Progressive Conservatives win big in P.E.I. : In The News for April 4

King told supporters in Charlottetown that the results were a vindication for “positive politics,” and he promised to stay positive as his re-elected government faces challenges in health care, housing, education and climate change.

For the Green Party, it was a sobering shift in fortunes from the election four years earlier when the party formed the official Opposition — a first for the Greens in any province.

King called the election six months before the province’s fixed election date, and less than two weeks after the province landed a 10-year health-care funding deal with Ottawa worth $966 million.

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Also this …

The Federal Court is slated to hear more concerns today about the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to quell “Freedom Convoy” protests early last year.

Counsel for the Canadian Constitution Foundation and other parties are expected to appear in Ottawa before Justice Richard Mosley on the second day of the three-day hearing.

On Monday, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said the government did not clearly spell out proper legal justification for its use of the emergency measures last February.

The government contends the extraordinary steps taken to deal with the emergency situation were targeted, proportional, time limited and compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Public Order Emergency Commission, a mandatory inquiry held last fall, found the government met the very high threshold for using the law.

Now the legal arguments for and against the decision are being heard in a court of law.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

An extraordinary moment in U.S. history is scheduled to unfold in a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday: Former President Donald Trump, who faces multiple election-related investigations, will surrender to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.

The booking and arraignment are likely to be relatively brief _ though hardly routine _ as Trump is fingerprinted, learns the exact charges against him and pleads, as expected, not guilty.

Trump, who was impeached twice by the U.S. House but was never convicted in the U.S. Senate, will become the first former president to face criminal charges. The nation’s 45th commander in chief will be escorted from Trump Tower to the courthouse by the Secret Service and may have his mug shot taken.

New York police are braced for protests by Trump supporters, who share the former president’s belief that the New York grand jury indictment _ and three additional pending investigations _ are politically motivated and intended to weaken his bid to retake the White House in 2024.

Trump, a former reality-TV star, has been hyping that narrative to his political advantage, raising millions of dollars since the indictment on claims of a “witch hunt.” He has personally assailed the Manhattan district attorney, egged on supporters to protest, and claimed without evidence that the judge presiding over the case “hates me” _ something Trump’s own lawyer has said is not true.

Trump is scheduled to return to his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday evening to hold a rally, punctuating his new reality: submitting to the dour demands of the American criminal justice system while projecting an aura of defiance and victimhood at celebratory campaign events.

A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Finland is set to officially become a member of NATO later on Tuesday and take its place among the ranks of the world’s biggest security alliance.

Neighbouring Russia has already warned that it will bolster its defenses near their joint border if NATO deploys any additional troops or equipment to what will be its 31st member country.

Finland’s blue and white flag is scheduled to be raised among those of its partners outside NATO’s Brussels headquarters. Finland’s president, foreign and defense ministers will take part.

The ceremony falls on NATO’s very own birthday, the 74th anniversary of the signing of its founding Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949. It also coincides with a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers.

Turkey became the last NATO member country to ratify Finland’s membership protocol on Thursday. It will hand over the document officially enshrining that decision to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the ceremony.

Finland will then give Blinken its own final texts, officializing its membership.

Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, setting aside years of military nonalignment to seek protection under the organization’s security umbrella. Neighboring Sweden also applied, but its accession process may take a few months longer.

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia, so its entry will more than double the size of NATO’s border with Russia. The move is a strategic and political blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long complained about NATO’s expansion toward Russia.

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On this day in 1949 …

Canada and 11 other countries formed NATO — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

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In entertainment …

Canadian R&B singer Jully Black was honoured at an AFN Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa Monday night for making an appreciated tweak to the Canadian national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah in February.

The Juno Award-winner had swapped out one word in the anthem’s usual opening line “O Canada! Our home and native land!” with “O Canada! Our home on native land” to recognize the Indigenous peoples who lived on the land before European settlers.

Black was presented with an eagle feather and wrapped with a blanket during a Blanketing Ceremony by AFN Knowledge Keepers and National Chief RoseAnne Archibald.

The singer said she was “grateful” while holding back tears, adding “I didn’t realize that my action would garner such a response.”

Black said, “On behalf of the Black community, I say we are one. We’re better together.”

After the presentation of the blanket and feather, Black reprised her rendition of “O Canada” for the assembly, again including “home on native land,” which prompted cheers from the crowd.

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Did you see this?

The association representing all 36 stand-alone First Nations police services in Canada is backing a human rights complaint alleging Ottawa’s “deliberate” underfunding of policing in their communities amounts to discrimination.

Jerel Swamp, who leads the First Nations Chiefs of Police Association, says after discussing the complaint launched by the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario _ of which he is also a member _ the association’s national executive decided to add its support. It also plans to seek intervener status.

He said despite assurances from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government that it would enact change and declare Indigenous policing an essential service, nothing has been done.

“What we feel is that all First Nation communities in Canada deserve the same public safety and security as every other Canadian takes for granted,” Swamp said in an interview Monday.

The complaint filed last week by the nine First Nations police services in Ontario takes issue with the 1991 program the federal government uses to fund its services, and includes participation by provinces.

First Nations leaders have said for years the program is suffering from a lack of resources.

An internal evaluation of the program released last year also shows the “finite amount” of money in its budget has led to an underfunding of police agreements, which has created ongoing challenges for First Nations police services.

The complaint alleges the federal government’s failure to act amounts to “deliberate and wilful discriminatory conduct,” against Indigenous communities.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2023.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

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Progressive Conservatives win big in P.E.I. : In The News for April 4

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