Canadian elections results: Did the pollsters get it right?
B.C.'s urban-rural divide, the anti-Poilievre vote and is there a path back from obscurity for the NDP? Pollster Steve Mossop, an executive vice-president at Leger, analyzes the federal election results in B.C. with Harold Munro, editor-in-chief of The Vancouver Sun and Province. Watch:
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Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Myanmar military courts sentence 12 to life for human trafficking, including Chinese nationals
BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar military courts have sentenced a dozen individuals — including five Chinese nationals — to life imprisonment for their involvement in multiple human trafficking cases, state-run media reported Saturday. According to the Myanma Alinn newspaper, the convictions stem from a range of offenses including the online distribution of sex videos and the trafficking of Myanmar women into forced marriages in China. In one case, five people — including two Chinese nationals identified as Lin Te and Wang Xiaofeng — were sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court in Yangon, the country's largest city, on July 29. They were found guilty under Myanmar's Anti-Trafficking in Persons law for producing sex videos involving three Myanmar couples and distributing the footage online for profit. In a separate case, the same court sentenced a woman and three Chinese nationals — Yibo, Cao Qiu Quan and Chen Huan. The group was convicted of planning to transport two Myanmar women, recently married to two of the convicted Chinese men, into China, the report said. Additionally, three other people received life sentences from a separate military court for selling a woman as a bride to China, and for attempting to do the same with another woman. In another case, a woman from Myanmar's central Magway region was given a 10-year sentence on July 30 for planning to transport two Myanmar women to be sold as brides to Chinese men, the report said. Human trafficking, particularly of women and girls lured or forced into marriages in China, remains a widespread problem in Myanmar, a country still reeling from civil war after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The persisting conflict in most areas of Myanmar has left millions of women and children vulnerable to exploitation. A 2018 report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT) — which works to prevent and respond to trafficking in northern Kachin and Shan states bordering China — estimated that about 21,000 women and girls from northern Myanmar were forced into marriage in China between 2013 and 2017. In its latest report published in December, KWAT noted a sharp decline in the number of trafficking survivors accessing its services from 2020 to 2023. It attributed the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic and border closures caused by ongoing conflict following the army takeover. However, it reported a resurgence in 2024 as people from across Myanmar began migrating to China in search of work. Maj-Gen Aung Kyaw Kyaw, a deputy minister for Home Affairs, said during a June meeting that the authorities had handled 53 cases of human trafficking, forced marriage and prostitution in 2024, 34 of which involved China, according to a report published by Myanmar's Information Ministry. The report also said that a total of 80 human trafficking cases, including 14 involving marriage deception by foreign nationals, were recorded between January and June this year.
CBC
10 hours ago
- CBC
Members of environmental racism panel, N.S. government discuss meeting dates
Social Sharing Members of a provincial panel on environmental racism are discussing when they can schedule a meeting with Nova Scotia government cabinet ministers. The panel was commissioned via an NDP amendment to major environmental legislation the Progressive Conservative government passed in 2022. A report was delivered more than a year ago, but so far has not been shared with the public. Becky Druhan, the cabinet minister responsible for the Office of Equity and Anti-Racism, said in May that there were no plans to make the report and recommendations public, noting that was not part of the panel's mandate. At the time, Druhan would not say if she'd read the recommendations. Following pressure from opposition MLAs and Mi'kmaw chiefs, however, Druhan said last month that she'd asked department staff to arrange for a meeting with the panel. "Out of respect for the panel, we want to meet with members before sharing any further details publicly," she said in a statement at the time. On Tuesday, a government spokesperson said an invitation to meet had been extended to panel chair Augy Jones, who is also the executive director for African Nova Scotian Affairs for the province, and the hope was a meeting date could be set soon. "Given the busy summer season and the need to co-ordinate several schedules, it is likely the meeting will take place later this summer or early fall," Denise Corra said in an email. Tom Johnson, a member of the panel and the executive director of fisheries and wildlife for Eskasoni First Nation, confirmed in an email Tuesday that people are trying to line up schedules. Calls for the report's release Although Deputy Premier Barb Adams said earlier this year that the recommendations from the report are being used across government, some high-ranking civil servants and cabinet ministers have indicated in the last two months that they have either not seen the report or are only familiar with it at a high level. No one from the government has been willing to say whether reparations for communities affected by environmental racism is one of the panel's recommendations. Membertou First Nation Chief Terry Paul told CBC News last month that Mi'kmaw chiefs in the province have not seen the report, but they've talked about it and believe it should be made public. Louise Delisle feels the same way. Delisle lives in a historic Black community in the Town of Shelburne. She spoke to the panel during its consultation work and shared concerns about the effects a garbage dump situated for years beside her community had on the health of people living nearby. 'Where is it?' "I talked about the fact of the high rates of cancer and the fact that our water was polluted," she told CBC News. "We were not consulted when that dump was put in there. Nobody came into the community and asked anything because they felt they didn't need to do that. That's racism at its finest." Delisle said her expectation was recommendations from the panel would be shared with the communities consulted as part of the work. She's frustrated by the lack of answers. Communities are already dealing with the fallout from environmental racism, Delisle said, and to not share the report and its recommendations feels like another form of discrimination. "Where is it? Just make it public."
