Section: National Newswatch (Canada)
Rise and fall of Alberta Wildrose party inextricably linked to Danielle Smith
EDMONTON – Danielle Smith appeared to be heading back to her political roots with Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives on Wednesday after spending the last five years fighting to oust them from power.Few would argue that the Wildrose party’s rise and fall has been inextricably linked to Smith, 43, a self-styled disciple of...
Harper says balanced budget still on target
QUEBEC – Falling oil prices will reduce Ottawa’s fiscal flexibility but will not prevent the government from posting a balanced budget next year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.”You should be under no doubt that the government will balance its budget next year,” he said in Quebec City after a local...
Robin Williams tops Google Canada’s searches of 2014 list
TORONTO – The death of a beloved actor, quadrennial sporting events, a new smartphone, and a deadly outbreak topped Google Canada’s annual list of the most popular trending search queries.After excluding routine searches that are entered by users every day of every year — most commonly for Facebook, Google itself, and YouTube — Robin...
Russian jet, civilian airliner nearly collide, Sweden says
A Russian military jet nearly collided with a commercial passenger airplane in international airspace near southern Sweden on Friday, the Swedish authorities said, but Russia insisted on Sunday that its jet had kept at a safe distance. Relations between Russia and the West have soured over Moscow’s role in the conflict in Ukraine and its...
Canada’s defence minister visits troops in Kuwait
Minister of Defence Rob Nicholson has visited Canadian troops in Kuwait fighting Islamic State fighters, to see first-hand how the mission is progressing. CTV News Channel’s Mercedes Stephenson reports that the minister made the trip earlier this week after a visit to Ukraine and Poland. The visit was kept secret for security reasons....
Christmas likely can’t come early enough for embattled Fantino, government
OTTAWA – Longtime denizens of Parliament Hill know Veterans Affairs as a troublesome, thankless ministerial assignment, but it rarely generates the kind of sustained political heat the Harper government is hoping will dissipate with the coming Christmas break.Only once the House of Commons rises this week will the Conservatives get a...
A look at the fall session of Parliament
OTTAWA – A number of major themes echoed through the turbulent fall session of Parliament that comes to an end this week. Here is a quick look at some of them:Politics: With the next scheduled federal election less than a year away, the Conservatives were working to hold their majority, while the New Democrats pondered byelection omens and...
Canadians to train Ukrainian military police
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson says Canadian soldiers are arriving in Ukraine to help train military police. Nicholson says that training is part of an agreement he has signed with Ukraine pledging Canadian help in training the Ukrainian military. He says Canada will help in military policing, medical procedures and personal protection education....
Authoritarian regimes rally around Ferguson
WASHINGTON – The police-brutality marches in dozens of U.S. cities are echoing far beyond the Brooklyn Bridge, the square outside the White House and the streets of Ferguson.They’re also resonating at the Kremlin.Some of the world’s more authoritarian governments aren’t bothering to conceal their glee over the unrest...
Company fined in deadly scaffolding collapse
TORONTO – The company that supplied a swing stage involved in a deadly scaffolding collapse in Toronto on Christmas Eve 2009 has been fined $350,000 for failing to ensure the platform was in good condition.Ottawa-based Swing N Staff Inc. pleaded guilty to the charge in a Toronto court, and also faces a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge.One...
