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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denounced a fatal hit-and-run incident that left four members of a Muslim family dead in the Southwestern Ontario city of London as a “terrorist attack, motivated by hatred” that should rally all Canadians to counter hate.
In Parliament on Tuesday, Mr. Trudeau was the first among party leaders to speak to what police have described as a deliberate incident Sunday in which a 20-year-old man drove his pickup truck onto a sidewalk, and struck five members of a family out for a walk, killing four.
“Their lives were taken in a brutal, cowardly and brazen act of violence. This killing was no accident. This was a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred, in the heart of one of our communities,” said Mr. Trudeau.
The Prime Minister, Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Green Party Leader Annamie Paul will all be attending a vigil Tuesday night at the London Muslim Mosque for victims of the attack.
Details here on remarks in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
There’s a report here on what happened in London.
And there’s an Explainer on the incident. Details here.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
BARTON TALKS CONTINUE - Dominic Barton, Canada’s ambassador to China, remains in “regular contact” with tech giant Huawei Technologies as he talks to Beijing and Washington to find a way to free Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from Chinese jails, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau told MPs Monday.
RULING ON URINATING MP - Speaker Anthony Rota has ruled that the conduct of a Liberal MP who urinated during virtual parliamentary proceedings constitutes a prima facie case of contempt of the House of Commons.
NEW INTERNET REGULATION BILL LOOMING - The government will introduce another internet regulation bill – this time focused on curbing harmful content such as hate speech and revenge porn – in “the very near future,” according to Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault.
SENATOR QUESTIONS MOTION - The Trudeau government’s former representative in the Senate says a proposed motion in the Red Chamber to condemn China’s treatment of ethnic Muslim minorities as genocide smacks of “moral superiority and self-righteousness,” given Canada’s past conduct toward Indigenous people including in residential schools.
MPs PUSH FOR GOVERNMENT RETHINK ON LEGAL ACTIONS - Members of all parties passed a motion Monday that calls for the federal government to end legal actions against two Canadian Human Rights Tribunal orders on discrimination of Indigenous children. The NDP’s motion, which is an expression of opinion from the House but is not binding, got support from some Liberals, in addition to the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and Greens, although a number of Liberal MPs, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, abstained.
NEW IMMIGRATION OPTIONS FOR HONG KONGERS - The federal government is opening up new immigration options for Hong Kongers to make Canada their home as Beijing continues its unprecedented crackdown on the former British colony.
PARTING VIEW FROM GLOBE’S BEIJING CORRESPONDENT - What does China’s future hold? Nathan VanderKlippe, The Globe’s correspondent in Beijing since 2013, offers a parting view of Xi Jinping’s China looking at several ways the country could continue to change, from robotics and water infrastructure to education and sports. The first part is here.
KENNEY APOLOGIZES - Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has apologized for breaking COVID-19 public-health orders when he had dinner on a patio outside a government office dubbed the “Sky Palace,” after nearly a week of digging in and insisting he did nothing wrong.
PRIME MINISTER'S DAY
Private meetings. The Prime Minister speaks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Prime Minister delivers a statement in the House of Commons on the tragedy in London, Ont., then holds a media availability. Later, he attends a vigil outside the London Muslim Mosque for the victims of the attack.
LEADERS
Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole delivers statement in the House on the London attack and attends vigil outside the London Muslim Mosque for victims of the attack.
Green Party Leader Annamie Paul holds a Parliament Hill news conference on rising hate in Canada, and attends London vigil.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh will deliver a response to the ministerial statement on the London attack. He also attends the vigil in London.
PUBLIC OPINION
The federal government is enjoying more support for its vaccine rollout, with almost half of Canadians now saying they believe Ottawa has done a very good job on the program, according to a new poll.
A new public opinion survey from the Angus Reid Institute, with the University of British Columbia, finds Canadians of Asian descent aged 18 to 34 most likely to have experienced and been affected by anti-Asian racism and bigotry over the last year. Details here.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on why the road out of China for the two Michaels may go through Washington: “The news that Canada’s ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, spent most of the month of April in Washington holding secret talks with American officials on the subject of two Canadian men held hostage by China is a positive development. It also underlines the fact that their fates are largely out of the hands of Ottawa.”
Jeremy M. Bergen (Contributor to The Globe and Mail) on the theological reason why the Catholic Church is reticent to apologize for residential schools: “My advice to the Canadian bishops and to the Pope is to acknowledge what happened. Do not be vague or use a passive voice. Name the sins committed by the church as an institution. Take responsibility on behalf of the church. Commit to future actions and forms of accountability. Make a public apology in a ritually appropriate and solemn way. Pointing back to previous statements by bishops or religious orders will not be adequate. The present moment demands more. Do not ask former students or their families for forgiveness. This can shift the onus and public pressure on survivors to immediately grant it. Take seriously the many voices calling specifically for an apology.”
Don Braid (The Calgary Herald) on calls from former Wildrose leader Brian Jean for Premier Jason Kenney to quit: “It’s simplistic to imply, as Kenney does in his response to Jean, that this is an uprising of politicians trying to relive the 2017 UCP leadership race. The discontent comes from just about every corner of Kenney’s caucus, and now from Jean, who still commands respect in conservative circles. The Premier faces a tough climb out of this. It seems almost impossible, given the dismal polls and weak party fundraising. But Kenney has often shown that it’s not wise to underestimate him.”
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