Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is scheduled to speak Tuesday morning about providing more support to businesses during the <a href="http://globalnews.ca/tag/covid-19" target="_blank">COVID-19</a> pandemic.
Kenney promised more aid last week after his government introduced a new round of restrictions to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.
		
			Read more: <a class="c-readmore__link" href="https://www.flyingeze.com/p/alberta-covid-19-update-april-6-2021" data-track-region="content-read-more" title="Alberta shuts down indoor dining, group fitness amid surging 3rd wave COVID-19, variant cases" target="_blank">
				Alberta shuts down indoor dining, group fitness amid surging 3rd wave COVID-19, variant cases			</a>
		
	
Retailers are limited to 15 per cent customer capacity and restaurants can only offer takeout or curbside service, although patios remain open.
The Opposition NDP says Kenney&#8217;s government has failed for a year to properly manage economic supports, saying the money is always too little, too late.
		
			Read more: <a class="c-readmore__link" href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6860904/half-independent-restaurants-could-close-coronavirus/" data-track-region="content-read-more" title="Half of Canada&#8217;s independent restaurants could close without help, industry group warns" target="_blank">
				Half of Canada&#8217;s independent restaurants could close without help, industry group warns			</a>
		
	
Kenney faces opposition from some quarters — even within his own caucus — to ease up on public-health measures even as the province is recording more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases a day.
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He says restrictions on public gatherings need to be in place a bit longer until vaccination rates reach critical mass.
More to come&#8230;

Kenney promised more aid last week after his government introduced a new round of restrictions to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. Continue reading →

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Alberta premier to announce more financial support for businesses during COVID-19 pandemic

Flying Eze

Posters of the immediate past president of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, were sighted in conspicuous areas of Abuja on Tuesday, fueling speculations that he might soon declare his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election.
Our correspondent sighted some of the posters at the Wuse area of the nation&#8217;s capital and at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party, popularly known as Wadata House in Abuja.
Saraki&#8217;s picture was displayed in the poster tagged, &#8220;Reset Nigeria 2023: Abubakar Bukola Saraki for President&#8221;.
The media aide of the former senate president, Yusuph Olaniyonu, however, told our correspondent in a telephone interview that he knew nothing about it.
He said, &#8220;If Senator Bukola Saraki wanted to contest for president, he will address a world press conference to make his intention known.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t know where the posters come from, we did not post them.&#8221;

Posters of the immediate past president of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, were sighted in conspicuous areas of Abuja on Tuesday, fueling speculations that he might soon declare his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election. Our correspondent sighted some of the posters at the Wuse area of the nation’s capital and at the national…

Bukola Saraki

Presidential Campaign

2023: Saraki presidential campaign posters flood Abuja

The New Brunswick government announced Tuesday it won&#8217;t renew its current tax collection agreements with First Nations and is asking chiefs to help create a new economic partnership.
The decision follows a court ruling last month that said the province has an obligation to share with the province&#8217;s First Nations carbon tax revenues collected and remitted by on-reserve retailers.
Premier Blaine Higgs says the province won&#8217;t appeal that ruling but adds the current tax agreements are outdated and have proven to be unfair.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.flyingeze.com/p/land-claim-agreement-madawaska-maliseet-first-nation" target="_blank" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Major land claim agreement reached between Madawaska Maliseet First Nation, federal government</a>
He says under current agreements, about $44 million will be refunded to First Nations communities this year, and nearly 40 per cent of that money will go to just two per cent of the First Nation population.
Some of the agreements expire this year and others end next year, and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn says the government is committed to working with First Nations on modern economic partnerships.
She says that might include revenue sharing from natural resources or partnerships on issues such as housing and economic development.
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Premier Blaine Higgs says the current tax agreements are outdated and have proven to be unfair. Continue reading →

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Premier Blaine Higgs

New Brunswick government proposes new economic arrangement with First Nations

Seventeen political parties are to battle for positions in the local government elections scheduled for Saturday in Rivers State.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission had initially listed 18 political parties, but the All Progressives Congress wrote to the commission that it would not be participating in the election.
Our correspondent, who visited the RSIEC office along Aba Road, Port Harcourt on Tuesday, observed that the names of candidates for the chairmanships and Councillorship positions have been published and posted on the walls of the commission.
The Young Progressives Party is fielding only one chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship candidate from Okrika LGA and only one councillorship candidate from Oyigbo LGA.
The African Democratic Congress and Social Democratic Party have the second-highest number of candidates with about 15 Chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship candidates and over 80 candidates for the councillorship positions.
On its part, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party has Chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship candidates from the 23 local government areas, even as it is 
fielding 319 Councillorship candidates.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Police, Friday Eboka, has warned that no effort would be soared in arresting anyone caught trying to cause a breach of the peace during the April 17 council poll.

