Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
U.S. President Joe Biden delivered an address to Canadian parliamentarians in the House of Commons on Friday, during his first visit to Ottawa since taking office in 2021.
Here are some excerpts from his speech.
"No two nations on Earth are bound by such close ties, friendship, family, commerce and culture. Our labour unions cross borders. So do our sports leagues. Baseball, basketball, hockey ... I have to say, I liked your teams except the Leafs ... I tell you why. They beat the (Philadelphia) Flyers back in January. That's why. And if I didn't say that -- I married a Philly girl -- If I didn't say that I'd be sleeping alone. Fellows, I like you, but not that much."
"In war and in peace, we have been a stronghold of liberty, safeguard for the fundamental freedoms that literally give our lives meaning. We have gladly stepped into the responsibilities of global leadership, because we understand all that is at risk for Canadians and Americans alike when freedom is under attack anywhere in the world. Today, our destinies are intertwined. And they're inseparable. Not because of inevitability of geography, but because it's a choice. A choice we've made, again and again. The United States chooses to link our future with Canada because we know that we'll find no better partner. I mean this from the bottom of my heart: no more reliable ally, no more steady friend. And today, I say to you, and to all the people of Canada, that you will always, always be able to count on the United States of America."
"Together, we built a partnership that is an incredible advantage to both our nations. That doesn't mean we never disagree, as any two countries will do from time to time. When we disagree, we solve our differences in friendship, and in goodwill, because we both understand our interests are fundamentally aligned. As we stand at this inflection point in history ... where the decisions we make in the coming years, will determine the course of our world for decades to come. It happens every five or six generations, but we're at that point. Nothing gives me greater confidence in the future, the knowing connect candidate and United States stand together still."
"The Inflation Reduction Act ... represents the single largest commitment in tackling climate in our history -- as a matter of fact, the single largest investment in all of human history. And it's going to spur clean energy investments all over the world. And explicitly, explicitly includes tax credits for electric vehicles assembled in Canada -- recognizing how interconnected our auto industries are and our workers are. I am the most pro-union president of America has ever had. I speak to a hell of a lot of Canadian union members. Look, this is a model for future co-operation, with both our nations investing at home to increase the strength of our industrial bases, making sure the products manufactured in North America are not only manufactured, but they're the best in the world. You know, we're going to amplify our shared commitment, climate action, while growing our economies."
"We're also an Arctic nation. We both recognize the critical importance of this region to our collective security and the interest of other nations all of a sudden in the Arctic. We're working in close co-ordination to steward and protect the northernmost reaches of our world. And we are American nations, deeply invested in ensuring that the Western Hemisphere is peaceful, prosperous, democratic and secure. And that starts with our commitment to defending our people and our own sovereign territory. Norad is the only binational military command in the world ... Yet another way in which our partnership is exceptional, it is an incredible symbol of the faith we have in one another, and the trust we placed in each other's capabilities."
"The incredible diversity that defines each of our nations is our strength. And Prime Minister Trudeau, and I know this is a belief that you and I share, we both built administrations that look like America and look like Canada. I'm very proud that both of us have cabinets that are 50 per cent women, for the first time in history. Even you don't agree, guys, I'd stand up. We took the lesson from you. Because the bottom line is this: We make it easier for historically under-represented, underserved communities to dream, to create, to succeed, we build a better future for all our people."
"In just a few days, NASA is going to announce an international team of astronauts who will crew the Artemis II mission. The first human voyage to the moon since Apollo mission ended more than 50 years ago will consist of three Americans and one Canadian. We choose to return to the moon together -- together we return to the moon. And from there, we look forward to Mars and to the limitless possibilities that lie beyond. And here on Earth our children who watch that flight are going to learn the names of those new pioneers. They'll be the ones who carry us into the future we hope to build."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2023.
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.