Round 1 of the search for B.C.'s Best Symbol wraps up
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Global News
20 minutes ago
- Global News
Canadian leaders descend upon Ontario cottage country for high stakes meetings
Ontario's cottage country is set to become the centre of Canadian power for three days beginning Monday, as leaders from across the country descend on Huntsville, Ont., for high-stakes meetings. The Council of the Federation, which includes all of the country's 13 premiers, will meet in the small town to discuss trade, energy, immigration and U.S.-Canada relations, among other topics. Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in Huntsville for a separate meeting with provincial leaders on Tuesday. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who will chair his last meeting as the head of the group this week, selected the rural setting, close to his own cottage, to show off what his team believes is the best of the province. 'As the Chair of the Council of the Federation, it's never been a more important time to welcome my fellow Premiers to Ontario to continue the work we've done over the past year to protect Canada and our economy,' Ford said in a statement ahead of the event. Story continues below advertisement 'This meeting will be an opportunity to work together on how to respond to President Trump's latest threat and how we can unleash the full potential of Canada's economy.' Ford welcomes country's leaders to cottage country The summer meeting of the Council of the Federation offers Premier Ford an opportunity to show off his province as he lets go of his role at the head of the group. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy A senior government source, speaking on background, said the annual meeting had a sense of 'friendly competition,' as hosts try to dazzle other leaders with the best of their province. Ford owns a cottage near Huntsville, set on the beautiful waterfront of a rural area. The source said the premier will host an intimate dinner there for leaders and their immediate family on Monday evening, the night before the event kicks off in earnest. Story continues below advertisement On Tuesday, Carney will take part in a meeting with the country's first ministers. The Ontario source said the premier's office expects that meeting to involve a briefing on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations and an early outline of how different governments will work together if 35 per cent tariffs hit. Then, Carney will depart, and the country's premiers will convene for a working lunch, attended by two former ambassadors. The conversations are expected to focus on U.S. trade relations, with an update on wildfire responses. During the evening, Ford will host a gala for provincial leaders, business and health care stakeholders, as well as Indigenous representatives. Ontario's Lieutenant Governor will also offer opening remarks at the evening reception. More MOUs and other meetings On Wednesday, the premiers will meet again — this time to discuss public safety and bail reform, as well as health care. The meeting will end with a news conference. Story continues below advertisement At the peripheries of the premiers' official itinerary, other meetings will also take place. Nursing stakeholders will take part in one early meeting, while Indigenous leaders will meet with premiers for discussions, too. Ontario, the source said, also plans to unveil new memoranda of understanding with provinces. They include new agreements to explore and advocate for pipelines, as well as promises to reduce internal trade barriers. The Council of the Federation has taken on increased significance in the face of tariffs and threats from the United States. The table allows the leaders of the country's various provinces and territories to find areas of agreement both on national projects and, most recently, on internal trade. Led by Ford and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, many provinces have introduced legislative and regulatory changes to reduce trade barriers between provinces. Moves to harmonize labour rights, safety standards and alcohol sales have all been introduced to make it easier to trade between provinces and attempt to reduce Canada's reliance on the United States. Recently, Ford has also joined Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in asking for new national pipelines to be built, framing the issue as one of national security.