Seventeen political parties are to battle for positions in the local government elections scheduled for Saturday in Rivers State. The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission had initially listed 18 political parties, but the All Progressives Congress wrote to the commission that it would not be participating in the election. Our correspondent, who visited the RSIEC…

Rivers Lg Poll

APC to boycott Rivers LG poll

A clear majority of Canadians say in a new poll that they think the federal Liberals and military leaders are &#8220;all talk and no action&#8221; when it comes to fixing <a href="https://globalnews.ca/tag/military-sexual-misconduct/" target="_blank">sexual misconduct in the military.</a>
The Ipsos polling done exclusively for Global News comes one day after Liberal members of the House of Commons defence committee partnered with the Bloc Quebecois to shut down the parliamentary probe into the government&#8217;s handling of high-level sexual misconduct allegations.
Those allegations have rocked the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/tag/canadian-armed-forces/" target="_blank">Canadian Forces</a> since Global News <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7614063/jonathan-vance-sexual-misconduct-operation-honour/" target="_blank">first reported them</a> in February.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.flyingeze.com/p/military-sexual-misconduct-study-liberals-shut-down" target="_blank">Liberals shut down probe into sexual misconduct in Canadian military</a>
According to the Ipsos poll, 78 per cent of Canadians say the country&#8217;s military has a systemic problem of sexual harassment within its ranks, with 83 per cent of women and 72 per cent of men agreeing.
But the question of whether the Liberals are serious about fixing the problem continues to dog the government as it stretches past two months since it promised an independent review of the matter, and as it has yet to announce any details of how it plans to change the system.
The poll suggests Canadians are taking notice.
READ MORE: <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7745993/military-sexual-misconduct-national-embarrassment/" target="_blank">Advocates ‘burning out’ after years of urging change on military sexual misconduct, experts say</a>
Across demographic categories, 75 per cent of respondents said the government and military leaders are &#8220;all talk and no action&#8221; when it comes to dealing with sexual harassment in the Canadian Forces.
&#8220;No gender or age group is more likely than another to believe that this problem is not being adequately addressed, speaking to how widespread this sentiment is among the general population,&#8221; said Ipsos in its polling results.
Among decided voters, there also appeared to be broad agreement — though those who said they vote Liberal were more likely to feel less strongly that the federal government wasn&#8217;t doing enough.
Seventy per cent of Conservative voters said they either strongly agree or somewhat agree that the government and military are &#8220;all talk and no action,&#8221; with 24 per cent saying the former and 46 per cent saying the latter.
Among Liberal voters, 71 per cent said they either strongly or somewhat agree with the statement, though the strength of those beliefs shifted: 16 per cent said they agreed strongly, while 55 per cent said they agreed somewhat with the statement.
Voters who said they support the NDP, the Bloc Quebecois or the Greens had stronger views with 82 per cent, 75 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively, either strongly or somewhat agreeing with the statement.
Just four per cent of Liberal voters said they strongly disagreed with the statement that the federal government and military are &#8220;all talk and no action&#8221; on misconduct.
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Twin military police probes are underway into allegations against Gen. Jonathan Vance and Adm. Art McDonald. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has acknowledged a complaint against Vance was shared with him in 2018 but says he refused to look at the details, referring the matter instead to bureaucrats.
The Privy Council Office abandoned a probe into the matter within weeks.
Trudeau has said he personally knew nothing about any such allegations until Global News reported them on Feb. 2, though he has said his office was aware.
The Liberal move to shut down the defence committee came as opposition members were trying to call Elder Marques, senior advisor to Trudeau, to testify on whether he told anyone else in the office after he was informed of the allegation in 2018 by Sajjan&#8217;s chief of staff.
The Liberals have ordered political staff involved in the matter not to appear before committees.
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These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between April 7 and 9, 2021, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

Across demographic categories, 75 per cent of respondents said the government and military leaders are “all talk and no action” on sexual harassment in the Canadian Forces. Continue reading →

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Clear majority of Canadians think feds ‘all talk and no action’ on military misconduct: Ipsos

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has alleged that there was over-voting at the Peoples Democratic Party South-West zonal congress held in Osun State on Monday.
He, however, said his camp chose to overlook over-voting because of the interest of the party.
The PUNCH had reported that Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, the candidate backed by the camp of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, got 343 votes to emerge as new South-West Zonal Vice Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party on Monday.
Dr Eddy Olafeso backed by the camp of ex-governor Ayo Fayose got a total of 330 votes.
Fayose, who had said he will accept the outcome of the election, in series of tweets late Monday night, added that “Like I said in my speech at the beginning of the congress that we should win together and we have indeed won together.
“Whatever may be our reservations on the issue of over-voting, we have chosen to look at the larger picture, which is the PDP.
“We must therefore use our energy and resources to rebuild the party.
								
