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Donald Trump says he chose his former acting U.S. attorney general Matt Whitaker serve as United States ambassador to NATOthe core Western alliance about which the president-elect has expressed skepticism for years. Trump, in a statement, said Whitaker was “a strong warrior and loyal patriot” who “will ensure that America’s interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO allies and will stand firm in the face of threats to peace. and stability. Whitaker’s choice as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is unusual, given that he has a background in law enforcement, not foreign policy. Whitaker had been considered a potential choice for attorney general, a position Trump instead gave to Matt Gaetz, a fierce loyalist who has been seen as divisive even within his own party. The NATO post is particularly sensitive given Trump’s emphasis on the value of the alliance and his complaints that many members are failing to meet their commitments to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense. Story continues below advertisement 1:31 Canada must double defense spending to meet NATO target, PBO report says Whitaker is a former U.S. attorney in Iowa and served as acting attorney general between November 2018 and February 2019, as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference was winding down. Before that, he served as chief of staff to Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, before being tapped to replace his boss after Sessions was fired amid continued outrage over his decision to step down from the job. investigation into Russia. Whitaker served in the role for several months, in an acting capacity and without Senate confirmation, until William Barr was confirmed as attorney general in February 2019. Whitaker has relentlessly criticized the federal criminal charges against Trump, which appear poised to evaporate following Trump’s election victory. Whitaker has used his regular appearances on Fox News to join other Republicans in denouncing what they say is the politicization of the Justice Department over the past four years. Story continues below advertisement Whitaker has little obvious foreign policy or national security experience, making him an unknown in many U.S. security circles. Receive national news daily Get the day’s top news, politics, business and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day. Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said the ambassador’s position was “incredibly important” in the U.S. and NATO security framework, as representative directly from American presidents in decision-making within the alliance. “At the end of the day, they are considered to have the credibility of the president when they speak,” Breedlove said. 9:40 a.m. ‘He’s extremely serious’: John Bolton on Trump’s warning to NATO allies Former ambassadors to NATO generally have years of diplomatic, political or military experience. Trump’s first-term NATO ambassador, former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, did not do so, although she was involved in foreign policy issues when she was in Congress. Breedlove said security experience was not essential for the position, but being considered to have a direct line to the president was. Story continues below advertisement “They must be seen as truly representing the president’s intentions. Having the confidence of the president is what is most important in this position,” he said. During his 2016 campaign, Trump alarmed his Western allies by warning that the United States, under his leadership, could abandon its NATO treaty commitments and only come to the defense of countries that reach the defense spending targets of the transatlantic alliance. Learn more about the world More videos Trump, as president, ultimately approved NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause, which states that an armed attack on one or more of its members shall be considered an attack on all members. But he has often described NATO allies as leeches on the U.S. military and openly questioned the value of the military alliance that has defined U.S. foreign policy for decades. In the years that followed, he continued to threaten not to defend NATO members who failed to meet their spending targets. Earlier this year, Trump said that when he was president, he warned NATO allies that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever it wants” to “delinquent” countries. Current trend Randy Boissonnault leaves Cabinet amid trade relations controversy These are the 10 most stolen vehicles in Canada in 2023 “’You haven’t paid? Are you a delinquent?’ ” Trump said at a rally in February. “No, I won’t protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want. You have to pay. You have to pay your bills.’” Story continues below advertisement Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General at the time, said in response that “any suggestion that allies will not defend themselves would jeopardize our security as a whole, including that of the United States, and put American soldiers at risk.” and Europeans at increased risk.

