In The News is a roundup of articles from The Canadian Press designed to start your day. Here’s what’s on our editors’ radar for the morning of May 9… What we’re watching in Canada…
In The News is a roundup of articles from The Canadian Press designed to start your day. Here’s what’s on our editors’ radar for the morning of May 9…
What we’re watching in Canada…
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reopened the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv during an unannounced visit to Ukraine, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in person for the first time since Russia began its invasion in late February.
Appearing with Zelenskyy at a press conference, Trudeau voiced his unwavering support for the beleaguered country and announced $50 million in new Canadian military support for Ukraine, including drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms and ammunition, as well as funding for demining operations.
Canada began to reduce its diplomatic presence in Ukraine in late January as intelligence services warned of an impending Russian invasion.
Representatives of most Western countries fled Ukraine when the war broke out, but more than two dozen have already returned, even as the conflict drags on.
Trudeau also said that Canada is providing $25 million to the World Food Program for food security in Ukraine and will remove trade tariffs on all Ukrainian imports into Canada for next year, and will also provide money to support and protect women’s organizations and human rights defenders. and civil society.
In addition, he said Ottawa was imposing sanctions on 40 other Russian individuals and entities – oligarchs and those close to the regime and the defense industry, all complicit in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
Trudeau said he has witnessed the resilience of Ukrainians as people rebuild their broken world, calling it “truly inspiring to see people stepping up to defend their lives, to defend their community, to defend a bright future for themselves, to the families of the country they love.”
“It is clear that Vladimir Putin is responsible for heinous war crimes. There must be accountability. Canada will stand with Ukraine as you demand justice for your people whom Russia is killing and brutalizing.”
—
Also this…
Governor General Mary Simon begins her tour of the Nunavik region in northern Quebec today, meeting with local elected officials, including the mayor and council of Kuujjuaq, the Kativik regional government, the school board and the health and social services administration.
Simon and her husband Whit Fraser will also stop at the qarmak site of the Isuarsivik Recovery Centre, a traditional Inuit dwelling, where they will learn about the facility’s emphasis on reclaiming Inuit identity and culture through the connection with the land.
The center was founded in 1994 and offers addictions and trauma treatment programs that incorporate traditional Inuit values.
His services are offered free of charge to people in 14 Nunavik communities who are beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, known as the first modern treaty in Canada, which Simon worked to negotiate and implement.
There will be throat singing and other cultural presentations throughout the day, culminating in a public discussion with students from a local school and a visit to the Elders’ home.
Simon’s visit to northern Quebec is the first time she has returned to the region where she was born since her appointment as vice-regal in July 2021.
—
What we’re watching in the US…
BOSTON — Celebrity chef Mario Batali’s pandemic-delayed trial on sexual misconduct allegations opens Monday in Boston.
Batali pleaded not guilty to indecent assault and battery in 2019, following accusations he forcibly kissed and groped a woman after taking a selfie with her at a restaurant from Boston in 2017. The woman says Batali noticed her photographing him and invited her over. to take one together, then repeatedly touched and kissed her without her consent.
If found guilty, Batali could face up to two and a half years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender. He is expected to be in court throughout the proceedings, which are expected to last about two days after jury selection is completed, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said.
Batali’s attorneys did not comment until jury selection began Monday in Boston City Court. The chief’s lawyers have previously said the charge is baseless.
His accuser also filed a civil lawsuit against Batali seeking unspecified damages for “severe emotional distress” that is still pending in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston. His attorney did not respond to emails on Friday.
Batali is one of a number of high-profile men who have faced public judgment during the MeToo social movement against sexual abuse and harassment in recent years.
The 61-year-old was once a Food Network staple on shows like “Molto Mario” and “Iron Chef America.”
Four women accused him of inappropriate touching in 2017, after which he quit day-to-day operations of his restaurant empire and quit ABC cooking show “The Chew.”
—
What we’re looking at in the rest of the world…
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has framed Moscow’s military action in Ukraine as a forced response to Western policies.
Speaking at a military parade on Monday marking the World War II victory over the Nazis, Putin drew a parallel between the Red Army’s fighting against Nazi troops and the action of Russian forces in Ukraine. He said the campaign in Ukraine was a timely and necessary measure to ward off possible aggression.
He added that Russian troops were fighting for the country’s security in Ukraine and observed a minute’s silence in honor of fallen troops
Determined to show success in a war now in its 11th week, Russian troops were battling a seaside steel mill where around 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were making what seemed like their last stand to keep Mariupol from falling.
The Ukrainian General Staff warned of a high probability of missile strikes and said that in Russian-controlled areas of Zaporizhzhia, Russian troops were seizing “personal documents of the local population for no good reason”. force locals to join in VE Day commemorations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned the anniversary could bring another onslaught.
—
On this day in 1994…
South Africa’s new parliament has chosen Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first black president.
—
In entertainment…
Jayli Wolf says she was looking for “catharsis” when she wrote songs about her father’s experience in the ’60s Scoop and her own discovery of her Indigenous roots.
The Toronto singer-songwriter is heading to the Juno Awards this weekend with a nomination in the Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year category.
This comes after the release of the 2021 EP “Wild Whisper”, which delves into the depths of his family’s trauma, against electronic beats.
On the hit song “Child of the Government,” she says she learned her father was among thousands of Indigenous children who were taken from their families and placed in foster care.
Wolf says putting those words to paper was part of a healing process that blossomed into an album after a family member urged her to release the music for the public.
Wolf’s musical career began nearly a decade ago when she formed the folk and electronic duo Once a Tree with her boyfriend.
—
Have you seen this?
A leading energy price expert says gasoline prices could rise another five cents in Canada if Russia decides to step up its assault on Ukraine.
Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, said May 9 marks VE Day in Russia and could prove pivotal in the trajectory of the war in Ukraine.
McTeague says gas prices could also rise by five cents a liter next week if the situation worsens in Ukraine and Canadians prepare for the May long weekend, which is generally seen as the start. unofficial summer.
The average gasoline price in Canada is approaching $1.97 per litre, with British Columbians suffering the most at the pumps, paying an average of $2.06 per litre.
Vancouver is seeing $2.22 per litre, residents of Victoria are paying $2.17 per litre, Montreal drivers are dealing with $2.07 per litre, and prices in St. John’s are at $2.03 per liter.
But McTeague says that even if the war in Ukraine ends in the near future, high gas prices are likely to remain in place for some time as sanctions are likely to remain on Russia’s energy sector.
The supply and demand problem that plagued the oil industry long before the war broke out isn’t going away either, he adds.
McTeague also said the summer season will play a role in rising gas prices as more people hit the road, explore and travel.
—
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 9, 2022.
The Canadian Press