									
										
										
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“Arapaja’s 343 and Olafeso’s 330 votes, has simply shown strength on the two sides, this should be explored by the party, going forward.
“I thank the National Working Committee (NWC) for helping to bring this congress behind us.”
On his part, Makinde said the congress was peaceful and orderly.
He tweeted, &#8220;Congratulations to Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja and other officials duly elected today. Our task of repositioning the @OfficialPDPNig begins now. I thank every participant as well as the organising committee of the PDP South-West Congress for a peaceful and orderly congress.&#8221;
Earlier, Makinde and Fayose had promised to accept whoever emerged as the Southwest PDP Chairman.
They both stated this in their opening speeches during the PDP South-West Congress on Monday in Osogbo.
The ambitions of Arapaja and Olafeso had caused sharp disagreement between Makinde and Fayose, the situation which made the party shift the venue and date of the congress from Ibadan to Osogbo.
						
							
								
								
									
									
								
								
								
							
						
					
In his remarks, Makinde described the congress as a family affair and also an attempt to reposition the PDP in the South-West.
Fayose said the issue of the congress was circumstantial, adding that “Makinde is our leader.’’

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has alleged that there was over-voting at the Peoples Democratic Party South-West zonal congress held in Osun State on Monday. He, however, said his camp chose to overlook over-voting because of the interest of the party. The PUNCH had reported that Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, the candidate backed by…

Ayodele Fayose

Pdp Congress

Seyi Makinde

PDP congress: Fayose alleges over-voting, Makinde congratulates Arapaja

<a href="http://globalnews.ca/tag/Yukon" target="_blank">Yukon</a> is headed toward a minority government with the Liberal and Yukon parties tied with the same number of seats after Monday&#8217;s election.
With all of the votes counted, the Liberal and Yukon parties were tied with eight seats, and the NDP had won two seats.
The riding of Vuntut Gwitchin was headed to a judicial recount after Liberal candidate Pauline Frost, the territory&#8217;s health minister, was tied with New Democrat Annie Blake at 78 votes each.
Ten seats were needed for a majority government.
		
			Read more: <a class="c-readmore__link" href="https://www.flyingeze.com/p/yukon-election-covid" data-track-region="content-read-more" title="Yukon residents set to head to the polls for election amid COVID-19 pandemic" target="_blank">
				Yukon residents set to head to the polls for election amid COVID-19 pandemic			</a>
		
	
The Liberals came into the election looking to build on their surprise 2016 majority win.
Liberal Leader Sandy Silver urged Yukoners to not change the course in this election, pitching his government&#8217;s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the reasons his party should continue to lead the territory.
Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon accused the Liberals of not following through on previous campaign promises.
Opposition politicians had questioned the decision to hold an election during the pandemic, particularly as the territory worked through its COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
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With all of the votes counted, the Liberal and Yukon parties were tied with eight seats, and the NDP had won two seats, while the final seat is headed to a judicial recount. Continue reading →

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Yukon headed for minority government as Liberals, Yukon parties tie for seats

The <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/media-newsroom/news-releases/2021/new-rental-housing-calgary-families" target="_blank" rel="noopener" target="_blank">federal government announced Monday</a> it is providing a &#8220;low-cost construction loan&#8221; of $16 million for an affordable housing project in Calgary.
Bishop’s Manor, a 104-unit building located at 200 Nina Gardens N.E., is receiving the loan from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation&#8217;s Rental Construction Financing initiative.
According to CHMC, the RCFi provides &#8220;lower-cost repayable loans for 10-year terms offering cost predictability during the earliest stage of rental development.&#8221;
Based on income and unit size, families will pay between $550 and $1,350 for rent in Bishop’s Manor, according to Ahmed Hussen, minister of families, children and social development and the minister responsible for the CMHC.
&#8220;All of these homes will have energy efficiency, accessibility, and these units will be close to places where people work, study and volunteer and access community services,&#8221; Hussen said.
He explained that the project not only focuses on affordability but also livability.
&#8220;These families will help keep this neighbourhood vibrant, dynamic and resilient. At the end of the day, that&#8217;s what this is all about,&#8221; Hussen said.
&#8220;It&#8217;s about ensuring a better quality of life for all Canadians while building more affordable housing.&#8221;
		