Ottawa Citizen
20 minutes ago
- Ottawa Citizen
How John Hannaford led the public service through transition and turmoil
If John Hannaford had a superpower, it might have been his ability to help a team reach consensus. Article content Rather than rule with an iron fist, he would engage in what former colleagues called 'deep listening.' Article content Recommended Videos Article content 'He really was thoughtful about that, and I think purposeful, right?' said Marta Morgan, a former colleague of Hannaford and retired public service executive. 'He wanted to pull out the best in people, and one way of doing that is making people know that they're heard and they're part of the discussion.' Article content Article content Morgan recalled that when Hannaford led meetings, he would prioritize listening and ensure that everyone in the room was given a chance to share their thoughts. Article content Former colleagues have said those listening skills served him well in his career as he navigated turbulent times. Hannaford retired in early July as his successor, Michael Sabia, took the reins of the federal public service. Article content Before he became clerk of the Privy Council, Hannaford was deputy minister at Natural Resources. In that role, Hannaford led a team of government executives on a tour of Western Canada when that part of the country was feeling particularly alienated from the federal government in Ottawa. Article content Daniel Quan-Watson, another former colleague and retired public service executive, said the tour embodied Hannaford's 'commitment to listening and genuine interest and fascination.' Article content Article content 'I think it's such an important signal of Canada's public service, being there, even in difficult places, difficult listening, difficult conversations and being present for people,' Quan-Watson added. Article content Article content Hannaford would perhaps agree, having said in a 'fireside chat' with the Canada School of Public Service that he 'didn't have that objective' in his career planning. Article content But he was trusted by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, having served as a PCO advisor on foreign affairs and defence from 2015 to 2019. He also served as deputy minister of international trade, where he was involved in renegotiating NAFTA, which then became the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
CBC
21 minutes ago
- CBC
Canada's deportation of alleged Mafia boss hinges on foreign eavesdropping
A federal deportation appeal on Monday that will decide whether an alleged Mafia boss must return to his native Italy is raising questions about foreign interference and constitutional rights in Canada. At stake is the question of whether a foreign government should be able to arrange warrantless surveillance of a person on Canadian soil, and then use evidence obtained in a Canadian legal proceeding. Vincenzo "Jimmy" DeMaria was born in Siderno, Italy, but has resided in Canada for most of his life. Siderno is in the poor, southern region of Calabria — the toe on the boot of the Italian peninsula. The seaside town was home to a group of family clans of the Calabrian Mafia known as 'Ndrangheta that began to migrate to the Toronto area in the 1950s. The DeMaria family arrived in Canada in 1955 when Vincenzo DeMaria was just nine months old. Despite living in the country for all of his 71 years, he would never become a Canadian citizen. Both the Italian and Canadian governments declined to speak directly about the case. However, court filings provide a clearer picture of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)'s allegations against the alleged mob boss. 'Ndrangheta, a powerful Mafia in Canada The 'Ndrangheta surpassed the Sicilian Mafia to become Italy's most powerful organized crime group many years ago, and it has spread its operations across Europe and the world, most notably Canada. In Toronto the 'Ndrangheta has been targeted in some of the biggest police operations of recent years, such as Project Sindacato in 2019, which focused on its illegal gambling operations. Canadian police have identified the most prominent branch of the 'Ndrangheta operating in Canada as the "Siderno Group," sometimes referred to in Italy as the Society of Siderno, because of its origins in DeMaria's hometown. Members of the group have allegedly accumulated considerable wealth through drug-smuggling, loan-sharking and other illegal activities, and were even able to infiltrate Canadian banks. The Government of Canada has argued that DeMaria is a senior figure in that criminal underworld, which he denies. His lawyer Jessica Zita told CBC News that DeMaria is a property manager. "He owns a number of properties and he manages all of them. Previously he was in the financial services business," she said. Italian police, however, have described him as one of the most senior leaders of the 'Ndrangheta in Canada, and a member of the group's Camera di Controllo, the equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia's Commission. DeMaria has denied those allegations. A murder in Little Italy In 1981, DeMaria shot a fellow Italian immigrant seven times in Toronto's Little Italy neighbourhood, and received a second-degree murder conviction for which he served eight years in prison. Because of that conviction he was never able to obtain Canadian citizenship and, like all convicted murderers, DeMaria is on parole for life, making him subject to re-arrest at any time. DeMaria has spent much of his