Four years after full-scale Ukraine invasion, Canada faces tough choices on defence

OTTAWA - As the world marks four years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday, analysts say Moscow has contributed to global instability that will force Canadians to spend more — and more quickly — to defend their territory.

"People need to understand why defence is extremely important right now, and why we're going to have to make sacrifices financially to make sure that we stay protected and safe in the long run," said Anton Sestritsyn, a lobbyist who has helped to organize civil society support for Ukraine.

"It's time for world leaders to start talking to their people and explaining to them what kind of situation we really find ourselves in."

Sestritsyn was speaking at a panel last month staged by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank funded by German governments to promote transatlantic relations.

Albertans react to looming referendum during weekend rally, call-in radio show

EDMONTON - Some callers to Danielle Smith's provincewide radio show expressed support for a referendum the Alberta premier announced this week, while others at a rally outside the legislature said they're disheartened with the direction Smith is taking.

One caller congratulated Smith on her morning radio show for her speech on Thursday announcing the Oct. 19 referendum, which is to include questions about whether social services should be restricted for newcomers.

"It reflected what many Albertans wanted to hear," the caller told Smith.

"You're on the right track and I'm so thankful you're the premier at such a time as this," another caller told her.

Indigenous leaders outline priorities for spring sitting of Parliament

OTTAWA - Indigenous leaders were braced for change after the last federal election, when Prime Minister Mark Carney's win ushered in a new look for the Liberal government after 10 years under Justin Trudeau.

That change has compelled those leaders to build relationships with new cabinet ministers and a revolving cast of public servants working on Indigenous files.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders have a long list of priorities they want the federal government to work on, including the introduction of a series of bills on self-government and clean drinking water.

Here's what they'll be watching for.

Alberta premier asks voters to bypass Indigenous rights

There is a standard playbook that politicians use when they have mismanaged an economy, want to divert attention from a scandal, or violate citizen rights and the law: Blame the brown people.

Olympic fans basking in warm embrace of Italy; our neighbours to the south endure frostier reception

MILAN — It was a scene that could have quickly turned ugly.

A handful of young men, clad in red, white and blue jerseys and likely a tad over-served, were revelling in their men’s hockey team’s 5–1 group-play win over Latvia. Aboard a crowded shuttle bus departing the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, they wanted everyone to know it.

“USA! USA! That was a Latvian beatdown!” they took turns shouting. “A BEATDOWN! USA! USA!”

Dozens of fans in Latvian jerseys — some smiling politely, others scowling — remained silent. Biting their tongues, perhaps.

Norway House files suit against Hydro, governments over Lake Winnipeg

Norway House Cree Nation is suing Manitoba Hydro and the provincial and federal governments over how the public utility manipulates the level of Lake Winnipeg.

It’s the latest litigation launched by a First Nation in relation to Hydro’s regulation of the outflow of the lake into the Nelson River, which it has done since the mid-1970s.

Norway House filed its claim in the Court of King’s Bench on Thursday. It alleges Hydro and the Manitoba government have misrepresented the severity and scope of the adverse effects to the community caused by the regulation operation and the construction of a channel from Lake Winnipeg to Playgreen Lake.

The community, which is about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg, near the northern shore of Lake Winnipeg, hired engineering firm DHI Water and Environments Inc. to conduct a scientific assessment of the effects of the regulation project.

Entrepreneurs lauded as Manitoba Queer Chamber of Commerce’s biz awards return

When Alana Fiks and Angela Farkas opened Black Market Provisions, they hired one employee and almost couldn’t imagine bringing on more.

“We tend to be sort of scared and risk averse, so even the thought of having employees at the time seemed like a dream to us,” said Fiks, who started the shop with Farkas in Winnipeg’s South Osborne neighbourhood almost seven years ago.

The entrepreneurs have built a workplace culture rooted in respect, transparency and well-being. Today, Black Market Provisions has four full-time and six part-time employees.

The Manitoba Queer Chamber of Commerce recognized Fiks and Farkas earlier this week when the organization named the duo as finalists for the Employer of the Year Award as part of its 10th annual MQCC Business Awards.

U.S. International Trade Commission launches CUSMA rules-of-origin auto investigation

WASHINGTON - The U.S. International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into rules-of-origin regulations for automobiles under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement on trade.

A news release on the commission's website says the investigation will analyze the regulations' "impact on the U.S. economy, effect on U.S. competitiveness, and relevancy considering recent technology changes."

It's the third investigation of the rules since the trilateral trade pact, widely known as CUSMA, was adopted during the first administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The commission is required to conduct an investigation every two years until 2031.

The report on automobiles must be delivered to Trump and the U.S. Senate by July of next year.

Alberta’s Smith to put immigration, Constitution questions on fall referendum

EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government is putting nine questions to a provincewide referendum on Oct. 19, including proposals to restrict social services from some immigrants.

One question asks Albertans if non-permanent residents should be charged a "reasonable" fee to access health and education systems.

Another asks for approval to cut off newcomers from social services if they don't fall under "Alberta approved immigration status." The question doesn't define what that status means.

Other questions delve into the Constitution, asking whether Alberta should open negotiations with the rest of Canada to abolish the Senate and to give provinces the power to appoint superior court judges.

New report says youth should help guide Ottawa’s campaign against online exploitation

OTTAWA - The federal government should listen to young people as it takes on the problem of online harms, a group of youth advocates told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday.

The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights held a joint press conference with the youth advocates in Ottawa to present a new report. It says current systems aren’t protecting young people in digital spaces.

"Youth are calling for clear federal action," including a national youth advisory council on digital safety, said Blue Vetsch.

The report outlines harms young people are experiencing online, including sexual exploitation and technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

Canada should work to recruit bilingual health workers, Senate report says

OTTAWA - Many Canadians face barriers to accessing health care in their own language and the federal government should prioritize fast-tracking immigration and credential recognition for bilingual and francophone health-care workers, a new Senate report says.

The Senate committee on official languages recently wrapped up an 18-month study of language barriers in the health system.

It heard from witnesses from across the country — including anglophones in Quebec and francophones in the rest of Canada who said that they have trouble accessing care in their own language.

"There is an acute shortage of health care professionals all across Canada, which has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing influx of newcomers," the report said, adding that attracting more health professionals to Canada and more training and foreign credential recognition are all needed.

‘Nuisance’ protest bylaw stalled after hundreds object

A bylaw that proposed a ban on “nuisance” protests within 100 metres of certain locations has been shelved indefinitely after intense public pushback and and a protest that drew hundreds to city hall Tuesday.

Homelessness a humanitarian crisis, Rattray says

Jennifer Rattray says few challenges facing Winnipeg are as urgent as the homeless crisis.

“Collectively as a society, as a province, as a city, we need to do better,” the new executive director of End Homelessness Winnipeg told the Free Press.

She says a humanitarian crisis has unfolded on city streets.

“It’s awful,” she says. “We need to do something, and we need to do more than what we’re currently doing.”

Advocate urges feds to update equity act, settle class action with Black employees

OTTAWA - An advocate is urging the federal government to update equity legislation for Black employees and to drop its fight against a discrimination lawsuit that has cost more than $15 million so far.

Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president and CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat, told The Canadian Press that changes to Canada's Employment Equity Act are long overdue.

In 2023, former labour minister Seamus O'Regan announced two new designated groups would be created under the act for Black and LGBTQ+ people.

The act requires that federally regulated employers, including the public service, take steps to eliminate barriers and maintain proportional representation in the workplace for members of designated groups.

Ukrainian emergency visa holders expected to return after war: immigration department

OTTAWA - Canada's immigration department says it still expects Ukrainians who fled the war with Russia to return to their home country once the conflict ends.

That's in spite of comments from Immigration Minister Lena Diab, who recently acknowledged that many Ukrainians who came to Canada on temporary visas are here to stay.

"Canada and the people that made the decision felt that it would be temporary, which is why they were called temporary programs. We now know it's not temporary," Diab said in a Jan. 26 interview with The Canadian Press.

"They've been here for X number of years, and for the most part, people are working, they're building a life, they have children and so on. So I understand that."

A look at Ramadan and how Muslims observe the holy month

CAIRO (AP) — Observant Muslims the world over will soon be united in a ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts. For Muslims, it’s a time for increased worship, religious reflection and charity. Socially, it often brings families and friends together in festive gatherings around meals to break their fast.

Ramadan is followed by the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

First day of Ramadan expected around Feb. 18-19

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar; the month cycles through the seasons.

Modern, historic letters showcase love in dangerous times

Love is in the air at Oseredok.

The Ukrainian cultural and educational centre’s current exhibition, Love Letters: A Timeless Experience, bears witness to the fraught and emotional journeys of past and present Ukrainian-Canadian couples through historical love letters, digital declarations and personal artifacts as they navigated courtship, separation and reunion.

Spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, the exhibition draws on a combination of archival material, including the cultural centre’s collection of rare wedding photographs and studio portraits, and visual installations to trace the love lives of Ukrainian-Canadians across the decades.

A letter-writing manual penned in 1913 by linguist and author F. Dojacek forms the backbone of the immersive show.

Who is championing Canada in Alberta?

The most perplexing aspect of the incipient secession movement in Alberta isn’t that there are grassroots voices promoting it, but that there are few establishment voices challenging it. When the division of your country is on the table, why is the knife and fork only in the hands of the separatists?

Most days of the week, we are Team Canada. That’s because most days U.S. President Donald Trump seems to attack us. Unity against the latest orange narcissist threat comes automatically, if fatiguingly. But unity in the face of provincial grievance and a separatist movement is harder to manifest. It generates its own kind of fatigue.

Why?

First of all, we’ve seen this movie before. A half-century of official Quebec separatism, two referendums and numerous Parti Quebecois sovereigntist governments, have left most Canadians jaded as to the prospect of the same dynamic in Alberta.

Tired of waiting, First Nation buys $8M worth of generators

A northern First Nation that was evacuated almost all summer due to a wildfire and power outage has bought an $8-million emergency backup generator system, the chief announced Friday.

Mathias Colomb First Nation Chief Gordie Bear said he wants the federal and provincial governments to reimburse the community, which had asked the two governments to purchase and provide diesel-powered generators before power was restored in September.

“I don’t know why they didn’t come through with the request that we made when we were out in the boondocks,” Bear told the Free Press. “I just hope they all get together — have a tea party — and cost-share my investment.”

He accused the governments of ignoring the First Nation’s concerns. Bear said four generators were purchased using own-sourced revenue.

When it comes to fixing health care, province must follow doctors’ orders

To get an honest assessment of Manitoba’s health-care system, it’s best to skip the government news releases and listen to the doctors.