			Read more: <a class="c-readmore__link" href="https://www.flyingeze.com/p/senior-housing-funding-calgary-temple" data-track-region="content-read-more" title="Federal government announces $12.5M in funding for seniors&#8217; housing complex in Calgary" target="_blank">
				Federal government announces $12.5M in funding for seniors&#8217; housing complex in Calgary			</a>
		
	
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said while any investment is welcome, more support is needed.
&#8220;It&#8217;s so exciting to see a lot of this happening because as everyone knows, Calgary has a desperate need for new, affordable housing,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;We&#8217;re far below the national average in terms of people who are able to access below-market housing, and our immediate need is 15,000 new homes.&#8221;
People will start moving into Bishop’s Manor on April 19.

The federal government announced Monday it is providing a “low-cost construction loan” of $16 million for an affordable housing project in Calgary. Continue reading →

200 Nina Gardens N.e.

Affordable Housing

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Bishop’s Manor

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Housing Calgary

Federal government announces $16M loan for Calgary affordable housing project

Defence Minister <a href="http://globalnews.ca/tag/Harjit-Sajjan">Harjit Sajjan</a> took aim at recent <a href="http://globalnews.ca/tag/china">Chinese</a> military expansions into the South China Sea on Monday, even as he pushed back against Conservative allegations that the Liberal government has been pandering to Beijing.
The defence minister was appearing before the House of Commons&#8217; special committee on China, where he used his opening statement to voice Canada&#8217;s opposition to Chinese claims over what much of the world considers international waters.
&#8220;Canada opposes land reclamation projects and building outposts in disputed areas for military purposes,&#8221; he added in reference to China&#8217;s construction of military facilities on several islands and atolls.
&#8220;And we will continue supporting our allies and partners in the Asia Pacific region, especially in the face of unilateral actions that undermine peace and stability.&#8221;
		
			Read more: <a class="c-readmore__link" href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7734158/china-pressure-activists-canada-uyghur-hong-kong-tibet-spying/" data-track-region="content-read-more" title="&#8216;We&#8217;re coming to get you&#8217;: China&#8217;s critics facing threats, retaliation for activism in Canada">
				&#8216;We&#8217;re coming to get you&#8217;: China&#8217;s critics facing threats, retaliation for activism in Canada			</a>
		
	
The Department of National Defence confirmed two weeks ago that a Canadian warship sailed through the South China Sea at the end of March while travelling from Brunei to Vietnam.
The Defence Department says HMCS Calgary was shadowed for at least part of the voyage as it passed near the disputed Spratly Islands, which both China and the Philippines claim and where the Chinese military has set up facilities and equipment.
Conservative committee members, however, were more interested in pressing Sajjan on a media report that the Liberal government threatened to cut the funding of a major defence conference held each year in Halifax because of China.
<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/11/trudeau-hailfax-security-forum-taiwan-480722">Politico reported</a> over the weekend that the threat revolved around the Halifax International Security Forum&#8217;s move last year to give an award to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen.
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Beijing does not recognize Taiwan as a country, but instead considers the island off China&#8217;s east coast to be a rogue province. The Chinese government has long warned other countries against recognizing Taiwan or establishing diplomatic ties with it.
Sajjan said the Halifax International Security Forum chooses who to award, but he otherwise sidestepped questions about whether the government had threatened to cut off the security forum&#8217;s funding if it went to Tsai.
&#8220;We have supported this forum since the time that we came into government,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And as I stated, it is not our decision to award this. It is the decision by the forum itself in the organization to make that decision on their own.&#8221;
The organization received $3.3 million in federal funding each year in 2018 and 2019, which was an increase from earlier contributions.
		