life fighting to remain in Canada. His original deportation order, resulting from his murder conviction, was quashed in 1996. He was arrested again in 2009 and 2013 for associating with organized crime figures in violation of his parole conditions, which bar him from contact with even his own brother. In April 2018, he was ordered deported again on grounds of organized criminality, and placed in detention in the Collins Bay Institution in Ontario, pending appeal, only to be released into house arrest in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit and he had his own health complications. A visit from the old country While he was in prison in 2019, a murder in Siderno triggered a string of events that would become central to his case. A high-ranking mafioso called Carmelo "Mino" Muià was ambushed, and his brother Vincenzo Muià set off on a quest to find out who did it. Police have suggested he may also have been seeking the permission of the 'Ndrangheta's governing body to take revenge. His journey brought him to Canada, where he visited his second cousin DeMaria in prison at Collins Bay. What Muià didn't know was that the Italian Carabinieri — equivalent to Canada's RCMP — had installed spyware that effectively turned his phone into a microphone that was always on. In order to record his conversations on Canadian soil, however, they needed the co-operation of Canadian police. The Italians asked York Regional Police (YRP) for assistance both in intercepting communications and in maintaining surveillance on Muià while he was in Canada. But a Canadian Crown lawyer who was asked to review the request argued it should not be granted. Jeffery Pearson sent a letter to police in March 2019 stating that that he had found an "insufficient basis" to authorize surveillance under Part VI of the Criminal Code. He said there were "no reasonable and probable grounds to believe that either Mr. Muià or [travelling companion] Mr. Gregoarci have committed, or are committing, an offence in Canada." 'Illegal' surveillance, lawyers argue DeMaria's lawyers argue in their petition that things should have stopped right there. "Despite Pearson's clear denunciation and without the required judicial authorization, YRP moved ahead with the investigation and Mr. Muià's conversations during that time were illegally intercepted." They say the Muià was not only bugged but also placed under physical surveillance, without seeking judicial authorization and ignoring the legal advice given by Pearson. If they are successful, it would not be the first time that over-aggressive surveillance by York Regional Police may have sabotaged a case against alleged 'Ndrangheta members. Prosecutions arising from the Project Sindacato investigation, announced with great fanfare in 2019, ultimately fell apart in 2021 because YRP investigators were accused of eavesdropping on privileged conversations between the accused and their attorneys. Precedent for more snooping? DeMaria's lawyers dispute CBSA's arguments that the recordings made on Muià's phone support its contention that DeMaria is involved in organized crime. Only transcripts have been provided to Canadian courts and those appear to include lengthy sections that are paraphrased rather than verbatim. They also dispute whether references to a "Jimmy" in the recordings are really even about their client. And DeMaria's defence has poured scorn on the use of a police informant, Carmine Guido, who at times professed ignorance about the inner workings of the 'Ndrangheta, and who also made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling drugs while working with police. But their main argument against the CBSA's effort to remove DeMaria is that it relies on illegal recordings made at the instigation of a foreign government without regard for Canadian laws and civil liberties. If the precedent is allowed to stand, Zita says, "what that's saying is any foreign government can listen to us." She argued that the admission of paraphrased discussions "that aren't authenticated, that aren't tested," would also set a dangerous precedent. CBSA says all laws followed While declining to discuss DeMaria's case specifically, CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy told CBC News that officials follow the law. "CBSA has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals found to be inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act," she said. "There are multiple steps built into the process to ensure procedural fairness and the CBSA only actions a removal order once all legal avenues of recourse have been exhausted." Zita says it's not that CBSA broke the law, but rather that it's relying partly on evidence collected illegally by York Regional Police. That, she said, must not be allowed to stand. "[Officials could] find ways through other countries outside of our borders with lower standards for evidentiary rules, take whatever evidence they're able to get using our technology, without having to report to anyone about it, bring that evidence back into our country and rely on it without any sort of testing whatsoever," she said. "That's as good as having no evidence at all. And it is demonstrably unfair for there's no way to reply to that. That's teetering very close to being an authoritarian regime." The virtual hearing begins on Monday at the Immigration Appeal Division in Toronto. The first witness is expected to be an investigator of the Carabinieri unit that made the original request for surveillance of Muià in Canada.