Japan Forward
12 hours ago
- Japan Forward
Caution Advised as Beijing Rewrites History for its Japan-bashing Extravaganza
Beijing is busily preparing for a grand ceremony and parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. That is, according to the Chinese Communist Party's preferred nomenclature, the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. I happened to be living in Beijing in 2015 when the 70th anniversary was marked. As I recall, every day all television channels seemed to broadcast anti-Japan programs one after the next. There were documentaries to be sure. But there were also numerous rather poorly produced, formulaic war dramas in which Japanese soldiers were invariably portrayed as sadistic brutes. By the end of these programs, the Japanese were bested by poorly armed but indomitable Communist guerrillas. Hardly mentioned were the regular forces of the Republic of China who did most of the fighting against the Japanese. This media blitz went on for weeks in the buildup to a mammoth ceremony and parade with 12,000 participants. It was staged in Tiananmen Square, which provided a splendid opportunity to display the regime's latest military hardware. Uniformed members of all the branches of the People's Liberation Army, male and female, lined Chang'an Avenue to be reviewed by Xi Jinping, who, clad in a natty Mao suit, was driven by at a brisk pace in a convertible and would regularly reward each formation with a shout out. He alternated between two expressions: Tongzhimen hao ! ("Greetings, Comrades!") and Tongzhimen xinkule ! ("Comrades, you've worked so hard!"). The later might best be translated as, "Comrades, you're doing a heck of a job!" If nothing else, Xi's performance art was a timely reminder that the PLA is not a true national army. It officially remains the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party. There were heads of state and other dignitaries from foreign countries in attendance, many of them leaders of fellow dictatorships. Most Western nations, including the United States, sent their foreign ministers or lower-ranking officials. Ambassador Max Baucus represented the US. 3rd Squadron Hell's Angels, Flying Tigers, over China, photographed in 1942 by AVG pilot Robert T. Smith (via Wikipedia 2025 07 31) Among the honored guests were grizzled World War II veterans, including former Kuomintang soldiers. There was even a group of former Flying Tigers. The festivities were definitely not Japan-friendly. In part, that reflected the state of bilateral relations at the time. After the Japanese government purchased three of the islands in the Senkaku group from a private owner in September 2012, the Chinese government reacted sharply with a wave of jingoistic propaganda. One result was the largest anti-Japan protests since diplomatic relations were established in 1972. These swept more than 100 cities throughout China. Japanese businesses, restaurants and multinational corporations were targeted. Meanwhile, Japanese-made cars and even the Japanese embassy were vandalized. In a few cases, Japanese nationals were even attacked on the streets. Resentment against Japan still ran hot at the time of the parade. Of course, China's economy and military power have both grown enormously in the decade since then. And with the trade friction and intensifying geopolitical competition between China and the United States, now might seem like an opportune time for China to play the "Japan card." In other words, make friendly overtures to Tokyo, maybe even loan a Japanese zoo a panda or two. But that has not been the case. Beijing is not making the slightest effort to improve ties with Tokyo. Not only are its naval vessels nearly constantly prowling around in waters near the Senkaku Islands, there recently have been a series of incidents in which Chinese fighter jets have intruded into Japanese airspace or threatened Japanese aircraft. In fact, Japan's latest defense white paper, issued in mid-July, warns that China's intensified military activities are a cause for concern. As it states, those activities seriously impact Japan's security. It concluded, "International society is in a new crisis era and faces the biggest challenges since the end of World War II." September 3 is shaping up to be a day to remember. According to Chinese state media, "the military parade will feature marching formations, armored columns, aerial echelons and new types of combat forces, including unmanned and intelligent equipment." A Chinese J-15 fighter jet makes an abnormal approach to a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force P3C patrol aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on June 8. (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Defense) Chinese Navy aircraft carrier "Shandong" (Provided by the Ministry of Defense Joint Staff Office) All the equipment on display will be domestically produced and cover a full spectrum of capabilities. A gala will also be held that evening at the Great Hall of the People to mark the occasion. It will be broadcast live. Nor will the past be overcome. The Chinese government has released a new list of national-level anti-Japanese war memorial facilities and sites, as well as a new list of renowned Chinese heroes, martyrs and heroic groups. A special exhibition is also being staged in Beijing at the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Now, it is common knowledge that both Xi Jinping and Donald Trump love the pageantry of a military parade. Trump has also indicated on more than one occasion that he is eager to visit China. In fact on July 22 he told reporters, "President Xi has invited me to China, and we'll probably be doing that in the not-too-distant future." It is no surprise therefore that some Chinese commentators have suggested that Trump attend the September 3 festivities. What a splendid opportunity, they declare, for the leaders of the world's two superpowers to strike a "grand bargain." For example, Jin Canrong, a professor at the School of International Studies at Renmin University in Beijing has argued for a Trump visit on Guancha , a nationalistic news portal. By the way, Jin is said to have 3.6 million followers on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter/X. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend an official welcoming ceremony in Beijing, China May 16, 2024. (©Sputnik/Pool via Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin has already announced that he will visit China for four days around the time of the parade. He said he looks forward to attending the event. That would provide the added opportunity for Trump to meet with Putin for the first time since his second term began. But whether that would be advantageous or not in his dealings with Xi is debatable. The Chinese appear up for the idea. In a Foreign Policy article entitled "China Should Invite Trump to Its Military Parade," influential commentator Deng Yuwen suggested it would offer "a rare chance for diplomacy." And Professor Jin sounded positively giddy when he wrote, "If the leaders of China, the US and Russia were to stand together during the military parade, it would be a great boon for the world." No doubt. But before rushing into anything, I would suggest that the Trump Administration would be well advised to consider what it would look like to the Japanese people for the president of the United States to attend such a propaganda fest. Especially at this sensitive point in time. The Peking duck can wait. Author: John Carroll