President of the Treasury Board Anita Anand warns that if the House of Commons does not resume normal activities, some ministries could be in financial difficulty. On Monday, Anand filed a Supplementary Estimates request of $21.6 billion to fund programs such as housing, dental care and the national school feeding program. One of the most expensive items concerns the $970.8 million intended for civil servant pay adjustments following collective agreements. But part of the money requested by the government is intended to reimburse departments for what they have already spent, and that money must be voted on by December 10, according to House procedures. 2:27 Conservatives say Liberals ‘paralyzed Parliament’ by refusing to hand over documents to RCMP Pay adjustments for civil servants, for example, included one-off lump sum payments made between April 1 and July 31 of this year. Story continues below advertisement “Smaller departments would be disproportionately affected sooner,” Anand told reporters on Tuesday. “Everything is good for the next three to four weeks, but we need to make sure that the money flows to these small departments and then to the larger departments, which also power a lot of the business of government and the country.” Anand said $3 billion in the Supplementary Estimates tabled Monday came from legal funding requirements — such as $400 million in financial aid to Ukraine — and did not require a vote. These expenses are not threatened. Get the latest national news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts sent directly to you as they happen. The problem, however, is that the House of Commons has been deadlocked for almost two months as the Conservatives pressure the Liberals to hand over documents relating to hundreds of millions of dollars in wasteful spending in a green technology fund. The issue is at the center of an ongoing debate over privilege, which conservatives have vowed to pursue until they get what they want. Questions of privilege take precedence over all other business of the House, so government business does not progress. On Monday, Liberal House Leader Karina Gould said the Conservatives were “holding the government hostage,” noting that the government had handed over nearly 29,000 pages of documents. But on Tuesday, the conservatives were quick to accuse the liberals of not being open. 3:14 Liberals accuse Tories of “witch hunt” over “green slush fund” Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer shared with reporters a letter from Michel Bédard, law clerk and parliamentary counsel, to Speaker of the House Greg Fergus, in which he said the government had withheld and redacted certain pages – in relying on the provisions of the Access to Information Act. Story continues below advertisement “Obviously the government chooses which documents it turns over,” Scheer said. “We are once again faced with a situation in which the Trudeau Liberals choose to keep Parliament paralyzed by this scandal. They would rather paralyze Parliament than hand over the documents related to this scandal to the RCMP.” Current trend Taylor Swift in Toronto: $70,000 loss due to ‘undelivered tickets’ under investigation Organic carrots sold in Canada and the United States recalled following deadly E.coli outbreak Although the opposition parties could side with the Liberals to end the debate on privileges, neither the NDP nor the Bloc Québécois seem inclined to do so, each of them having called on the Liberals on Tuesday to restore the documents. “Currently, what we are seeing in the House is deplorable. But the Liberals are not being transparent and providing documents with essential information. It is not responsible for documents to be entirely redacted,” declared NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice, speaking to journalists in French. “And then we have Conservatives, who engage in systemic obstruction, who refuse to vote on their own motion and continue to propose amendments and subamendments to delay the work of the House.” Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Gould said she was still talking with the NDP and Bloc, although she did not say whether the government was trying to drum up support to end the privilege debate. 1:12 Conservative MP pressures Liberals to provide documents on ‘green slush fund’ The Bloc said it had not had meaningful discussions with the Liberals on this subject. Story continues below advertisement “Not really. Not much is happening on this subject. It’s rather calm,” Parliamentary Bloc leader Alain Therrien said in French. “We don’t know what will happen with the Supplementary Estimates. We are in total impasse, in total darkness. As for negotiating the opening of Parliament, (the Liberals) only have to provide the documents.” Fergus ruled last month that the government “clearly failed to fully comply” with a House order to provide him with documents relating to a now-defunct foundation responsible for distributing hundreds of millions of federal dollars to green technology projects. The Liberals said ordering the production of documents to be turned over to the RCMP blurs the lines between Parliament and the justice system. The RCMP said it likely could not use the documents in an investigation if they were obtained that way. Conservatives argue that police should have access to all the information before making a decision. Learn more about Canada More videos &copy 2024 The Canadian Press Source link

