McCallum removed as ambassodor in Canada-China uproar

   Canada column for Sunday, Jan. 27/19

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   After insisting that he wouldn’t replace John McCallum as Canadian Ambassador to China over damaging comments, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has done just that.

   Trudeau announced Saturday that McCallum has resigned at his request over comments he made about a Huawei executive awaiting extradition to the United States.

   The move follows demands that McCallum be replaced after he told Chinese media that it would be “great for Canada” if the U.S. dropped an extradition request against Meng Wanzhou.

   She was taken into custody in Vancouver and has legal arguments that could help her avoid extradition, McCallum said.

   A possible defense could be political interference after President Donald Trump said he might intervene in Meng’s case if it would help get a trade deal with China, he added.

   Canada will honor its extradition treaty with the U.S. out of respect for its legal obligations and focus on securing the release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, detained in China, Trudeau said.

   McCallum later said he “regrets” his comments that don’t accurately represent his position and that he “misspoke.”

Canada, China each warn their citizens about trravel

   Canada column for Sunday, Jan. 20/19

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Canada is warning against travel to China after a death sentence given to an alleged Canadian drug smuggler and the detention of others.

   The Chinese government is complaining about political interference by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who has expressed “strong dissatisfaction” of the recent events.

   Hua Chunying of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Trudeau should “respect the rule of law, respect China's judicial sovereignty, correct mistakes and stop making irresponsible remarks.”

   Trudeau said China is “acting arbitrarily” by changing Robert Schellenberg’s original 15-year prison sentence to the death penalty for a conviction of being an accessory to drug smuggling.

   Chinese officials have complained that Canada has “arbitrarily detained” a Chinese national, telecommunications executive Meng Wanzhou in British Columbia, at the request of the United States.

   In a political tit-for-tat, China is urging its citizens to approach travel to Canada with caution while Canada warns of the risk of travel to China in the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws.”

   With Canada not having a death penalty, Trudeau said the government will “do all it can to intervene on Schellenberg's behalf.”

Ottawa transit bus crash kills three, injures 23 during afternoon rush hour

   Canada column for Sunday, Jan. 13/19

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Three people were killed and 23 injured when an Ottawa transit bus slammed into the side of a station shelter during Friday evening’s rush hour.

   Investigators are trying to determine why the double-decker bus hit the Westboro Station but a witness said it had slipped on a patch of ice.

  Police said initially the female driver of the bus was arrested for questioning but wouldn’t elaborate.

   The driver lost control of the OC Transpo bus and it hurtled over a curb and into the shelter, ripping apart about seven rows of upper-level seats.

   It was the second deadly incident for Canada’s capital city transit system.

   In 2013, a bus collided with a VIA Rail passenger train, killing six people including the bus driver.

Conservatives demand by-elections to fill Parlaiment's vacant seats

   Canada column for Sunday, Jan. 6/19

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   By Jim Fox

   Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is being called on to “do the right thing” and call by-elections to fill up to five vacancies in the House of Commons.

   Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is making the demand of the Liberal government, saying Trudeau has “left thousands of Canadians unrepresented in Parliament.”

   A fifth vacancy will happen Jan. 22 with Liberal Nicola Di Iorio quitting in Montreal’s Saint-Leonard-Saint-Michel, a day after the deadline to set the date for by-elections in advance of the federal election in October.

   Trudeau’s office says he intends to have by-elections in three ridings, with the voting taking place early next month.

   The politicians leaving are Sheila Malcolmson in British Columbia’s Nanaimo-Ladysmith as she is running for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in a provincial by-election.

   In B.C.’s Burnaby South, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is seeking to replace Kennedy Stewart, now the mayor of Vancouver.

   There are also the resignations in Ontario’s York-Simcoe by Conservative Peter Van Loan and Montreal Outremont’s former NDP leader Tom Mulcair.

Toronto is one of "safest cities," police chief says

   Canada column for Sunday, Dec. 30/18

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Toronto remains one of the safest cities in North America even as the city set a record for killings this year, Police Chief Mark Saunders says.

   There were 95 killings, “hopefully just a blip,” with most handguns used in crimes being sourced from the United States.

   The number eclipsed the previous record high of 89 homicides in 1991, with 50 of the latest caused by shootings, up 28 percent from last year.

   The chief, Mayor John Tory and the Greater Toronto Area’s 6.5-million residents have been concerned about public safety as the homicide rate steadily climbed – mostly involving gang members.

   The most shocking news in the city once known as “Toronto the Good,” were two large-scale attacks.

   A man now awaiting trial for murder drove a van into people walking along busy York Street, killing 10 in April and two people were killed when a gunman opened fire in July in the Greektown neighborhood before killing himself.

   Police resources were also strained investigating the ongoing case of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, accused of killing eight men from the city’s gay community over seven years.