents who had expected to return this week were ordered to hold off because of the risks posed by debris and contaminants including "caustic" ash. Authorities have also issued a boil-water advisory and advised returnees to carry with them at least two weeks' worth of food, water and prescription medication. Deteriorating air quality could force officials to suddenly change re-entry change plans. Other challenges include limited medical services and labyrinthine insurance claims, as well as wildlife that has been scavenging the desolate neighborhoods for food. "It won't really hit you until you walk into it," said Adam Tucker, a 50-year-old oil sands worker, as he prepared to drive home.

Trepidation lingers as Canada wildfire evacuees begin to return home

canada

Canada, News on Canada, stories on Canada, articles on Canada, Canada stories at Wion, Canada news, Canada latest news