Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed those fleeing war and persecution on Saturday even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

In pointed tweets a day after US&nbsp;President Donald Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from the seven countries, Trudeau said refugees were welcome in Canada.

&quot;To those fleeing persecution, terror &amp; war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada,&quot; Trudeau said on Twitter.

A second tweet, also timed to coincide with outrage over Trump&#39;s immigration policy, included a 2015 photo of Trudeau welcoming a Syrian refugee at a Canadian airport.

Confusion abounded at airports around the world on Saturday as officials tried to interpret the new US&nbsp;rules.

Trudeau&#39;s office said US&nbsp;authorities had confirmed Canadian passport holders, including dual citizens from the seven countries, would not be affected.

Trudeau has walked a fine line with the Trump administration, avoiding direct criticism while promoting the progressive policies of his one-year-old Liberal government.

The prime minister would discuss Canada&#39;s immigration and refugee policies with Trump, Trudeau&#39;s press secretary, Cameron Ahmad, said. He did not say when that would be.

WestJet Airlines said it turned back a passenger bound for the United States on Saturday to comply with Trump&#39;s executive order but did not say which country the passenger had come from. Spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said the airline would give full refunds to anyone affected.

In the western province of Saskatchewan, Iranian doctoral student Mohammadreza Tayfeh found himself comforting the Delta Air Lines employee he called about a refund.

&quot;I said, &#39;It&#39;s all right. It&#39;s going to be fine. Don&#39;t worry about it.&#39; She was so upset,&quot; he said in an interview from Saskatoon.

Tayfeh, an engineering student living in Canada for seven years, had been invited to San Diego to meet with investors for his telecom business. While he had a visitor&#39;s visa, he missed the cutoff to travel by hours.

He decided not to risk flying from Saskatchewan in case he was detained on arrival in the United States. He said an Iranian friend who has been living in the US&nbsp;and working at NASA for years was detained at the Doha airport in Qatar late Friday.

&quot;You don&#39;t want to put yourself in that situation, to go there and they ask you questions and just deport you,&quot; he said.

In Vancouver, an employee at the American Airlines counter said one person travelling on an Iranian passport had been turned away Saturday morning.

Air Canada said it was complying with the order but did not comment on whether it had denied anyone travel.

A Porter Airlines spokesman said the Toronto-based carrier will be restricting passengers from travelling to the United States from the listed countries until further notice.

(Reuters)

'Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada,' Trudeau said on Twitter

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed those fleeing war and persecution on Saturday even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. In pointed tweets a day after US President Donald Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from the seven countries, Trudeau said refugees were welcome in Canada. "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," Trudeau said on Twitter. A second tweet, also timed to coincide with outrage over Trump's immigration policy, included a 2015 photo of Trudeau welcoming a Syrian refugee at a Canadian airport. Confusion abounded at airports around the world on Saturday as officials tried to interpret the new US rules. Trudeau's office said US authorities had confirmed Canadian passport holders, including dual citizens from the seven countries, would not be affected. Trudeau has walked a fine line with the Trump administration, avoiding direct criticism while promoting the progressive policies of his one-year-old Liberal government. The prime minister would discuss Canada's immigration and refugee policies with Trump, Trudeau's press secretary, Cameron Ahmad, said. He did not say when that would be. WestJet Airlines said it turned back a passenger bound for the United States on Saturday to comply with Trump's executive order but did not say which country the passenger had come from. Spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said the airline would give full refunds to anyone affected. In the western province of Saskatchewan, Iranian doctoral student Mohammadreza Tayfeh found himself comforting the Delta Air Lines employee he called about a refund. "I said, 'It's all right. It's going to be fine. Don't worry about it.' She was so upset," he said in an interview from Saskatoon. Tayfeh, an engineering student living in Canada for seven years, had been invited to San Diego to meet with investors for his telecom business. While he had a visitor's visa, he missed the cutoff to travel by hours. He decided not to risk flying from Saskatchewan in case he was detained on arrival in the United States. He said an Iranian friend who has been living in the US and working at NASA for years was detained at the Doha airport in Qatar late Friday. "You don't want to put yourself in that situation, to go there and they ask you questions and just deport you," he said. In Vancouver, an employee at the American Airlines counter said one person travelling on an Iranian passport had been turned away Saturday morning. Air Canada said it was complying with the order but did not comment on whether it had denied anyone travel. A Porter Airlines spokesman said the Toronto-based carrier will be restricting passengers from travelling to the United States from the listed countries until further notice. (Reuters)

Canada's Trudeau welcomes 'those fleeing persecution, terror & war'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the decision by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump to move ahead on the Keystone XL pipeline project at a news conference Tuesday.

