Trudeau heads to Asia for weeklong trip : In The News for May 16

The government plane left from Ottawa on Monday afternoon, but Trudeau was not on board. He first visited Edmonton to meet with members of the Canadian military who are helping fight wildfires in Alberta.

Trudeau boarded for Seoul in Anchorage, Alaska, during a refuelling stop Monday evening.

The prime minister is expected to be in Seoul from Tuesday to Thursday, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Ottawa last fall. Since then, both countries have released their Indo-Pacific strategies, plans that aim to counterbalance Chinese influence by increasing economic and military ties in the region.

Trudeau is also scheduled to attend the G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, Japan, this weekend.

As G7 host, Japan said it chose to have the summit in Hiroshima to symbolize its “commitment to peace” during a time of growing risk of weapons of mass destruction and an ongoing war in Ukraine.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. It dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing 70,000 more.

While in Seoul, Trudeau is expected to attend a ceremony to open the Kapyong Battle Commemorative Trail, meant to honour Canada’s contributions during the Korean War.

He is not expected to visit the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea.

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Also this …

Justice Minister David Lametti is set to make an announcement this afternoon about how his government plans to reform Canada’s bail system, after months of calls for tougher laws from premiers, police and opposition.

He is scheduled to hold a news conference with a number of cabinet colleagues, including Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett.

Proposed changes to the Criminal Code come amid pressure from the provinces and territories to reduce the number of repeat violent offenders who are granted bail.

A number of high-profile cases have brought attention to the issue, including the recent stabbing deaths of a woman and her daughter in Edmonton, which police say were committed by a man who was on bail at the time.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

Abortion access would be almost entirely banned after about six weeks of pregnancy under a bill set for debate Tuesday in the South Carolina House, after the state Senate rejected a proposal to nearly outlaw the procedure.

The two GOP-dominated chambers’ disagreement epitomizes the intra-Republican debates over how far to restrict access that have developed nationwide since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year and allowed states to set their own policies on abortion.

“It became like we were playing with live ammunition,” said South Carolina Republican Sen. Tom Davis, who helped block the near-total ban but supports other limits. “It was like this is for real now and everything that we debate and pass is going to be law.”

The impasse in South Carolina dates back to a special session last fall when House lawmakers demanding a near-total ban did not meet to negotiate with their Senate counterparts pushing for a ban around six weeks.

The stalemate persisted even after the state Supreme Court in January struck down a previous law banning abortions once cardiac activity is detected.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Loud explosions sounded above Kyiv early Tuesday as Russia launched an intense air attack on the capital using a combination of missiles launched from the air, sea and land.

Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv was “exceptional in its density _ the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” said Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration.

It is the eighth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive. It also comes as President Volodymyr Zelenksyy concludes a whirlwind European tour to greet Ukraine’s key wartime allies, which spurred an additional tranche of pledged military aid.

“According to preliminary information the vast majority of enemy targets in the airspace of Kyiv were detected and destroyed,” said Popko.

Ukraine’s Air Force said 18 missiles of various types were launched, including drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. All were intercepted and shot down, said Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat.

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On this day in 1997 …

NATO’s 16 member states ratified a historic agreement with Russia. It gave Moscow a voice, but not a vote, in NATO business and decisions. Russian President Boris Yeltsin said the agreement answered his government’s concerns about NATO expansion into eastern Europe.

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In entertainment …

The Cannes red carpet springs to life again Tuesday as the 76th Cannes Film Festival gets underway with the premiere of the Louis XV period drama “Jeanne du Barry,” with Johnny Depp. This year’s Cannes is unspooling against the backdrop of labour unrest. Protests that have roiled France in recent months over changes to its pension system are planned to run during the festival, albeit at a distance from the festival’s main hub. Meanwhile, a strike by screenwriters in ongoing in Hollywood. But with a festival lined with some much-anticipated big-budget films, including “Indiana Jones and the Dial of the Destiny” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the party is sure to go on.

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Did you see this?

A bill that aims to enshrine a francophone immigration program into law is heading to the Senate after clearing the House of Commons.

Bill C-13 would modernize the Official Languages Act and recognize that French is the only official language in Canada that is under threat and therefore must be protected within federal workplaces.

The bill passed third reading in the House of Commons Monday with Montreal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who has expressed concerns about its effect on the minority English-speaking community in Quebec, being the only one to vote against it.

“This is really a historic day. It’s a really important day for this legislation and an important day for our country,” said Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor following the vote in the House.

The bill, if it becomes law, would introduce immigration in the Official Languages Act for the first time, and recognize its importance to the vitality of francophone minority communities outside Quebec.

The Liberal government believes this will help increase childcare, education and health-care services in French across Canada, where programs are affected by a lack of bilingual workers.

“Through this modernization we’re talking about putting in place an immigration policy with indicators and targets to make sure that we reverse that decline,” Petitpas Taylor said.

The bill would also require that all judges appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada are bilingual in order to improve access to justice and to ensure that future governments can’t change the policy.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2023.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Trudeau heads to Asia for weeklong trip : In The News for May 16

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