Canada in Brief, Sept. 29-Oct. 5

China tries to block visits of Canadian diplomats to Tibet: Dion

OTTAWA—China has for years tried to block Canadian diplomats from Tibet, banning some of them from visiting aid projects once funded by Canadian taxpayers, said Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion.

Dion said that while China has never denied a request by a high-level diplomat to visit Tibet, it has put up roadblocks, including delays in approving travel requests and shadowing Canadians while there.

Dion described the problems in a written response to questions from New Democrat MP Randall Garrison that was recently tabled in the House of Commons.

The Canada Tibet Committee suggests the travel restrictions are part of China’s ongoing efforts to mask human rights abuses in the region.

Commons votes to ratify global climate deal

OTTAWA—The House of Commons voted Wednesday to ratify the Paris agreement on climate change, cementing a cornerstone of the Liberal government’s environmental policy and helping to tip the scales on the global deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

After a pair of proposed amendments went down to defeat, the motion to ratify the deal passed by a margin of 207 to 81, with the New Democrats voting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his majority Liberal caucus.

The Opposition Conservatives, who tried to amend the motion to do away with Trudeau’s controversial carbon-pricing plan, voted against ratifying the accord.

Wednesday’s vote means the deal comes into force in 30 days, after the number of countries ratifying the accord surpassed a key threshold.

Calls for resignation of Vancouver city councillor who raised Chinese flag at city hall

A Vancouver city councillor is in hot water over a Sept. 30 ceremony in which he raised the Chinese flag on the city hall flagpole, while wearing a red scarf, to mark China National Flag Day.

The group Alliance of the Guard of Canadian Values is calling for councillor and acting mayor Kerry Jang’s resignation and an apology.  

An online petition started by the group says raising a foreign country’s national flag in front of city hall is “absolutely unacceptable,” and the red scarf Jang wore “has a strong political implication, meaning the struggle for communism.”

The group also wants Mayor Gregor Robertson to explain how the ceremony came to be and whether he supported it. The petition, which by Oct. 5 had more than 1,150 signatures, will be submitted to the mayor and councillors.

Nova Scotia ‘will not be implementing a carbon tax,’ premier says

HALIFAX—Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil dug in hard against Ottawa’s carbon price scheme on Oct. 4, saying his province “definitely won’t” impose a carbon tax.

McNeil also backed a decision by his environment minister, Margaret Miller, to walk out of federal-provincial meetings in Montreal over Ottawa’s plan.

Miller joined her counterparts from Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan who also left Monday’s climate-change talks after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood in the House of Commons and dropped his carbon tax plan on the provinces.

“I will not be implementing a carbon tax,” McNeil said. “We believe there are other ways to achieve [reductions] and we are hoping to work with the national government to make that happen.”

MPs want new centre to study first responder stress and trauma

OTTAWA—MPs are calling for a new research centre devoted to the mental health of first responders and other public safety officers.

In a report tabled Oct. 4, a House of Commons committee says estimates indicate that between 10 and 35 percent of first responders—from paramedics to prison guards—will develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

The committee urges creation of a Canadian Institute for Public Safety Officer Health Research that would collect data, devise a research strategy, and generally recognize the particular challenges public safety officers face in their work.

The MPs say the institute should be modelled on an existing one for military members and veterans, but operate separately.

With files from The Canadian Press and Epoch Times