			Read more: <a class="c-readmore__link" href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7726760/canada-ready-weather-export-issues-china-otoole/" data-track-region="content-read-more" title="Canada should be ready to weather any export issues to deal with China: O&#8217;Toole">
				Canada should be ready to weather any export issues to deal with China: O&#8217;Toole			</a>
		
	
Halifax International Security Forum vice-president Robin Shepherd confirmed in an email Monday that last year&#8217;s winner of the John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service has yet to be announced.
But Conservative member John Williamson suggested the Liberal government was looking for an excuse to cancel the conference when Sajjan at one point noted the forum was headquartered in Washington, D.C., and employed &#8220;former Conservative staffers.
&#8220;This award that is being proposed &#8230; gives you an excuse to do just that,&#8221; Williamson said. &#8220;To cut its funding while maintaining your close relations with Beijing.&#8221;
Sajjan insisted he supported the forum.
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The minister and Conservative members also traded barbs over a previous Canadian Armed Forces training exercise that included observers from the Chinese military, the People&#8217;s Liberation Army.
Media reports late last year based on internal government documents showed then-defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance caused a furor at Global Affairs Canada after he cancelled the exercise in 2019.
Canadian diplomats were worried the decision would aggravate China or endanger Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been held by China for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canada&#8217;s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
The committee heard the exercise in February involved five Chinese military observers ranging in rank from sergeant to major-general, and Sajjan suggested he was responsible for cancelling the exercise after the two Michaels were arrested.
Sajjan went on to accuse Stephen Harper&#8217;s Conservative government of having initially approved the Chinese military&#8217;s involvement, and that he didn&#8217;t know about the exercise until it was brought to his attention.

The defence minister used his statement to the House of Commons’ special committee on China to voice opposition to Chinese claims over what are considered international waters. Continue reading →

Sajjan criticizes Chinese moves to claim South China Sea but faces Tory grilling

Montreal Police (SPVM) say they&#8217;re reviewing an incident where a man appears to have been violently arrested at a city park this weekend.
The video caused an uproar on social media as it shows an SPVM officer holding a man in a chokehold and then pummeling him in the head several times.
&#8220;It was definitely very shocking and concerning,&#8221; said Agnes Bebon, who posted a video of the incident on social media.
		
			Read more: <a class="c-readmore__link" href="https://www.flyingeze.com/p/montreal-police-violent-detaining" data-track-region="content-read-more" title="Montreal police give no comment on video of man’s violent detaining" target="_blank">
				Montreal police give no comment on video of man’s violent detaining			</a>
		
	
Bebon says she didn&#8217;t see what led to the event and only became aware when the man was tackled to the ground. However, she believes police&#8217;s reaction was excessive.
&#8220;I genuinely do not believe that the reason ever matters,&#8221; Bebon said. &#8220;Brutality is not excusable in any situation, especially from people who are meant to protect us.&#8221;
Police say the incident stemmed from a simple warning for drinking alcohol in public grounds, which is against the law.
According to SPVM inspector David Shane, the man didn&#8217;t cooperate and raised his fist, indicating he was willing to fight.
&#8220;He did not cooperate and he adopted a combat stance, showing that he was going to resist actively,&#8221; Shane said. &#8220;So the police officers called for backup. They eventually intervened towards the individual, the individual hit the police officers.&#8221;
Shane says the officer used the pummeling as a distracting technique after the man bit him.
		
			Read more: <a class="c-readmore__link" href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7627967/mamadi-fara-camara-formal-spvm-apology-calls-renewed-bodycams/" data-track-region="content-read-more" title="Mamadi Fara Camara receives formal SPVM apology, calls renewed for bodycams" target="_blank">
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Shane says videos posted to social media don&#8217;t show the whole context and that&#8217;s important.
&#8220;The optics are definitely not good,&#8221; said Alain Babineau, a retired RCMP officer and consultant on racial profiling matters.
Babineau believes cases like this prove body cams are needed.
&#8220;Let&#8217;s equip police officers for their sake as well as for public confidence as a whole,&#8221; Babineau told Global News.
Montreal mayor Valérie Plante agrees.
READ MORE: <a class="c-readmore__link" title="Several Montreal boroughs push for the deployment of police body cameras" href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7016760/montreal-police-body-cameras/" data-track-region="content-read-more" target="_blank">Several Montreal boroughs push for the deployment of police body cameras</a>
She once again said she wants Montreal to be included in a provincial pilot project on the use of body cams.
&#8220;So we can be better equipped to evaluate, to question in a way that is helpful so we can move forward,&#8221; Plante explained.
As for the man, he was arrested for assault against a police officer and obstructing police.
He was released the same day on the promise to appear in court on May 12.
Shane says that if something improper comes out of the SPVM&#8217;s investigation, they will take measures.
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The arrest was caught on camera and caused an uproar on social media. It shows an SPVM officer holding a man in a chokehold and then pummeling him in the head several times. Continue reading →

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