At the news conference in Calgary, Trudeau said he has spoken twice to Trump since he has become President. He said he welcomed the news that the US&nbsp;would move ahead on the pipeline. &quot;I&#39;ve been on the record for many years supporting it because it leads to economic growth and good jobs for Albertans,&quot; Trudeau said.

Trump campaigned on promises to increase domestic energy production and before taking office indicated he supported and re-starting the Keystone XL project, which was rejected in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama.

When asked about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Trudeau said, &quot;The relationship between Canada and the United States is particular and unique in regards to any two countries in the world,&quot; he said.

He noted, &quot;the discussions are very positive. But we know that there is&nbsp;much to discuss.&nbsp;We will continue to be engaged in a constructive thoughtful way with the new administration as I follow through on my primary job which is to ensure prosperity and security for Canadians.&quot;

On Sunday, Trump said he planned talks to begin renegotiating NAFTA, under which Canada and Mexico send most of their exports to the United States.

Officials familiar with diplomatic contacts between Mexico and Canada say there has been no talk of creating a joint front against the United States over NAFTA on the grounds that such a move would raise tensions and be counterproductive.

When Trudeau was asked if he thinks Trump is a misogynist, Trudeau responded by saying, &quot;I am pleased to have a constructive working relationship with the new administration.&quot; He added, &quot;It is the job of the Canadian prime minister to have a constructive working relationship with the President of the United States and that`s exactly what I intend to do.&quot;

Trudeau said no date has been set for him to meet with his American counterpart.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

'I've been on the record for many years supporting it because it leads to economic growth and good jobs for Albertans'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the decision by US President Donald Trump to move ahead on the Keystone XL pipeline project at a news conference Tuesday. At the news conference in Calgary, Trudeau said he has spoken twice to Trump since he has become President. He said he welcomed the news that the US would move ahead on the pipeline. "I've been on the record for many years supporting it because it leads to economic growth and good jobs for Albertans," Trudeau said. Trump campaigned on promises to increase domestic energy production and before taking office indicated he supported and re-starting the Keystone XL project, which was rejected in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama. When asked about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Trudeau said, "The relationship between Canada and the United States is particular and unique in regards to any two countries in the world," he said. He noted, "the discussions are very positive. But we know that there is much to discuss. We will continue to be engaged in a constructive thoughtful way with the new administration as I follow through on my primary job which is to ensure prosperity and security for Canadians." On Sunday, Trump said he planned talks to begin renegotiating NAFTA, under which Canada and Mexico send most of their exports to the United States. Officials familiar with diplomatic contacts between Mexico and Canada say there has been no talk of creating a joint front against the United States over NAFTA on the grounds that such a move would raise tensions and be counterproductive. When Trudeau was asked if he thinks Trump is a misogynist, Trudeau responded by saying, "I am pleased to have a constructive working relationship with the new administration." He added, "It is the job of the Canadian prime minister to have a constructive working relationship with the President of the United States and that`s exactly what I intend to do." Trudeau said no date has been set for him to meet with his American counterpart. (Reuters)

Canadian PM Trudeau welcomes Trump's decision to revive controversial Keystone XL pipeline

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the decision by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump to move ahead on the Keystone XL pipeline project at a news conference Tuesday.

At the news conference in Calgary, Trudeau said he has spoken twice to Trump since he has become President. He said he welcomed the news that the US&nbsp;would move ahead on the pipeline. &quot;I&#39;ve been on the record for many years supporting it because it leads to economic growth and good jobs for Albertans,&quot; Trudeau said.

Trump campaigned on promises to increase domestic energy production and before taking office indicated he supported and re-starting the Keystone XL project, which was rejected in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama.

When asked about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Trudeau said, &quot;The relationship between Canada and the United States is particular and unique in regards to any two countries in the world,&quot; he said. He noted, &quot;the discussions are very positive. But we know that there is&nbsp;much to discuss.&nbsp;We will continue to be engaged in a constructive thoughtful way with the new administration as I follow through on my primary job which is to ensure prosperity and security for Canadians.&quot;

On Sunday, Trump said he planned talks to begin renegotiating NAFTA, under which Canada and Mexico send most of their exports to the United States. 
Officials familiar with diplomatic contacts between Mexico and Canada say there has been no talk of creating a joint front against the United States over NAFTA on the grounds that such a move would raise tensions and be counterproductive.

