Year in review: A look at news events in April 2022

4 – The House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion to condemn “crimes against humanity and war crimes” by Russian forces in the city of Bucha, Ukraine. The federal New Democrats put forth the motion.

6 – Washington imposed sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, cutting all of Putin’s close family members off from the U.S. financial system and freezing any assets they hold in the United States. In retaliation for what the Biden administration called war crimes in Ukraine, the U.S. also targeted Russia’s prime minister, the wife and children of Russia’s foreign minister and members of Russia’s Security Council.

6 – Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault approved a controversial new oil project off the coast of Newfoundland. Equinor’s Bay du Nord project is expected to produce around 300 million barrels of oil over its lifetime. Climate scientists and environmentalists oppose the project, saying it would undermine Canada’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

7 – Canadian photographer Amber Bracken won the prestigious World Press Photo award for a haunting image of red dresses hung on crosses along a roadside, with a rainbow in the background. The crosses were put up to honour children who died at the Kamloops Residential School in B.C. One of the judges said it is the kind of image that sears itself into your memory.

7 – The United Nations General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the UN’s Human Rights Council. The vote was fuelled by allegations that Russian soldiers had engaged in war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine.

7 – The U.S. Senate confirmed the first Black female justice to America’s highest court. Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as a member of the Supreme Court by a vote of 53-47.

8 – The motion picture academy banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years, following his slap of host Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.

9 – The federal government committed an additional $100 million to help with the worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Canada had now provided $245 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, with $145 million to be allocated to United Nations organizations, the Red Cross Movement and to non-governmental organizations. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Canada had already approved more than 30,000 applications under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel program.

10 – Canada used a new round of sanctions against Moscow to target Russia’s defence industry. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the latest measures would impose restrictions on 33 entities in the Russian defence sector, including the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. She said the organizations had provided support to the Russian military and were therefore complicit in the pain and suffering from Vladimir Putin’s unjustifiable war in Ukraine.

12 – Abrasive and often lewd standup comedian Gilbert Gottfried died at the age of 67. He was known for his raw, scorched voice and crude jokes. Gottfried died from recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to a disorder that affects the heart. His publicist and longtime friend says he was a fiercely independent and intentionally bizarre comedian’s comedian, as likely to clear a room with anti-comedy as he was to kill with his jokes. Gottfried also did frequent voice work for children’s television and movies, most famously playing the parrot Iago in Disney’s “Aladdin.”

14 – Defence Minister Anita Anand said up to 150 Canadian Armed Forces members would soon be flying out of CFB Trenton in Ontario bound for Poland. They were going to provide Ukrainian refugees there with general and spiritual support as well as limited medical care. The troops were also going to help Ukrainians leave Poland so they could resettle in other countries, including Canada.

14 – The Kremlin sustained a major blow in its war on Ukraine. The flagship of the country’s Black Sea fleet sank after being badly damaged and its crew evacuated. Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel with missiles. Russia acknowledged a fire aboard the Moskva — but no attack.

15 – One of the NHL’s 100 greatest players died in Montreal after battling lung cancer. Mike Bossy was 65. He helped the New York Islanders win the Stanley Cup during their 1980s dynasty, scoring the Cup-winning goals in 1982 and ’83. After retiring in 1987, Bossy went on to work as a hockey analyst for the French-language TVA Sports.

18 – Switzerland joined the international community in imposing tough sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. But President Ignazio Cassis said that didn’t mean his country had abandoned its traditional neutrality. Cassis said Switzerland strongly denounces war and he urged Russia to immediately halt its invasion.

19 – Canada pledged to send heavy artillery to Ukraine and slapped sanctions on 14 more Russians for their close ties to President Vladimir Putin. The new sanctions included Putin’s two adult daughters.

20 – The United Nations’ refugee agency announced another grim milestone in the Russian war on Ukraine. It said more than five million refugees had fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24. The war spawned Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

20 – The All England Club barred tennis players from Russia and Belarus from competing at Wimbledon this June because of the war in Ukraine. That meant reigning U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka couldn’t compete.

