National

Trudeau mulling more actions against Belarus

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 May, 2021 09:48 AM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is weighing measures beyond existing sanctions against Belarus after its government forced down an airliner and seized a dissident journalist on board.

At a news conference Tuesday, Trudeau is calling the incident "outrageous, illegal and completely unacceptable."

The prime minister says the arrest Sunday of Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich after his Ryanair flight was intercepted by a Belarusian fighter jet in the country's airspace amounts to a "clear attack on democracy and freedom of the press."

Trudeau is calling for Protasevich's immediate release, and says he is considering "further options" regarding the regime.

Canada announced sanctions against 55 Belarusian officials last year after an election that Ottawa said was "marred by widespread irregularities" amid a "systemic campaign of repression" and human rights violations under President Alexander Lukashenko.

Since Sunday, airlines have rerouted flights to avoid the country's airspace and European Union leaders have directed officials to draft unspecified sanctions against Minsk, on top of a potential ban on Belarusian airlines from EU skies.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has deemed the event "state hijacking" and Ireland and France have characterized it as piracy amid mounting international outrage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2021.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Peter MacKay calls for China sanctions over COVID-19

Conservative leadership hopeful Peter MacKay is calling for use of the Magnitsky Act if specific individuals in China can be identified as having suppressed information related to COVID-19 A full inquiry, perhaps an international one, into how the novel coronavirus turned into a pandemic is required, MacKay told supporters.

Peter MacKay calls for China sanctions over COVID-19

Despite jarring jobs numbers, Canada, U.S. charting different courses

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it's a fundamental principle of life in Canada that no one should have to go to work if they don't feel safe doing so. Trudeau made the comments today as the country confronted some of the worst unemployment numbers in history — nearly two million jobs lost last month and an unemployment rate of 13 per cent.

Despite jarring jobs numbers, Canada, U.S. charting different courses

B.C. government, Translink make agreement to keep transit rolling amid COVID

Metro Vancouver's transportation authority has reversed its plans to cut service and rescinded layoff notices to 1,500 people as it works out an emergency funding plan with the provincial government. Translink and the province say in a joint news release that they are working on a comprehensive solution to address the financial impact on the service because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

B.C. government, Translink make agreement to keep transit rolling amid COVID

Trudeau says wage-subsidy program to be extended as steep job losses continue

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government's emergency wage-subsidy program will be extended beyond its early-June endpoint. The program covers 75 per cent of worker pay up to $847 a week to try to help employers keep employees on the job in the face of steep declines in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau says wage-subsidy program to be extended as steep job losses continue

Huge job losses in B.C. indicate a 'hard road ahead': finance minister

British Columbia Finance Minister Carole James says she doesn't want to sugar coat what will be a hard road ahead as labour force figures show the province lost a quarter of a million jobs in April. Combined with jobless figures in March, almost 400,000 people were unemployed.

Huge job losses in B.C. indicate a 'hard road ahead': finance minister

Canadians trust doctors, scientists and government more since pandemic began

A new survey suggests the COVID-19 pandemic has given Canadians almost absolute trust in doctors. The Proof Strategies annual trust index is usually completed in January but when Canada went into a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus the public-relations firm decided to ask the same questions again in early May.