When Trudeau was asked if he thinks Trump is a misogynist, Trudeau responded by saying, &quot;I am pleased to have a constructive working relationship with the new administration.&quot; He added, &quot;It is the job of the Canadian prime minister to have a constructive working relationship with the President of the United States and that`s exactly what I intend to do.&quot;

Trudeau said no date has been set for him to meet with his American counterpart.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

Trudeau will meet with Raul Castro, Fidel's younger brother and successor as president to strengthen ties and boost trade

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

16-year-old Rababa Mohammadi from Afghanistan&rsquo;s capital, Kabul, was born with partial paralysis in her limbs. The disability, however, does not bring her down anymore. 
 
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0VqvYvvNTTU?list=PLmWa9ZZLlCjt0Jlg7kN3JBNX4LH1sRsGh" width="970"></iframe> &nbsp; 
 
She saw the adverse conditions as an opportunity for herself and learnt to draw and paint using her mouth.&nbsp;The highly talented Afghan girl has decided to not let her disability stop her dreams of becoming a well-known artist. 
 
The amateur teenage painter recently became a rage on social media when she drew a sketch of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

The teenage painter became a rage on social media when she drew a sketch of Canadian PM

16-year-old Rababa Mohammadi from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, was born with partial paralysis in her limbs. The disability, however, does not bring her down anymore. She saw the adverse conditions as an opportunity for herself and learnt to draw and paint using her mouth. The highly talented Afghan girl has decided to not let her disability stop her dreams of becoming a well-known artist. The amateur teenage painter recently became a rage on social media when she drew a sketch of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Video: Disabled Afghan girl paints using her mouth

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. 
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<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>
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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" />

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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.
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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 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marched with thousands of people in Montreal&#39;s annual gay pride parade yesterday, his third such appearance of the summer. 
 
Large crowds along the parade route greeted the youthful politician whose popularity is soaring, as he walked through the city`s downtown alongside colourful floats, dancers and musicians. 
 
Trudeau made history in July when he became Canada&#39;s first sitting prime minister to participate in Toronto&#39;s gay pride parade, and also attended Vancouver&#39;s pride event. &nbsp;Canada is &quot;an open, positive society,&quot; the prime minister said, speaking in French. &quot;It&#39;s an example that we should provide to the whole world.&quot; 
 
Among G7 countries he is the only head of government or head of state to have participated in a gay pride parade.&nbsp;Government representatives from all of Canada&#39;s political parties joined Trudeau in Montreal. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s important that all parties are here to recognise that the rights of the LGBT community are Canadian and human rights,&quot; Trudeau said before the event, sporting a seafoam green button-up and white pants.&nbsp; 
 
Two girls led the procession holding a banner bearing the names of the 49 victims killed in the June 12 nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida.&nbsp;&quot;The Orlando massacre was a dark moment, and it`s important to denounce these acts daily,&quot; said Quebec justice minister Stephanie Vallee, who is heading an action plan against homophobia. 
 
&quot;We must fight against homophobia, transphobia and aversion to diversity throughout the entire country,&quot; Vallee said.&nbsp;Trudeau noted that the government would focus on recognising transgender rights this year. 
 
His government unveiled legislation in May that would add &quot;gender identity&quot; as a banned grounds for discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act, alongside race, religion, age, sex and sexual orientation. 
 
(AFP)

Trudeau made history in July when he became Canada's first sitting prime minister to participate in Toronto's gay pride parade

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marched with thousands of people in Montreal's annual gay pride parade yesterday, his third such appearance of the summer. Large crowds along the parade route greeted the youthful politician whose popularity is soaring, as he walked through the city`s downtown alongside colourful floats, dancers and musicians. Trudeau made history in July when he became Canada's first sitting prime minister to participate in Toronto's gay pride parade, and also attended Vancouver's pride event. Canada is "an open, positive society," the prime minister said, speaking in French. "It's an example that we should provide to the whole world." Among G7 countries he is the only head of government or head of state to have participated in a gay pride parade. Government representatives from all of Canada's political parties joined Trudeau in Montreal. "It's important that all parties are here to recognise that the rights of the LGBT community are Canadian and human rights," Trudeau said before the event, sporting a seafoam green button-up and white pants. Two girls led the procession holding a banner bearing the names of the 49 victims killed in the June 12 nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida. "The Orlando massacre was a dark moment, and it`s important to denounce these acts daily," said Quebec justice minister Stephanie Vallee, who is heading an action plan against homophobia. "We must fight against homophobia, transphobia and aversion to diversity throughout the entire country," Vallee said. Trudeau noted that the government would focus on recognising transgender rights this year. His government unveiled legislation in May that would add "gender identity" as a banned grounds for discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act, alongside race, religion, age, sex and sexual orientation. (AFP)

Canadian PM Trudeau marches in Montreal gay pride parade

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

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