Experts Call for Greater Transparency in Canada’s Arms Exports
The federal government needs to increase the transparency of armsexports to ensure the weapons are not used in violation of human rights or agreements with Canada, a House of Commons committee heard on Tuesday.
Jean-Christophe Boucher, an assistant professor in political science at the University of Calgary, told the Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee that the Canadian government has not been transparent on granting export permits for firearms, which could raise concerns about how the weapons are used.
According to Boucher, over 60 percent of Canada’s defence productions are exported, which is why the government should continue to pursue exports and the development of the defence industry.
iPolitics By Kady O Malley. Published on May 13, 2021 6:01am Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, seen here in a 2019 photo, will speak with reporters before debate begins on his party s motion. (Prime Minister s Office photo)
The Bloc Québécois are set to spend their first designated opposition day of the spring supply cycle making the case that, when it comes to avoiding a snap election amid a pandemic, “it is the responsibility of the government to make every effort to ensure that voters are not called to the polls as long as this pandemic continues.”
As the Canadian Press notes, Bloc members have “repeatedly (voted) non-confidence in the minority Liberal government” most recently “less than three weeks ago,” when the Bloc not only sided with the Conservatives to reject the plan in
Wed, May 12th 2021 11:57am
Leigh Beadon
Few things illustrate the broken state of our global intellectual property system better than the fact that, well over a year into this devastating pandemic and in the face of a strong IP waiver push by some of the hardest hit countries, patents are still holding back the production of life-saving vaccines. And of all the countries opposing a waiver at the WTO (or withholding support for it, which is functionally the same thing), Canada might be the most
frustrating.
Canada is the biggest hoarder of vaccine pre-orders, having secured enough to vaccinate the population five times over. Despite this, it has constantly run into supply problems and lagged behind comparable countries when it comes to administering the vaccines on a per capita basis. In response to criticism of its hoarding, the government continues to focus on its plans to donate all surplus doses to the COVAX vaccine sharing program but these promises were somewhat more co
OTTAWA Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today defended his foreign affairs minister’s recent and upcoming work-related travel overseas as “essential,” as he assured Canadians that all quarantine and testing requirements will be followed. Asked whether Canadians might think it hypocritical they have been told to avoid international travel for more than a year, but Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau doesn’t have to, Trudeau said his government has always “highlighted the need for essential travel.” “There are thousands of trucks with food and essential goods that cross the U.S. border every day. We continue to see essential travel happening, the question always remains what is essential travel and are the rules going to be followed,” he said Tuesday, speaking to reporters in Ottawa.