Supporters and foes of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper demonstrated on Saturday in cities across Canada after a week of political crisis.
Harper on Thursday obtained an unprecedented shutdown of parliament, thwarting an opposition bid to unseat his ruling Conservatives and install a leftist coalition.
The coalition opposed to Harper groups the Liberals, New Democratic Party (NDP) and the separatist Bloc Quebecois.
They accused the Canadian prime minister of failing to shore up the Canadian economy, and were angered by a proposal — since withdrawn — to cut subsidies for political parties.
Harper attacked the opposition which had sought to bring a motion of no-confidence against the government today, saying the coalition was led by socialists and separatists.
Most Canadians backed Thursday’s move by Governor General Michaelle Jean to suspend parliament and avert the vote, an Ipsos poll found.
Some 56 percent of respondents said they would preferred to return to the polls rather than let the coalition take power.
The coalition hopes to topple the government when work resumes next month.
If Harper’s government collapses, it will be up to Jean to decide if she calls new general elections or gives the coalition a chance to govern.
The biggest demonstration on Saturday brought out 2,500 people in Calgary, Alberta.
In Toronto, about 2,000 people rallied with Liberal leader Stephane Dion and NDP chief Jack Layton.
“Harper took an economic crisis and added the parliamentary crisis, but he then tried to transform it into a national unity crisis — all of this because he cares more about his job than your jobs,” Dion said.
Layton added that Harper “by closing down parliament ... has silenced your voice. He has turned his back on the economy and on the people who are being thrown out of work.”
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS