Public safety minister's statement on letters supporting man deemed terror group member
It would be inappropriate to comment on any specific matters that remain before the courts. That said, there are important matters to clarify. As Minister, I have never sent a letter seeking Ministerial relief in an immigration matter. When I was appointed Minister in July 2023, I instructed my constituency staff to no longer provide such letters. The letters in question here date from before I entered Cabinet. Some important context on that. My office in Scarborough-Guildwood-Rouge Park handles hundreds of immigration matters annually, over 9,000 since I was elected in 2015. That is the nature of representing a diverse riding in the country's largest city. That a constituent, a Canadian citizen, with a Canadian child, would want to reunite her family in Canada is not unusual. And we have created processes by which people can challenge administrative decisions. MPs from all parties provide letters of support for constituents as a routine matter. As a Tamil Canadian, active for decades in my community, I have faced innuendo and whisper campaigns that question my allegiances to Canada. Those are scurrilous and wrong. I am a proud Canadian and proud of my Tamil heritage. I denounce terrorism in all its forms. I decided one way to deal with these allegations was to recuse myself from any decisions related to the listing process under the Anti-Terrorism Act for the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), or the World Tamil Organization. In the discharge of my duties as Minister, I cannot, and will not, make decisions on any matter wherein I advocated for a constituent. This includes Ministerial relief and stays of removals. And I have already placed a screen to recuse myself from matters that involve the two listed entities mentioned above. The questions sent to me by Global News infer something that no other Minister has to face: their premise is that I somehow support a terrorist organization and would make decisions that would favour a terrorist organization. That is false.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Canada News.Net
3 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Vanishing data in the U.S. undermines good public policy, with global implications
The recent tragic floods in Texas have focused attention on the human impact of the cuts to government infrastructure and services in the United States by Donald Trump's administration. Although initial analyses suggest that recent budget cuts and loss of staff played no role in the timeliness of the warnings, many are concerned that a lack of data used to make critical predictions and decisions will increasingly become apparent as a serious problem. As researchers focused on data management (Kristi) and behavioural sciences (Albert) and whose work tackles the significance of research with open access data, we have been concerned about how the data sets that scholars around the world rely on have been vanishing from U.S. government sites. Vanishing data is of dire concern far beyond the U.S., including for Canadians. Danielle Goldfarb, an expert on trade, real-time data, economics and public policy, notes that cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Arctic monitoring programs weaken Canada's ability to assess shared climate risks and global shipping impacts. The American dismantling of key weather reporting also threatens the availability of crucial data for Canada's disaster preparedness. The Canadian data community is watching U.S. events closely, and this has led to the recent founding of the Canadian Data Rescue Project. The project has a dual focus: to support data rescue efforts in the U.S. and to set up preventative life support for Canadian government data. The attack on knowledge in the U.S. began in January 2025 when Trump signed executive orders mandating the removal of information on topics such as diversity and "gender ideology" from government websites. Next, entire websites, data distribution systems and data collection systems began to disappear. The result was not only growing alarm over how the needs of marginalized populations are represented in democratic life and how public safety could be affected, but also concerns about a research and public policy crisis. Environmental data was a major target, with climate change tracking tools disappearing. And as part of the defunding of the Department of Education, nearly all of the staff, including the commissioner at the National Center for Education Statistics, were fired. Government data provides the most fundamental record of how a society works. Health, social, economic and education data collections show a clear picture of how people live, and allow researchers to track how public policy changes affect everyday lives. Government data is a unique resource because governments can require and enforce the collection of accurate information. This data also provides records of the activities of elected governments. Eliminating data collection breaks the system of knowledge that allows governments to work well, and lets the public transparently see how they are working well. Data and budget cuts are already undermining economic policy in the U.S. Inflation is a key indicator of economic health, and was an important electoral issue for Americans, with egg prices and other indicators coming up repeatedly in election campaigns. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics, responsible for monitoring price changes, has been forced by staffing shortages to rely on less accurate data-collection methods. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, economists are questioning the accuracy of the government's inflation data. Similar budget pressures hit climate science. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . This data tracked weather disasters where damages or costs reached or exceeded $1 billion and helped local and state governments plan, allocate budgets and advocate for funding. Employment losses are also expected. Internationally, shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development has led to data losses that will severely hinder global development goals. The Demographic and Health Surveys program helped governments of many low- and middle-income countries collect health and service data. Losing aid funding will harm people directly. Losing the data will worsen that harm by preventing governments from making informed decision on allocating scarce resources, and it will hide how much harm is being done. Data destruction is a way to disrupt and control discourse by limiting what can be known. Without data, questions like "What impact are climate-related disasters having?" or "What's the inflation rate?" are unanswerable. It becomes harder to effectively critique government actions. If data destruction is an act of political suppression, then data preservation can be an act of political resistance. In February 2025, several U.S. academic and non-profit associations got together to form the Data Rescue Project. They have worked to download data files, create documentation and prepare the data for publication on donated platforms. While researchers are unable to change the termination of data collection programs, they are preserving as much data as possible so researchers and critics can at least access information. The Canadian Data Rescue Project has hosted three data rescue events to create documentation for rescued American data sets, and is setting up processes to download and archive Canadian government data as a safeguarding measure. Disappearing data could happen here, and similar events have. Stephen Harper's Conservative government cut data collection programs and issued gag orders to federal scientists. The federal government reduced funding for environmental data collection and eliminated the First Nations Statistical Institute. research on post-secondary education in Canada has been undermined by a systematic elimination of resources." With the termination of varied education bodies or councils also came a scarcity of data. resignation of Canada's national statistician and disrupting the baseline for all social and health data collection in Canada over the next few years. Subsequent governments restored the census and some other data-collection programs, but in the case of education, researchers say some of the pains now being felt in the sector can be traced back to this period. about what it values by what it chooses to count. health to climate and weather forecasting. We now need a national response to help mitigate the effects of data destruction.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Edmonton-based ceremonial mounted army troop guarding London
OTTAWA – Just over a month after King Charles expressed his support for a 'strong and free' Canada in a visit to Ottawa, he invited Canadian soldiers to staff the ceremonial mounted troop which guards the official entrance to Buckingham Palace in London. The Edmonton-based Lord Strathcona's Horse regiment are in the British capital for 10 days of service, marking only the third time a non-British unit will mount the King's Life Guard. The Life Guard protects the Horse Guards building, which is the official entrance to St. James's and Buckingham Palace. The regiment is also known as the Royal Canadians and the members have had to adjust to larger horses used in London for the ceremonial guard. The only other two times foreign units mounted the Life Guard were also Canadian, including in 2012 when the RCMP took on the role to mark Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee and in 2000 when the Lord Strathcona's Horse regiment did it to mark its 100th anniversary. Canada's high commission in London says the arrangement symbolizes Canadian nationhood and sovereignty, and is an example of Ottawa's commitment to its allies. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025.
Cision Canada
5 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Canada and European Union launch new industrial policy dialogue Français
OTTAWA, ON, /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is focused on strengthening and diversifying international partnerships, working with the European Union (EU) to protect and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, and Stéphane Séjourné, the European Commission's Executive Vice-President (EVP) for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, met on July 11 to advance collaboration under the New Canada–EU Strategic Partnership of the Future. This partnership was announced at the Canada–European Union Leaders' Summit in Brussels on June 23 by the Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada; António Costa, President of the European Council; and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Minister Joly and EVP Séjourné agreed to develop a joint work plan in the coming weeks that will determine specific areas of cooperation. They also committed to convening again within the next month to further advance their shared priorities. Recognizing economic diplomacy as a vital tool for fostering stability, innovation and prosperity, both leaders emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation to address global challenges. Quotes "At this pivotal moment, Canada is committed to deepening its partnership with the European Union as we diversify supply chains and enhance trade ties. Together, we are strengthening a trans-Atlantic alliance that will enhance our economic competitiveness and protect critical industries and technologies." – The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions "Today's visit marks the first concrete step toward the deeper cooperation envisioned at the EU–Canada Summit. At a time when the international geoeconomic landscape has rarely been so unstable, strong partnerships and shared perspectives on global trade and industrial trends are more valuable than ever. From expanding our trade ties and strengthening technological and innovation cooperation to increasing the supply of Canadian raw materials, we share an unprecedented range of common interests." – Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, European Commission Quick facts Prime Minister Mark Carney launched the New Canada–EU Strategic Partnership of the Future in Brussels with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on June 23, 2025. Canada and the EU also signed the Security and Defence Partnership, which provides a framework for dialogue and cooperation in security and defence priorities. SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