20 – Chief Byron Bitternose of the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan said a months-long search with ground-penetrating radar near the George Gordon Indian Residential School site detected 14 possible graves. The George Gordon residential school was run by the Anglican Church between 1888 to 1996 and has been described as one of the worst residential schools in Canada.

21 – Russia issued fresh sanctions against 61 Canadians, including provincial premiers, military personnel, political staff and journalists, over Canada’s actions against the country for its invasion of Ukraine.

21 – A national Inuit organization endorsed a plan that aims to change Crown-Inuit relations. The Inuit Nunangat policy acknowledges the distinct geopolitical region in the North and creates a framework for government to make decisions involving Inuit. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the agreement after an Inuit-Crown partnership committee meeting. He said it was endorsed by everyone at the table.

22 – Legendary Montreal Canadiens player Guy Lafleur died at age 70. Lafleur was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, when tumours were discovered by doctors performing emergency quadruple bypass heart surgery. Canadiens president Geoff Molson said Lafleur always remained simple, accessible, and close to the Habs and hockey fans in Quebec, Canada and around the world.

25 – The Public Order Emergency Commission being struck to investigate the government’s use of the Emergencies Act would have until Feb. 20 to submit its final report. The Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in history in response to blockades at border crossings and in Ottawa earlier this year. The Prime Minister’s Office said the commission would examine the evolution of the convoy, the impact of funding and disinformation, the economic impact, and police actions both before and after the declaration.

25 – Defence Minister Anita Anand released a scathing report on racism that said the Canadian Armed Forces hadn’t done enough over the past 20 years to address racism and discrimination. It also found the military’s efforts to detect and prevent white supremacists and other extremists from infiltrating its ranks were both inefficient and insufficient. The report said the military needed to act on hundreds of recommendations made in previous studies and reviews that have been ignored or shelved over the past two decades.

26 – The university formerly known as Ryerson changed its name to Toronto Metropolitan University. The university, which had been named after an architect of Canada’s residential school system, faced growing calls to change its name. School president Mohamed Lachemi said the new name reflects that the school is located in the heart of Canada’s largest and most diverse city.

27 – A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption and sentenced her to five years in prison. Suu Kyi, who was ousted in an army takeover in February last year, has denied allegations she accepted gold and hundreds of thousands of dollars given her as a bribe by a top political colleague. Her supporters and independent legal experts had decried her prosecution as unjust and meant to simply remove her from politics.

27 – Russia opened a new front in its war over Ukraine by shutting off gas to two European Union nations that staunchly back the Ukrainian government — Poland and Bulgaria. That represented a dramatic escalation in a conflict increasingly becoming a wider battle with the West.

27 – Russia released a U.S. marine veteran jailed in Moscow for nearly three years in return for the U.S. releasing a convicted drug trafficker serving a long prison sentence. U.S. President Joe Biden said the negotiations to bring Trevor Reed home required difficult decisions that he did not take lightly. Several other Americans were still behind bars in Russia, including WNBA star Brittney Griner and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan.

27 – The House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion declaring that Russia was committing acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people in the ongoing war. New Democrat MP Heather McPherson introduced a motion stating there was clear evidence of systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by Russian forces.

28 – Health Canada said it would end a ban on gay men donating blood. Canadian Blood Services said the ban would be replaced by new screening criteria based on sexual history and behaviour.

29 – American vaccine maker Moderna officially announced it would build a facility in the Montreal area to produce mRNA vaccines. Moderna’s new facility will be the company’s first in Canada. It will produce mRNA vaccines not only against COVID-19 but also other respiratory viruses including influenza. The agreement includes both production and vaccine research components, with the facility to be completed by 2024.

29 – Protesters opposed to COVID-19 mandates were back in Ottawa. Police wearing helmets and carrying batons were waiting as bikers, big-rig trucks and campers tried to make their way to Parliament Hill. At least seven people were arrested on various charges, and some fines were issued.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Year in review: A look at news events in April 2022

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