Reduce article font size Increase the font size of the article The House of Commons on Monday condemned an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the former Liberal justice minister. Irwin Cotler. Members of the House unanimously supported a Bloc Québécois motion praising Cotler’s work in favor of human rights, recognizing his political contributions and condemning what he describes as death threats orchestrated by agents of a foreign regime. The Globe and Mail first reported that the RCMP had warned Cotler on October 26 that there was an imminent threat of assassination within 48 hours, then later said the threat against him had been significantly reduced. It indicates that Cotler, a vocal critic of the Iranian regime, has been under the protection of the RCMP since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Cotler’s office confirmed the Globe and Mail’s information to the Canadian Press. Defense Minister Bill Blair told reporters Monday that Canada’s national security and law enforcement agencies are “doing an appropriate and necessary job to protect all Canadians, particularly parliamentarians and former parliamentarians.” “. Story continues below advertisement He said those agencies have requested “that we not comment on any particular investigation or effort they are undertaking.” 10:51 a.m. “I think there is still hope that she is alive and well”: son of Canadian hostage held in Gaza Current trend Taylor Swift in Toronto: $70,000 loss due to ‘undelivered tickets’ under investigation Canada Post and union prepare to resume negotiations with special mediator Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne pledged to give Cotler “all the protection that the Government of Canada can offer.” Receive national news daily Get the day’s top news, politics, business and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day. The RCMP declined to comment on the matter Monday. It said it based protection measures on threat and risk assessments, but did not confirm whether individuals were under protection or provide details of those measures. Bloc MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe said in a statement to the House that Cotler “incurred the wrath of the Iranian regime” by calling for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be listed as an entity terrorist. The government did so in June, after months of mounting political pressure. Brunelle-Duceppe also condemned the “growing temptation of foreign powers to commit political assassinations on Canadian and Quebec soil.” Story continues below advertisement In a statement released Monday, B’nai Brith Canada called the plot “an attack on Canada’s democratic values ​​and sovereignty” and said it should serve as a wake-up call. “Canada must act now to combat extremism, mitigate foreign interference and protect its citizens from those who seek to undermine the sanctity of our democracy. Learn more about Canada More videos &copy 2024 The Canadian Press Source link

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defends his controversial carbon pricing agenda on the global stage and argues that misinformation threatens environmental progress. Trudeau arrived in Brazil today for the G20 leaders’ summit and spoke at a conference organized by the anti-poverty group Global Citizen. He touted Canada’s consumer carbon tax, arguing that it is among the strongest in the world but “an easy political target” in Canada. Trudeau acknowledged misgivings about the policy, but said it was fueled by what he called propaganda and misinformation that affordability contrasts with fighting climate change. He said his Liberal party had already won three elections on the issue of carbon pricing, and he said the policy was “very much in question” for the next election. Receive national news daily Get the day’s top news, politics, business and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged to reverse this policy, in favor of a “carbon tax election” to lower the cost of living. Story continues below advertisement Trudeau made the comments during a panel themed on Canada’s hosting of next year’s G7 summit, although Trudeau did not speak about the impending initiative. Ahead of the event, his office said remarks would focus on “the economic case for climate action as well as Canada’s climate finance and international aid policies” for the G7 presidency. Trudeau’s remarks were almost entirely about defending the carbon tax, saying it had been the subject of “propaganda, misinformation, disinformation and outright lies.” Learn more about politics More videos The federal NDP and some of its provincial counterparts have distanced themselves from the policies they previously supported. Current trend Poilievre says he would fight Trump’s economic policies, tariffs ‘with fire’ Canada Post and union prepare to resume negotiations with special mediator Ottawa is sending rebates to offset what people pay in carbon pricing when they buy fuel, so they don’t get any less worse off. People who take steps to reduce their fuel consumption fare even better, because they still get the same rebate but pay less in carbon pricing. The tax applies in provinces and territories that do not have carbon pricing systems that Ottawa deems consistent with its federal objectives. Parliamentary Budget Officer says vast majority of households receive more rebates than they pay for carbon pricing, but for most those gains are erased once broader economic factors are taken into account . Trudeau disputed this analysis, including in his remarks on Sunday. Story continues below advertisement “It’s actually become a way to help with affordability and put more money in the pockets of people who are struggling,” he said. &copy 2024 The Canadian Press Source link